Latest news with #Jalali
L'Orient-Le Jour
10-05-2025
- Politics
- L'Orient-Le Jour
Academic held in Iran at 'immediate' risk after heart attack
Sweden on Friday demanded that Iran release academic Ahmadreza Jalali, who is on death row in Iran, after his wife said he had a heart attack in prison and his life is "at immediate risk". Jalali, an Iranian who was sentenced to death in 2017 on espionage charges and was granted Swedish nationality while in jail, suffered a heart attack in Tehran's Evin prison, Vida Mehrannia wrote in a post on X. "He has been transferred to the hospital section in Evin prison. He was informed that he will not be able to see a cardiologist until Sunday," the wife added. "After nine years of suffering, his health is declining rapidly. His life is at immediate risk and he must urgently receive proper care," she said. She urged Sweden's Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson and Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard "to do everything in their power to secure his immediate release." Stenergard said on X that she had "spoken urgently tonight with the Iranian foreign minister." "During the conversation, I demanded that Ahmadreza Jalali immediately receive the specialised care he needs." "My work, and that of the government, for Ahmadreza Jalali continues with unabated strength. Ahmadreza Jalali must now be immediately released on humanitarian grounds so that he can be reunited with his family, something I also expressed in today's conversation," she said. Sweden has previously said that Iran does not recognise Jalali as a Swedish national since he was only an Iranian citizen when he was arrested. In June 2024, Tehran freed two Swedes held in Iran in exchange for Hamid Noury, a former Iranian prison official serving a life sentence in Sweden. Jalali was left out of the swap. "It seems to not be a priority for the Swedish officials what may happen to me as a Swedish citizen while I risk dying either by execution or due to poor health," Jalali said in January, in a voice message obtained by AFP through his wife. "It seems that due to my dual nationality, I am considered as a second-class citizen," he said. Western countries have long accused Iran of detaining foreign nationals on trumped-up charges to use them as bargaining chips to extract concessions.
Al Bawaba
23-03-2025
- Al Bawaba
Explosion rocks Tehran residential building, 21 injured
Published March 23rd, 2025 - 05:31 GMT ALBAWABA - Dozens of people were injured in an explosion that was reported inside a building in downtown Tehran, local media reported on Sunday. Also Read Is Iran ditching Tehran for a new capital? The spokesperson of the firefighting department in Tehran, Seyed Jalal Maleki, confirmed the explosion that occurred on Saturday night adding that 10 people were injured. In addition, he said the building was completely destroyed. An early report by Jalali suggested that 10 people were injured, however, authorities said they are looking for more under rubble and debris. انفجار و تخریب ساختمان در تهران با ۱۰ مصدومسخنگوی سازمان آتش‌نشانی تهران:امروز وقوع یک حادثه انفجار در یک ساختمان مسکونی به آدرس خیابان قزوین خیابان عباسی تهران اتفاق افتاد. ساختمان مذکور سه طبقه و قدیمی بوده و ظاهرا افرادی در حال حفر یک چاه بوده‌اند که این کار باعث نشت — jailani behieh (@JBehieh) March 22, 2025 Meanwhile, Tehran's emergency department stressed that 21 people were injured in the 3-floor building collapse. The emergency department confirmed that out of the 21 injured 11 were taken to the hospital for treatment, meanwhile, 10 others were treated on an outpatient basis. The explosion was due to a gas leak, authorities and emergency services confirmed. © 2000 - 2025 Al Bawaba (
Yahoo
21-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Some voice actors embrace AI's potential. Others worry it's coming for their jobs
Like many in his field, voiceover actor Jesse Adam has been watching the rise of AI with a wary eye. "You start hearing better voiceover produced by AI and you're like, OK, this could be some serious competition," says the Saskatchewan native, who over the course of his decade-long career has lent his voice to dozens of projects, including Marvel video games and Starbucks commercials. With AI capabilities advancing at a seemingly exponential rate, he realizes he faces an uphill battle. 'I got to the point where I was like, there's no way we're going to be able to fight this. This isn't going away." So rather than resist the tide, he's decided to lean into it. Adam has long worked with a platform called which connects voice actors with businesses for commercial and corporate work. Last summer, the company, based in London, Ont., launched a new AI Studio initiative, which allows clients to buy clones of real actors' voices for text-to-speech projects. The company says it allows its talent to opt out at any time, and Adam was fully on board with that. He hopes for a future where his voice clone generates passive income and gives him the freedom to pursue passion projects. 'The industry is changing and I need to adapt or I'm going to get left behind," he says. Adam spent roughly 20 hours recording a range of emotional performances for the service — everything from 'happy and upbeat' to 'sad and down.' Since then, he's been paid for about 100 jobs, mostly for training videos. Each time his AI-cloned voice is used, he gets an email notification. 'It's not paying a ton of money, but it's also money that I wouldn't have had otherwise,' says Adam, noting the service pays him about 10 cents per word and he usually makes more working with clients directly. He hopes to scale up as demand for the service grows. "I think for some talent, the amount of work they'll get through their AI clones will be significant and will pay the bills and be lucrative." About 30 voice actors have opted into AI Studio, according to the company's chief technology officer Dheeraj Jalali. He says the platform expanded into AI text-to-speech services after seeing how quickly the technology was evolving. 'We thought, hey, let's use this technology as an enabler instead of being fearful of it,' he says. Jalali explains actors who consent to having their voices used can set their own per-word rates, with the company taking a percentage of the earnings. They can specify words or phrases they don't want their voice to generate, and talent can view the scripts their AI voice was used for after the fact. He says the service is primarily used for training programs, ebooks and website user interfaces. Since AI can't take artistic direction, Jalali notes voice actors are still being hired traditionally for commercials, films and TV shows. 'When it comes to mass media, voiceover actors are still there. I don't see any near future where they're getting replaced,' he says. But that's precisely what has many actors and labour groups sounding the alarm. The entertainment industry has weathered a rough couple of years, with Hollywood strikes and fewer Canadian commissions slowing things down. The animation sector has been hit especially hard. According to the Canadian Media Producers Association, animation production in Canada plummeted by 55 per cent in 2023-24, following a pandemic-era surge that briefly reignited investments. In the midst of this downturn, voice actors are on alert when it comes to AI. As the technology becomes more skilled at mimicking human voices, many fear being pushed aside and watching their craft lose value. Toronto's Gabbi Kosmidis has spent years breathing life into animated characters, and she worries that an illicit, synthetic version of her voice could replace her entirely. 'I know a lot of voice actors who are struggling to find work right now. The industry is slow for a plethora of reasons, and AI has been this scary, looming thing,' says Kosmidis, who voices the lead in 'Night of the Zoopocalypse,' an animated Canadian horror comedy that did not use AI, and is currently in theatres. She fears a near future where companies 'could take your voice and use it forever and ever and ever.' 'It's pretty scary in terms of voiceover work. It may make your job obsolete.' In light of these fears, labour unions in Canada and the U.S. have been working to ensure members have protections against AI in contracts with producers. ACTRA's newly ratified Independent Production Agreement has language giving actors the right to fair compensation and full consent if their voice or likeness are used to create a synthetic performer. Still, 'a collective bargaining agreement is not enough alone to address all concerns on such a rapidly evolving technology,' ACTRA national president Eleanor Noble said in a statement. She added the organization is urging the Liberal government to create 'strong legislation which will protect performers' likenesses and jobs from AI misuse, along with protecting all Canadian workers.' As the government drafts its proposed Artificial Intelligence and Data Act, ACTRA is lobbying to ensure any future legislation would grant performers the right to fair compensation and control over all AI uses of their voice and likeness. AI text-to-speech services signal a 'race to the bottom' where voiceover artists will get paid less and less for their work, says Kunal Sen, creative director of Vancouver-based animation studio Good Bad Habits, which works on a variety of projects, including films and commercials. 'I definitely see a devaluing of work in this sphere. I would never not hire an actual person to do voiceover work,' he says. 'If a brand needs someone to say something in a video and it doesn't have to be Morgan Freeman or some celebrity, now they can just be like, 'OK, let's just cut the budget from this and put it somewhere else.' It's never been easier to do that.' Jalali acknowledges that AI may drive down voiceover rates but argues that it also allows actors to scale their work. 'Voiceover actors have a way bigger opportunity now,' he says. He envisions a near future where actors license their voices to companies, who will 'have the potential to do multiple projects with your voice in different use cases." He says performers can now tell clients: "Hey, here's my voice. Now go scale with this voice and I'll benefit from it, too, because my AI voice can say a million words a day. I can only say maybe a thousand." "So it just scales up in ways that were not possible beforehand.' Kosmidis remains apprehensive about AI, believing it compromises the quality of performances in the long run. 'I personally would never want to listen to a robot, even if that robot sounds very human. Knowing that it's not really human, to me feels weird and disconnected,' she says. Kosmidis questions whether AI can truly capture emotional nuance or deliver humour effectively. However, she concedes it's likely only a matter of time before it masters the art of crying. "Bursting into tears. I mean, who can't do that? In this economy?' This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 21, 2025. Alex Nino Gheciu, The Canadian Press
Local Sweden
10-03-2025
- Politics
- Local Sweden
Iran summons Swedish ambassador over minister's 'rogue state' comments
An Iranian ministry statement said it had made a formal protest to criticise "inappropriate statements and unfounded and interventionist accusations of the Swedish minister of education against the Islamic Republic of Iran". The ministry said it told Ambassador Mathias Otterstedt that the remarks were "contrary to the standards of international law and diplomatic norms". The spat comes after Swedish Education Minister Johan Pehrson compared Iran to a "rogue state" in an interview with Swedish daily Expressen published in late February. "Iran is a rogue state from which many Swedes have fled. They have institutionalised misogyny, anti-Semitism and sponsor terrorism," Pehrson was quoted as saying. Also on Monday, foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei called the Swedish minister's reported remarks "unacceptable and devoid of truth and reality". The diplomatic summons comes after the Swedish government on Friday asked Tehran to free Ahmadreza Jalali, an Iranian-Swedish academic sentenced to death in 2017 after being charged with espionage. Sweden called for Jalali's "immediate release on humanitarian grounds so that he can be reunited with his family" and called for his "immediate access to the medical care he so clearly needs". Jalali, who was granted Swedish nationality while in jail, in mid-January accused Stockholm of not taking sufficient action to obtain his release. On June 15th last year, Tehran freed two Swedes, Johan Floderus, an EU diplomat who had been held since April 2022, and Saeed Azizi, who was arrested in November 2023, in exchange for Hamid Noury, an Iranian former official serving a life sentence in Sweden. Iran's judiciary does not recognise dual nationality, so did not refer to the release of the two Swedes as a prisoner swap.
Local Sweden
08-03-2025
- Politics
- Local Sweden
Sweden asks Iran to immediately free ailing academic on death row
Summoning the Iranian ambassador, Sweden called for Jalali's "immediate release on humanitarian grounds so that he can be reunited with his family" and called for his "immediate access to the medical care he so clearly needs," the foreign ministry said in a statement. The ministry also said it had reiterated a request to visit Jalali in jail. In mid-January, Jalali accused the Swedish government of not taking sufficient action to obtain his release. "It seems to not be a priority for the Swedish officials, what may happen to me as a Swedish citizen while I risk dying either by execution or due to poor health," he said in a message forwarded to AFP by his wife, Vida Mehrannia. His remarks came as German-Iranian Nahid Taghavi was released from Tehran's Evin prison and returned home, just days after Iran released Italian journalist Cecilia Sala. On June 15 last year, Tehran freed two Swedes, Johan Floderus, an EU diplomat who had been held since April 2022, and Saeed Azizi, who was arrested in November 2023, in exchange for Hamid Noury, a former Iranian prisons official serving a life sentence in Sweden. But Jalali, whom Iran sentenced to death in 2017 on espionage charges and was granted Swedish nationality while in jail, was left out of the swap. The government has insisted that it tried to obtain Jalali's release at the same time as Floderus and Azizi. Western countries have for years accused Iran of detaining their nationals on trumped-up charges in a policy of state hostage-taking to use them as bargaining chips to extract concessions. On Friday, the Swedish ministry reaffirmed its opposition to the death penalty and demanded that the sentence passed on the Swedish-Iranian would not be carried out.
