HongKong

Chinese star Fan Bingbing wins Taiwan top film award

  • Fan was one of China's highest paid actresses and starred in the X-Men and Iron Man franchises before she was targeted in a crackdown on tax evasion in 2018.
  • Chinese superstar Fan Bingbing won best actress at Taiwan's prestigious Golden Horse Awards on Saturday, earning accolades for an uncharacteristic farmer role as she eyes a rebound after a tax evasion scandal wrecked her career.
  • Fan was one of China's highest paid actresses and starred in the X-Men and Iron Man franchises before she was targeted in a crackdown on tax evasion in 2018.
Chinese superstar Fan Bingbing won best actress at Taiwan's prestigious Golden Horse Awards on Saturday, earning accolades for an uncharacteristic farmer role as she eyes a rebound after a tax evasion scandal wrecked her career.
Fan was the biggest name from China at this year's Golden Horse, dubbed the Chinese-language Oscars, but she was absent from the ceremony, instead giving an acceptance speech over the phone.
In the Malaysian film "Mother Bhumi", the 44-year-old icon delivered what some critics hailed as a breakthrough performance with her portrayal of a widowed farmer and ritual healer, a far cry from her usual glamorous roles.
"When the director was discussing the role with me, he asked me 'Are you willing to let me destroy your face?' I remember answering without hesitation 'Fan Bingbing is ready to go all the way'," she told the awards ceremony in Taipei, where director Chong Keat-aun collected the statuette on her behalf.
Fan was one of China's highest paid actresses and starred in the X-Men and Iron Man franchises before she was targeted in a crackdown on tax evasion in 2018. Her career in China has been on ice since.
"For me, the role was not just a physical transformation, but also a profound resonance of souls between me and the character... The character also guided my growth, allowing me to more deeply appreciate the resilient strength inherent in women," Fan said in her acceptance speech.
"As a Chinese filmmaker, I look forward to achieving more breakthroughs in the future and using my work to convey greater values and deeper meanings that can be seen."
The director, who had earlier hinted Fan may attend the event, admitted he had no idea where she was.
Collecting another award, for the best original song in a movie, Chong thanked "Fan Bingbing who couldn't be here today. Where are you?"
"This song was written for you," Chong said of the winning track that he wrote the lyrics for.
"We all believe you can start over. This song is for you."
Chinese directors and A-Listers have largely shunned the Golden Horse Awards since a Taiwanese director voiced support for the island's independence in an acceptance speech in 2018, although last year saw a record number of entries from China.
Beijing, which claims self-ruled democratic Taiwan as part of its territory, banned entertainers from attending the event in 2019 at a time of rising political tensions between the two sides.
Best film on Saturday went to Taiwanese production "A Foggy Tale" about the island's political purges decades ago.
Hong Konger Jun Li bagged the best director award for his same-sex drama "Queerpanorama", which had its world premiere at the Berlin Film Festival.
Taiwanese star Chang Chen took his second best leading actor title for playing an immigrant delivery man in New York in "Lucky Lu", directed by Korean-Canadian Lloyd Kee Choi, who was awarded best new director.
aw/ami

fashion

Irish fashion designer Paul Costelloe dies aged 80

  • "We are deeply saddened to announce the passing of Paul Costelloe following a short illness," his family said, adding he was with his wife and seven children when he died in London.
  • Irish-American fashion titan Paul Costelloe, who was the late Princess Diana's personal designer for over a decade, has died aged 80, his family said in a statement Saturday.
  • "We are deeply saddened to announce the passing of Paul Costelloe following a short illness," his family said, adding he was with his wife and seven children when he died in London.
Irish-American fashion titan Paul Costelloe, who was the late Princess Diana's personal designer for over a decade, has died aged 80, his family said in a statement Saturday.
"We are deeply saddened to announce the passing of Paul Costelloe following a short illness," his family said, adding he was with his wife and seven children when he died in London.
The luxury womenswear designer was one of the most prominent Irish stylists and a regular on the opening day of London Fashion Week since the inception of the show in 1984.
Born in 1945 in Dublin, Costelloe trained as a design assistant at French luxury houses in Paris before joining British retailer Marks and Spencer in Milan.
He was then appointed as Princess Diana's personal stylist from 1983 and stayed in the role until her death in 1997.
He told Irish state broadcaster that he felt he had "made it" when he was asked to be her designer.
"She was very human, she didn't act like a princess... She made a very good cup of tea and some scones," Costelloe told RTE about his most famous client earlier this year.
Known for his romantic, tailored designs, Costelloe's collections tied old-school styles with new, innovative twists, frequently featuring pops of colour, tweed patterns and florals.
Costelloe, who once compared being a fashion designer to being a tireless "athlete", presented his latest 1960s-inspired Spring-Summer collection titled "We stroll down Rodeo Drive" at London Fashion Week in September.
His brand is also a family business, with his son William the design director creating the prints and backdrops for his collections.
"My ambition is to step back from fashion eventually," Costelloe told Vogue in 2024. "To hire an old car and drive around France and paint".
aks/giv

television

Italy's beloved singer Ornella Vanoni dies aged 91

  • She was the first singer in the history of the prestigious annual song festival to receive a career award, in 1999.  
  • Ornella Vanoni, one of Italy's most prolific singers whose career spanned six decades, died on Friday at the age of 91, Italian media said.
  • She was the first singer in the history of the prestigious annual song festival to receive a career award, in 1999.  
Ornella Vanoni, one of Italy's most prolific singers whose career spanned six decades, died on Friday at the age of 91, Italian media said.
The singer died at home in Milan following a cardiac arrest, the Corriere della Sera daily and Agi news agency reported.
Vanoni was one of the most accomplished and beloved singers of "musica leggera", popular music from the 1960s onwards.
She was instantly recognisable for her red curls and voice that shifted effortlessly from a smoky alto to clear, penetrating heights.
With over 50 million records sold, Vanoni frequently collaborated with other high-profile artists from George Benson and Herbie Hancock to Franco Califano and Gino Paoli, with whom she had a long artistic collaboration and romantic affair. 
Vanoni enjoyed some of her biggest commercial successes in the late 1960s and 1970s with hits such as "La Musica e Finita" ("The Music is Over"), "Eternita" ("Eternity"), "L'Appuntamento" ("The Date"), and "Una Ragione di Piu" ("One More Reason").
Born September 22, 1934, in Milan, Vanoni started her career on the stage but began singing songs about the Milanese underworld in her 20s under the tutelage of Giorgio Strehler, the renowned theatre director who became her lover and mentor.
In 1964, she won the Festival di Napoli, a now-defunct song competition in Naples, and went on to participate eight times at the Sanremo Festival, coming second in 1968 with "Casa Bianca" ("White House"). 
She was the first singer in the history of the prestigious annual song festival to receive a career award, in 1999.  
Italian Culture Minister Alessandro Giuli said in a statement that the nation had lost "one of its most original and refined artists".
"Thanks to her unique voice and unparalleled talent as a performer, she has left her mark on the history of Italian song, theatre and entertainment," he said.
In later years, the outspoken Vanoni was frequently featured in gossip magazines, revealing secrets of her former affairs, and she continued to perform and record, with the studio album "Unica" ("Unparalleled") released in 2021.
jra-ams/lpa/kjm/lb

art

Frida Kahlo painting sells for $54.7 mn in record for female artist

  • The record-setting sale of Kahlo's self-portrait came two nights after Sotheby's made another record sale, with a painting by Austrian artist Gustav Klimt fetching $236.4 million -- the second-most expensive artwork ever sold at auction.
  • A self-portrait by celebrated Mexican artist Frida Kahlo sold for $54.66 million in New York on Thursday, setting a record for the price of a painting by a woman, the auction house Sotheby's said.
  • The record-setting sale of Kahlo's self-portrait came two nights after Sotheby's made another record sale, with a painting by Austrian artist Gustav Klimt fetching $236.4 million -- the second-most expensive artwork ever sold at auction.
A self-portrait by celebrated Mexican artist Frida Kahlo sold for $54.66 million in New York on Thursday, setting a record for the price of a painting by a woman, the auction house Sotheby's said.
The sale of Kahlo's 1940 artwork, titled "El sueno (La cama)" -- which translates to "The dream (The bed)" -- broke the previous record set by American artist Georgia O'Keeffe, whose 1932 painting "Jimson Weed/White Flower No. 1" sold for $44.4 million in 2014.
Kahlo's painting is "the most valuable work by a woman artist ever sold at auction," Sotheby's said in a post on social media platform X.
The artwork depicts Kahlo sleeping in a bed that appears to float through the sky, beneath a skeleton with its legs wrapped in sticks of dynamite. 
The work was painted during a pivotal decade in Kahlo's career, marked by her turbulent relationship with Mexican painter Diego Rivera, the auction house said on X. 
The painting went on the auction block with an estimated price range of $40 million to $60 million.
The buyer's name was not disclosed. 
The work is a "very personal" painting, in which Kahlo "merges folkloric motifs from Mexican culture with European surrealism," Anna Di Stasi, the head of Latin American art at Sotheby's, told AFP. 
The Mexican artist, who died in 1954 at the age of 47, "did not completely agree" with her work being associated with the surrealist movement, Di Stasi said.
However, "given this magnificent iconography, it seems entirely appropriate to include it," she said.
Kahlo struggled with fragile health throughout her life due to childhood illness, polio and a serious bus accident in 1925, and pain and death were central to her work.
The skeleton depicted in the painting echoed the papier-mache version that hung above Kahlo's bed, according to Sotheby's.

Women under-represented

None of the 162 pieces of art that had previously sold for more than $50 million were by women, according to an AFP tally. 
Less than one percent of the 468 works sold for more than $30 million are by women artists.
The record-setting sale of Kahlo's self-portrait came two nights after Sotheby's made another record sale, with a painting by Austrian artist Gustav Klimt fetching $236.4 million -- the second-most expensive artwork ever sold at auction.
Klimt's "Portrait of Elisabeth Lederer," which he painted between 1914 and 1916, depicts the daughter of his main patron standing in front of a blue tapestry.
The most expensive painting ever sold at auction remains the "Salvator Mundi," (Savior of the World), a Renaissance work attributed to Leonardo da Vinci, which was bought for $450 million in 2017.
Female artists whose works have fetched the highest sale prices are primarily prominent 20th century figures.
The third-highest sale price, after O'Keeffe's White Flower No. 1," was for a huge spider sculpture by French visual artist Louise Bourgeois, which sold for $32.5 million in 2023.
Kahlo's self-portrait "Diego y yo" ("Diego and I", 1949) fetched $34.9 million in 2021 and "Portrait of Marjorie Ferry" (1932) by the Polish painter Tamara de Lempicka was sold for $21.2 million in 2020.
rh/iv/sla/ceg/ane/pbt

pageant

Miss Mexico wins Miss Universe contest after host insult drama

  • Bosch staged a dramatic walkout this month from a meeting where she was lambasted by Miss Universe Thailand director Nawat Itsaragrisil.
  • Miss Mexico was crowned Miss Universe in Thailand on Friday, strutting to victory after several dramatic missteps before the final round, including staging a walkout when an organiser of the beauty pageant chastised her.
  • Bosch staged a dramatic walkout this month from a meeting where she was lambasted by Miss Universe Thailand director Nawat Itsaragrisil.
Miss Mexico was crowned Miss Universe in Thailand on Friday, strutting to victory after several dramatic missteps before the final round, including staging a walkout when an organiser of the beauty pageant chastised her.
Contestants from Ivory Coast, the Philippines, Thailand and Venezuela also made it to the final stage, selected from more than 120 women vying for the title in a contest considered one of the "big four" of global beauty pageants.
However, chaos reigned before Miss Mexico Fatima Bosch was crowned, from allegations of an insult to her intelligence to judges quitting and participants falling on and off the stage.
Bosch staged a dramatic walkout this month from a meeting where she was lambasted by Miss Universe Thailand director Nawat Itsaragrisil.
Nawat appeared in a livestream of the event to single her out during a dispute over her apparent failure to post promotional content on her social media accounts.
Bosch, flanked by Miss Iraq, walked out of the room after Nawat called for security to intervene.
Others appeared to rise in solidarity with Bosch, before freezing as Nawat warned that those still wanting to participate should "sit down".
"What your director did is not respectful: he called me dumb," Bosch told reporters at the time. "The world needs to see this because we are empowered women and this is a platform for our voice."
The newly crowned winner told a press conference on Friday that she would like to be remembered as "a Miss Universe that wasn't afraid to be herself" and "a person that changed, a little bit, the prototype of what is a Miss Universe".
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum had called Bosch an "example of how we women should speak out" in the face of aggression after the incident with Nawat.
"In public events, I say women look prettier when we speak out," Sheinbaum said.
Nawat later apologised.
He initially declined to comment when asked about Bosch on Friday, telling reporters he'd "rather not talk about her".
"It's better to let pageant fans discuss it. I respect the result anyway," he said.
Nawat then congratulated her later in the same news conference.
"I do support, and congratulations again to Mexico's fans," he said.

'Secret' vote

Mexican media and social networks were awash with coverage of Bosch after the incident, heightening anticipation.
In Villahermosa, Bosch's hometown, thousands of people gathered at a baseball stadium to watch the pageant live.
"Mexico, Mexico!" chanted the crowd, which erupted in cheers and applause when she was crowned, while fireworks lit up the sky, according to Mexican media reports.
Other drama in the run-up to the final round included two judges quitting this week, one alleging that the contest was rigged by a "secret and illegitimate vote" held without the official jury.
"This vote was conducted by individuals who are not recognised members of the official judging panel," French composer Omar Harfouch wrote in a statement posted on Instagram.
The Miss Universe Organization has denied Harfouch's claim, saying that "no impromptu jury has been created".
Former professional footballer Claude Makelele also withdrew as a judge, citing "unforeseen personal reasons" in a statement on social media.
Miss Britain Danielle Latimer tripped and fell flat on the stage during the costume round on Wednesday while wearing an outfit inspired by the Cockney character Eliza Doolittle.
And Miss Jamaica Gabrielle Henry was hospitalised after she fell off the main stage during an evening gown showcase, president of the Miss Universe Organization Raul Rocha said in a statement.
Miss Universe Jamaica public relations director Shannon-Dale Reid told AFP on Wednesday that Henry was "resting under medical observation" and had not suffered serious injuries.
burs-sco/ami

corruption

Fugees rapper Pras Michel sentenced to 14 years in prison

  • Justice Department prosecutors said last year that Michel had "betrayed his country for money" and "funneled millions of dollars in prohibited foreign contributions into a United States presidential election," warranting a serious sentence.
  • A US court sentenced rapper Prakazrel "Pras" Michel to 14 years in prison for involvement in a billion-dollar Malaysia scam that funneled money into American politics, his lawyer confirmed Friday.
  • Justice Department prosecutors said last year that Michel had "betrayed his country for money" and "funneled millions of dollars in prohibited foreign contributions into a United States presidential election," warranting a serious sentence.
A US court sentenced rapper Prakazrel "Pras" Michel to 14 years in prison for involvement in a billion-dollar Malaysia scam that funneled money into American politics, his lawyer confirmed Friday.
In 2023, the 53-year-old founding member of the 1990s hit trio the Fugees was convicted of money laundering and campaign finance violations in a global foreign influence scandal led by Malaysian financier Low Taek Jho.
The scheme funneled millions of dollars into former US president Barack Obama's 2012 re-election campaign.
A jury had found Michel guilty on 10 criminal counts following a trial that included Hollywood star Leonardo DiCaprio as a witness.
In addition, Michel was found guilty of conspiracy, forgery, and acting as an undisclosed agent of a foreign government.
He was also tried for illegal lobbying on behalf of China in 2017, during the first Trump administration. He intended to request the extradition to Beijing of entrepreneur Guo Wengui, accused of defrauding thousands of investors to the sum of over $1 billion dollars.
Michel's attorney, Peter Zeidenberg, said his client would appeal and that the sentence was lop-sided.
"It is true that Mr. Michel was sentenced to 168 months," Zeidenberg told AFP following Thursday's sentencing. 
"We believe the verdict was unsupported by the evidence and that the sentence is completely disproportional to the facts alleged, particularly when compared to his codefendants."
Zeidenberg was referring to others implicated in the case: Elliott Broidy, a former leading fundraiser for Donald Trump before his first presidency; George Higginbotham, a former US Department of Justice official; and Nickie Lum Davis, an American international businesswoman from Hawaii. 
"Elliott Broidy was pardoned, George Higginbotham got 3 months’ probation, and Nicki Lum Davis received 24 months," Zeidenberg said in an email.
"There simply is no justification for Mr. Michel being singled out like this except for the penalty for opting for trial."
Justice Department prosecutors said last year that Michel had "betrayed his country for money" and "funneled millions of dollars in prohibited foreign contributions into a United States presidential election," warranting a serious sentence.
In the early 2010s, Low -- now a fugitive believed to be hiding in China -- used billions of dollars stolen from a Malaysian state investment fund known as 1MDB to invest in luxury US real estate, fine art and Hollywood films like DiCaprio's Wolf of Wall Street.
The exposure of the 1MDB scandal brought about the downfall of Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak's government in 2018 and his later conviction and imprisonment.     
Michel was accused of helping Low secretly channel money into then-president Obama's 2012 campaign via shell companies, hiding the donations' origins.
Michel, originally from Brooklyn and a Haitian-American, founded the Fugees with his childhood friends Lauryn Hill and Wyclef Jean.
The group won two Grammy Awards at the peak of their fame in the 1990s and sold tens of millions of albums.
ceg/dhw/iv/bgs

literature

Ken Follett: 'There can't be boring bits in my books'

BY ADAM PLOWRIGHT

  • "If there's a page that is a bit dull, and millions of people are going to think that it's a bit dull, they're going to start losing interest," he explained during an interview in Paris. 
  • Despite a half-century career as one of the world's top-selling authors, 38 books and a bulging bank account, Ken Follett told AFP he still worries about one of his readers struggling with a "dull" page.
  • "If there's a page that is a bit dull, and millions of people are going to think that it's a bit dull, they're going to start losing interest," he explained during an interview in Paris. 
Despite a half-century career as one of the world's top-selling authors, 38 books and a bulging bank account, Ken Follett told AFP he still worries about one of his readers struggling with a "dull" page.
The 76-year-old Welshman, who recently took French nationality, is in the final stages of a tour promoting his latest tome, the more than 600-page epic "Circle of Days".
At a stage of life when most people are slowing down, Follett said he still gets the same kicks  -- and suffers from the same anxieties -- as he did when he started. 
"If there's a page that is a bit dull, and millions of people are going to think that it's a bit dull, they're going to start losing interest," he explained during an interview in Paris. 
"There can't be boring bits in my books."
The self-confessed "perfectionist" has finetuned an exacting writing method which, though prolific, has always entailed lengthy re-writes, edits and re-workings.
Every morning, he starts by re-reading his previous day's production and makes changes. 
When he's finished a first draft, he types it all out again, making further amendments. 
"When you're reading your own stuff it's too easy to be satisfied, but when you actually key it again, I always see ways in which the sentences can be improved," he explained.
His manuscript is then read by around a dozen friends and relatives who he trusts to give honest feedback, as well as paid historians who correct for inaccuracies. 
How long will he put himself through the rigours of the writing, editing and promotional process -- the latter part he admits is tiring?
"It's too interesting to give it up. I won't look back and think to myself 'I could have gone on round-the-world cruises'. I can't think of anything more boring," he added.

Far-right nationalism

Follett has sold almost 200 million books worldwide since giving up journalism to become a writer in the late 1970s, with his best-known works "Pillars of Earth" and "Eye of the Needle".
His mix of best-selling historical fiction and chart-topping thrillers has generated pharaonic income that the son of a tax inspector has never sought to disguise. 
"I enjoy this life that I've been living now for the past half a century," he said with a smile, gesturing at the privatised bar of the luxury George V hotel where he is speaking to journalists.
"Circle of Days" imagines the creation of the world-renowned Stonehenge monument, a circle of carved pre-historic stones in southern England which remains shrouded in mystery.
Unlike other books such as "Pillars of Earth" about medieval cathedral-building or his "Century Trilogy" about the turmoil of the 20th century, Follett had to imagine much more about life in 2500 BC.
Having covered so much of human existence in the scope of his research and writing, he's often asked about the best and worst eras.
His stock answer is that there has never been a better time than now.
But he confesses that doubts have started to creep in, given the rise of far-right nationalism in Europe and America and complacency about tyranny.
"I still shudder at the idea of living in the Middle Ages and sleeping on the floor in a cold house," he explained.  
"This is the most comfortable time to live, but it is in more danger now than it has been for most of my life," he added.
- Brexit hater - 
Follett was for years an influential figure in left-wing British politics, a key architect and fundraiser for former prime minister Tony Blair's New Labour in the late 1990s. 
His wife Barbara was an MP for the party for 13 years before stepping down in 2010 amid an expenses scandal.
The return of Labour to power in 2024 was a brief cause for celebration, but Follett sees Prime Minister Keir Starmer's unpopular government as a "disappointment." 
Starmer is "a good man, and he's a smart man, but he hasn't got an ounce of show business in him, and a prime minister needs a little bit of show business," Follett says.
He blames Brexit for much of Starmer's budget problems -- and also cites it as a reason for taking French nationality earlier this month, alongside his love of French champagne, food and literature.
"I detest Brexit and the kind of attitudes that go with Brexit," he said. "That's what I want to turn my back on, not actually being British, to embrace something that I've liked all my life."
adp/yad

art

A big deal: Robert Therrien's huge sculptures on show in LA

  • With more than 120 works created over five decades, the show offers visitors the chance to explore both the intimate sketches and the large-scale work of one of Los Angeles' most celebrated artists.
  • Towering stacks of oversized saucers and furniture fit for giants are some of the treasures on display in Los Angeles at a new exhibition of the work of Robert Therrien.
  • With more than 120 works created over five decades, the show offers visitors the chance to explore both the intimate sketches and the large-scale work of one of Los Angeles' most celebrated artists.
Towering stacks of oversized saucers and furniture fit for giants are some of the treasures on display in Los Angeles at a new exhibition of the work of Robert Therrien.
The landmark showing at The Broad is the largest ever museum exhibition of the late artist's oeuvre.
With more than 120 works created over five decades, the show offers visitors the chance to explore both the intimate sketches and the large-scale work of one of Los Angeles' most celebrated artists.
"There's a lot of works in this show that are sort of an environmental headspace," Paul Cherwick, co-director of the Robert Therrien Estate, told AFP.
"Being under those tables...where it takes you in that area of like remembering being a different size and scale.
"Your...perceptions are altered.
"
Therrien, who died in 2019 at the age of 71, bucked the minimalist trend in sculpture during the late 20th century, reimagining the mundane as gigantic immersive artworks.
Museum managers promise visitors will be able to walk under the huge table and chairs, marvel at enormous hanging beards, and wonder at the stacks of pans huddled in a human-sized cupboard.
Ed Schad, curator at The Broad, said the sheer size of some of the exhibits had an almost visceral effect on the viewer.
"Sometimes things are bigger than us, sometimes things are smaller than us, but that impacts us physically, but it also impacts us psychologically," he said.
"So when I look at this table and chairs, I think of those experiences from our childhood that might still loom very large for us."
"Robert Therrien: This is a Story" runs at The Broad until April 5. 
hg/sla

France

Iranian director Jafar Panahi ramps up French Oscars campaign

BY ROMAIN FONSEGRIVES

  • "This decreases and undermines the independence of filmmakers," said Panahi, who continues to create, despite having been imprisoned twice, barred from making movies in the country and banned from traveling outside Iran until 2023.
  • After years of being banned from leaving Iran, filmmaker Jafar Panahi is enjoying his tour of the United States -- visiting Los Angeles, New York and Telluride -- as he promotes his Oscar-hopeful "It Was Just an Accident."  
  • "This decreases and undermines the independence of filmmakers," said Panahi, who continues to create, despite having been imprisoned twice, barred from making movies in the country and banned from traveling outside Iran until 2023.
After years of being banned from leaving Iran, filmmaker Jafar Panahi is enjoying his tour of the United States -- visiting Los Angeles, New York and Telluride -- as he promotes his Oscar-hopeful "It Was Just an Accident."  
The film, which won the Palme d'Or at Cannes, has been selected by France as its official nomination for the Academy Awards, and is widely expected to make the shortlist for the Best International Feature at the gala event in March.
"It Was Just an Accident" tells the story of a torturer from the Islamic Republic who finds himself in the hands of his former prisoners -- who were jailed for protesting for women's rights and fair wages -- and their struggle to decide whether to exact revenge or to take the moral high ground.
Made clandestinely, filming was halted by the Iranian police at one point, and had to be hastily completed.
The fact that post-production was done by a French company allowed France to effectively claim Panahi's film as its own in the Oscar race, under rules set by the Academy.
But Panahi, 65, says he would like to see those rules changed to allow dissidents like him who are censored by Tehran to represent their homeland. 
"I really wanted it to be for my own country, but when an oppressed society exists, well, some difficulties do arise," he told AFP during an interview in Los Angeles.
The complaint is not new. While film festivals in Cannes, Venice, and Berlin make their own choices for films from around the world, the Oscars require each country's authorities to nominate a candidate for the Best International Feature Film award. 
The system has faced increasing criticism and public protests in recent years, particularly in the face of rising authoritarianism. 
"This decreases and undermines the independence of filmmakers," said Panahi, who continues to create, despite having been imprisoned twice, barred from making movies in the country and banned from traveling outside Iran until 2023.

'Humanist cinema' that resonates

"Iranian cinema is humanist cinema, and it has always been able to resonate with audiences around the world," he said, recalling the Oscars awarded to Asghar Farhadi’s "A Separation" and "The Salesman," as well as the international success of Abbas Kiarostami, who won the Palme d'Or in 1997 for "Taste of Cherry." 
Iranian greats have managed to navigate the system, despite pressure from Tehran, but artists fear the atmosphere in the Islamic Republic is increasingly hostile.
They say authorities have continued to tighten their grip in the wake of the 2022 popular uprising -- despite some continued defiance -- sparked by the death in custody of Mahsa Amini, who was arrested for her refusal to wear a headscarf in the approved manner. 
Last year, director Mohammad Rasoulof went into exile to escape flogging and an eight-year prison sentence after filming "The Seed of the Sacred Fig," which became Germany's submission for the Oscars last year.
Rasoulof and Panahi were arrested together in 2010 when they were working on a film. Panahi went to prison for 3 months then, and for seven months after a 2022 arrest.
Panahi has since honed his techniques for shooting in secret. 
A significant portion of the plot of "It Was Just an Accident" unfolds in a van, which also served as a hideout. Outdoor scenes were filmed in deserted areas and quiet neighborhoods.
"When you live somewhere, because you are in the heart of it, you can find the ways to escape," he said.
The film was partially inspired by Panahi's own time behind bars. 
His camera follows the heated debates of ordinary Iranians, who shared the same prison interrogator, over what fate they want for their former jailer, who has been kidnapped by a garage owner.
Should they kill him to avenge the humiliations they suffered, or refuse to stoop to their torturer’s level? 
Through this tormentor, the director sketches an Iran where the mullahs’ power is crumbling, and where this moral dilemma could soon become a collective one. 
The film, he says, is not just about what happens in the present.
"You think about people who are going to live in that country later on, and you think about how you must plant the seeds to overcome violence."
rfo/hg/sla

art

Frida Kahlo painting auctions for $54.6 mn, record for woman artist

  • The record-setting sale came two nights the New York auction house reeled in another record sale, with a painting by Austrian artist Gustav Klimt fetching $236.4 million on the block -- the second most expensive artwork ever sold at auction. 
  • A self-portrait by legendary Mexican artist Frida Kahlo sold for $54.66 million in New York on Thursday, setting a new record for the price of a painting by a woman, the auction house Sotheby's said.
  • The record-setting sale came two nights the New York auction house reeled in another record sale, with a painting by Austrian artist Gustav Klimt fetching $236.4 million on the block -- the second most expensive artwork ever sold at auction. 
A self-portrait by legendary Mexican artist Frida Kahlo sold for $54.66 million in New York on Thursday, setting a new record for the price of a painting by a woman, the auction house Sotheby's said.
The sale of Kahlo's 1940 artwork, titled "El sueno (la cama)" -- which translates to "The dream (The bed)" -- breaks the previous record in this category, set by American artist Georgia O'Keeffe, whose 1932 painting "Jimson Weed/White Flower No. 1," sold for $44.4 million in 2014.
Kahlo's painting is "the most valuable work by a woman artist ever sold at auction," Sotheby's said in a post on X. 
The auction house said Kahlo's work was "painted in 1940 during a pivotal decade in her career, marked by her turbulent relationship with Diego Rivera."
Kahlo's self-portrait went on the auction block at Sotheby’s with an estimated price ranging from $40 million to $60 million.
The buyer's name was not disclosed. 
The artwork depicts the artist sleeping in a bed that appears to float among clouds in the sky, laying beneath a skeleton with legs that are wrapped with sticks of dynamite. 
This painting is a "very personal" image, in which Kahlo "merges folkloric motifs from Mexican culture with European surrealism," Anna Di Stasi, head of Latin American art at Sotheby's, told AFP. 
The Mexican artist, who passed away in 1954 at age of 47, "did not completely agree" with her work being associated with the surrealist movement, Di Stasi said. 
However, "given this magnificent iconography, it seems entirely appropriate to include it" in this movement.
The record-setting sale came two nights the New York auction house reeled in another record sale, with a painting by Austrian artist Gustav Klimt fetching $236.4 million on the block -- the second most expensive artwork ever sold at auction. 
Klimt's "Portrait of Elisabeth Lederer," which he painted between 1914 and 1916, depicts the daughter of his main patron dressed in a white imperial Chinese dress, standing before a blue tapestry with Asian-inspired motifs.  
The most expensive painting ever sold at auction remains the "Salvator Mundi," attributed to Leonardo da Vinci, which was bought for $450 million in 2017. 
rh/iv/sla

Hollywood

'Black Panther' star Chadwick Boseman gets Hollywood star

  • Two years later he reprised the role in the hugely successful standalone "Black Panther," becoming the first Black actor to take the lead in the sprawling Marvel franchise.
  • "Black Panther" star Chadwick Boseman was posthumously honored on Thursday with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
  • Two years later he reprised the role in the hugely successful standalone "Black Panther," becoming the first Black actor to take the lead in the sprawling Marvel franchise.
"Black Panther" star Chadwick Boseman was posthumously honored on Thursday with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Ryan Coogler, who directed Boseman in the 2018 hit, actress Viola Davis and Boseman's widow, Simone Ledward-Boseman, led the emotional ceremony in the heart of Tinseltown.
"Today was a beautiful day," Ledward-Boseman told AFP.
"Everyone was just so full of love and joy. And we're all so proud of this person that we knew, that we shared."
Coogler remembered Boseman as an "incredibly generous" person. 
"Even when he knew his days were limited, and his moments were numbered, he still gave to the art form. He still threw himself into the fire," he said.
Chadwick Boseman began his career in theater and television before making the leap to film. 
Boseman's most famous character T'Challa/Black Panther was introduced in "Captain America: Civil War" (2016).
Two years later he reprised the role in the hugely successful standalone "Black Panther," becoming the first Black actor to take the lead in the sprawling Marvel franchise.
Boseman died in 2020 at the age of 43 after suffering from colon cancer for four years.
The debilitating disease did not keep him from making movies or from fully committing to his craft, Coogler said.
"Even though he was going through what he was going through, he would do his own stunts, he would be there for off-camera dialogue readings. It was incredible."
Viola Davis, with whom he shared the screen in 2020's "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom," which would be his final outing, said Boseman's work "reminded us that we are less alone."
"That was Chadwick, more than just an actor who you can observe on screen doing wonderful work."
Disney CEO Bob Iger, actor Michael B. Jordan, and the late actor's brothers, Kevin and Derrick Boseman, also attended the ceremony.
pr/hg/iv

auction

Something for moi? Miss Piggy's shoes go under the hammer

  • "This is the first time ever that you can buy an authorized, authentic piece of Jim Henson Company memorabilia," said Roy Parker, pop culture specialist at the auction house. 
  • Some of Jim Henson's most memorable creations go under the hammer in California next week, with the first US auction of puppets and memorabilia from the late entertainer's decades-long career.
  • "This is the first time ever that you can buy an authorized, authentic piece of Jim Henson Company memorabilia," said Roy Parker, pop culture specialist at the auction house. 
Some of Jim Henson's most memorable creations go under the hammer in California next week, with the first US auction of puppets and memorabilia from the late entertainer's decades-long career.
Highlights include a pair of shoes worn by the domineering Miss Piggy in a "Muppets" movie, as well as puppets from "Fraggle Rock" and characters from the Netflix series "The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance."
Fans will have the chance to bid on more than 400 items at the November 25 auction, which is also being held online on the Julien's Auctions website.
"This is the first time ever that you can buy an authorized, authentic piece of Jim Henson Company memorabilia," said Roy Parker, pop culture specialist at the auction house. 
Henson, who died in 1990, revolutionized puppetry by making the rigid figures maneuverable, latterly through his Creature Shop, creating now-instantly recognizable characters like Kermit the Frog.
He also imagined entire universes that came to life in films like "Labyrinth" (1986) and "The Dark Crystal" (1982). 
His creations are "very nostalgic, because they remind everybody of their childhood and when they first saw Kermit the Frog up on screen," said Parker.
The auction, which will be held in person in Los Angeles as well as online, commemorates the 70th anniversary of the Jim Henson Company and is expected to raise tens of thousands of dollars.
pr-hg/des

Christmas

'Beggars belief': Londoners baffled by bizarre Christmas mural

  • His eyes are shut, and his beard is half orange and half white.
  • People in London were left baffled Wednesday by what appeared to be a botched AI-generated Christmas mural showing a Santa-like figure with a half-orange beard and revellers with disfigured faces.
  • His eyes are shut, and his beard is half orange and half white.
People in London were left baffled Wednesday by what appeared to be a botched AI-generated Christmas mural showing a Santa-like figure with a half-orange beard and revellers with disfigured faces.
The display in posh Kingston upon Thames in southwest London at first glance seems to depict a jolly crowd enjoying the festive season.
But closer inspection reveals a disturbing array of figures including people with warped faces, a snowman with strange facial features, and dogs with the heads of birds all bizarrely splashing through water.
A Father Christmas figure is pictured looking pained in the water at the foot of a rock. His eyes are shut, and his beard is half orange and half white.
The large-scale mural looms above several popular riverside restaurants in the upmarket town.
People who had seen it -- and others keen to have their say -- took to social media for a lively discussion.
"The entire thing is horrendous," wrote one.
"I'm equal parts delighted and horrified," said another.
"It beggars belief that if you're going to use AI you wouldn't even take a fraction of the time you've allegedly saved in producing whatever this is to at least check it a bit," added someone else.
"This is magnificent," chimed in another, prompting someone else to respond: "It's worse every time you look."
Kingston Upon Thames Council said in a statement it had had "no involvement in the planning or funding of the display".
"The landowner has now confirmed to us that they will be removing the installation," it added.
har/jhb

culture

Manga's roots and influence celebrated in Paris exhibition

BY MATHILDE BEAULIEU-LEPINE

  • Japanese artists seized on the European tradition of newspaper caricatures and adapted it to their culture, adding Japan's rich mythology and using it in kamishibai, a form of traditional street theatre. 
  • Featuring ancient narrative scrolls and medieval theatre masks, a new manga exhibition in Paris traces the global phenomenon's history back to its roots in traditional Japanese art forms. 
  • Japanese artists seized on the European tradition of newspaper caricatures and adapted it to their culture, adding Japan's rich mythology and using it in kamishibai, a form of traditional street theatre. 
Featuring ancient narrative scrolls and medieval theatre masks, a new manga exhibition in Paris traces the global phenomenon's history back to its roots in traditional Japanese art forms. 
"Manga. An Art of its Own!" opened Wednesday at the Guimet Museum in western Paris, which specialises in Asian art. 
Organisers have chosen to present ancient artefacts alongside some of the world's most famous modern mangas such as "Dragon Ball", "One Piece" and "Naruto".
Noh theatre masks, kamishimos (samurai outfits) and katanas (swords) are displayed next to original drawings, with the layout intended to reflect the creativity of modern comics that have taken the world by storm.
"This is not a comic book exhibition like the others: it's an exhibition that places comic books in parallel with the Guimet's collection," exhibition co-curator Didier Pasamonik told AFP. 
In one instance, visitors can see a real "dragonball", a statue which was offered by a Japanese shogun to French leader Napoleon III, Pasamonik said. 
"This will allow young readers who know Dragon Ball (the best-selling manga) to discover that it doesn't come out of nowhere," he added. 
Elsewhere, visitors are invited to discover the origins of the word "manga", formed from the Japanese terms "man" (spontaneous) and "ga"(drawing). 
It also explains how Japan's encounter with the West in the late 19th century through trade and cultural exchange helped give birth to the art form.
Japanese artists seized on the European tradition of newspaper caricatures and adapted it to their culture, adding Japan's rich mythology and using it in kamishibai, a form of traditional street theatre. 
Different manga styles are represented, from shojo -- works originally geared towards girls that later gained huge popularity -- to the gekiga movement, a darker and more realistic style intended for adults.
- Hokusai influence - 
A whole room is devoted to famed Japanese Katsushika Hokusai's "Great Wave off Kanagawa", created with woodblock prints in 1831.  
The artwork's "clear and structured lines" already "foreshadow the aesthetics of comic books", said Pasamonik. 
While giving the visitors keys to understanding the history of manga, the show also attempts to explain the medium's impact. 
Series like "Astro Boy", "Naruto" and "Akira" have played "a fundamental role in the process of Japanization of European popular culture", Bounthavy Suvilay, a lecturer at the University of Lille, writes in the exhibition catalogue. 
They have created "a transnational community of fans, transcending linguistic and cultural boundaries," she added. 
The world of manga can also be seen in video games ("Super Mario", "The Legend of Zelda"), animated series ("Grendizer", "Captain Harlock") and Pokemon cards. 
It has even influenced fashion, as shown by Louis Vuitton, Gucci and Julien David outfits on show at the Guimet Museum.
jr-str/adp/cc

cartoon

Governance and rape allegations threaten famed French comics festival

BY JéRéMY TORDJMAN

  • In 2022, it had to cancel an appearance by French author Bastien Vives who faced criticism for his graphic novels depicting incest and sexualised children.
  • One of the world's biggest comics festivals, which draws top graphic novelists and cartoonists each year, was close to cancellation on Wednesday after publishers pulled their support and the French government piled pressure on organisers.
  • In 2022, it had to cancel an appearance by French author Bastien Vives who faced criticism for his graphic novels depicting incest and sexualised children.
One of the world's biggest comics festivals, which draws top graphic novelists and cartoonists each year, was close to cancellation on Wednesday after publishers pulled their support and the French government piled pressure on organisers.
The Angouleme International Comics Festival, held in January-February in the southwestern city, hands out annual prizes that are among the most coveted in the industry.
But it has been embroiled in a governance scandal since its most recent edition and faces allegations that an employee was fired after lodging a rape complaint. 
After a boycott call earlier this month from major comics figures including "Maus" creator Art Spiegelman and 2025 winner Anouk Ricard, French publishing heavyweights issued a stark warning on Wednesday.
"Given this large-scale (boycott) movement which they understand, publishers believe that the 2026 edition can no longer take place," the French National Publishing Union (SNE), which represents 24 major publishers, said in a statement.
On Tuesday, the French government withdrew 200,000 euros ($231,000) of public subsidies for next year's event, putting a major hole its finances before the scheduled start on January 29. 
Culture Minister Rachida Dati said she wanted to avoid the festival "becoming a disaster starting with the 2026 edition." 

Boycott calls

At the heart of the scandal is the management model of the festival, which was first created in 1974 and has helped turn Angouleme into a centre of European production and comics expertise. 
It is run by a non-profit association presided over by Delphine Groux, the daughter of co-founder Francis Groux, but has been organised by a private company, 9eArt+, since 2007.
The 9eArt+ director, Franck Bondoux, was the subject of an investigation by left-wing magazine l'Humanite before this year's event which accused him of mismanagement and an increasingly contested style. 
It also reported that the company had dismissed an employee shortly after she reported being raped at the 2024 event. 
"It is high time to turn the page on 9eArt+ so that the festival can regain, with new operators, the values that helped build its international reputation," read an open letter on November 10 signed by 22 former winners of the festival's top prize.
The company recently had its contract renewed beyond 2027, causing a backlash that led the managing association to reverse course under pressure.
The Angouleme festival is no stranger to controversy. In 2022, it had to cancel an appearance by French author Bastien Vives who faced criticism for his graphic novels depicting incest and sexualised children.
Other major international festivals include the Lucca Comics and Games event in Italy and Comiket in Japan.
jt-mer-adp/tw

art

Klimt portrait becomes second most expensive artwork sold at auction

  • The most expensive painting by a female artist sold to date is a 1932 work by American Georgia O'Keeffe, which fetched $44.4 million in 2014. 
  • A portrait by Austrian artist Gustav Klimt fetched $236.4 million in New York on Tuesday, becoming the second most expensive artwork ever sold at auction. 
  • The most expensive painting by a female artist sold to date is a 1932 work by American Georgia O'Keeffe, which fetched $44.4 million in 2014. 
A portrait by Austrian artist Gustav Klimt fetched $236.4 million in New York on Tuesday, becoming the second most expensive artwork ever sold at auction. 
Six bidders battled for 20 minutes over the "Portrait of Elisabeth Lederer," which Klimt painted between 1914 and 1916. 
The piece depicts the daughter of Klimt's main patron dressed in a white imperial Chinese dress, standing before a blue tapestry with Asian-inspired motifs. 
Sotheby's, which managed the sale, did not disclose the identity of the buyer. 
The most expensive painting ever sold at auction remains the "Salvator Mundi," attributed to Leonardo da Vinci, which was bought for $450 million in 2017. 
"Full-length society portraits of this impressive scale and from Klimt's pinnacle period (1912-17) are exceptionally rare; the majority in major museum collections," Sotheby's said of Tuesday's sale. 
"The painting offered this evening was one of only two such commissioned portraits remaining in private hands," it added in a statement. 
Several other works from Klimt were auctioned at the same event, including "Flowering Meadow" for $86 million and "Forest Slope at Unterach am Attersee" for $68.3 million -- both part of the collection of Estee Lauder cosmetics heir Leonard Lauder, who died earlier this year. 
In total, 24 lots from the Lauder collection generated $527.5 million.
For Klimt, the past auction record for his work was held by "Lady with a Fan," which sold for 85.3 million pounds ($108.8 million) in London in 2023. 
Another notable auction on Tuesday saw Italian provocateur Maurizio Cattelan's solid gold toilet go for $12.1 million, and was sold to a famous American brand, according to Sotheby's.
An earlier version of the luxe latrine, titled "America," was stolen in 2019 from a castle in England. 
Though it was never recovered -- and likely was melted down for cash -- three men were convicted in connection with the theft.
On Thursday, a self-portrait by Frida Kahlo has a chance of setting a record for a female artist when it goes on sale, also at Sotheby's in New York. 
Estimated at $40 to $60 million, the 1940 piece called "The Dream (The Bed)" shows the Mexican painter sleeping in a bed overshadowed by a large skeleton. 
The most expensive painting by a female artist sold to date is a 1932 work by American Georgia O'Keeffe, which fetched $44.4 million in 2014. 
The record for Frida Kahlo is another self-portrait from 1949, "Diego and I," which sold for $34.4 million in New York. 
pel/bjt/md/sla/jgc

Bollywood

India's Bollywood battles paid reviews and fake sale claims

BY SEEMA SINHA

  • Experts warn that falsifying box office data has lasting consequences, from inflated star salaries to shrinking opportunities for new talent.
  • India's $60-billion Bollywood industry is facing a deepening credibility crisis, as insiders warn that manipulated film reviews and inflated box office numbers are distorting public perception, ultimately hurting ticket sales.
  • Experts warn that falsifying box office data has lasting consequences, from inflated star salaries to shrinking opportunities for new talent.
India's $60-billion Bollywood industry is facing a deepening credibility crisis, as insiders warn that manipulated film reviews and inflated box office numbers are distorting public perception, ultimately hurting ticket sales.
Streaming platforms have disrupted traditional cinema but industry veterans say Bollywood's woes are also self-inflicted -- including the trend to declare a film a "hit" even before its release.
"If you don't engage these influencers and critics, they will write bad reviews, even if the film is good," producer-distributor Suniel Wadhwa told AFP.
"If the film is bad, they will write good things about the film, provided the producer or studio has paid them."
Trade analyst and veteran distributor Raj Bansal said audiences have grown sceptical of early rave reviews.
"As soon as the media gives four stars, people message me saying, 'Sir, that means the movie is not good,'" Bansal said.
"And, even if the film is good, they don't trust it."
That distrust is now visible at the box office.
"Regular cinema-goers wait to know the correct reports," Bansal said.
That means ticket sales during the vital opening shows "take a major dip" as film fans wait for word of mouth or "genuine reviews" to come out, he added.
Industry insiders allege that some influencers have "rate cards", with prices rising for films that generate low pre-release buzz.
Producers, meanwhile, are accused of bulk-buying tickets to inflate opening-week numbers.
"Everything is bought and manipulated," Bansal said, referring to both reviews and social media personalities.

'Bleak'

Sudhir Kasliwal, owner of Jaipur's Gem Cinema, recalled seeing hundreds of online bookings for one of superstar Shah Rukh Khan's releases, but only a fraction of the audience showed up in person.
"Producers, directors and actors themselves buy tickets... the future of Bollywood looks very bleak if this practice continues," Kasliwal said.
"The wrong messages are conveyed to people and unless good content is produced, things will never improve."
Recent controversies include Bollywood A-lister Akshay Kumar's fighter jet action movie "Skyforce".
The film's director denied allegations of so-called "block booking" to boost first-week numbers, but a Mumbai-based trade analyst claimed its gross was inflated from about $6 million to over $9 million.
"Online booking platforms showed full houses, but many theatres were nearly empty," the analyst told AFP, requesting anonymity.
Bansal said that critics who refuse to play along also risk being sidelined, while those who comply "flourish". 
"Whenever I (post) that the film has opened with weak collections (ticket sales), I receive a barrage of calls from actors, producers asking me to remove it," he said.

'Appetite to buy'

Producer-distributor Wadhwa said that the box office collection of the 2025 romantic comedy horror "Thamma" was also manipulated, claiming true sales were around $15 million while the film reported $18 million.
Thamma director Aditya Sarpotdar defended the $18 million figure, calling it the "most accurate", having come from distributors and exhibitors.
"When a film is still in theatres, the collection figures between producers and the trade will vary," Sarpotdar told AFP.
"Producer numbers are always the honest numbers."
Experts warn that falsifying box office data has lasting consequences, from inflated star salaries to shrinking opportunities for new talent.
"You can't take the audience for granted. They know the truth," said Wadhwa, adding that to have both reviews and ticket sales manipulated was "a very sad situation."
Streaming platforms, now major players in film distribution, have begun demanding audited box office figures before striking deals which has added pressure on producers.
"Streamers have now become sharp and careful about the film they are choosing," said Wadhwa.
Despite the backlash, few expect the trend to end anytime soon.
"This practice will continue" Wadhwa said, until producers and studios lose their "appetite to buy tickets."
str-abh/pjm/ane/lb

Kryptos

Auction of famed CIA cipher shaken after archive reveals code

BY VICTORIA LAVELLE

  • So when two friends announced in October they had uncovered the last message held by Kryptos ("hidden" in ancient Greek), it invoked fury and concern from the auction house and Sanborn.
  • It is one of the world's most famous unsolved codes whose answer could sell for a fortune -- but two US friends say they have already found the secret hidden by "Kryptos."
  • So when two friends announced in October they had uncovered the last message held by Kryptos ("hidden" in ancient Greek), it invoked fury and concern from the auction house and Sanborn.
It is one of the world's most famous unsolved codes whose answer could sell for a fortune -- but two US friends say they have already found the secret hidden by "Kryptos."
The S-shaped copper sculpture has baffled cryptography enthusiasts since its 1990 installation on the grounds of the CIA headquarters in Virginia, with three of its four messages deciphered so far.
Yet K4, the final passage, has kept codebreakers scratching their heads. The sculptor Jim Sanborn, 80, has been so overwhelmed by guesses that he started charging $50 for each response.
In August, Sanborn announced he would auction the 97-character solution to K4 as he no longer had the "physical, mental or financial resources" to maintain the code.
In a sign of wide interest in Kryptos, which has inspired cultural figures including "The Da Vinci Code" author Dan Brown, the code's solution is on course to fetch more than $240,000 in a sale due to end this Thursday. 
So when two friends announced in October they had uncovered the last message held by Kryptos ("hidden" in ancient Greek), it invoked fury and concern from the auction house and Sanborn.
Jarett Kobek, a writer from Los Angeles, told AFP how the pair came across the code after he noticed a reference to Washington's Smithsonian Institution, where Sanborn held his archives, in the auction catalog. 
He asked his friend Richard Byrne, who is based in the US capital, to take a look through the files.
"I took images of all the coding stuff in the files," said Richard Byrne, a journalist and playwright.
A few hours later, Kobek called him and said "Hey, you might have found something interesting," he recalled.
Using Byrne's photos and clues previously shared by Sanborn, Kobek unraveled the K4 message.

Legal threats

The two men decided to write to Sanborn to share their discovery -- but instead of congratulations, they were met by alarm.
Sanborn, the pair said, asked them to sign non-disclosure agreements in exchange for a share of the money raised in the auction.
"The NDA is a total non-starter," Kobek said. "You are running an auction where what you are selling is intellectual property exclusivity."
"If I take money from that sale, I feel like this would almost certainly make me party to fraud."
They later went public with their discovery in a New York Times piece in October.
Sanborn, explaining his communication with the men, wrote in a public letter: "I was trying to save K4 from disclosure by any means possible. I had succeeded for 35 years after all."
Kobek said the pair were keen to avoid disrupting the K4 auction. 
"The last thing anyone wants to do is take money from an 80-year-old artist," he said.
Even if they have no intention of revealing the code's solution, the two men say the auction house has sent them cease-and-desist letters.
Sanborn has acknowledged his error in archiving the crucial information -- but he downplayed the discovery.
He said the pair had "found and photographed five pieces of scrambled texts that I had accidentally placed in the archive boxes all those years ago."
"The scrambled plain text was found, but without the coding method or the key. This is a very important distinction," he separately told a news conference in November.
And, he added, the discovery does not end the mystery of Kryptos.
K5, with a "similar but not identical" coding system to K4, is also to be released after the current auction sale. 
vla/ev/bjt/des

religion

Nicki Minaj stands with Trump on Nigeria religious persecution

  • Minaj, a visible feminist figure known for provocative lyrics and music videos, has not always been in lockstep with the religious right.
  • Rap icon Nicki Minaj praised Donald Trump's stand on the persecution of religious minorities on Tuesday, calling for an end to faith-based persecution in Nigeria, which the government there denies.
  • Minaj, a visible feminist figure known for provocative lyrics and music videos, has not always been in lockstep with the religious right.
Rap icon Nicki Minaj praised Donald Trump's stand on the persecution of religious minorities on Tuesday, calling for an end to faith-based persecution in Nigeria, which the government there denies.
Minaj, of "Starships" and "Super Bass" fame, spoke out at an event hosted by the US embassy to the United Nations and thanked Trump "for prioritizing this issue and for his leadership."
She has previously posted to her legions of social media followers about the killings of Christians in Nigeria, an issue the Trump administration has made a priority. 
Trump was "calling for urgent action to defend Christians in Nigeria to combat extremism and to bring a stop to violence against those who simply want to exercise their natural right to freedom of religion or belief," Minaj said alongside Washington's ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz.
"In Nigeria, Christians are being targeted, driven from their homes and killed. Churches have been burned. Families have been torn apart, and entire communities live in fear constantly, simply because of how they pray."
The Trinidadian star has previously said she has a "deep sense of gratitude" to be able to "freely worship God" in the United States and called on others to pray for those unable to pursue their faith freely.
Minaj's appearance alongside Waltz came after she backed a social media post by Trump where he alleged Nigeria's government had failed to stop attacks on Christians.
This issue has recently drawn Trump's attention, with the president accusing Abuja of tolerating the murders of Christians by "Islamist terrorists" -- a claim pushed by some US Christian conservatives.
"I want to be clear, protecting Christians in Nigeria is not about taking sides or dividing people. It is about uniting humanity," Minaj added.
Minaj, a visible feminist figure known for provocative lyrics and music videos, has not always been in lockstep with the religious right.
In 2012 she angered some when she attended the Grammy Awards flanked by a man dressed as the Pope and then performed a mock exorcism. 
Waltz said that "while Nigerian officials maintain that terrorism strikes all faiths indiscriminately -- and they do -- there is a body of evidence...that paints a very grim picture of disproportionate suffering among Christians."
vid-rh/sla

culture

Boston museum returns two Benin Bronzes to Nigeria

  • Benin authorities fear that the newly-constructed Museum of West African Arts (MOWAA) in Benin City would be in charge of the artworks.
  • The Museum of Fine Arts in the US city of Boston has returned two of the famed Benin Bronzes to Nigeria, authorities in the west African nation said late on Monday. 
  • Benin authorities fear that the newly-constructed Museum of West African Arts (MOWAA) in Benin City would be in charge of the artworks.
The Museum of Fine Arts in the US city of Boston has returned two of the famed Benin Bronzes to Nigeria, authorities in the west African nation said late on Monday. 
The move represents "the return of a huge part of Nigeria's history," Olugbile Holloway, the head of Nigeria's National Commission for Museums and Monuments (NCMM) said. 
"As much as this occasion is symbolic to Benin, it is also symbolic to Nigeria's struggle," he added.
The Benin Bronzes are hundreds of sculptures and plaques that were looted from the royal palace in the Kingdom of Benin, part of modern-day Nigeria, after British forces captured Benin City in 1897.
The priceless artworks, believed to have been crafted in Benin starting in the 1500s, were taken as spoils of war and today are scattered in museums and private collections across the world.
Western museums, including those in Britain, the Netherlands and Germany, have returned several hundred of the artefacts, but hundreds more are believed to be still missing.
Benin's traditional rulers and Nigerian authorities have for years been negotiating their return.
Calling the returns from the Boston museum a "historic moment," Nigeria's culture minister, Hannatu Musa Musawa, said those "conversations" were ongoing "and soon, the process of returning them all to their rightful owners will begin."
The Benin Bronzes have been a source of tension within Nigeria, with Benin's traditional ruler, the Oba, insisting that the artefacts belong to him as the ruler of Benin and the descendant of the royal family from whose palace they were plundered.
Benin authorities fear that the newly-constructed Museum of West African Arts (MOWAA) in Benin City would be in charge of the artworks. The museum's leaders have denied that this was their intention.
fvl/yad/st