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A-bomb saga 'Oppenheimer' finally opens in Japan
Mar 29, 2024 - World
Oscar best picture winner "Oppenheimer" was finally released on Friday in Japan, where its subject -- the man who masterminded the creation of the atomic bomb -- is a highly sensitive and emotional topic.The US blockbuster hit screens in the United States and many other countries in July at the same time as "Barbie", inspiring a viral phenomenon dubbed "Barbenheimer" by moviegoers.But while "Barbie" was released in Japan in August, "Oppenheimer" was conspicuously absent from cinemas for months.No official explanation was offered at the time, fueling speculation the film was too controversial to be shown in Japan -- the only country to have ever suffered a wartime nuclear attack.Around 140,000 people died in Hiroshima and 74,000 in Nagasaki when the United States dropped atomic bombs on the cities in August 1945, days before the end of World War II.At a large cinema in central Tokyo where "Oppenheimer" was showing on Friday, there was none of the prominent promotional material that might be expected for a global megahit.Instead only one small poster advertised the film, which was shot on a $100 million budget and collected nearly $1 billion at box offices worldwide."It is a long, three-hour movie, but I watched it attentively, because it was so powerful," audience member Masayuki Hayashi, 51, told AFP after the film.Japanese distributors may have chosen to avoid a summer release close to the bombings' anniversary, said 65-year-old Tatsuhisa Yue.But "it would have been unthinkable if a movie which describes how the weapon was developed didn't show here", he said."The movie arrived late, but I think it was good that it finally opened in Japan."- 'America-centric' -The film tells the story of US physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer, who oversaw the bomb's invention.It drew rave reviews and was the most decorated title at this month's Oscars, scooping seven awards including best director for Christopher Nolan and best actor for star Cillian Murphy.But in Hiroshima, the city devastated by the first nuclear bomb, the biopic's Academy Awards success met a mixed reaction.Kyoko Heya, president of the city's international film festival, told AFP after the awards ceremony that she had found Nolan's movie "very America-centric"."Is this really a movie that people in Hiroshima can bear to watch?" she asked.Today the city is a thriving metropolis of 1.2 million people, but the ruins of a domed building still stand as a stark reminder of the horrors of the attack, along with a museum and other sombre memorials.Heya said that after much reflection, "I now want many people to watch the movie.""I'd be happy to see Hiroshima, Nagasaki and atomic weapons become the subject of discussions thanks to this movie," she said.Last year, viral "Barbenheimer" memes sparked anger online in Japan, where media reports have highlighted critics who say the film does not show the harm caused by the bombs."There could have been much more description and depiction of the horror of atomic weapons," bomb survivor and former Hiroshima mayor Takashi Hiraoka, 96, said at a special screening in the city earlier this month."Oppenheimer" was also shown at a preview event in Nagasaki, where survivor Masao Tomonaga, 80, said he had been impressed by the movie."I had thought the film's lack of... images of atomic bomb survivors was a weakness," said Tomonaga, who was two when the second bomb was dropped and later became a professor studying leukaemia caused by the attacks."But in fact, Oppenheimer's lines in dozens of scenes showed his shock at the reality of the atomic bombing. That was enough for me."
US Woman Claims She Was 'Scolded' By Flight Official For Not Wearing A Bra
Mar 29, 2024 - World
A woman who says she was threatened with being kicked off a US Delta Air Lines flight because she was not wearing a bra demanded a meeting with the company's top boss on Thursday over what she says is a discriminatory policy.
Middle East crisis live: dozens reported killed in suspected Israeli airstrike on Hezbollah in Syria
Mar 29, 2024 - World
Civilians and military personnel killed and injured in strike targeting Hezbollah weapons depots, says Syrian Observatory for Human RightsToday marks one year since WSJ journalist Evan Gershkovich was detained by Russia on 29 March 2023.The 32-year-old American journalist has been held in the infamous Lefortovo prison on the outskirts of Moscow on the grounds of espionage charges that are entirely unsupported by evidence, Julian Borger reports. Continue reading...
Russia-Ukraine war live: Russian fighter jet crashes into sea off Sevastopol, Crimea
Mar 29, 2024 - World
Online footage show jet on fire as Ukrainian security expert claims it was shot downUkraine claims to have shot down 84 aerial targets during the Russian drone and missile offensive.The defence Ministry of Ukraine said it had shot down 58 Shahed UAVs, 17 Kh-101 cruise missiles, five Kh-59 guided air missiles and four Iskander-K cruise missiles. Continue reading...
Bangladesh opens mosque for transgender hijra community
Mar 29, 2024 - World
Kicked out of other prayer services, members of Bangladesh's transgender hijra community have been welcomed at a new mosque in the Muslim-majority nation with the promise of worship without discrimination.The humble structure -- a single-room shed with walls and a roof clad in tin -- is a new community hub for the minority, who have enjoyed greater legal and political recognition in recent years but still suffer from entrenched prejudice."From now on, no one can deny a hijra from praying in our mosque," community leader Joyita Tonu said in a speech to the packed congregation."No one can mock us," added the visibly emotional 28-year-old, a white scarf covering her hair.The mosque near Mymensingh, north of the capital Dhaka on the banks of the Brahmaputra river, was built on land donated by the government after the city's hijra community were expelled from an established congregation."I never dreamt I could pray at a mosque again in my lifetime," said Sonia, 42, who as a child loved to recite the Koran and studied at an Islamic seminary.But when she came out as hijra, as transgender women in South Asia are commonly known, she was blocked from praying in a mosque."People would tell us: 'Why are you hijra people here at the mosques? You should pray at home. Don't come to the mosques,'" Sonia, who uses only one name, told AFP."It was shameful for us, so we didn't go," she added. "Now, this is our mosque. Now, no one can say no."- 'Like any other people' -Hijra have been the beneficiaries of growing legal recognition in Bangladesh, which since 2013 has officially allowed members of the community to identify as a third gender.Several have entered Bangladeshi politics, with one transgender woman elected mayor of a rural town in 2021.But hijra still struggle for basic recognition and acceptance, lacking property and marriage rights.They are also often discriminated against in employment and are much more likely to be victims of violent crime and poverty than the average Bangladeshi.Hardline Islamist groups have also lashed out at the recognition of transgender Bangladeshis in school textbooks, leading rallies to demand the government abandon its push to include them in the curriculum.Mufti Abdur Rahman Azad, founder of a hijra charity, told AFP that the new mosque was the first of its kind in the country.A similar endeavor planned in another city was stopped last month after a protest by locals, he added.Dozens of local hijra women donated time and money to build the Dakshin Char Kalibari Masjid for the Third Gender, which opened this month.It also has a graveyard, after a local Muslim cemetery last year refused to bury a young hijra woman inside its grounds.The mosque's imam, Abdul Motaleb, 65, said that the persecution of the hijra community was against the teachings of his faith."They are like any other people created by Allah", the cleric told AFP.- 'No one can be denied' -"We all are human beings. Maybe some are men, some are women, but all are human. Allah revealed the Holy Koran for all, so everyone has the right to pray, no one can be denied."Motaleb said that other Bangladeshis could learn from the faith and strength of the hijra."Since I have been here at this mosque, I have been impressed by their character and deeds," he said.The new mosque is already tackling prejudice. Local resident Tofazzal Hossain, 53, has offered Friday prayers there for a second week in a row.He said living and praying with the hijra community has changed his "misconceptions" about them."When they started to live with us, many people said many things," he told AFP."But we've realized what people say isn't right. They live righteously like other Muslims".Tonu hopes to expand the simple mosque to be big enough to cater for more people."God willing, we will do it very soon," she told AFP."Hundreds of people can offer prayers together."