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Legendary Star Wars and James Bond actor passes away

The galaxy far, far away has dimmed a little with the passing of Michael Culver, a distinguished British actor whose name became etched in the annals of cinematic history, particularly for his role in the iconic 1980 film Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back. Culver, who portrayed Captain Needa, the unfortunate Imperial officer, met his demise in one of the franchise's most memorable scenes at the hands of Darth Vader. However, his legacy extends far beyond the realms of science fiction, encompassing a career spanning over five decades of stage, screen and political activism. Born in 1938 in Hempstead, North London, to esteemed parents within the theatre industry, Culver was destined for a life under the spotlight. His father, Roland Culver, was a notable West End stage actor, while his mother, Daphne Rye, served as a casting director in London-based theatre. Following in their footsteps, Culver honed his craft at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, laying the foundation for a prolific acting career. Culver's journey in the performing arts began in the late 1950s, with appearances on Broadway in Shakespearean classics such as King Henry V, Hamlet, and Twelfth Night. His talent soon graced the West End stage in 1962, marking the start of a distinguished theatrical career. Transitioning to the small screen, Culver made his onscreen debut in 1961, captivating audiences with his versatile performances in British television series and movies. However, it was Culver's portrayal of Captain Needa in The Empire Strikes Back that solidified his status as a cultural icon. Despite his character's brief appearance, Culver left an indelible mark on audiences worldwide, immortalised in one of cinema's most unforgettable moments. His confrontation with Vader, culminating in a chilling demise, remains etched in the memories of countless fans, a testament to Culver's ability to captivate audiences with his presence. Beyond his intergalactic exploits, Culver's talents graced a multitude of productions, including notable roles in Sherlock Holmes, A Passage to India, Secret Army, and even appearing in two James Bond movies – From Russia With Love and Thunderball – in uncredited roles. His versatility and dedication to his craft earned him admiration and respect from peers and audiences alike. Yet, Culver's contributions extended beyond the realms of entertainment; in the early 2000s, he shifted his focus to political activism, leveraging his platform to advocate for causes close to his heart. Despite bidding farewell to the limelight, Culver's legacy endures through the countless lives he touched and the memories he forged on stage and screen. An extended message on the Alliance Agents Facebook page, who represented Culver, read as follows: "We are very sad to confirm the passing of our friend and client Michael Culver. A career spanning over 50 years with notable roles in Sherlock Holmes, A Passage to India, Secret Army and of course one of the most memorable death scenes in the Star Wars franchise. Michael largely gave up acting in the early 2000's to concentrate his efforts into his political activism. It's been an honor to have represented Michael for for the last decade and to have taken him to some of the best Star Wars events in the UK and Europe. A real highlight was taking Michael to Celebration in Chicago in 2019. He was lost for words when he saw his queue line with nearly 200 people waiting to see him. We worked with Michael just 3 weeks ago at his last home signing with our friends at Elite Signatures. Michel died on Tuesday 27th February at the age of 85." "We miss him." His passing leaves a void in the hearts of fans and colleagues, a reminder of the fleeting nature of life's curtain call. As we reflect on his remarkable journey, let us celebrate the life and legacy of Michael Culver, an actor whose talents transcended galaxies and whose spirit will continue to inspire generations to come. In his memory, let us heed the timeless words of Captain Needa himself: "We shall double our efforts." Rest in peace, Michael Culver. The force will always be with you. Images: IMDB / Wookiepedia

Caring

War in Ukraine affected wellbeing worldwide, but people’s speed of recovery depended on their personality

<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/luke-smillie-7502">Luke Smillie</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/the-university-of-melbourne-722">The University of Melbourne</a> The war in Ukraine has had impacts around the world. <a href="https://mitsloan.mit.edu/ideas-made-to-matter/ripple-effects-russia-ukraine-war-test-global-economies">Supply chains</a> have been disrupted, the <a href="https://news.un.org/pages/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/GCRG_2nd-Brief_Jun8_2022_FINAL.pdf?utm_source=United+Nations&utm_medium=Brief&utm_campaign=Global+Crisis+Response">cost of living</a> has soared and we’ve seen the <a href="https://www.unhcr.org/hk/en/73141-ukraine-fastest-growing-refugee-crisis-in-europe-since-wwii.html">fastest-growing refugee crisis since World War II</a>. All of these are in addition to the devastating humanitarian and economic impacts within Ukraine. Our international team was conducting a global study on wellbeing in the lead up to and after the Russian invasion. This provided a unique opportunity to examine the psychological impact of the outbreak of war. As we explain in a new study published in <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-024-44693-6">Nature Communications</a>, we learned the toll on people’s wellbeing was evident across nations, not just <a href="https://ijmhs.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13033-023-00598-3">in Ukraine</a>. These effects appear to have been temporary – at least for the average person. But people with certain psychological vulnerabilities struggled to recover from the shock of the war. <h2>Tracking wellbeing during the outbreak of war</h2> People who took part in our study completed a rigorous “<a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2773515/">experience-sampling</a>” protocol. Specifically, we asked them to report their momentary wellbeing four times per day for a whole month. Data collection began in October 2021 and continued throughout 2022. So we had been tracking wellbeing around the world during the weeks surrounding the outbreak of war in February 2022. We also collected measures of personality, along with various sociodemographic variables (including age, gender, political views). This enabled us to assess whether different people responded differently to the crisis. We could also compare these effects across countries. Our analyses focused primarily on 1,341 participants living in 17 European countries, excluding Ukraine itself (44,894 experience-sampling reports in total). We also expanded these analyses to capture the experiences of 1,735 people living in 43 countries around the world (54,851 experience-sampling reports) – including in Australia. <h2>A global dip in wellbeing</h2> On February 24 2022, the day Russia invaded Ukraine, there was a sharp decline in wellbeing around the world. There was no decline in the month leading up to the outbreak of war, suggesting the change in wellbeing was not already occurring for some other reason. However, there was a gradual increase in wellbeing during the month after the Russian invasion, suggestive of a “return to baseline” effect. Such effects are commonly reported in psychological research: situations and events that impact our wellbeing often (<a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/237535630_Adaptation_and_the_Set-Point_Model_of_Subjective_Well-BeingDoes_Happiness_Change_After_Major_Life_Events">though not always</a>) do so <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/7062343_Beyond_the_Hedonic_Treadmill_Revising_the_Adaptation_Theory_of_Well-Being">temporarily</a>. Unsurprisingly, people in Europe experienced a sharper dip in wellbeing compared to people living elsewhere around the world. Presumably the war was much more salient for those closest to the conflict, compared to those living on an entirely different continent. Interestingly, day-to-day fluctuations in wellbeing mirrored the salience of the war on social media as events unfolded. Specifically, wellbeing was lower on days when there were more tweets mentioning Ukraine on Twitter/X. Our results indicate that, on average, it took around two months for people to return to their baseline levels of wellbeing after the invasion. <h2>Different people, different recoveries</h2> There are <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31944795/">strong links</a> between our wellbeing and our individual personalities. However, the dip in wellbeing following the Russian invasion was fairly uniform across individuals. None of the individual factors assessed in our study, including personality and sociodemographic factors, predicted people’s response to the outbreak of war. On the other hand, personality did play a role in how quickly people recovered. Individual differences in people’s recovery were linked to a personality trait called “stability”. Stability is a broad dimension of personality that combines low neuroticism with high agreeableness and conscientiousness (three traits from the <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/social-sciences/big-five">Big Five</a> personality framework). Stability is so named because it reflects the stability of one’s overall psychological functioning. This can be illustrated by breaking stability down into its three components: <ol> <li> low neuroticism describes <a href="https://www.pnas.org/doi/full/10.1073/pnas.2212154120">emotional stability</a>. People low in this trait experience less intense negative emotions such as anxiety, fear or anger, in response to negative events </li> <li> high agreeableness describes <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2018-63285-010">social stability</a>. People high in this trait are generally more cooperative, kind, and motivated to maintain social harmony </li> <li> high conscientiousness describes <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2023.112331">motivational stability</a>. People high in this trait show more effective patterns of goal-directed self-regulation. </li> </ol> So, our data show that people with less stable personalities fared worse in terms of recovering from the impact the war in Ukraine had on wellbeing. In a supplementary analysis, we found the effect of stability was driven specifically by neuroticism and agreeableness. The fact that people higher in neuroticism recovered more slowly accords with a wealth of research linking this trait with <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10573882/">coping difficulties</a> and <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5428182/">poor mental health</a>. These effects of personality on recovery were stronger than those of sociodemographic factors, such as age, gender or political views, which were not statistically significant. Overall, our findings suggest that people with certain psychological vulnerabilities will often struggle to recover from the shock of global events such as the outbreak of war in Ukraine.<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/224147/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/luke-smillie-7502">Luke Smillie</a>, Professor in Personality Psychology, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/the-university-of-melbourne-722">The University of Melbourne</a> Image credits: Getty Images This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/war-in-ukraine-affected-wellbeing-worldwide-but-peoples-speed-of-recovery-depended-on-their-personality-224147">original article</a>.

Mind

After 3 months of devastation in the Israel-Hamas war, is anyone ‘winning’?

<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/ian-parmeter-932739">Ian Parmeter</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/australian-national-university-877">Australian National University</a> The 19th century German war strategist and field marshal Helmuth von Moltke famously <a href="https://global.oup.com/academic/product/strategy-9780199325153?cc=us&lang=en&">coined</a> the aphorism “No battle plan survives first contact with the enemy”. His observation might well be applied to the tragedy we are witnessing in Gaza. Three months after the current conflict began, civilians have borne the brunt of the violence on both sides, with the deaths of more than 22,000 Palestinians in Gaza and 1,200 Israelis. Some 85% of Gazans <a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-hamas-war-news-01-03-2024-3b77b0c36bf2cd9922b7a484234bef5f">have also been displaced</a> and a quarter of the population is facing a famine, according to the United Nations. The conflict still has a long way to run and may be headed towards stalemate. From a geopolitical perspective, here’s where the main players stand at the start of the new year. <h2>Israel: limited success …</h2> Israel has so far failed to achieve either of its primary war aims: the destruction of Hamas and freedom for the remainder of the 240 Israelis taken hostage on October 7. Hamas fighters continue to use their tunnel network to ambush Israeli soldiers and are firing rockets at Israel, albeit in much lower volumes: 27 were <a href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/at-stroke-of-midnight-hamas-attacks-israel-with-heavy-new-year-rocket-barrage/">fired</a> at the start of the new year, <a href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/idf-9500-rockets-fired-at-israel-since-oct-7-including-3000-in-1st-hours-of-onslaught/">compared</a> with 3,000 in the first hours of the conflict on October 7. There are still around <a href="https://www.economist.com/middle-east-and-africa/2023/12/20/israel-isnt-sure-what-to-do-about-the-hostages-in-gaza">130 Israelis</a> being held hostage, and only <a href="https://www.rand.org/pubs/commentary/2023/12/five-potential-next-steps-for-the-hostage-situation.html">one hostage</a> has been freed by the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF), as opposed to releases arranged through Qatari and Egyptian mediators. Israeli society is divided between those who want to prioritise negotiations to release the hostages and those who want to prioritise the elimination of Hamas. Israel achieved an important symbolic success with the apparent targeted killing of Hamas deputy leader <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/israel-lebanon-hamas-saleh-al-arouri-fears-widening-regional-conflict/">Saleh al-Arouri</a> in Beirut on January 2. Though Israel has not formally claimed responsibility, there is little doubt it was <a href="https://www.axios.com/2024/01/02/hamas-saleh-arouri-killed-beirut-hezbollah-israel-gaza">behind</a> the killing. But the two Gaza–based Hamas leaders Israel most wants to eliminate, political leader Yahya Sinwar and military leader Mohammed Deif, are still at large. Israel still has US support in the UN Security Council, which has <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2023/12/22/politics/un-security-council-resolution-israel-gaza-resolution/index.html">managed to pass</a> only one toothless resolution since the war began. But the Biden administration is <a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-israel-hamas-oct-7-44c4229d4c1270d9cfa484b664a22071">publicly pressuring</a> Israel to change its tactics to minimise Palestinian casualties. <h2>…and facing a ‘day after’ conundrum</h2> The Israeli government is also divided on how Gaza should be run when the fighting stops. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has <a href="https://www.jpost.com/breaking-news/article-777731">said</a> he won’t accept Gaza remaining “Hamastan” (Hamas-controlled) or becoming “Fatahstan” (ruled by the Palestinian Authority, which is dominated by the secular Fatah party). US President Joe Biden <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/biden-says-palestinian-authority-should-ultimately-govern-gaza-west-bank-2023-11-18/">prefers</a> a Gaza government led by a reformed Palestinian Authority, but Netanyahu has rejected this and has not articulated an alternative plan. Defence Minister Yoav Gallant this week <a href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/gallants-post-war-gaza-plan-palestinians-to-run-civil-affairs-with-global-task-force/">outlined</a> what seems to be his own plan for Gaza, involving governance by unspecified Palestinian authorities. His plan did not immediately have Israeli cabinet approval and has been <a href="https://thehill.com/opinion/international/4391112-dangerous-ideas-about-the-day-after-in-gaza/">slammed</a> by hard-right ministers. Two of these, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben–Gvir, have <a href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/likud-minister-slams-smotrich-ben-gvirs-unrealistic-call-for-gazan-emigration/#:%7E:text=Ben%20Gvir%20hit%20back%20at,will%20protect%20the%20IDF%20soldiers.%E2%80%9D">called</a> for a solution that encourages the Palestinian population to emigrate and for Israeli settlers to return to the strip. That would be <a href="https://www.france24.com/en/middle-east/20240103-us-condemns-far-right-israeli-ministers-call-for-palestinians-to-emigrate-from-gaza">unacceptable</a> to the Biden administration. Israel’s massive bombing campaign has also slowly turned international opinion against it, as expressed in the UN General Assembly <a href="https://apnews.com/article/un-assembly-israel-palestinians-hamas-vote-resolution-bffc37b2ecc444d906492008cde0aaf6">vote</a> last month in which 153 of the 193 member states called for a ceasefire. Are Netanyahu’s days now numbered? The current issue of The Economist <a href="https://www.economist.com/leaders/2024/01/03/binyamin-netanyahu-is-botching-the-war-time-to-sack-him">features a headline</a> that reads “Binyamin Netanyahu is botching the war. Time to sack him”. Whether or not that’s a fair judgement, it’s clear that internal divisions and indecision within his government are hindering Israel’s prosecution of the war. <h2>Hamas – still standing</h2> The militant group has obviously been hurt. Israel claims to have <a href="https://news.sky.com/story/israel-gaza-latest-hamas-war-sky-news-blog-12978800?postid=6736630">killed or captured</a> between 8,000 and 9,000 of Hamas’ approximately 30,000–strong fighting force – though it has not explained how it calculates militant deaths. Hamas’ main achievement is that it is still standing. To win, the militant group does not have to defeat Israel – it needs merely to survive the IDF onslaught. Hamas can claim some positives. Its attack on October 7 has put the Palestinian issue at the top of the Middle East agenda. Citizens in the Arab states that have signed peace agreements with Israel are clearly angry. And an Israeli-Saudi agreement to normalise relations between the countries, which had been imminent before the conflict, is off the table for now. Opinion polling also <a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-hamas-palestinians-opinion-poll-wartime-views-a0baade915619cd070b5393844bc4514">shows support</a> for Hamas has risen from 12% to 44% in the West Bank and from 38% to 42% in Gaza in the past three months. If it were possible to hold fair Palestinian elections now, they could produce results Israel and the US would not like. <h2>United States – weakness in dealing with Israel</h2> Biden embraced Netanyahu immediately after the Hamas attack, but US efforts since then to influence Israel’s war plans have not yielded any results. Secretary of State Antony Blinken failed in his effort to persuade Israel to end the war by the start of the new year. His <a href="https://apnews.com/article/us-turkey-israel-greece-gaza-hamas-jordan-36e5e1be205d5200916fd447c8c8e455">current visit</a> to the region is unlikely to yield any major changes. Moreover, divisions in the US may hurt Biden in the lead–up to the presidential election in November. Young, college–educated progressives, who tend to vote Democratic, have taken part in demonstrations against Biden’s public support for Israel’s right to defend itself, if not its way of doing so. These progressives won’t vote for the almost–certain Republican candidate, Donald Trump. But they could stay home on election day, handing the election to Trump. US support for Ukraine has also become a casualty of the war. Republicans, taking their cue from Trump, are prioritising support for Israel and stopping the flow of migrants across the US-Mexico border. They are losing interest in Ukraine – which clearly benefits Russian President Vladimir Putin. Those benefits will be reinforced if Trump wins the presidency again. <h2>United Nations – irrelevant</h2> The UN has also failed in its mission of maintaining world peace. The only Security Council resolution on the war meant nothing, as Russia was pleased to <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2023/12/22/un-security-council-gaza-aid-00133112">point out</a>. The recent UN General Assembly resolution illustrated Israel’s growing isolation, but has done nothing to change the course of the war. UN Secretary–General Antonio Guterres has been powerless to influence either Israel or Hamas. <h2>Iran – watching for opportunities</h2> The Hezbollah militant group will do a lot of huffing and puffing over the killing of al-Arouri in a Hezbollah-controlled part of Beirut. But it takes its orders from Tehran, which still shows no sign of wanting to become directly involved in the war. That said, Iran appears to have no problem with its proxies – Hezbollah in Lebanon and the <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-yemens-houthis-are-getting-involved-in-the-israel-hamas-war-and-how-it-could-disrupt-global-shipping-219220">Houthis in Yemen</a> – providing token support for Hamas through limited rocket, drone and artillery attacks. Iran is likely to be reinforced in this approach by the bombings at the tomb of former Quds Force commander <a href="https://theconversation.com/iran-vows-revenge-for-soleimanis-killing-but-heres-why-it-wont-seek-direct-confrontation-with-the-us-129440">Qassem Soleimani</a> last week, which killed almost 100 Iranians. The bombings have been claimed by the Islamic State, which will likely make Iran more focused on its internal security than on assisting Hamas.<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/220644/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/ian-parmeter-932739">Ian Parmeter</a>, Research Scholar, Centre for Arab and Islamic Studies, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/australian-national-university-877">Australian National University</a> Image credits: Getty Images This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/after-3-months-of-devastation-in-the-israel-hamas-war-is-anyone-winning-220644">original article</a>.

Travel Trouble

What exactly is a ceasefire, and why is it so difficult to agree on one in Gaza?

<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/marika-sosnowski-1415833">Marika Sosnowski</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/the-university-of-melbourne-722">The University of Melbourne</a> Barely a week after Hamas’ attack on Israeli soldiers and civilians on October 7 and the subsequent airstrikes by the Israeli Defence Force on the Gaza Strip, talk of a ceasefire had already begun. More than five weeks into the war, calls for a ceasefire have only grown louder. Visiting the White House this week, Indonesian President Joko Widodo <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/11/14/indonesian-president-joko-widodo-urges-biden-to-help-end-gaza-atrocities">said</a>, a “ceasefire is a must for the sake of humanity.” Israel has thus far <a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-hamas-war-news-11-11-2023-d4d272416107c02e63dabd9548395026">refused</a> to discuss a ceasefire without the release of the 240 hostages being held by Hamas. But what exactly is a ceasefire, and how do they work? And what sort of arrangement would be most effective in Gaza? <h2>Different terms, different meanings</h2> Virtually as old as conflict itself, a ceasefire is an ancient way of formalising a halt to armed violence between warring parties for a certain period of time. Historically, the terms truce and armistice were used as synonyms. Perhaps surprisingly, international humanitarian law has <a href="https://www.chathamhouse.org/2023/11/humanitarian-pauses-and-ceasefires-what-are-differences">no provisions</a> relating specifically to when ceasefires should be negotiated, what they need to contain or how they need to be applied. It is only in the last 50 years or so that a range of new terminology has become commonplace to describe the phenomenon of a “<a href="https://beyondintractability.org/essay/cease-fire">ceasefire</a>”. These include: <ul> <li> <a href="https://ru.usembassy.gov/joint-statement-russian-federation-united-states-syria/">cessation of hostilities</a> </li> <li> <a href="https://www.thenewhumanitarian.org/news/2017/12/04/un-calls-humanitarian-pause-yemen-conditions-capital-deteriorate">humanitarian pauses</a> </li> <li> <a href="https://www.peaceagreements.org/viewmasterdocument/2093">de-escalation areas</a> </li> <li> <a href="https://reliefweb.int/report/sudan/un-call-days-tranquility-bears-fruit-more-five-million-children-have-been-vaccinated">days of tranquility</a> (pauses in fighting to allow for immunisation of children) </li> <li> <a href="https://kaldorcentre.unsw.edu.au/sites/kaldorcentre.unsw.edu.au/files/Policy_brief_Creating_safe_zones_and_safe_corridors.pdf">safe zones</a> and safe corridors </li> <li> <a href="https://osce.org/stories/osce-mirror-patrols-windows-of-hope-eastern-ukraine">windows of silence</a> (one name given to the 2014 ceasefire in Ukraine). </li> </ul> Many of these terms have been used in the Gaza conflict. For instance, in late October, the UN General Assembly <a href="https://press.un.org/en/2023/ga12548.doc.htm">adopted</a> a resolution calling for an “immediate, durable and sustained humanitarian truce leading to cessation of hostilities”. In the Security Council, the US has <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-67320520">called</a> for “humanitarian pauses”, but not a “ceasefire”. Russia, meanwhile, has <a href="https://news.un.org/en/story/2023/10/1142427">demanded</a> a “humanitarian ceasefire”, but is unhappy with a “truce” or “pauses”. This week, Hamas said it is willing to <a href="https://www.france24.com/en/middle-east/20231113-%F0%9F%94%B4-live-more-gaza-hospitals-halt-operations-as-israeli-assault-continues">release</a> 70 hostages in exchange for a five-day “truce”. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has previously <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/nov/04/gaza-ceasefire-talks-ongoing-despite-israeli-pm-rejecting-pause-says-us">rejected</a> a “temporary truce”, but under pressure from the US, has agreed this week to <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2023/11/10/will-israels-humanitarian-pauses-mean-much-for-gaza-no-say-experts">implement</a> daily four-hour “humanitarian pauses”. While there have been <a href="https://ukraine.un.org/en/174777-glossary-humanitarian-terms-pauses-during-conflict">attempts</a> to differentiate between these terms, states continue to place different emphasis or apply different meanings to them in ad hoc ways. This makes finding common ground difficult. <h2>What could be achieved in Gaza instead</h2> So, if we have no common definitions as a starting point, how do parties come to any useful or enforceable agreement on a ceasefire? Thus far in Gaza, the answer has mostly been they don’t. It may be simplistic to say that words are what we use as humans to make sense of and order the world, but in this context, specifics matter. Arguably, in focusing so squarely on getting to a halt in fighting (whatever we want to call that), we lose sight of many other important factors and actions that may or may not fall under the broad and open-to-interpretation umbrella term of “ceasefire”. For example, Israel and Hamas might find agreement if negotiators focused on more specific details or issues, such as: <ul> <li> the amount of ordnance being used by both sides on a daily basis, and what kind of ordnance </li> <li> where or what is targeted by both sides </li> <li> the number of aid convoys allowed into Gaza, where they would come from, where they would go and what they would be carrying </li> <li> the number and/or nationality of hostages to be released and at what regularity. </li> </ul> I am not a negotiator and this is not an exhaustive list. What it hopes to illustrate is that efforts for a grand-bargain-type ceasefire should not be prioritised over more nuanced, and perhaps tangible, efforts for other types of lulls in fighting. <h2>How ceasefires can be problematic</h2> At the same time, it should not be forgotten that ceasefires can have unintended consequences. Often these consequences are far from beneficial, positive or humanitarian – the kinds of things we expect from a ceasefire. For example, in Syria, local <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/06/18/do-ceasefires-syria-work-we-checked-data/">ceasefires</a> and reconciliation agreements have been used during the civil war to allow for the evacuation of citizens from their homes in places like <a href="https://paxforpeace.nl/publications/no-return-to-homs/#:%7E:text=The%2520report%2520'No%2520Return%2520to,cities%2520and%2520neighbourhoods%2520in%2520Syria.">Old Homs</a> and <a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/opinion/besiege-bombard-retake-reconciliation-agreements-syria">Daraya</a>. Subsequently, a raft of presidential decrees were enacted that enabled the Syrian regime to permanently reappropriate their properties. State-backed <a href="https://www.brookings.edu/articles/beyond-fragility-syria-and-the-challenges-of-reconstruction-in-fierce-states/">reconstruction</a> and development projects such as Basila City (which ironically means “Peace City” in old Aramaic), Marouta and Homs Dream were then built on the land acquired via the ceasefire agreements. Likewise, during the Russian invasion of Ukraine, <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/evacuation-route-offered-fleeing-ukrainians-mined-1685418">humanitarian corridors</a> were implemented that allowed people from the besieged city of Mariupol to evacuate. Shortly afterwards, however, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky <a href="https://www.novinite.com/articles/214156/Zelensky+accused+Russia+of+Mining+Humanitarian+Corridors">accused</a> Russia of laying landmines within the corridors to thwart civilians’ ability to flee. In another example, humanitarian corridors that Russia <a href="https://www.reuters.com/markets/asia/top-wrap-1-ukrainians-trapped-besieged-city-fighting-blocks-evacuation-efforts-2022-03-07/">proposed</a> setting up would not lead civilians to safety, but rather into Russia or its close ally Belarus. Israel has similarly announced “<a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-10-16/israel-announces-another-safe-passage-for-gazans-to-move-south">safe corridors</a>” enabling <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2023/11/10/will-israels-humanitarian-pauses-mean-much-for-gaza-no-say-experts">mass displacement</a> of civilians from the north to the south of the country. The relocation is <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/oct/13/israel-hamas-war-latest-gaza-residents-told-move-ground-assault">supposedly</a> for civilians’ own safety, despite the fact airstrikes are killing civilians there, too. Many also <a href="https://www.newarab.com/news/egypt-israeli-safe-zones-gaza-prelude-displacement">fear</a> the supposed “safe corridors” could lead to a permanent displacement of Gazans. Israel has reportedly also canvassed support for a <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/05/world/middleeast/israel-egypt-gaza.html#:%7E:text=Israeli%2520leaders%2520and%2520diplomats%2520have,the%2520border%2520in%2520neighboring%2520Egypt.">humanitarian corridor</a> that would direct Palestinians towards the Sinai peninsula in Egypt, in effect making them an Egyptian problem with little possibility of return. The idea has unsurprisingly been rejected by both the Palestinians and Egypt. <h2>A ceasefire is only the beginning</h2> Despite all this, ceasefires are perhaps the best-formalised tools humans have so far devised to halt the violence of armed conflict for a time. Therefore, given the suffering of civilians on both sides in the Israel-Hamas conflict, it is imperative some form of ceasefire happens. However, we should not be blinded by calls for a ceasefire (whatever terms are used), but stay alert to the hazards that ceasefires can themselves create. In any case, a ceasefire that stops violence for four hours, four days or four months will only be the beginning of the more challenging work that needs to be done to bring meaningful and long-term security and stablity to both Palestinians and Israelis.<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/217683/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/marika-sosnowski-1415833">Marika Sosnowski</a>, Postdoctoral research fellow, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/the-university-of-melbourne-722">The University of Melbourne</a> Image credits: Getty Images This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-exactly-is-a-ceasefire-and-why-is-it-so-difficult-to-agree-on-one-in-gaza-217683">original article</a>.

Legal

Can Israel and Hamas be held to account for alleged crimes against civilians?

<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/amy-maguire-129609">Amy Maguire</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-newcastle-1060">University of Newcastle</a> <a href="https://www.redcross.org.au/ihl/">International humanitarian law</a> – the law of armed conflict – aims to constrain how wars are fought. It is designed to protect noncombatants and limit the means of warfare. As each hour brings news of further horror in the Israel-Hamas conflict, what role should international law be playing? And does it actually have any capacity to constrain the behaviour of the combatants? <h2>A humanitarian nightmare is unfolding</h2> On <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2023/10/16/middleeast/israel-hamas-gaza-war-explained-week-2-mime-intl/index.html">October 7</a>, the Hamas militant group launched thousands of rockets against Israel in advance of a ground attack. Militants <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/International/live-updates/israel-gaza-hamas/?id=103804516#:%7E:text=ABC%20News%20Chief%20Global%20Affairs,war%20in%20Israel%20and%20Gaza.&text=At%20least%201%2C400%20people%20have,7%2C%20Israeli%20authorities%20said.">killed</a> more than 1,400 people and wounded 3,400 others in towns and kibbutzim across southern Israel. It was the <a href="https://theconversation.com/deadliest-day-for-jews-since-the-holocaust-spurs-a-crisis-of-confidence-in-the-idea-of-israel-and-its-possible-renewal-215507">deadliest day</a> for Jewish people since the Holocaust. Most of those killed were civilians, including many <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/International/horror-israeli-authorities-show-footage-hamas-atrocities-reporters-notebook/story?id=104015431#:%7E:text=It%20was%20part%20of%20the,injured%20in%20Israel%2C%20authorities%20said.">children</a> who were shot, blown up or burned to death. Hundreds of young people were also <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/10/08/israel-festival-attack-gaza-militants/">massacred</a> at a music festival, and Hamas took around 200 <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/former-hamas-chief-meshaal-says-israeli-captives-include-high-ranking-officers-2023-10-16/">hostages</a> back to Gaza. Israel is responding to this attack with <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/International/live-updates/israel-gaza-hamas/?id=103804516#:%7E:text=ABC%20News%20Chief%20Global%20Affairs,war%20in%20Israel%20and%20Gaza.&text=At%20least%201%2C400%20people%20have,7%2C%20Israeli%20authorities%20said.">airstrikes</a>, which have to date <a href="https://www.wsj.com/livecoverage/israel-hamas-war-gaza-palestinians/card/latest-death-tolls-in-gaza-and-israel-xJRhBt04VQMocRuYUtsA">killed</a> at least 4,000 people in Gaza and injured thousands more. The vast majority of these casualties are Palestinian civilians. Israel has also rapidly mobilised around <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/10/10/israel-military-draft-reservists/">360,000 reservists</a> in preparation for an anticipated ground offensive on Gaza. In recent days, a blast at a <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/17/world/middleeast/gaza-hospital-explosion-israel.html">Gaza hospital</a> killed hundreds, including patients and displaced people seeking sanctuary. Hamas and several Arab states have <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/oct/18/israel-faces-blame-from-regional-allies-over-gaza-hospital-deaths">blamed</a> Israel for the explosion, while Israel has <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/17/world/middleeast/islamic-jihad-gaza-hospital-israel.html">blamed</a> Palestinian Islamic Jihad. The situation in Gaza is dire for people with urgent needs, including <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-10-18/israel-gaza-war-live-updates-october-18/102989182?utm_campaign=abc_news_web&utm_content=link&utm_medium=content_shared&utm_source=abc_news_web#live-blog-post-55243">5,000 women</a> due to give birth this month and <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/16/world/middleeast/gaza-evacuation-twin-babies-hospital.html#:%7E:text=The%20babies%2C%20Nuha%20and%20Fatin,of%20an%20Israeli%20ground%20invasion.">newborn babies</a> whose families cannot find drinking water to prepare formula. Meanwhile, Israel has <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/oct/12/no-power-water-or-fuel-to-gaza-until-hostages-freed-says-israeli-minister">cut off</a> water, electricity and fuel supplies to Gaza and ordered a <a href="https://theconversation.com/gaza-is-being-strangled-why-israels-evacuation-order-violates-international-law-215787">total siege</a> of the territory. Israel has also ordered residents of northern Gaza to <a href="https://www.hrw.org/news/2023/10/16/why-israels-gaza-evacuation-order-so-alarming">evacuate</a> to the south. Aid agencies have been unable to provide desperately needed <a href="https://time.com/6324539/israel-gaza-humanitarian-aid-egypt-border/">humanitarian assistance</a> to civilians through the border crossing with Egypt. Prior to this latest horrific escalation, Gaza was already entrenched in a <a href="https://theconversation.com/gaza-has-been-blockaded-for-16-years-heres-what-a-complete-siege-and-invasion-could-mean-for-vital-supplies-215359">humanitarian crisis</a>. The situation now is beyond comprehension. <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/radionational-breakfast/gaza-610/102983118">Léo Cans</a>, the head of mission for Doctors Without Borders in Palestine, said hospitals are being overwhelmed and hundreds will die without electricity being restored: "This is something that is known and could be prevented just by letting fuel and supplies inside Gaza. What is ahead of us is beyond words […] at the end of the road it’s a big wall, and this big wall is full of dead people." <h2>Principles governing the conduct of war</h2> International humanitarian law is a pragmatic body of law. Its existence acknowledges the inevitability of armed conflict and it aims to mitigate war’s impact on people. International humanitarian law is not, in itself, concerned with the justifications for why combatants engage in war. It applies even in situations where a state is entitled to act in self-defence under broader international law. We are witnessing gross violations of fundamental humanitarian law principles in the conflict. Here are some examples: Distinction between civilians and combatants Attacks are considered <a href="https://ihl-databases.icrc.org/en/ihl-treaties/api-1977/article-51">unlawful</a> if they are: <ul> <li> directed specifically against civilians </li> <li> launched indiscriminately without distinction between civilians and combatants </li> <li> or directed at military targets but anticipated to cause harm to civilians disproportionate to the military advantage being sought. </li> </ul> Methods of warfare It is <a href="https://casebook.icrc.org/law/conduct-hostilities#iii_1">unlawful</a> to conduct war in a manner that causes unnecessary suffering. Attacks targeting civilians are fundamentally unnecessary and, therefore, illegal. Collective punishment The fourth Geneva Convention prohibits <a href="https://ihl-databases.icrc.org/en/ihl-treaties/gciv-1949/article-33">collective punishment</a>: "No protected person may be punished for an offence he or she has not personally committed. Collective penalties and likewise all measures of intimidation or of terrorism are prohibited." This prohibition reflects the idea of <a href="https://guide-humanitarian-law.org/content/article/3/collective-punishment/">individual criminal responsibility</a> under international criminal law. Prosecutions for breaches of humanitarian law are directed towards individuals who can be proven responsible, rather than against states or populations. Humanitarian protection Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions requires <a href="https://www.icrc.org/en/doc/war-and-law/treaties-customary-law/geneva-conventions/overview-geneva-conventions.htm">humane protection</a> for all people in enemy hands. It prohibits murder and hostage-taking. It also requires the provision of humanitarian assistance to all people without distinction. Obligations of occupying powers It is arguable Israel is a de facto occupying power of the Gaza Strip because it has such a <a href="https://theconversation.com/gaza-is-being-strangled-why-israels-evacuation-order-violates-international-law-215787">high level of control</a> over people’s lives. For example, it has the ability to shut off supplies of essential life services. The argument Israel is occupying Gaza will be strengthened should Israel launch a ground invasion. As such, the rules of international humanitarian law on occupiers are also relevant. These include an obligation to <a href="https://ihl-databases.icrc.org/en/ihl-treaties/hague-conv-iv-1907/regulations-art-43#:%7E:text=Regulations%3A%20Art.-,43,in%20force%20in%20the%20country.">protect</a> civilians from attacks and <a href="https://humanrights.gov.au/our-work/commission-general/international-covenant-civil-and-political-rights-human-rights-your#:%7E:text=opinions%20without%20interference.-,2.,other%20media%20of%20his%20choice.">respect their human rights</a>. <h2>Hamas and humanitarian law</h2> International humanitarian law applies to all combatants, whether they are state or non-state actors. UN independent experts say Hamas has clearly committed <a href="https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2023/10/israeloccupied-palestinian-territory-un-experts-deplore-attacks-civilians">war crimes</a>, including the murders and hostage-taking of Israeli civilians. Hamas also put Palestinian civilians in harm’s way by <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/hamas-tells-gaza-residents-stay-home-israel-ground-offensive-looms-2023-10-13/#:%7E:text=Eyad%20Al%2DBozom%2C%20spokesman%20for,your%20homes%2C%20and%20your%20places.">telling them</a> not to evacuate to southern Gaza, as ordered by Israel. The group has a history of using civilians as <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-the-laws-of-war-apply-to-the-conflict-between-israel-and-hamas-215493">human shields</a> as a <a href="https://stratcomcoe.org/cuploads/pfiles/hamas_human_shields.pdf">strategic tool</a> in conflicts with Israel. However, holding Hamas accountable for violating international humanitarian law is very challenging. As a non-state actor, Hamas is not a member of forums like the United Nations, where pressure may be brought to bear on member states. If individual Hamas militants are apprehended, they could be charged with <a href="https://www.thenewhumanitarian.org/interview/2023/10/17/how-have-israel-and-hamas-broken-laws-war">war crimes</a> and tried in Israeli courts or the International Criminal Court. Even though Hamas is a non-state actor, <a href="https://www.icc-cpi.int/victims/state-palestine">Palestine</a> has accepted the court’s jurisdiction. In fact, the International Criminal Court opened an <a href="https://www.lawfaremedia.org/article/where-does-the-icc-palestine-investigation-stand">investigation</a> into alleged war crimes in Palestine in 2021. The current Gaza conflict would fall within the court’s mandate and could lead it to direct greater energy to that ongoing investigation. The court’s chief prosecutor, Karim Khan, said on October 13: "We have jurisdiction for any Rome Statute crimes […] committed by Palestinians in Israel and also we have clear jurisdiction for any crimes committed by the forces of Israel in Palestine." <h2>Israel and humanitarian law</h2> Israel and its allies also have a complex relationship with international humanitarian law. One key issue is Israel’s right to self-defence in response to the October 7 attack by Hamas. International law confirms a state may use force to <a href="https://casebook.icrc.org/a_to_z/glossary/self-defence#:%7E:text=Self%2Ddefense%20in%20international%20law,Charter%20and%20customary%20international%20law.">defend</a> itself in response to an armed attack. Israel, the United States and other allies <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/speeches-remarks/2023/10/10/remarks-by-president-biden-on-the-terrorist-attacks-in-israel-2/">contend</a> the Hamas attack triggered Israel’s <a href="https://www.foreignminister.gov.au/minister/penny-wong/speech/speech-senate-hamas-attacks-israel-senate-motion-parliament-house">right to self-defence</a>. But there is a distinction to be drawn between a state’s right to self-defence and what that right permits, in the sense of how war is conducted. For example, UN independent experts have <a href="https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2023/10/israeloccupied-palestinian-territory-un-experts-deplore-attacks-civilians">condemned</a> Israel’s “indiscriminate military attacks” against Palestinian civilians: "This amounts to collective punishment. There is no justification for violence that indiscriminately targets innocent civilians, whether by Hamas or Israeli forces. This is absolutely prohibited under international law and amounts to a war crime." Neither <a href="https://arabcenterdc.org/resource/the-international-criminal-courts-failure-to-hold-israel-accountable/">Israel</a> nor the <a href="https://www.hrw.org/news/2020/09/02/qa-international-criminal-court-and-united-states">United States</a> is a party to the International Criminal Court. Neither state would accept the court’s jurisdiction over its nationals. Indeed, the United States has <a href="https://www.state.gov/the-united-states-opposes-the-icc-investigation-into-the-palestinian-situation/">condemned</a> the court’s decision to open its investigation into alleged war crimes in Palestine. In time, the court may seek to hold Israeli nationals accountable for war crimes, but its capacity to do so seems very limited. <h2>What about the United Nations?</h2> UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has <a href="https://www.voanews.com/a/un-s-guterres-denounces-collective-punishment-of-palestinians/7315616.html">called</a> for an immediate ceasefire. He said the grievances of the Palestinian people after more than 50 years of occupation do not “justify the acts of terror committed by Hamas”. And he said the Hamas attack on October 7 does not “justify the collective punishment of the Palestinian people”. UN human rights chief Volker Türk has also <a href="https://www.ctvnews.ca/world/un-human-rights-lead-warns-of-consequences-for-breaching-humanitarian-law-amid-israel-hamas-war-1.6605453">warned</a> all parties that violations of humanitarian law will have consequences, and those who commit war crimes will be held accountable. But the <a href="https://www.un.org/securitycouncil/#:%7E:text=The%20Security%20Council%20has%20primary,to%20comply%20with%20Council%20decisions.">UN Security Council</a>, which is charged with maintaining international peace and security, has yet to agree on a <a href="https://news.un.org/en/story/2023/10/1142467">statement</a> on the conflict. The <a href="https://reliefweb.int/report/occupied-palestinian-territory/4-members-favour-5-against-security-council-rejects-russian-federations-resolution-calling-immediate-humanitarian-ceasefire-israel-palestine-crisis">debate</a> in the council since the latest escalation in this perpetual conflict demonstrates the deep diplomatic fault lines between the key global players and the warring parties. At this point, a sad reality is that international law and global institutions can do little to constrain the actions of the combatants on both sides or provide assistance to the millions at grave risk of harm.<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/215705/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/amy-maguire-129609">Amy Maguire</a>, Associate Professor in Human Rights and International Law, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-newcastle-1060">University of Newcastle</a> Image credits: Getty Images This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/can-israel-and-hamas-be-held-to-account-for-alleged-crimes-against-civilians-215705">original article</a>.

Legal

Thor and Star Wars actor dies suddenly just days before birthday

Actor Ray Stevenson, best known for his work in the Marvel and Star Wars universes, has passed away at 58, just four days shy of his 59th birthday. No cause of death has been made public, but the news was confirmed to Variety through one of the late actor’s representatives, and Italian publication La Repubblica reported that he had been hospitalised shortly before he passed away. Stevenson was in Italy working on his upcoming action movie, Cassino in Ischia, at the time of his death. The Irish-born actor will be remembered by loved ones - those who knew him in real life and those who knew him through his wide range of film, TV, and theatre projects - and by the entertainment industry at large. Born in Northern Ireland in 1864, Steven moved to England with his family at the age of eight, and discovered his calling as an actor after witnessing John Malkovich in a West End theatre production. Stevenson went on to study acting, landing one of his first roles in television in The Dwelling Place, before establishing his place on the screen in a number of other British series, from the likes of Waking the Dead to Dalziel and Pascoe, and At Home with the Braithwaites. His career in Hollywood found its feet with his role in the 2004 King Arthur movie, where he took on the role of one of the Knights of the Round Table. And just four years later, Stevenson made a name for himself in the fan-favourite Marvel universe, playing the titular character Frank Castle in Punisher: War Zone. He was the third actor to ever portray Punisher on screen. Stevenson went on to appear in the likes of The Book of Eli, The Three Musketeers, and the Divergent series, before making his return to Marvel with Thor, where he played one of the god’s Warriors Three up until Thor: Ragnarok. He wasn’t to stop at Marvel, however, with the actor taking on the challenge - and opportunity - of voicing a character in the hit animated Star Wars TV series Clone Wars and Rebels as Mandalorian Gar Saxon. He was set to make his return to that same expanded universe, but this time with his own face at the forefront as a Jedi known as Baylan Skoll, in the upcoming live action Ahsoka series. His co-stars in that series were devastated to hear of his loss, with the show’s lead and Ahsoka’s actress - Rosario Dawson - posting a touching tribute to social media, alongside a series of pics with the late star. “A giant of a man… stunned and reeling from this tragic, devastating news. Gone too soon from this world,” she wrote. “At a loss for words… just wanted to mark this moment and share your ever ready and present smile. Love you forever. Holding your family in my heart.” <blockquote class="instagram-media" style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/Csjo9svpyue/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"> </div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;"> <div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: 8px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: auto;"> <div style="width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;"> </div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/Csjo9svpyue/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A post shared by rosariodawson (@rosariodawson)</a> </div> </blockquote> “Cherishing this time we got to spend together this past year,” fellow Ahsoka actress Natasha Liu Bordizzo wrote, sharing Dawson’s post, “your giant heart, belly laughs and spirited zest for life will be sorely missed.” “RIP Ray Stevenson, whose turn as Titus Pullo on ROME is one of the greatest effortlessly charming performances of TV's golden age,” one fan shared. “A warm guy, by all accounts, and a serious craftsman. He'll be sorely missed.” “I’m shocked and saddened by the tragic news that a great actor and my good friend Ray Stevenson has passed away. I will miss you Big Ray!” wrote Scott Atkins, who starred in Accident Man with Stevenson. “Life is short so make the most of it people.” As Stevenson’s former Rome co-star James Purefoy said, “so sad to hear the news that Ray Stevenson, our Pullo in Rome, has passed away. A brilliant, gutsy, larger-than-life actor who filled every part he played right up to the brim. “My thoughts are with his family, his lovely wife Betta and their beautiful kids. What a loss.” “Ray… My heart is shattered and I can’t fathom you not being here. My dear friend. My Master. A giant with an even bigger heart,” a heartbroken Ivanna Sakhno, another Ahsoka star, said in her tribute. “You understood the infinite. Your love for life, your partner Elisabetta and your 3 boys was unyielding. Knowing you in this lifetime had been one of the greatest gifts. “I carry your light within me. Fly freely, Blackbird.” Images: Getty

News

Put your Star Wars knowledge to the test

While May 4 is not a public holiday, for passionate Star Wars fans around the world, it may as well be. Whether you prefer to dress-up with friends and celebrate with a mega movie marathon - after hours spent deciding which trilogy to begin with, of course - or scroll your favourite forums to find that next snippet of news about any upcoming projects, it’s fun to have the odd fun fact to drop into conversation, whether or not your present company particularly wants to hear it. And now’s the time to put your knowledge to the test, with some Star Wars trivia to challenge and to impress - especially if you get that perfect 15/15. So, “may the Force be with you”, and don’t forget to scroll to the bottom for the answers! 1. What was the false working title used to mask production for Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi in 1982? A: Blue Moon B: Blue Harvest C: Force Squadron D: Galaxy’s Edge 2. The term ‘Ewok’ was never said aloud in the original trilogy. A: True B: False 3. Who delivered the line “congratulations, you are being rescued” in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story? A: Cassian Andor B: C-3PO C: K-2SO D: Orson Krennic 4. How many actresses have portrayed (in the live action films) the leader of the Rebel Alliance, Mon Mothma? A: 4 B: 3 C: 2 D: 1 5. Which movie features the most stop-motion animation? A: The Phantom Menace B: Empire Strikes Back C: Return of the Jedi D: A New Hope 6. Why are porgs so prominent in The Last Jedi? A: Director Rian Johnson was asked by a crew member’s child to include the feathered friends B: The marketing team had requested something small and fuzzy for the younger audience C: Porgs were inspired by early concept art for BB-8 that they didn’t want to toss aside completely D: The island on which they filmed was home to puffins and it was easier just to tie them in 7. Yoda shares a voice actor with which iconic Muppet? A: Miss Piggy B: Kermit C: Gonzo D: Swedish Chef 8. How many films does the Rebel Alliance’s Blue Squadron appear in? A: 1 B: 2 C: 3 D: 4 9. Which phrase can be heard in every Star Wars movie? A: “There’s no such thing as luck.” B: “Rebellions are built on hope.” C: “I have a bad feeling about this.” D: “Never underestimate a droid.” 10. In The Phantom Menace, Qui-Gon Jinn used which common household item as his communicator? A: A lint brush B: A torch C: A tin of shoe polish D: A razor 11. How many Sith can there be at any one time? A: 8 B: 6 C: 4 D: 2 12. What was Luke Skywalker originally going to be called? A: Luke Stardestroyer B: Luke Starkiller C: Luke Skykiller D: Luke Lars 13. The noise from passing which object served as the inspiration for lightsaber sounds? A: A radio B: A microwave C: A television D: A racecar 14. Which quote is correct? A: “No, I am your father.” B: “Luke, I am your father.” 15. Who built C-3PO? A: Luke Skywalker B: Jar Jar Binks C: Shmi Skywalker D: Anakin Skywalker Images: Getty ANSWERS: <blockquote> 1: A, 2: A, 3: C, 4: C, 5: B, 6: D, 7: A, 8: A, 9: C, 10: D, 11: D, 12: B, 13: C, 14: A, 15: D </blockquote>

Movies

New lessons about old wars: keeping the complex story of Anzac Day relevant in the 21st century

What happened on the Gallipoli peninsula in Turkey 108 years ago has shocked and shaped Aotearoa New Zealand ever since. The challenge in the 21st century, then, is how best to give contemporary relevance to such an epochal event. The essence of the Anzac story is well known. As part of the first world war British Imperial Forces, the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (Anzacs) landed at Gallipoli on April 25 1915. For eight months they endured the constant threat of death or maiming in terrible living conditions. Ultimately, their occupation of that narrow and rugged piece of Turkish coast failed. The 30,000 Anzacs were evacuated after eight months. More than 2,700 New Zealand and 8,700 Australian soldiers died, with many more wounded. The <a href="https://nzhistory.govt.nz/war/anzac-day-resources">first anniversary</a> of the landing was a day of mourning, with Anzac Day becoming a public holiday in 1922. A remembrance day of sorrow mixed with pride, it has grown over the years to include all those who served and died in later international conflicts. Over time, various narratives and themes have emerged from that Gallipoli “origin story”: of Aotearoa New Zealand’s emergence as a nation, proving itself to Britain and Empire; of the brave, fit, loyal soldier-mates who emblemised the Kiwi spirit of egalitarianism, fairness and duty. All this mingled with the lasting shock and underlying anger at class hierarchy and the British leadership’s incompetence. But historians know well that the “Anzac spirit” is a complex and ever-evolving idea. In 2023, what do we teach school-aged children about its meaning and significance? One way forward is to rethink those Anzac narratives and tropes in a more complex way. <h2>Colonialism and class</h2> The Anzac story is tied up in the nation’s history as part of the British Empire. The Anzac toll was just part of a staggering 46,000 “Britons” – including many from India and Ireland – who died at Gallipoli. Some 86,000 Turks also died defending their peninsula. We need to teach about the Anzac sacrifice in the context of a global conflict where the magnitude of loss was horrific. Importantly, Anzac themes are bound up in early forms of colonial nationalism: New Zealand proving itself to Britain and developing its own fighting mentality on battlefields far from home. Part of this involves the notion of incompetent British commanders who let down the Anzac troops – but this is part of a bigger story. Focusing on imperial and class hierarchies of the time can place what happened in that broader context. The legendary story of <a href="https://nzhistory.govt.nz/wellington-battalion-captures-chunuk-bair">Chunuck Bair</a>, taken on August 8 by Colonel William Malone’s Wellington Regiment, but where most of the soldiers were killed when they weren’t relieved in time, is particularly evocative. <h2>Māori and the imperial project</h2> From our vantage point in the present, of course, we cannot ignore the Māori experience of war and colonialism. As the historian Vincent O’Malley has suggested, New Zealand’s “great war” of nation-making was actually <a href="https://teara.govt.nz/en/new-zealand-wars">Ngā pakanga o Aotearoa</a> – the New Zealand Wars. It’s time to teach the complexity of this past and the multiple perspectives on it. For example, Waikato leader <a href="https://nzhistory.govt.nz/people/te-kirihaehae-te-puea-herangi">Te Puea Hērangi</a>led opposition to WWI conscription and spoke against Māori participation on the side of a power that had only recently invaded her people’s land. Conversely, Māori seeking inclusion in the settler nation did participate. On July 3 1915, the 1st Māori Contingent landed at Anzac Cove. <a href="https://teara.govt.nz/en/biographies/3b54/buck-peter-henry">Te Rangi Hiroa</a> (Sir Peter Buck) (Ngāti Mutunga) was to say, "Our feet were set on a distant land where our blood was to be shed in the cause of the Empire to which we belonged." These words echo the familiar Anzac trope of the New Zealand nation being born at Gallipoli. Such sentiments led to postwar pilgrimages to retrace the steps of ancestors and claim the site as part of an Anzac heritage – a corner of New Zealand even. For many young New Zealanders it has become a rite of passage, part of the big OE. That a visit to Anzac Cove is still more popular than visiting the sites of Ngā pakanga o Aotearoa is something our teaching can investigate. <h2>Mateship and conformity</h2> The notion of the Anzac soldier as courageous and beyond reproach, willing to make the ultimate sacrifice for nation and empire, is also overdue for revision. The “glue” of mateship – a potent combination of masculine bravery and strength with extreme loyalty to fellow soldiers – is again a contested narrative. By the 1970s, as historian Rowan Light’s work shows, there was a significant challenge to such perceptions from the counterculture, peace protesters and feminists. And by the 1980s, veterans were sharing their stories more candidly with writer Maurice Shadbolt and war historian Chris Pugsley. Teaching about the meaning of mateship might examine the history of those peer-pressured into participating in war, those who were conscripted and had no choice, and more on the fate of conscientious objectors like Archibald Baxter. At its worst, the idea of mateship was window dressing for uniformity and parochialism. New Zealanders today have complex multicultural and global roots. We have ancestors who were co-opted to fight on different sides in 20th-century wars, including those who fought anti-colonial wars in India, Ireland and Samoa. Some came here as refugees escaping conflict. Jingoism and what it really represents deserves critical analysis. <h2>Poppies and peace</h2> The ubiquitous poppy, an icon much reproduced in classrooms, is also ripe for contextualisation and debate over its meaning. In the age of global environmental crisis, it can be seen as more than a symbol of sacrifice immortalised in verse and iconography. The poppy also reminds us of the landscapes devastated by the machinery of war that killed and maimed people, plants and animals. It contains within it myriad lessons about the threats science and technology can pose to a vulnerable planet. Anzac Day rose from the shock, loss and grief felt by those on the home front. And beyond the familiar tropes of nationalism, mateship and egalitarianism, this remains its overriding mood. Remembering and learning about the terrible physical and mental cost of war is the real point of those familiar phrases “lest we forget” and “never again”. That spirit of humanitarianism chimes with Aotearoa New Zealand’s modern role and evolving self-image as a peacekeeping, nuclear-free nation. Anzac Day also speaks to the need for global peace and arbitration, and how war is no viable solution to conflict. Those are surely lessons worth teaching. Image credits: Getty Images This article originally appeared on <a href="https://theconversation.com/new-lessons-about-old-wars-keeping-the-complex-story-of-anzac-day-relevant-in-the-21st-century-204013" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Conversation</a>.

Caring

Neglected pre-war car up for sale after miracle restoration

A 1939 MG VA, initially purchased as a stripped bare shell of itself, is heading for auction. When the pre-war vehicle sold for only a few hundred dollars, it wasn’t asking for much - most likely because it wasn’t offering a whole lot either. Missing entire doors and rusting in more than one place, the car left a lot to be desired. Its original owner had tucked it away in the garage after the MG failed an MOT in 1969 - an annual test in the United Kingdom to verify a vehicle’s safety. Although they’d intended to restore it, those plans never came to fruition, with the car learning a hard lesson in dust bunnies instead. 45 years later, it finally got the chance to see the light of day again, with its next owner snatching it up from a family friend at a ‘bargain’ price. And to everyone’s delight, the vehicle finally got the makeover it had been waiting almost half a century for. The owner - who has requested anonymity - even performed the bulk of the work by themself, although they left the engine overhaul and respray to the professionals. The hard work produced some spectacular results, and with the car now rolling into auction with an asking price of ~$18,500-$22,2000, its next owner is sure to enjoy all that it has to offer. When the line of MG VAs left production, they sold for up to $650 (or roughly $35,000 in 2023), and only 2,400 of them were ever made. The vehicles were produced alongside the larger SA and WA models, with their smallest-in-the-range 108-inch wheelbases distinguishing them from their counterparts. The VA model was only produced for two years, before the Second World War saw production come to a screeching halt. The MG company itself had been founded in the 1920s, and was renowned for its range of two-seater sports cars. After years of ownership changes, and after it was absorbed into the British Leyland group, the firm - which at that point was known as MG Rover - faced financial difficulty in the early 200s, and by 2005 was forced into receivership. However, the group was then purchased by Nanjing Automobile Group, and resumed its production of vehicles in 2007. In 2011, the MG6 appeared in the market, establishing itself as the first UK model in 16 years. And as for the 1939 VA model heading to auction with Charterhouse, Richard Bromell - who is handling the sale - had one just one thing to note, “to say the MG was bought as a project makes it sound much better than it was as it was in a very sorry state indeed “Thankfully the owner was more than handy with a spanner and undertook a complete restoration of the MG.” Images: Charterhouse Auctioneers & Valuers

Money & Banking

Queen Elizabeth's front line desires for her grandsons

A former army chief has revealed Queen Elizabeth's desires for both her grandsons to serve on the front lines. A new documentary has revealed that the late monarch wanted both Prince Harry and Prince William to serve in Afghanistan because they "must do their duty". In the upcoming ITV documentary The Real Crown: Inside the House of Windsor, Former Army head General Sir Mike Jackson shared the details of a private conversation he had with Queen Elizabeth, breaking strict royal protocol by doing so. "What goes on in those audiences and who says what to whom remains for the two people involved, and I will break the rule about not divulging what goes on on this one occasion," Sir Mike told the five-part series. "She was very clear. She said, 'My grandsons have taken my shilling, therefore they must do their duty.' And that was that." Despite the Queen's wishes, Prince Harry was the only one of the brothers to go to Afghanistan, completing two tours of duty, during his 10 years the Army. Sir Mike went on to say that sending Prince William, the heir to the throne, into a war zone was too much for the Queen. "It was decided that William as heir to the heir, the risk is too great," he said. "But for his younger brother, the risk was acceptable." Mark Cann, director of the British Forces Foundation, told the documentary that despite the reservations of the Crown, Prince William was enthusiastic about serving his country. He said, "William was very keen to go. Unequivocally." "But it was complex, and some very great minds and experienced people took a view on it." "I think it was really tricky. Anybody who's in the military who hasn't actually been on operation feels a sense of disappointment." "And I think especially that was the one (war) at the time, you've got everyone around you at the time who's been involved in it. So there is a sense of disappointment." The series goes on to explore the Queen's extensive knowledge about what was happening on the battlefields, with the former head of MI6 Sir John Scarlett saying the monarch had "complete clearance to everything". "She has complete access to an exceptional amount of info and insight for longer than anyone else," Sir John said. "She's very, very discreet, completely reliable and completely on top of the detail." "I remember thinking at the time, 'Wow, Her Majesty knows more about this than we do'." Image credits: Getty Images

Family & Pets

Star Wars actor collapses and dies at age 56

Star Wars actor Paul Grant has died at the age of 56 after collapsing at London’s King’s Cross. Grant was famous for his role as an Ewok in Star Wars: Return of the Jedi in 1983, and he also played a goblin in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. The actor was found by police collapsed outside the station on Thursday afternoon, according to <a href="https://www.thesun.co.uk/tvandshowbiz/21777602/paul-grant-dead-star-wars-ewok-actor/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Sun</a>. Grant was reportedly rushed to hospital, but the doctors declared that he was brain dead and his life support machine was turned off on Sunday. His daughter, 28-year-old Sophie Jayne Grant, has said that she was “devastated” by the loss, and has described her father as a “legend”. "My dad was a legend in so many ways. He always brought a smile and laughter to everyone's face. He would do anything for anyone and was a massive Arsenal fan," she said. “He was an actor, father and grandad. He loved his daughters and son and his girlfriend Maria very much, as well as her kids who were like stepchildren to him. My dad, I love you so much, sleep tight,” she told The Sun. Grant lived with a rare genetic type of dwarfism called Spondyloepiphyseal dysplasia congenita, that caused various health problems. He was also open about his battle with drug and alcohol addiction. Grant’s girlfriend Maria Dwyer has also paid tribute to the star. "Paul was the love of my life. The funniest man I know. He made my life complete. Life is never going to be the same without him," she said. Fans have taken to social media to mourn the star. “Sad to hear Paul Grant - Star Wars actor has died - I remember him in "Return of the Jedi" - my condolences to Paul's family,” wrote one fan. "R.I.P PAUL GRANT shocked & saddened big man ' we had fun & laughs over the years top Gooner with a passion REST EASY MY FRIEND,” wrote another. Image: Lucasfilm

News

Prince Harry reveals why he shared his Afghanistan body count

Prince Harry has shared why he felt compelled to share the number of people he killed while fighting in Afghanistan. In his memoir Spare, the Duke of Sussex revealed that over two tours in the war-torn country, he <a href="https://www.oversixty.co.nz/finance/legal/prince-harry-s-shocking-body-count-in-afghanistan" target="_blank" rel="noopener">killed 25 people</a>. Now, in yet another promotion for his book, he said that he believed soldiers should discuss “parts of our service that haunt us”. Harry was criticised by senior military figures for revealing his "kill count", while the Taliban accused the royal of committing war crimes after he referred to people he killed as “chess pieces”. He has now told <a href="https://people.com/royals/prince-harry-spare-memoir-raw-account-good-bad-everything-between-interview/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">People</a> magazine that he is open about his military service for my own healing journey” and “in the hopes it will help others”. “I know from my own healing journey that silence has been the least effective remedy,” he told the magazine. “Expressing and detailing my experience is how I chose to deal with it, in the hopes it would help others.” He continued, “This is something each soldier has to confront, and in the nearly two decades of working alongside service personnel and veterans, I’ve listened to their stories and have shared mine." “In these conversations, we often talk about the parts of our service that haunt us — the lives lost, the lives taken. But also the parts of our service that heal us and the lives we’ve saved." “It’s a duty, a job, and a service to our country — and having done two tours of duty in Afghanistan for my country, I’ve done all I could to be the best soldier I was trained to be." “There’s truly no right or wrong way to try and navigate these feelings.” Image credits: Getty Images

News

Prince Harry's shocking body count in Afghanistan

Prince Harry has gone into detail about his time in Afghanistan fighting the Taliban, revealing how many people he killed. The Duke of Sussex served in two tours of Afghanistan: first as a forward air controller calling in air strikes in 2007-2008, then flying the attack helicopter in 2012-2013. Detailing the war times in his highly anticipated memoir Spare, Harry shared he had killed 25 people, saying he is neither proud nor ashamed of “taking human lives” as it was simply his job as a soldier. The prince says that he did not think of the 25 as “people” but rather “chess pieces” that had to be taken off the board. He also saw the insurgents he killed as “baddies eliminated before they could kill goodies”, he writes. Soldiers usually don't know how many people they have killed, but Harry alleged he watched footage of each of his kills when he got back to base to determine with certainty his death toll. “My number is 25. It’s not a number that fills me with satisfaction, but nor does it embarrass me,” he says. He said after leaving the military in 2015 that killing insurgents was part of his job, and that “we take a life to save a life”. He justified his actions on the battlefield because of his memory of the 9/11 attacks in the United States, and the memory of meeting families of those who died. Those responsible and their sympathisers were “enemies of humanity” and fighting them was an act of vengeance for a crime against humanity, he added. Image credits: Getty Images

Legal

China’s influence in Myanmar could tip the scales towards war in the South China Sea

The fate of Myanmar has major implications for a free and open Indo-Pacific. An undemocratic Myanmar serves no one’s interests except China, which is consolidating its economic and strategic influence in its smaller neighbour in pursuit of its <a href="https://cimsec.org/chinese-maritime-strategy-indian-ocean/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">two-ocean strategy</a>. Since the coup China has been – by far – the main source of <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/myanmar-economy-idUSL4N2U721T" target="_blank" rel="noopener">foreign investment</a> in Myanmar. This includes <a href="https://www.myanmar-now.org/en/news/junta-approves-25bn-power-plant-project-backed-by-chinese-companies" target="_blank" rel="noopener">US$2.5 billion</a> in a gas-fired power plant to be built west of Myanmar’s capital, Yangon, that will be 81% owned and operated by Chinese companies. Among the dozens of infrastructure projects China is funding are high-speed rail links and dams. But its most strategically important investment is the <a href="https://www.wilsoncenter.org/blog-post/china-myanmar-economic-corridor-and-chinas-determination-see-it-through" target="_blank" rel="noopener">China-Myanmar Economic Corridor</a>, encompassing oil and gas pipelines, roads and rail links costing many tens of billions of dollars. The corridor’s “jewel in the crown” is a deep-sea port to be built at Kyaukphyu, on Myanmar’s west coast, at an estimated <a href="https://www.bnionline.net/en/news/kyaukphyu-deep-sea-port-poses-challenges-maday-islanders-and-local-fisheries" target="_blank" rel="noopener">cost of US$7 billion</a>. This will finally give China its long-desired “back door” to the Indian Ocean. Natural gas from Myanmar can help China reduce its dependence on imports from suppliers such as Australia. Access <a href="https://www.diis.dk/en/research/myanmar-chinas-west-coast-dream" target="_blank" rel="noopener">to the Indian Ocean</a> will enable China to import gas and oil from the Middle East, Africa and Venezuela without ships having to pass through the contested waters of the South China Sea to Chinese ports. About <a href="https://chinapower.csis.org/much-trade-transits-south-china-sea/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">80% of China’s oil imports</a> now move through the South China Sea via the Malacca Strait, which is just 65 kilometres wide at its narrowest point between the Malay Peninsula and Indonesia’s Sumatra. Overcoming this strategic vulnerability arguably makes the Kyaukphyu port and pipelines the most important element of China’s <a href="https://theconversation.com/china-is-financing-infrastructure-projects-around-the-world-many-could-harm-nature-and-indigenous-communities-168060" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Belt and Road initiative</a> to reshape global trade routes and assert its influence over other nations. <h2>Deepening relationship</h2> Most of China’s infrastructure investment was planned before Myanmar’s coup. But whereas other governments and foreign investors have sought to distance themselves from the junta since it overthrew Myanmar’s elected government in February 2021, China has deepened its relationship. China is the Myanmar regime’s most important international supporter. In April Foreign Minister Wang Yi said <a href="https://apnews.com/article/wang-yi-aung-san-suu-kyi-china-myanmar-diplomacy-d68de69436c1462f647f6475b6315c92" target="_blank" rel="noopener">China would support Myanmar</a> “no matter how the situation changes”. In May it used its veto power on the United Nations Security Council to thwart <a href="https://news.yahoo.com/russia-china-block-un-statement-034542265.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a statement expressing concern</a> about violence and the growing humanitarian crisis in Myanmar. Work continues on projects associated with the China-Myanmar Economic Corridor. New ventures (such as the aforementioned power station) have been approved. More projects are on the cards. In June, for example, China’s embassy in Myanmar announced the completion of <a href="https://www.thestar.com.my/aseanplus/aseanplus-news/2022/06/08/feasibility-study-completed-for-myanmar039s-wan-pong-port-improvement-project" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a feasibility study</a> to upgrade the Wan Pong port on the Lancang-Mekong River in Myanmar’s east. <h2>Debt trap warnings</h2> In 2020, before the coup, Myanmar’s auditor general Maw Than <a href="https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/costly-borrowing-06102020151951.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">warned of growing indebtedness</a> to China, with Chinese lenders charging higher interest payments than those from the International Monetary Fund or World Bank. At that time <a href="https://www.asianews.it/news-en/Forty-per-cent-of-Myanmar%E2%80%99s-government-debt-held-by-China-46071.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">about 40%</a> of Myanmar’s foreign debt of US$10 billion was owed to China. It is likely to be greater now. It will only increase the longer a military dictatorship, with few other supporters or sources of foreign money, remains in power, <a href="https://www.eastasiaforum.org/2021/06/23/how-the-coup-is-destroying-myanmars-economy/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">dragging down Myanmar’s economy</a>. Efforts to restore democracy in Myanmar should therefore be seen as crucial to the long-term strategic interests of the region’s democracies, and to global peace and prosperity, given the increasing belligerence of China under Xi Jinping. Xi, now president for life, this month told the People’s Liberation Army to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/nov/09/xi-jinping-tells-chinas-army-to-focus-on-preparation-for-war" target="_blank" rel="noopener">prepare for war</a>. A compliant and indebted Myanmar with a deep-sea port controlled by Chinese interests tips the scales towards that happening. A democratic and independent Myanmar is a counter-strategy to this potential. <h2>Calls for sanctions</h2> Myanmar’s democracy movement wants the international community to impose <a href="https://specialadvisorycouncil.org/cut-the-cash/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">tough sanctions</a> on the junta. But few have responded. The United States and United Kingdom have gone furthest, banning business dealings with Myanmar military officials and state-owned or private companies controlled by the military. The European Union and Canada have imposed sanctions against a more limited range of individuals and economic entities. South Korea has suspended financing new infrastructure projects. Japan has suspended aid and postponed the launch of Myanmar’s first satellite. New Zealand has suspended political and military contact. Australia has suspended military cooperation (with some <a href="https://www.dfat.gov.au/international-relations/security/sanctions/sanctions-regimes/myanmar-sanctions-regime" target="_blank" rel="noopener">pre-existing restrictions</a> on dealing with military leaders imposed following the human rights atrocities committed against the <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-41566561" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Rohingya</a> in 2017. But that’s about it. Myanmar’s closest neighbours in the ten-member Association of South-East Asian Nations are still committed to a policy of dialogue and “<a href="https://thediplomat.com/2022/11/will-asean-finally-change-its-approach-toward-myanmar/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">non-interference</a>” – though <a href="https://thediplomat.com/2022/05/malaysian-fm-says-asean-envoy-welcomes-idea-of-engaging-myanmars-nug/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Malaysia</a> and <a href="https://thediplomat.com/2022/11/indonesian-fm-says-myanmar-military-to-blame-for-countrys-crisis/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Indonesia</a> are increasingly arguing for a tougher approach as the atrocities mount. The <a href="https://myanmar.iiss.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project</a> says the only country now more violent than Myanmar is Ukraine. Given its unique geo-strategic position, self-interest alone should be enough for the international community to take greater action. This article originally appeared on <a href="https://theconversation.com/chinas-influence-in-myanmar-could-tip-the-scales-towards-war-in-the-south-china-sea-189780" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Conversation</a>. Image: Shutterstock

Legal

Junior staff are finding better contracts, senior staff are burning out: the arts are losing the war for talent

In 1997, consulting firm McKinsey & Company coined the term “<a href="https://www.fastcompany.com/34512/war-talent">the war for talent</a>” to define increasing labour shortages that had significant potential to impact organisational performance. The war for talent significantly impacted corporations at the time, creating a scarcity mindset and encouraging a wave of employee-focussed initiatives designed to attract and retain staff. For the most part, the arts and cultural sector have been sheltered from the war for talent over past decades. Global growth in creative oriented higher education coupled with the “<a href="https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/lsereviewofbooks/2016/04/26/book-review-be-creative-making-a-living-in-the-new-culture-industries-by-angela-mcrobbie/">romance of being creative</a>” has led to a steady stream of workers willing to enter the sector on low pay. However, in 2022 things have changed. Faced with labour shortages, arts and cultural organisations increasingly find it challenging to operate. In 2021, it was reported screen productions in Australia were <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-09-24/high-demand-creates-film-skill-shortage/100479392">being jeopardised</a> due to lack of technical skills. Now, summer festivals are <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/music/2022/nov/07/will-australias-festivals-survive-a-wet-chaotic-expensive-summer">struggling to find</a> frontline workers, including security, stage crew, ticketing and transport. It’s not just entry-level positions that remain empty. After <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2021/may/11/australias-culture-of-ideas-suffers-when-we-starve-our-creative-institutions-of-funding">a decade</a> of funding cuts and policy neglect, followed by the stresses induced by COVID-19, I am observing arts leaders leaving to find secure, better paid and sustainable work elsewhere. In Australia’s increasingly tight labour market, the arts are finally facing a war for talent. <h2>A culture of burnout</h2> If we consider the role of the “arts manager”, it becomes easy to recognise why arts leaders are abandoning the industry. Arts leaders do not just support the creation of art. They are marketers, customer service specialists, supply chain and logistics experts, grant writers, human resources managers and – increasingly – risk managers. They are trying to bring back audiences post-COVID while juggling a contentious funding landscape that balances the need for revenue with audience, staff and artist <a href="https://overland.org.au/2021/09/the-arts-in-australia-need-to-break-up-with-fossil-fuels/">expectations</a> arts organisations do not partner with corporations that fail to align with organisational values. I am increasingly seeing young people leaving arts jobs for opportunities that recognise their skills and provide secure, better paid work. Art workers are highly valuable in today’s economy where creativity and innovation are seen as <a href="https://australiacouncil.gov.au/news/speeches-and-opinions/creative-skills-in-times-of-crisis-how-the-arts-can-help/">keys to success</a>. This lack of younger workers increases the workloads of senior staff, causing them to be burnt out and leave the sector, too. Staff shortages jeopardise the sector’s ability to get back on its feet after the brutal impact of COVID-19. Those that remain in our arts companies are exhausted, left trying to rebuild programs and audiences with fewer resources. While “<a href="https://theconversation.com/quiet-quitting-why-doing-less-at-work-could-be-good-for-you-and-your-employer-188617">quiet quitting</a>” gets media airtime, others in the sector are asking arts workers to embrace the mantra of “<a href="https://larsenkeys.com.au/2022/09/26/post-covid-or-post-burnout-less-is-necessary/">less is necessary</a>”. Individuals need to take action to address their wellbeing. Still, it is also necessary to consider the systems and structures that underpin our arts organisations and how they impact workers. <h2>Structural issues</h2> One way to address the war for talent is to increase the labour supply. Higher education providers who develop creative talent are lobbying for more resources to expand programs and are pushing for changes to the Job Ready graduate scheme that <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-inequity-of-job-ready-graduates-for-students-must-be-brought-to-a-quick-end-heres-how-183808">imposes higher costs</a> on arts and humanities graduates. The latest <a href="https://www.aare.edu.au/blog/?p=14754">Graduate Outcome Survey</a> shows that the employment outcomes of creative arts and arts and humanities graduates have increased over 20% since 2019. The high rates of graduate employability aligns with Australia’s historically low unemployment rate, but also demonstrates the value creative skills now hold in the broader economy. What these positive statistics do not tell us, however, is the working conditions of those employed. The arts are the original gig economy. Of the over 80% of arts and humanities graduates employed six months after graduation, how many earn a living wage? How many work in the arts? How many recent creative arts graduates are juggling multiple short-term contracts simultaneously to build skills, grow networks and cope with cost of living increases? As Australia’s labour market tightens, arts workers are realising they can take their skills to better paid jobs with secure contracts, in fields such as health, technology and management consulting. Unless arts organisations respond by providing similar security and career paths, the departure of talented workers will only continue. This loss of staff will not only impact the ability of organisations to operate today, but will also influence the make-up of arts organisations in the future. When only those who can afford to work under precarious conditions remain, the ability of the sector to attract and retain leaders from diverse communities <a href="https://www.artshub.com.au/news/features/how-do-we-stop-losing-artists-from-the-sector-2578669/">decreases</a>. <h2>Decent work</h2> Arts leaders eagerly await the launch of a new <a href="https://theconversation.com/a-new-national-cultural-policy-is-an-opportunity-for-a-radical-rethinking-of-the-importance-of-culture-in-australia-188720">National Cultural Policy</a>, hoping for significant change in how the arts are valued. Yet arts organisations need to also get their own house in order. Sustainable arts careers mean <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-crisis-of-a-career-in-culture-why-sustaining-a-livelihood-in-the-arts-is-so-hard-171732">decent work</a>. This means structural changes in how arts workers are employed, a shift away from the reliance on volunteers and <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/culture/art-and-design/why-is-a-major-sydney-arts-festival-working-with-google-to-offer-an-unpaid-internship-20220516-p5als1.html">incorrect appointment of unpaid interns</a>, low-wage casual or fixed-term roles to more secure and fairly paid employment. Many in the sector are championing change. The National Association for the Visual Arts is campaigning to <a href="https://visualarts.net.au/news-opinion/2022/recognise-artists-workers/">recognise artists as workers</a>, highlighting the need for an award to support this group that often falls under the industrial relations radar. The music sector has made similar calls for minimum wages for artists, <a href="https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/paying-musicians-a-minimum-wage-would-kill-live-music-tote-owner-20220923-p5bkgw.html">yet face critics</a>. The pandemic showed us how important the arts are to our lives. For the arts to continue to play a vital role in our national identity and represent our diverse communities, the sector must be funded appropriately. It is also essential organisations create safe, secure and viable jobs for arts workers. If the industry can only exist by systematically exploiting workers, then the war for talent will be lost. Image credits: Getty Images This article originally appeared on <a href="https://theconversation.com/junior-staff-are-finding-better-contracts-senior-staff-are-burning-out-the-arts-are-losing-the-war-for-talent-194174" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Conversation</a>.

Art

Banksy unveils new works on destroyed buildings in Ukraine

Banksy has unveiled a series of new artworks on the side of partially destroyed buildings in war-torn Ukraine. The elusive street artist created seven artworks in towns surrounding Ukraine’s capital of Kyiv, with Banksy confirming to <a href="https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2022/11/14/banksy-in-ukraine-seven-new-works-appear-in-war-torn-sites?utm_source=CNN&utm_medium=article">The Art Newspaper</a> that the works did come from him. The first artwork to be identified, which quickly went viral online, shows a female gymnast balancing on a pile of rubble on the side of a building damaged by Russian strikes. The graffiti artist posted three images of the piece Friday on social media, with a simple caption reading "Borodyanka, Ukraine" — an alternative spelling for the town's name. <blockquote class="instagram-media" style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/Ck1bqL6MsMu/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"> </div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;"> <div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: 8px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: auto;"> <div style="width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;"> </div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/Ck1bqL6MsMu/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A post shared by Banksy (@banksy)</a> </div> </blockquote> Another artwork depicts a little boy, wearing a martial arts uniform tied with a black belt, flipping a grown man onto his back. Some have connected the image to Russian President Vladimir Putin, whose honorary black belt was revoked earlier this year by World Taekwondo, though Banksy has not publicly commented on the image or its meaning. Other murals showed two children using a metal tank trap as a seesaw, and a woman in hair curlers and a gas mask holding a fire extinguisher. The series is the first set of Banksy artworks to pop up since last summer's <a href="https://www.oversixty.com.au/entertainment/art/banksy-goes-on-a-mural-making-spree-in-england">Great British Spraycation</a>, which saw the enigmatic artist leave behind his signature pop art commentary at sites across a number of British coastal towns. Image credits: Getty Images

Art

"Prima donna in pigtails": how Julie Andrews the child star embodied the hopes of post-war Britain

In June, the American Film Institute presented its 48th Life Achievement Award, the highest honour in American cinema, to the beloved stage-and-screen star <a href="https://www.afi.com/laa/julie-andrews/">Julie Andrews</a>. On conferring the award, the AFI praised Andrews as “a legendary actress” who “has enchanted and delighted audiences around the world with her uplifting and inspiring body of work”. As anyone who has seen Mary Poppins (1964) or The Sound of Music (1965) can attest, “uplift” is central to the <a href="https://www.sensesofcinema.com/2002/female-glamour-and-star-power/andrews/">Julie Andrews screen persona</a>. It is a sweetness-and-light image that is easy to lampoon. <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BZtTQSbl-nw/?hl=en">Andrews herself</a> is alleged to have quipped “sometimes I’m so sweet even I can’t stand it”. But it’s an element of feel-good edification that fuels much of the star’s iconic appeal. The idea of Julie Andrews as a figure of uplift has a long history. Decades before she attained global film stardom in Hollywood, Andrews enjoyed an early career as <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/19392397.2022.2109303">a child performer</a>. Billed as “Britain’s youngest singing star”, she performed widely on the postwar concert and variety circuit with forays into radio, gramophone recording and even early television. Possessing a precociously mature soprano voice, Andrews was widely promoted in the era as a <a href="https://paralleljulieverse.tumblr.com/post/63601790519/julies-status-as-a-juvenile-prodigy-possessed">child prodigy</a>. A 1945 BBC talent report filed when the young singer was just nine years old enthused over “this wonderful child discovery” whose “breath control, diction, and range is quite extraordinary for so young a child”. <h2>‘Infant prodigy of trills’</h2> Andrews made her professional West End debut in 1947 where she dazzled audiences with a coloratura performance of the Polonaise from Mignon. Newspapers were ablaze with stories about the “12-year-old singing prodigy with the phenomenal voice”. Reports claimed the pint-sized singer had a vocal range of over four octaves, a fully formed adult larynx and an upper <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whistle_register">whistle register</a> so high dogs would be beckoned whenever she sang. On the back of such stories, Andrews was given a slew of lionising monikers: “prima donna in pigtails”, “infant prodigy of trills”, “the miracle voice” and “Britain’s juvenile coloratura”. While much of it was PR hype, the representation of Andrews as an extraordinary musical prodigy resonated deeply with postwar British audiences. The devastation of the war cast <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK436946/">a long shadow</a>, and there was a keen sense a collective social rejuvenation was needed to reestablish national wellbeing. The figure of the child was pivotal to the rhetoric of postwar British reconstruction. From political calls for <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0363199020945746">expanded child welfare</a> to the era’s booming <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/30036327">family-oriented consumerism</a>, images of children saturated the cultural landscape, serving as a lightning rod for both <a href="https://www.iwm.org.uk/history/growing-up-in-the-second-world-war">social anxieties and hopes</a>. In her status as “Britain’s youngest singing star”, Andrews chimed with these postwar discourses of child-oriented renewal. A popular myth even traced her prodigious talent to the very heart of the Blitz. Like a scene from a morale-boosting melodrama, the story claimed the young Andrews was huddled one night with family and friends in a Beckenham air raid shelter. In the middle of a communal singalong, a powerful voice suddenly materialised out of her tiny frame, astonishing all into silent delight. <h2>‘Our Julie’</h2> One of the most pointed alignments of Andrews’ juvenile stardom with a discourse of postwar British nationalism came with her appearance at the <a href="https://www.royalvarietycharity.org/royal-variety-performance/archive/detail/1948-london-palladium-">1948 Royal Command Variety Performance</a>. Appearing just two weeks after her 13th birthday, Andrews was the youngest artist ever to participate in the annual event. It generated considerable media coverage and yet another grand nickname: “command singer in pigtails”. Andrews performed a solo set at the event, and was also charged with leading the national anthem at the close. Ideals of restorative nationalism shaped Andrews’ child stardom in other ways. Much of her early repertoire was markedly British, drawn from the English classical canon and rounded out by traditional folk songs. Press reports emphasised, for all her remarkable talent, “our Julie” was still a typical English girl thoroughly unspoiled by fame. In accompanying images she would appear in idyllic scenarios of classic English childhood: playing with dolls, riding her bicycle, doing her homework. Elsewhere, commentary was rife with speculations about Andrews’ prospects as “the next <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adelina_Patti">Adelina Patti</a>” or “future <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lily_Pons">Lily Pons</a>”. The mix of nostalgia and hope helped make the young Andrews a reassuring figure in the anxious landscape of postwar Britain. <h2>All grown up</h2> Little prodigies can’t remain little forever. There lies the troubled rub for many child stars, doomed by biology to lose their principal claim to fame. In Andrews’ case, she was able to make the successful transition to adult stardom – and even greater fame – by moving country and professional register into the American stage and screen musical. Still, the themes of therapeutic uplift that defined her early child stardom would follow Julie Andrews as she graduated to become the world’s favourite singing nanny. Image credits: Getty Images This article originally appeared on <a href="https://theconversation.com/prima-donna-in-pigtails-how-julie-andrews-the-child-star-embodied-the-hopes-of-post-war-britain-188363" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Conversation</a>.

Music

Whether in war-torn Ukraine, Laos or Spain, kids have felt compelled to pick up crayons and put their experiences to paper

“They still draw pictures!” So wrote the editors of an influential collection of children’s art that was <a href="https://www.afsc.org/document/they-still-draw-pictures-1938">compiled in 1938</a> during <a href="https://theconversation.com/ukraines-foreign-fighters-have-little-in-common-with-those-who-signed-up-to-fight-in-the-spanish-civil-war-178976">the Spanish Civil War</a>. Eighty years later, war continues to upend children’s lives in Ukraine, Yemen and elsewhere. In January, UNICEF <a href="https://www.unicef.org/globalinsight/reports/prospects-children-2022-global-outlook">projected</a> that 177 million children worldwide would require assistance due to war and political instability in 2022. This included <a href="https://www.unicef.org/emergencies/yemen-crisis">12 million children in Yemen</a>, <a href="https://www.unicef.org/emergencies/syrian-crisis">6.5 million in Syria</a> and <a href="https://www.unicef.org/appeals/myanmar">5 million in Myanmar</a>. The Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 added 7 million more children to this number. To date, more than half of Ukraine’s children <a href="https://www.unicef.org/emergencies/war-ukraine-pose-immediate-threat-children">have been internally or externally displaced</a>. Many more have faced disruptions to education, health care and home life. And yet they, too, still draw pictures. In March, a charity called <a href="https://www.uakids.today/en">UA Kids Today</a>launched, offering a digital platform for kids to respond with art to Russia’s invasion and raise money for aid to Ukrainian families with children. <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=7bfZyk8AAAAJ&hl=en">As a scholar who studies</a> the ways wars affect societies’ most vulnerable members, I see much that can be learned from the art created by kids living in war-torn regions across place and time. <h2>A century of children’s art</h2> During <a href="https://www.nam.ac.uk/explore/boer-war">the Boer War</a> – a conflict waged from 1899 to 1902 between British troops and South African guerrilla forces – relief workers sought to teach orphaned girls the art of <a href="https://blogs.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/archivesandmanuscripts/2017/08/24/the-archive-of-emily-hobhouse-now-available/">lace-making</a>. During World War I, displaced children in Greece and Turkey learned to weave textiles and decorate pottery <a href="https://neareastmuseum.com/2015/08/13/every-stitch-a-story-near-east-industries/">as a means of making a living</a>. Over time, expression has replaced subsistence as the driver of children’s wartime artwork. No longer pressed to sell their productions, children are instead urged to put their emotions and experiences on display for the world to see. Novelist <a href="https://www.neh.gov/humanities/2015/novemberdecember/feature/the-talented-mr-huxley">Aldous Huxley</a> hinted at this goal in his introduction to the 1938 collection of Spanish Civil War art. Whether showing “explosions, the panic rush to shelter, [or] the bodies of victims,” <a href="https://library.ucsd.edu/speccoll/tsdp/frame.html">Huxley wrote</a>, these drawings revealed “a power of expression that evokes our admiration for the childish artists and our horror at the elaborate bestiality of modern war.” <a href="https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/herbert-read">Herbert Read</a>, a World War I veteran and educational theorist, organized another show of children’s art during World War II. Unlike Huxley, Read found that scenes of war did not dominate the drawings he collected from British schoolchildren, even those exposed to the London Blitz. In a pamphlet for the exhibition, he highlighted “the sense of beauty and the enjoyment of life which they have expressed.” While the shows discussed by Read and Huxley differed in many ways, both men emphasized the form and composition of children’s artwork as much as their pictorial contents. Both also expressed the view that the creators of these drawings would play a critical role in the rebuilding of their war-torn communities. <h2>A political tool</h2> As with the children’s war art made during Huxley and Read’s time, the images coming out of Ukraine express a mix of horror, fear, hope and beauty. While planes, rockets and explosions appear in many of the pictures uploaded by <a href="https://www.uakids.today/en">UA Kids Today</a>, so do flowers, angels, Easter bunnies and peace signs. The managers of this platform – who are refugees themselves – have not been able to mount a physical exhibition of these works. But artists and curators elsewhere are beginning to do so. In Sarasota, Florida, artist Wojtek Sawa <a href="https://www.fox13news.com/news/new-sarasota-exhibit-features-artwork-of-ukrainian-children-coping-with-war">has opened a show</a> of Ukrainian children’s art that will be used to collect donations and messages from visitors. These will later be distributed to displaced children in Poland. <a href="https://warchildhood.org/">The War Childhood Museum</a>, based in Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina, had recently concluded traveling exhibitions in Kyiv and Kherson when the Russian invasion started. The museum’s managing director, who has <a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-war-crimes-schools-d1e52368aced8b3359f4436ca7180811">spoken</a> out strongly about the need for cultural heritage protection in war, was able to retrieve several dozen artifacts from these shows a few days before the fighting commenced. Those toys and drawings, which tell the story of children’s experience during Russia’s previous effort to gain control of the Donbas region in 2014, <a href="https://warchildhood.org/2022/02/24/updates-from-ukraine/">will be featured</a> in shows opening elsewhere in Europe in 2022. By capturing the attention of journalists and the public, these exhibitions have been used to raise awareness, solicit funds and inspire commentary. However, children’s art from Ukraine has not yet played a role in political deliberations, as it did when peace activist Fred Branfman shared his collection of drawings by Laotian children and adults <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/07/us/fred-branfman-laos-activist-dies-at-72.html">during his 1971 testimony</a> before Congress on the “<a href="https://legaciesofwar.org/about-laos/secret-war-laos/">Secret War</a>” the U.S. had been conducting in Laos since 1964. Nor is it yet clear whether this art will play a part in future war crimes trials, as the art of Auschwitz-Birkenau internee Yahuda Bacon <a href="https://www.economist.com/books-and-arts/2020/01/25/for-child-survivors-drawing-is-therapy-and-a-tool-of-justice">did during</a> the 1961 trial of Adolf Eichmann. <h2>Windows into different worlds</h2> Art historians <a href="https://www.massey.ac.nz/%7Ealock/hbook/bremner.htm">once thought</a> children’s drawings, no matter where they lived, revealed the world in a way that was unshaped by cultural conventions. But I don’t believe that children in all countries and conflicts represent their experiences in the same way. The drawings of children imprisoned in Nazi concentration camps during World War II are not formally or symbolically interchangeable with drawings made by children exposed to America’s bombing campaign in Laos. Nor can these be interpreted in the same way as images produced by Ukrainian, Yemeni, Syrian or Sudanese children today. To me, one of the most valuable features of children’s art is its power to highlight unique aspects of everyday life in distant places, while conveying a sense of what can be upended, lost or destroyed. A Laotian child’s <a href="https://legaciesofwar.org/programs/national-traveling-exhibition/illustrations-narratives/">drawing</a> of a horse that “ran back to the village” from the rice field after its owner was killed by a bomb offers a small window into the lives of subsistence rice farmers. The desert landscapes and <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-09-30/yemen-s-historic-tower-houses-are-under-threat">urban architecture</a> of Yemen are equally distinctive, and Yemeni children’s drawings highlight those differences even as they express aspirations that viewers around the world may share. <h2>The challenges of preservation</h2> As an academic who has also worked in museums, I am always thinking about how artifacts from today’s conflicts will be preserved for exhibition in the future. There are significant challenges to preserving the drawings and paintings young people produce. First, children’s art is materially unstable. It is often made on paper, with crayons, markers and other ephemeral media. This makes it dangerous to display originals and demands care in the production of facsimiles. Second, children’s art is often hard to contextualize. The first-person commentaries that accompanied some of the Spanish Civil War drawings and most of the Laotian images <a href="https://library.ucsd.edu/speccoll/tsdp/frame.html">often provide</a> details about children’s localized experience but rarely about the timing of events, geographic locations or other crucial facts. Finally, much children’s war art suffers from uncertain authorship. With few full names recorded, it is hard to trace the fates of most child artists, nor is it generally possible to gather their adult reflections on their childhood creations. By noting these complications, I don’t want to detract from the remarkable fact that children still draw pictures during war. Their expressions are invaluable for documenting war and its impact, and it’s important to study them. Nevertheless, in researching children’s art, it is necessary to reflect that scholars and curators are – like the child artists themselves – often working at the limits of their knowledge. Image credits: Instagram This article originally appeared on <a href="https://theconversation.com/whether-in-war-torn-ukraine-laos-or-spain-kids-have-felt-compelled-to-pick-up-crayons-and-put-their-experiences-to-paper-181458" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Conversation</a>.

Art

“May justice be done”: Ben Roberts-Smith’s trial comes to an end

The defamation trial launched by Ben Roberts-Smith against Nine newspapers has come to an end after four years, with Justice Anthony Besanko left with the final task of condemning or clearing the war veteran’s name. Mr Roberts-Smith’s lawyers are hoping that finding in their client’s favour will see his name cleared and result in the largest defamation payout in history, while a finding in favour of his journalist opponents could validate their claims he committed “the most heinous acts of criminality” while serving in the SAS. The lengthy case drew to a close on Wednesday after over 100 days of evidence, more than $25 million in legal fees and two weeks of closing speeches. Arthur Moses SC, Mr Roberts-Smith’s barrister, used his closing statement to push the fact that Nine had the burden of proof to prove their claims the Victoria Cross recipient had murdered unarmed prisoners, “(Nine) published allegations and stories as fact that condemned Mr Roberts-Smith as being guilty of the most heinous acts of criminality that could be made against a member of the Australian Defence Force, and indeed any citizen,” Mr Moses said. “It depends upon recollection of events that occurred during missions more than 10 years ago… Recollections which are contradicted either by their own witnesses, our witnesses and Defence Force documents.” “They have urged upon the court a case which is one of mere suspicion, surmise and guesswork to condemn a man, who served his nation with great distinction, as a war criminal.” Mr Moses called on Justice Besanko to reject Nine’s case “in all forms”. Meanwhile, Nicholas Owens SC, representing Nine, closed his case by returning to the claims and counterclaims, including the question of Mr Roberts-Smith’s motive in killing six detained Afghans when he had transported hundreds of others safely back to Australia bases, which Mr Roberts-Smith said Nine had left unanswered. When he opened his case in June 2021, Mr Owens said that even “the most brutal, vile member of the Taliban imaginable” can’t be killed once detained and “to do so is murder”. On Wednesday, he returned to this point and said Mr Roberts-Smith killed the detainees simply because they were “enemy combatants”. “We say that was a powerful motive that operated in relation to all of these incidents… it was a motive to kill Taliban insurgents regardless of the lawfulness of doing so,” Mr Owens told the court. Justice Besanko thanked lawyers on both sides, as well as the legal team for the Commonwealth government who had been on-hand every single day in court to keep highly classified material out of the public sphere. With the trial conducting itself in a combination of open and closed court, with sensitive information and testimonies being held in closed court, the full scope of evidence Justice Besanko must consider isn’t well-known. It is also unknown just how long it will take Justice Besanko to reach a verdict, given the sheer volume of evidence and documents, but it is expected to take many months. Nick McKenzie, one of the journalists Mr Roberts-Smith launched his case against, took to social media following the trial’s conclusion to summarise the claims made against Mr Roberts-Smith and call for justice to be done. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> Roberts-Smith trial is now over, save for judgment. 4 years ago RS launched it. Such stress for all involved: SAS eye witnesses who accuse RS of murders/cliffkicking of innocent Afghan father, Afghans who witnessed the same, brave woman who spoke up about DV. May justice be done. — Nick McKenzie (@Ageinvestigates) <a href="https://twitter.com/Ageinvestigates/status/1552124223669149696?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 27, 2022</a></blockquote> “Roberts-Smith trial is now over, save for judgement,” the Age journalist wrote. “4 years ago RS (Roberts-Smith) launched it. Such stress for all involved: SAS eye witnesses who accuse RS of murders/kicking of innocent Afghan father, Afghans who witnessed the same, brave woman who spoke up about (domestic violence). “May justice be done.” Image: Getty Images

Legal

Historic first as unique WWII sea fort bunker goes on sale

A decommissioned World War II fort in the middle of the ocean is being auctioned off for the first time in an historic sale. Starting at £50,000 (A$87k), the abandoned concrete vessel was initially built between 1915 and 1919 for naval defence during World War I, but was not operational until WWII. The property, which is located in the Humber Estuary of Northern England, is defined by the United Kingdom as a “grade II” building or structure that is “of special interest, warranting every effort to preserve it”, making it a historic listing. The unique marine dwelling under the hammer on July 19th through <a href="https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/124641977?utm_campaign=later-linkinbio-zillowgonewild&utm_content=later-28287929&utm_medium=social&utm_source=linkin.bio#/?channel=RES_BUY" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Savills National Auctions</a>. The ship once featured 30cm of armour on one side and an arsenal of weapons on the other, which was enough to support a garrison of up to 200 soldiers, according to the listing. The armour and weaponry were stripped from the site back in 1956. The sea fort is made up of three floors with a basement and a chamber below sea level, and also features a central two-storey observation tower. “In need of refurbishment throughout with potential for development /alternative uses, subject to consent.” the listing explains. The sea fort itself can only be accessed ‘by private boat’ from a port just south of Hull, located approximately five hours from London. Image credits: rightmove.co.uk

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Legendary Star Wars and James Bond actor passes away

War in Ukraine affected wellbeing worldwide, but people’s speed of recovery depended on their personality

After 3 months of devastation in the Israel-Hamas war, is anyone ‘winning’?

What exactly is a ceasefire, and why is it so difficult to agree on one in Gaza?

Can Israel and Hamas be held to account for alleged crimes against civilians?

Thor and Star Wars actor dies suddenly just days before birthday

Put your Star Wars knowledge to the test

New lessons about old wars: keeping the complex story of Anzac Day relevant in the 21st century

Neglected pre-war car up for sale after miracle restoration

Queen Elizabeth's front line desires for her grandsons

Star Wars actor collapses and dies at age 56

Prince Harry reveals why he shared his Afghanistan body count

Prince Harry's shocking body count in Afghanistan

China’s influence in Myanmar could tip the scales towards war in the South China Sea

Junior staff are finding better contracts, senior staff are burning out: the arts are losing the war for talent

Banksy unveils new works on destroyed buildings in Ukraine

"Prima donna in pigtails": how Julie Andrews the child star embodied the hopes of post-war Britain

Whether in war-torn Ukraine, Laos or Spain, kids have felt compelled to pick up crayons and put their experiences to paper

“May justice be done”: Ben Roberts-Smith’s trial comes to an end

Historic first as unique WWII sea fort bunker goes on sale

News

Shop

Catalogues

Travel

Health

Lifestyle

Finance

Entertainment

Property

Information

Keep up to date

Search

Legendary Star Wars and James Bond actor passes away

War in Ukraine affected wellbeing worldwide, but people’s speed of recovery depended on their personality

After 3 months of devastation in the Israel-Hamas war, is anyone ‘winning’?

What exactly is a ceasefire, and why is it so difficult to agree on one in Gaza?

Can Israel and Hamas be held to account for alleged crimes against civilians?

Thor and Star Wars actor dies suddenly just days before birthday

Put your Star Wars knowledge to the test

New lessons about old wars: keeping the complex story of Anzac Day relevant in the 21st century

Neglected pre-war car up for sale after miracle restoration

Queen Elizabeth's front line desires for her grandsons

Star Wars actor collapses and dies at age 56

Prince Harry reveals why he shared his Afghanistan body count

Prince Harry's shocking body count in Afghanistan

China’s influence in Myanmar could tip the scales towards war in the South China Sea

Junior staff are finding better contracts, senior staff are burning out: the arts are losing the war for talent

Banksy unveils new works on destroyed buildings in Ukraine

"Prima donna in pigtails": how Julie Andrews the child star embodied the hopes of post-war Britain

Whether in war-torn Ukraine, Laos or Spain, kids have felt compelled to pick up crayons and put their experiences to paper

“May justice be done”: Ben Roberts-Smith’s trial comes to an end

Historic first as unique WWII sea fort bunker goes on sale

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