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Farhadi a Film Director, Not a Hero

When Iranian director Ashgar Farhadi was awarded the Grand Prix at this year’s Cannes Film Festival for his new film A Hero, many regime opponents expected him to use the media spotlight to denounce the Islamic Republic. What he actually had to say, however, disappointed their expectations.

Australian Leader Still Crazy About Coal

The climate crisis has forced most nations to accelerate their clean energy transitions. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report released this week underlined the urgency. However, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has never moved off his position that his nation’s coal industry will remain in place for decades to come.

Beijing Olympics Facing Potential Boycott

As the tumultuous and controversial Tokyo Olympics came to an end, the world set its eyes on Beijing, where the Winter Olympics is to be held in just six months. The 2022 Games could become even more contentious than the event which just closed.

Japanese Students Taught Lesson in State Repression

On June 24, about 140 police officers, including the riot police unit, conducted a raid on a student dormitory at Kyoto University, ostensibly to investigate an individual who had filled out an application for a driver’s license extension with a false address.

Anti-Vax Olympians Sending Unwelcome Message

For most of the world, the Olympic Games serve as a point for celebration and national unity. This time, however, many Japanese are gripped by worries about how the Games may serve to intensify the pandemic, and the fact that some of these athletes are promoting anti-vaccination ideology only deepens these concerns.