Culture
Regarded as one of Norway’s leading auteur directors, Zaman is best known for his films exploring themes related to migration, identity and belonging. His previous features Before Snowfall (2013) and Letter to the King (2014) both won the prestigious Dragon Award for Best Nordic Film at the Gothenburg International Film Festival.
Zaman’s latest film is one of his boldest and most artistically ambitious yet. Set in a refugee centre absurdly located in remote northern Norway, “a Happy Day” is a fictional story about a trio of teenage boys who are waiting to be sent out of the country on their 18th birthdays. Determined to stay together, the three friends come up with a plan to escape. But when a troubled young girl shows up at the center and falls in love with one of the guys, the trio’s escape plan – and their friendship – are suddenly thrown into jeopardy.
A Happy Day builds on several of Zaman’s well-known strengths, with its quirky and complex characters and use of black humour to approach a serious political issue. He once again opts for a leading cast composed entirely of non-professional actors (Salah Qadi, Ravand Ali Taha, Mohammed Salah, Sarah Aman Mentzoni), complemented by a supporting cast featuring several well-known names from the Norwegian film and TV industry. These include Stig Frode Henriksen, reality TV star Hilde Skovdahl, and actress Thea Sofie Loch Næss, who played in the Netflix production ‘The Last Kingdom’ and will star as Leonard Cohen’s girlfriend in the upcoming Norwegian-Canadian TV series ‘So Long, Marianne.’
At the same time, Zaman experiments with several new elements in A HAPPY DAY. It is one of his most visually remarkable films to date, shot amidst the vast, snow-covered landscapes of northern Norway. These tableau images are sprinkled with touches of poetic surrealism, through the use of magical, dreamlike sequences which blur the boundaries between imagination and reality.
The film tackles a hotly debated topic in Norwegian refugee policy, and one which is rarely explored on the big screen in Norway. Yet, as always, Zaman approaches the subject unconventionally, steering clear of political dogmatism and focusing instead on human themes such as identity, love, friendship, hope, dignity, and the fleetingness of life. Through the bizarre situations that his characters encounter, Zaman uses subtle humour to challenge his audiences to reflect on the way that policies impact people. The result is a film that is at once comically absurd, tragic, and heartwarming.
A HAPPY DAY is the first of Zaman’s feature films to be produced through his company Snowfall Cinema, established in 2015. He is joined by associate producer Turid Øversveen, a veteran producer in the Norwegian film industry known for Out Stealing Horses (2019) and Babycall (2011). The film is also an international co-production with one of Scandinavia’s leading production companies, Zentropa (Denmark) as well as Rein Film (Norway), which focuses on films made in the Barents region. The film received support from both the Norwegian and Danish Film Institutes, Eurimages, Nordic Film & TV Fund, Filmfond Nord, FilmCamp and others.
The Toronto International Film Festival is considered one of the most prestigious festivals in the world, drawing audiences of nearly 500,000 people every year. A HAPPY DAY will be featured as part of the festival’s newly revamped Centrepiece programme, which is “a showcase for acclaimed titles from festivals around the globe, highly anticipated premieres from Canadian and international talents, and the latest work of influential filmmaking luminaries.”
The film will premiere in Norwegian cinemas in Autumn 2023.
President of the Kurdistan Genocide Writers Union Salar Mahmoud told KurdSat that to reject the 100-year oppression of the Kurds and Kurdistan in general 100,000 Kurds and Kurd sympathizer are expected to gather in front of the hall where the treaty was signed on July 24, 1923.
There are obstacles to the national issue, but Kurds and foreign friends and representatives of Kurdish political and civil organizations from all over the world have left for this important turning point and participation in the Centennial Conference of Lausanne, which starts tomorrow and will continue in the following days, Mahmoud added.
Greater Kurdistan was united under the Ottoman Empire but was later divided among Turkey, Syria, Iraq and Iran after Lausanne Treaty in 1923 that made Kurds a minority in all of these states.
This year, more than 1.8 million pilgrims from 160 countries performed the obligatory Hajj in hot weather, one of the five pillars of Islam. Pilgrims completed their third day of stoning in Mina on Friday and left for Mecca.
By making a farewell turn and the pilgrims prepare to return to their countries.
240 pilgrims have died and thousands of others have suffered from heat waves during the Hajj pilgrimage. However, this year were no incidents of compression or mass deaths of pilgrims was recorded.
In a ceremony held in Sulaimani, Azad Tofiq, the governor of Halabja, published his memoirs in two volumes entitled, Pir Mohammed and Flying Towards the Sand House, and the second volume is titled, Yellow Houses. The Second House of Life!
Halabja Governor Azad Tofiq told Kurdsat that his book focuses on his childhood and adolescence memories in Halabja. In general, the book is part of the memory of the people of Halabja and the different eras they went through in the past.
The Kurdish community in Birmingham heard of a prominent Birmingham Church offered for sale in an auction and announced a campaign to collect one million pounds, roughly $1.2 million US, UK-based Journalist Said Hawrami told KurdSat English.
"A charity bank account was opened for the campaign and people transferred their donations to the account," Hawrami noted.
Kurdish preachers living in Birmingham announced the campaign to collect funds to buy the church on December 22, 2023. Preacher Kuri Pak said in a campaign promotion video that it is every Muslim's duty to donate to buy the church. Pak is a well-known Kurdish Islamic preacher whose videos gather thousands of views.
"Many people offered their vehicles to the campaign; one offered a $25,000 US car to the campaign," Hawrami said regarding how the money was raised.
According to Hawrami, the [Birmingham] municipality at times decommissions temples and sets a price on them for sale, and the property is open for anyone to buy, but this one was placed in an auction, and the Kurds offered the highest bid, at a million British pounds and acquired the church.
In 2021, the same group of preachers helped purchase a bar, something Islam prohibits, and turned it into a Church. "Thank god we are going to turn this 3200 square meter lot into a mosque, Preacher Pak said in a video message published on Facebook.
"The Birmingham Muslims need a mosque, and we want to turn this church into a mosque," the preacher says in the promotion video for the campaign to collect funds.
There are substantial Kurdish communities across Europe and the rest of the world as repressive regimes where the Kurds lived in the 1980s, forced many Kurds to migrate and settle in countries such as the UK.
Although there are no official figures on the number of Birmingham Kurds, our numbers suggest that over tens of thousands of Kurds are in the UK province alone.
Kurdish and Iraqi leaders congratulated the KBC on its 23rd founding anniversary and wished its continued service to the people as it worked as a distinguished and reliable media.
President of Iraq Dr. Latif Rashid said, “Dear Supervisors, Directors and journalists of Kurdsat Broadcasting Corporation, on the occasion of the 23rd anniversary of the founding of KurdSat, I warmly congratulate you. We all know that KurdSat has been one of the most honest and reliable media in the Kurdistan region. I hope this year as in previous years better and better in the service of promoting the culture of our people.
PUK President Bafel Jalal Talabani wished the KBC success saying, “congratulations to the directors, journalists and employees of Kurdsat Broadcasting Corporation and I wish you continuity and success.
Praising KBC’s distinguished role in preserving the ethical and moral values of the Kurdistan region, President Talabani said, “in the past two decades, Kurdsat has been a valued media channel in the Kurdistan region households and a beautiful and shining example in the Kurdish media.”
Kurdish renowned female actress Bayan Bomba said, “the KBC is the only media channel that has brought all actors together.” The KBC has produced and distributed tens of family-friendly movies and series that aim to preserve the Kurdish culture.
Kurdish tenor and world-renowned singer Shahram Nazeri congratulated the KBC staff on its founding anniversary. “KurdSat has an important role in introducing the history, culture and art of the Kurdish people and promoting them, Kurdsat is a sacred memory of Hero Khan for all of us,” Nazer said. During the past two decades the KBC has introduced thousands of Kurdish artists, singers, authors, musicians and figures that promote the Kurdish culture, creating an invaluable archive of Kurdish cultural content.
Kurdsat Broadcasting Corporation (KBC) is a satellite television station and digital media in Sulaimani in the Kurdistan region of Iraq. It currently airs in Kurdish and has a digital media in English. Former Iraqi First Lady Hero Ibrahim Ahmed founded the KBC in January 1, 2000, and the KBC began broadcasting on January on 2000. The KBC was the first press organization to focus on introducing the Kurdistan region and its people to the world through the media as it has always promoted Kurdish culture and history.
Currently the KBC has an image of reliability that never runs fake news. News consumers would first check KurdSat for a piece of news's reliability, as the KBC eschews propaganda and fake news.
When a delegation travels somewhere
To visit the grave of a missing soldier
They bring a wreath
If a delegation visits my country
Asking about missing peshmerga graves
I reply, sir, on the banks of every stream
On the floor of any mosque
At the door of any house, church, or cave
On the top of each mountain's boulder
Beside every tree in this homeland
On each tract of land
Under every inch of the sky
Don't be afraid to bow your head a little and lay your wreath
She learned to drive a tractor and instructed her other female fellows to go behind the wheel. In 1996, there were only a few male drivers, and highly uncommon for women to drive; but Akhtar Khan helped hundreds of women learn to drive through a foreign NGO. In 2005, she opened her driving school called Akhtar Khan Office and has worked with the Sulaimani traffic department ever since.
She remains one of the best instructors in Sulaimani who teaches females to drive.
She does not keep a record of the number of women she taught driving but estimates that she helped thousands of women to obtain their driving licenses.
In recent years, the number of women driving has increased, as now some women work as taxi drivers or mechanics.
It often results in a rug with deeply saturated jewel tones and creative and captivating designs. Kurdish Bijar rug designs usually showcase a traditional flower garden design.
Bijar could be a variation of Bajar, or Bazher, Kurdish for city. Among other suggested meanings for bijar are bid-zar, land of willow tree.
Bidjar pieces typically utilize a central medallion detailed by flowers, birds, or caterpillars, with arrowed or stylized ends on the central motif. Bijar rugs are often called the "Iron Rugs of Iran" for their thickness and durability.
In this carpet, the ornate medallion incorporates intricate flower and vine motifs detailed in cream, red, pink, brown, and green wool. Blue, orange, and cream vases detail the field within the central medallion.
Some unique features and symbolism make this piece of extraordinary
Traditionally, the foreground of this carpet would be blue, representing the water pond inside the flower garden. In this carpet, the weaver chose to utilize red, which in Kurdish textiles represents love.
In the four corners of the field, fish in cream and green cleverly disguise themselves as long-leaf designs. Fish, in Kurdish rugs, symbolize life and water and the transcendence between life in different landscapes. The green fern shapes on either side of the medallion are peacocks with their tails aligned symmetrically to blend into the garden design.
Kurdish sects consider these peacocks sacred, symbolize divine protection, and add tranquility to the carpet's design. Incorporating these motifs within the additional design elements replicates the attempts of animals to camouflage themselves into their surroundings.
It is difficult to find a Kurdish household without rugs in every room. Traditionally they were considered a sign of wealth and well-being and now serve as an obvious sign to decorate one's floor.
The main drive for rug prevalence is the Kurdish home architecture. Kurdish houses are not elevated off the ground, absorbing most of the heat and cold emitted from the ground, and that is when the rugs come in, serving as a non-conductor between the inhabitants and the floor, especially in the winter, as rugs help them to avoid the cold.
Although there is a large market for rugs and carpets in the Kurdistan region, its domestic production has almost become obsolete, as imports from Iran and other supplies make its domestic variants uncompetitive.
A Bijar rug with detailed decorations
On Friday, US President Joe Biden on the billionaire Elon Musk's acquisition of Twitter, said that Musk had bought a social networking platform that spreads lies around the world.
"Now what worries us all, is Elon Musk's purchase of a tool that sends lies around the world...There are no more editors in America. There are no editors. How can we expect children to be risk-aware?" Biden warned.
The head of the Safety and Integrity Department at Twitter, Yoel Roth announced earlier Friday, in a tweet that the company had laid off 50 percent of its employees, while he said that there had been no change in content monitoring on Twitter.
Roth added that 15% of Twitter employees on the Safety and Integrity team, which monitors misinformation and harmful content, have been laid off. He added that company-wide layoffs affected 50 percent of employees, the first confirmation from Twitter insider about the scale of the layoffs.
"Again, to be absolutely clear, Twitter's strong commitment to content moderation remains absolutely unchanged," Musk said in a tweet shortly after Roth's tweet.
Musk had previously said Twitter had seen a "massive drop in revenue" due to civil rights groups that have raised concerns about how layoffs will affect content moderation and have pressured major advertisers to withdraw their ad spending.
As some oppose Musk’s takeover of the platform that us largely used by civil society groups and politicians, many back Musk’s new policies in the Twitter and call it a return of freedom to the platform.
On Monday, Apple released the official iOS 16 operating system, which contains some new features for iPhone devices, but there are some essential tips you should follow before downloading it.
And Apple decided to deprive some old phone models and revealed that the new operating system will be available for download now for owners of "iPhone 8" and later versions.
The new operating system brings all-new customization features, deeper intelligence, and smoother communication and sharing.
Important tips must be followed before downloading the iOS 16 operating system, including ensuring that the phone includes enough space, not less than 15 GB, whether in the iPhone or iPad.
It must also be ensured that the smart device is charged more than 50%, and it is recommended to take a backup copy of the phone data.
iOS 16 brings new personalization features, thus enhancing the iPhone experience, and the operating system improves devices with all-new personalization features, deeper intelligence, and smoother ways to communicate and share.
It also offers widgets on the lock screen, where you can display a set of widgets as part of the lock screen to peek at information such as weather, time, date, and battery levels.
Smart Search will improve your results by correcting misspellings and using synonyms for your search terms.
You can edit or unsend a message you just sent and mark a message as unread if you can't reply to it at the moment and want to return to it later.
The new operating system also includes the iCloud Shared Photo Library, coming out later this year, and lets you share a photo library with your family and up to five others. Each has equal permissions to add, edit, and delete photos in the shared library.
Fitness
iOS 16 adds a fitness app for all users who use the phone's built-in motion sensors to provide an estimate of calories burned based on steps, distance traveled, and use of third-party fitness apps, even if you don't have an Apple Watch. And the new Medications feature in the Health app lets you track what you should take and when.
Camera Translation
The new system adds a camera translation feature, which may be suitable for holidays in foreign regions, allowing you to translate the text around you using the camera in the translation app. Just hold the camera on the words you want to translate, pause the display, and the translation will be added to the text in a still image.
Lock Mode Feature
It won't be for everyone, but Apple says the new Lockdown feature "provides maximum protection for a minimal number of users who face serious, targeted threats to their digital security."
Disconnect
When your hands are full, it can be challenging to end a phone with a hard-to-find phone in your pocket. Now you can ask Siri by sending the command, "Hey Siri, hang up." But beware, if you're trying to be discreet, the caller can hear you telling Siri to hang up.
A groundbreaking mathematical equation that could transform medical procedures, natural gas extraction, and plastic packaging production in the future has been discovered.
The new equation, developed by scientists at the University of Bristol, indicates that diffusive movement through permeable material can be modeled exactly for the very first time.
It comes a century after world-leading physicists Albert Einstein and Marian von Smoluchowski derived the first diffusion equation, and marks important progress in representing motion for a wide range of entities from microscopic particles and natural organisms to man-made devices.
Until now, scientists looking at particle motion through porous materials, such as biological tissues, polymers, various rocks and sponges have had to rely on approximations or incomplete perspectives.
The findings, published today in the journal Physical Review Research, provide a novel technique that presents exciting opportunities in a diverse range of settings including health, energy, and the food industry.
Lead author Toby Kay, who is completing a Ph.D. in Engineering Mathematics, said, "This marks a fundamental step forward since Einstein and Smoluchowski's studies on diffusion. It revolutionizes the modeling of diffusing entities through complex media of all scales, from cellular components and geological compounds to environmental habitats.
"Previously, mathematical attempts to represent movement through environments scattered with objects that hinder motion, known as permeable barriers, have been limited. By solving this problem, we are paving the way for exciting advances in many different sectors because permeable barriers are routinely encountered by animals, cellular organisms and humans."
Creativity in mathematics takes different forms and one of these is the connection between different levels of description of a phenomenon. In this instance, by representing random motion in a microscopic fashion and then subsequently zooming out to describe the process macroscopically, it was possible to find the new equation.
Further research is needed to apply this mathematical tool to experimental applications, which could improve products and services. For example, being able to model accurately the diffusion of water molecules through biological tissue will advance the interpretation of diffusion-weighted MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) readings. It could also offer more accurate representation of air spreading through food packaging materials, helping to determine shelf life and contamination risk. In addition, quantifying the behavior of foraging animals interacting with macroscopic barriers, such as fences and roads, could provide better predictions on the consequence of climate change for conservation purposes.
The use of geolocators, mobile phones, and other sensors has seen the tracking revolution generate movement data of ever-increasing quantity and quality over the past 20 years. This has highlighted the need for more sophisticated modeling tools to represent the movement of wide-ranging entities in their environment, from natural organisms to man-made devices.
Senior author Dr. Luca Giuggioli, Associate Professor in Complexity Sciences at the University of Bristol, said, "This new fundamental equation is another example of the importance of constructing tools and techniques to represent diffusion when space is heterogeneous; that is, when the underlying environment changes from location to location.
"It builds on another long-awaited resolution in 2020 of a mathematical conundrum to describe random movement in confined space. This latest discovery is a further significant step forward in improving our understanding of motion in all its shapes and forms—collectively termed the mathematics of movement—which has many exciting potential applications."
NASA officials say they will make their second attempt to launch a rocket to the moon on Saturday.
The rocket has a length of a 32-story building, around 100 meters, and will be launched from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The rocket would remain six weeks in space before touching down earth again.
While Artemis I will not carry astronauts, nor land on the moon, the mission is critical to demonstrating that NASA’s monster rocket and deep space capsule can deliver on their promised abilities. Artemis I has been delayed for years, with the program running billions over budget.
Highlighting simple and common mistakes that some couples make can help raise awareness and thus improve relationships with their life partner. According to social and family relations specialist Stephen Ing in an article published by "Psychology Today", caring for and protecting family relationships requires awareness of a number of common mistakes that are very simple to avoid to ensure that you spend enjoyable times and live a happy life.
Unrealistic aspirations
Some couples make the common mistake of exaggerating their expectations and all the time wanting the other person to be the best at everything, for example, fitter, more tactful, rational, spiritual and emotional. Ing advises that they should either (a) admit that they chose the wrong person as a partner or (b) deal realistically with the husband and learn to love him for who he is, and adapt to what is possible.
Replica
Some couples make the simple but pivotal mistake of not feeling satisfied unless their partner has an exact copy of their emotions, opinions, ambitions, and political or athletic inclinations. Having an identical husband or wife could be further from the truth. Couples should be aware that they are in an inclusive relationship, which means trying to find complementary, non-overlapping or identical areas of strength, ability, and interest.
The pursuit of perfection
Some couples seek perfection in their behavior and the behavior of a life partner, while the continual pursuit of perfection leads to a feeling of pressure and more burden, leading to disorder or frustration and failure of relationships. Experts advise that it is okay for a person and his partner to have some non-essential flaws, and for each other to feel that he loves him and accepts him as he is without pretense or pretense.
Not allowing and sabotaging foreign friendships
It is fairly common for couples to call each other the "best friend" in life. Although it is great for a husband to be a wife's best friend, it is also important to encourage her friendships with her female colleagues, neighbors, and female relatives. Being jealous of a husband or wife having other friends is self-defeating, because people who have solid and reliable friendships are happier, adaptive, and involved in other aspects of their lives.
Live and let live
If one’s goal is to form a happy family whose relations are based on solid foundations of love, respect and understanding, then he must create the conditions and environment in which his life partner feels safe, secure and stable just because she deals with her nature in a natural and objective framework based on accepting the other as he is.
China has seen momentum in developing mobile payments, online investment, big tech credit and digital currency, which all play a vital role in driving inclusive finance. These areas are expected to play a critical role in the country's future economic growth.
To begin with, the platform economy has a great impact on the financial sector, which can be narrowed down to "three increases and three decreases".
The "Three increases" means that the platform economy has helped "increase business scale, improve efficiency as well as user experience". since the platform can offer services to many customers simultaneously, costs are minimized therefore overall efficiency will naturally be enhanced.
Digital platforms also offer personalized services. With technological advances, these services will be much smoother, more convenient to use and more popular among consumers.
The "Three decreases" refers to "reducing costs, lowering risks and minimizing contact". In terms of risk control in particular, user data accumulated by the platform will be very helpful to identify risks in advance.
Based on the above changes, digital platforms will also have a certain effect on the rules and even laws of economic activity and exchanges. It will make users more reliant on the platform itself, but the platform will also be closely related to the economy.
currently, the China's platform companies have developed quite well and are comparable to leading foreign internet heavyweights, thanks mainly to improvements in digital technology, market-oriented reforms, the large population and relatively independent market conditions.