Iraqi social media influencer Om Fahad has been shot dead outside her home in Baghdad, according to local media reports. (more…)

Iranian Dissident rapper Toomaj Salehi has been given a death sentence for his involvement in the widespread protests that swept Iran in 2022, according to his lawyer. (more…)

MTV has announced the 2024 “VMAs” will make its return to New York on Tuesday, September 10th at the UBS Arena. Airing LIVE on MTV, DStv Channel 130 on Wednesday, 11 September at 1:00am WAT and 2:00am CAT around the world in more than 150 countries. This year’s global fan-filled phenomenon will celebrate the best music videos of the past year with supersized performances, epic tributes, and unforgettable appearances from the world’s biggest celebrities.

“We’re excited to bring this year’s VMAs to UBS Arena, one of the country’s newest and most cutting edge venues,” said Bruce Gillmer, President of Music, Music Talent, Programming & Events, Paramount and Chief Content Officer, Music, Paramount+. “Celebrating one of music’s biggest nights with the incredible, robust New York area fans is something we’ve been looking forward to since the moment last year’s show ended.”

“It’s an honor to host MTV and the VMAs at UBS Arena,” said Mark Shulman, Senior Vice President of Programming, UBS Arena. “This is the culmination of bringing a world class event to a venue that offers state of the art capabilities and the best in fan amenities. We look forward to welcoming this year’s top artists, fans, and viewers worldwide to experience our arena and campus at Belmont Park.”

“We are excited to welcome back the MTV Video Music Awards to New York State,” said New York Governor Kathy Hochul. “From its origins at Radio City Music Hall in 1984 to this September’s event at the UBS Arena, the VMAs continue to captivate millions, showcasing the very best in music video artistry. As we prepare to host this 40th anniversary event, let’s embrace the spirit of creativity and innovation that defines our state’s cultural landscape.”

The “VMAs” will air across MTV’s global footprint of linear and digital platforms in more than 150 countries and territories, reaching over 319 million households.

Additional details will be announced closer to the show. Follow @MTV and @VMAs on social to keep up with all-things #VMAs.

In a significant step forward for malaria prevention in Africa, three countries—Benin, Liberia and Sierra Leone—today launched a large-scale rollout of the life-saving malaria vaccine targeting millions of children across the three West African nations. The vaccine rollout, announced on World Malaria Day, seeks to further scale up vaccine deployment in the African region.

Today’s launch brings to eight the number of countries on the continent to offer the malaria vaccine as part of the childhood immunization programmes, extending access to more comprehensive malaria prevention. Several of the more than 30 countries in the African region that have expressed interest in the vaccine are scheduled to roll it out in the next year through support from Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, as efforts continue to widen its deployment in the region in coordination with other prevention measures such as long-lasting insecticidal nets and seasonal malaria chemoprevention.

Benin, which received 215 900 doses, has added the malaria vaccine to its Expanded Programme on Immunization. The malaria vaccine should be provided in a schedule of 4 doses in children from around 5 months of age.

“The introduction of the malaria vaccine in the Expanded Programme on Immunization for our children is a major step forward in the fight against this scourge. I would like to reassure that the malaria vaccines are safe and effective and contribute to the protection of our children against this serious and fatal diseases,” said Prof Benjamin Hounkpatin, Minister of Health of Benin.

In Liberia, the vaccine was launched in the southern Rivercess County and will be rolled out afterwards in five other counties which have high malaria burden. At least 45 000 children are expected to benefit from the 112 000 doses of the available vaccine.

“For far too long, malaria has stolen the laughter and dreams of our children. But today, with this vaccine and the unwavering commitment of our communities, healthcare workers and our partners, including Gavi, UNICEF and WHO, we break the chain. We have a powerful tool that will protect them from this devastating illness and related deaths, ensuring their right to health and a brighter future. Let’s end malaria in Liberia and pave the way for a healthier, more just society,” said Dr Louise Kpoto, Liberia’s Minister of Health.

Two safe and effective vaccines — RTS,S and R21 — recommended by World Health Organization (WHO), are a breakthrough for child health and malaria control. A pilot malaria vaccine programme in Ghana, Kenya and Malawi reached over 2 million children from 2019 to 2023, showing a significant reduction in malaria illness and a 13% drop in overall child mortality and substantial reductions in hospitalizations.

In Sierra Leone, the first doses were administered to children at a health centre in Western Area Rural where the authorities kicked off the rollout of 550 000 vaccine doses. The vaccine will then be delivered in health facilities nationwide.

“With the new, safe and efficacious malaria vaccine, we now have an additional tool to fight this disease. In combination with insecticide-treated nets, effective diagnosis and treatment, and indoor spraying, no child should die from malaria infection,” said Dr Austin Demby, Minister of Health of Sierra Leone.

Malaria remains a huge health challenge in the African region, which is home to 11 countries that carry approximately 70% of the global burden of malaria. The region accounted for 94% of global malaria cases and 95% of all malaria deaths in 2022, according to the World Malaria Report.

“The African region is taking positive steps in scaling up the rollout of the malaria vaccine – a game-changer in our fight against this deadly disease,” said Dr Matshidiso Moeti, WHO Regional Director for Africa. “Working with our partners, we’re committed to supporting the ongoing efforts to protect, save the lives of young children and lower the malaria burden in the region.”

Aurelia Nguyen, Chief Programme Officer at Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, noted: “Today we celebrate more children gaining access to a new lifesaving tool to fight one of Africa’s deadliest diseases. This introduction of malaria vaccines into routine programmes in Benin, Liberia, and Sierra Leone alongside other proven interventions will help save lives and offer relief to families, communities and hard-pressed health systems.”

Progress against malaria has stalled in these high-burden African countries since 2017 due to factors including climate change, humanitarian crises, low access to and insufficient quality of health services, gender-related barriers, biological threats such as insecticide and drug resistance and global economic crises. Fragile health systems and critical gaps in data and surveillance have compounded the challenge.

To put malaria progress back on track, WHO recommends robust commitment to malaria responses at all levels, particularly in high-burden countries; greater domestic and international funding; science and data-driven malaria responses; urgent action on the health impacts of climate change; harnessing research and innovation; as well as strong partnerships for coordinated responses. WHO is also calling attention to addressing delays in malaria programme implementation.

Kid Cudi has been forced to cancel his tour after breaking his foot at Coachella over the weekend. During the fest’s Weekend Two on Sunday night, the rapper went to the hospital with a broken foot after jumping off the stage at the Sahara Tent. (more…)

The Canadian actor, director, screenwriter and producer Xavier Dolan will be the President of the Un Certain Regard Jury of the 77th Festival de Cannes. He will be joined by French-Senegalese screenwriter and director Maïmouna Doucouré, Moroccan director, screenwriter and producer Asmae El Moudir, German-Luxembourg actress Vicky Krieps, and American film critic, director, and writer Todd McCarthy. They will be in charge of awarding prizes for the Un Certain Regard section, which showcases art and discovery films by young auteurs.

This year, 18 films have been selected, including 8 first films. The 2023 Un Certain Regard top prize went to director Molly Manning Walker’s debut feature How to Have Sex.

When the light breaks by Rúnar Rúnarsson will open the Un Certain Regard section on Wednesday May 15, 2024.

XAVIER DOLAN – President Actor, director, screenwriter, producer Canada © Shayne Laverdière An actor since the age of four, Xavier Dolan directed and starred in his first feature film, I killed my mother, which was a big hit at the Directors’ Fortnight in 2009. This was followed by Heartbeats and Laurence Anyways, presented at the Festival de Cannes in 2010 and 2012 at Un Certain Regard, where they were enthusiastically received. In 2013, Tom at the Farm was screened at the Venice Film Festival, where it won the FIPRESCI Prize. With Mommy, he is awarded several prizes, including the Prix du Jury at the 2014 Festival de Cannes and the César for Best Foreign Film. Grand Prize winner at the 2016 Festival de Cannes with It’s only the end of the World, he returns to Competition with Matthias & Maxime in 2019. After a few notable roles with other filmmakers, such as his performance in Xavier Giannoli’s Lost Illusions in 2021, for which he was nominated for a César for Best Supporting Actor, in 2022 he directed the series The Night Logan woke up. Xavier Dolan was a member of the Jury in 2015, and now chairs the Un Certain Regard Jury. Advertisement

MAÏMOUNA DOUCOURÉ Screenwriter, director France, Senegal © Sacha Meric Her first professional short film, Maman(s), was selected for nearly 200 festivals around the world and won more than 60 awards, including the Jury Prize at Sundance, the Best Film Award in Toronto and the 2017 César for Best Short Film. In 2019, Maïmouna Doucouré receives the Gold Fellowship Award from the Academy of Motion Pictures. Released in 2020, Cuties, her first feature film, wins the Best Director Award at Sundance and a Special Mention from the International Generation Jury in Berlin. The film’s lead actress, Fathia Youssouf, won the César for Best Actress. Her second feature-length film, Hawa, produced in 2022 with Prime Vidéo, was also presented in Toronto. Maïmouna Doucouré is currently working on her next feature film about the legendary Joséphine Baker.

ASMAE EL MOUDIR Director, screenwriter, producer Morocco © Ammar Abd Rabbo Asmae El Moudir studied cinema at the Moroccan University and at La Fémis in Paris. She has directed several award winning short films. She completed her Al Jazeera television documentary, The Postcard, in 2020. The Mother of all Lies is her first independent documentary feature premiered at the 2023 Festival de Cannes where it won the Un Certain Regard Directing Prize. The film also won the Golden Eye for Best Documentary. The film is screened at Toronto, Sundance, Melbourne, Busan, Karlovy Vary as well as many festivals around the world and won more than 25 awards. Asmae El Moudir is nominated for the PGA Award and the Film Independent Spirit Award for Best Doc. Most recently, she won the IDA Award (International Documentary Association) for Best Director. The Mother of All Lies was also shortlisted in the international features section of the Oscars 2024.

VICKY KRIEPS Actress Luxembourg, Germany Advertisement © Virgile Guinard An international actress who works in French, English and German, Vicky Krieps has appeared in Joe Wright’s Hannah (2011), Philippe Claudel’s Before the Winter Chill(2013), Anton Corbijn’s  A most wanted Man(2014), Ingo Haeb’s The Chambermaid Lynn(2015), Raoul Peck’s The Young Karl Marx(2017), and starred alongside Daniel Day Lewis in Paul Thomas Anderson’s Phantom Thread(2017). In 2021, she defended two films selected for the Festival de Cannes, Mia Hansen-Løve’s Bergman Island in Competition and Mathieu Amalric’s Hold me tight. The following year, she returned with two young German and Austrian directors in the Un Certain Regard section: Emily Atef’s More than Ever and Marie Kreutzer’s Corsage, which won her the Un Certain Regard Jury’s Best Actress Award in 2022. She will soon be seen in Viggo Mortensen’s The Dead Don’t Hurt and Hot Milkby Rebecca Lenkiewicz.

TODD MCCARTHY Film critic, director, writer United States © Rebecca Sapp Todd McCarthy is a Cannes veteran – his first was in 1970 – who for decades covered the Festival for Variety and The Hollywood Reporter. Among his books are the definitive biography “Howard Hawks: The Grey Fox of Hollywood”, “Kings of the Bs: Working Within the Hollywood System” and “Fast Women” about female race car drivers. He won an Emmy Award for his documentary Preston Sturges: The Rise and Fall of a Hollywood Genius and is currently working on a project set in Hollywood just after World War II.