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Gaza civil defence says 15 killed in Israeli strikes

Gaza's civil defence agency said Israeli strikes killed at least 15 people on Saturday across the Palestinian territory, where Israel has ramped up its military offensive in recent days.Civil defence agency spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP the dead included a couple who were killed with their two young children in a pre-dawn strike on a house in the Amal quarter of the southern city of Khan Yunis.To the west of the city, at least five people were killed by a drone strike on a crowd of people that had gathered to wait for aid trucks, he said.
Source: Al Monitor
Full Article: Gaza civil defence says 15 killed in Israeli strikes

UAE hits record May temperature of 51.6C

The United Arab Emirates breached its May temperature record for the second day in a row, hitting 51.6 degrees Celsius on Saturday, within touching distance of the highest ever temperature recorded in the country."The highest temperature recorded over the country today is 51.6C in Sweihan (Al Ain) at 13:45 UAE local time (0945 GMT)," the National Center of Meteorology said in a post on X, just 0.4C off the overall heat record in the Gulf country.
Source: Al Monitor
Full Article: UAE hits record May temperature of 51.6C

Jafar Panahi: Iran's dissident director who lives for cinema

Iranian director Jafar Panahi, who won the top prize at the Cannes film festival on Saturday, is a twice-jailed arthouse cinema veteran whose films are banned in his homeland.The 64-year-old is a symbol of artistic defiance who repeatedly challenges his country's strict censorship laws to produce movies about Iran's social and cultural struggles.His latest production "It Was Just an Accident" tells the story of five formerly imprisoned Iranians who are confronted with a man they believe to have been their torturer in jail.
Source: Al Monitor
Full Article: Jafar Panahi: Iran's dissident director who lives for cinema

Dissident Iranian filmmaker Panahi wins Cannes top prize

Iranian dissident director Jafar Panahi won the Palme d'Or top prize at the Cannes film festival on Saturday, using his acceptance speech to urge his country to unite for "freedom".The latest film from the 64-year-old, "It Was Just an Accident", tells the tale of five ordinary Iranians confronting a man they believed tortured them in jail. The core of the provocative and wry drama examines the moral dilemma faced by people if they are given an opportunity to take revenge on their oppressors.
Source: Al Monitor
Full Article: Dissident Iranian filmmaker Panahi wins Cannes top prize

Iraq's first ever director in Cannes wins best feature debut

Hasan Hadi, the first filmmaker from Iraq to be selected for the prestigious Cannes Festival, on Saturday won a top prize for his childhood adventure under economic sanctions in "The President's Cake".His first feature-length film follows nine-year-old Lamia after her school teacher picks her to bake the class a cake for President Saddam Hussein's birthday or risk being denounced for disloyalty.It is the early 1990s, the country is under crippling UN sanctions, and she and her grandmother can barely afford to eat.
Source: Al Monitor
Full Article: Iraq's first ever director in Cannes wins best feature debut