Day: June 3, 2026

Japan capitalizes on China backlash, courts Pacific island nationsJapan capitalizes on China backlash, courts Pacific island nations

Japan’s prime minister courted Pacific island nations at a summit in Tokyo aimed at keeping them out of Beijing’s orbit, underscoring an intensifying rivalry between the Asian powers. Sanae Takaichi said her government would help smaller states strengthen their “autonomy and resilience,” part of an anti-China push by Japan: It ...

‘They beat me until I lost consciousness’: growing reports of brutal arrests, torture and deaths in Iran’s prisons‘They beat me until I lost consciousness’: growing reports of brutal arrests, torture and deaths in Iran’s prisons

Testimonies from political prisoners and journalists arrested in crackdowns since the war have started to emerge as regime’s internet blackout lifts Iranian writer Hamid Asefi wasn’t home on the afternoon of 5 March when armed intelligence agents stormed his Tehran apartment, breaking down the door with a sledgehammer and axe. ...

‘The CGI would have cost millions. I spent $2,000.’ Is Dreams of Violets AI slop – or the future of film-making?‘The CGI would have cost millions. I spent $2,000.’ Is Dreams of Violets AI slop – or the future of film-making?

It should have taken years, but Ash Koosha made a drama about Iran’s anti-government protests in weeks – and now it’s the first AI-made movie to screen at a major film festival. It could transform indie film-making, claims the director Next week a breakthrough 75-minute drama about the brutal crackdown ...

‘You can be made a laughing stock to millions’: can gen Z escape the fear of being cringe?‘You can be made a laughing stock to millions’: can gen Z escape the fear of being cringe?

With the constant risk of being recorded, many young people are afraid of showing enthusiasm – let alone doing something so potentially embarrassing as dancing in public. Is there a way to set themselves free? In a video posted to TikTok, where Katie Whitney has 2.5 million followers, she says ...