Perth set to host Ukraine Independence Day event this week

Ed Meza @edmezavar Hard-hitting documentaries centering on some of the world’s most critical geopolitical flashpoints have proved hot sellers for Java Films. The Paris and London-based distributor closed a number of deals this week at the Unifrance Rendez-Vous TV market in Biarritz for provocative works that examine life in the Israeli-occupied Palestinian city of Gaza, the causes of the Ukraine war, and rising tensions between the U.S. and China over the vital supply of semiconductors. Chiara Avesani and Matteo Delbò’s “Erasmus in Gaza” follows Riccardo, an Italian final-year medical student who wants to be a trauma surgeon and travels to war-torn Gaza on an Erasmus exchange program in order to receive battlefield training and write his thesis on explosive bullet wounds. The young medic is not prepared for the brutality of war, however.

Paul McCartney, The Rolling Stones, Slash, Kasabian and Madness are auctioning off Gibson guitars to help victims of the war in Ukraine.The artists have been playing Gibson guitars featuring the colours of the Ukraine flag over the summer.Now, Gibson has crafted a limited edition run of four Guitars For Peace Les Paul Custom electric guitars, with autograph books by the artists that also include Chic, Paloma Faith, The Charlatans, The Vaccines, Toyah, My Chemical Romance and actor Jason Momoa.Starting on October 11, bidding will open via Julien’s Auctions. A live auction will take place online from November 11-13 here and in person at the Hard Rock New York.“I’m happy to auction this beautiful guitar of mine to benefit the fine people of Ukraine,” said McCartney.

The Washington Post.The suspect had been described as between 5’6″ and 5’9″ with a slim frame and a beard, between 18 to 20 years old, wearing flared jeans, a T-shirt, and a bucket hat. He allegedly fled the scene with another male wearing a white T-shirt.The pro-authoritarian, right-wing commentary and opinion site Remix claims the suspect, identified as Nuradi A., is a migrant and former junior boxing champion from Chechnya, a majority-Muslim region of Russia, who had applied for refugee status but had his request rejected by the German government.Typically, that means he should have been deported back to Russia, but Germany halted all deportations back to Eastern European countries following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the instability in the region. While Remix and other right-wing sites, as well as fascist political parties, have been eager to link the Münster attack with other anti-LGBTQ attacks committed by Muslim migrants across Europe, some on social media have speculated that Nuradi may be gay himself, possibly having fled Chechnya due to the ongoing purge of gay and bisexual men there.A vigil celebrating Malte’s life and condemning anti-trans violence was held in front of Münster’s historic town hall on Friday night, drawing an estimated crowd of 6,500 people.On Saturday, a judge granted prosecutors’ request to keep Nuradi in detention while he awaits trial.

Members of Stirling’s Ukrainian community joined together with locals to take part in an event showcasing the very best in the country’s culture.

While Donald Trump and his followers may have adopted Twisted Sister’s rebellious rock anthem “We’re Not Gonna Take It” as their theme song, the rocker who wrote it is not amused.

It's no big secret that Glasgow is the bookies favourite to host the Eurovision Song Contest in 2023 after this year's winner, Ukraine, pulled out because of the ongoing war there.

Pink Floyd are reportedly set to make £400million from the sale of their back catalogue.Back in May, it was revealed that the legendary rockers were in talks to sell their entire catalogue, with a potential price for the sale reaching the hundreds of millions.Now, as reported by The Times, the band are looking for a £400million sale for their whole back catalogue, with private equity group Blackstone battling with major labels Sony, Warner, BMG and more to seal the deal.The sale, which would include Pink Floyd’s songs and master recordings, comes after they reunited earlier this year for new song ‘Hey, Hey, Rise Up!’, the band’s first original material since 1994’s ‘Division Bell’ album. The track was released to draw attention to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and to raise funds for those affected by the war, with all proceeds from the song donated to Ukrainian Humanitarian Relief.In a statement, David Gilmour – who has a Ukrainian family – explained that the band released the song to draw attention to the war and to raise money for humanitarian efforts.“We want to express our support for Ukraine and in that way, show that most of the world thinks that it is totally wrong for a superpower to invade the independent democratic country that Ukraine has become,” Gilmour said.The likes of Neil Diamond, Sting, Bob Dylan, ZZ Top, Tina Turner and Stevie Nicks have all sold their back catalogues recently.Many artists – including Neil Young, Blondie, Shakira and Fleetwood Mac‘s Lindsey Buckingham and Christine McVie – have all sold the rights to their catalogues via the Hipgnosis Song Fund.

Ofgem announced on Friday (August 26) that the energy price cap will rise to £3,539, resulting in an 80 per cent rise in bill costs.

Her Majesty The Queen has formally congratulated Ukraine on the country’s 31st anniversary of Independence from the Soviet Union. In her address to the nation’s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Wednesday 24 August, the 96 year old monarch said: “It gives me great pleasure to send Your Excellency and the people of Ukraine my warmest greetings on the celebration of your Independence Day.

Kalush Orchestra have marked Ukrainian Independence Day by sharing a message of hope and making a fresh appeal for donations.The rap group raised $900,000 (£739k) by auctioning off their Eurovision trophy after winning the contest in May. An additional $370,000 (£301k) was generated by raffling off the pink bucket hat that frontman Oleg Psyuk wore during their victorious performance.Speaking to NME ahead of the competition, Psyuk explained how Kalush Orchestra taking part felt like a “huge responsibility”, given their home country’s ongoing war with neighbouring Russia.Today (August 24), Psyuk posted the following statement to coincide with Ukrainian Independence Day: “Earlier this week, the entire Kalush Orchestra was together in Kyiv and witnessed a ‘parade’ of Russian equipment on the Maidan, Kyiv’s main square, which our Armed Forces turned into a pile of scrap metal.“It shows our strength, power and invincibility.

Naman Ramachandran On Aug. 24, Ukraine independence day, the Venice Film Festival has revealed that it will host a Ukrainian Day on Sept. 8, as part of the festival’s Venice Production Bridge initiative. The day will kick off with a panel discussion introduced by the president of the Biennale, Roberto Cicutto, and the artistic director of the 79th festival, Alberto Barbera. Panelists include the Ambassador of Ukraine to Italy, Yaroslav Melnyk; the head of the National Cinema Institution of Ukraine, Marina Kuderchuk; the director of the film “Luxembourg, Luxembourg” (which will screen in competition in the festival’s Horizons strand), Antonio Lukich; the director of the film “Freedom on Fire: Ukraine’s Fight for Freedom” (screening out of competition), Evgeny Afineevsky; the exhibiting artist in the Ukrainian Pavilion at the 59th Biennale Arte, Pavlo Makov; the curator of the Ukrainian Pavilion at the 59th Biennale Arte, Boris Filonenko; the representative of Ukraine’s Council for State Support of Cinematography, Polina Tolmacheva; the Cultural Attaché of Ukraine, the actor and filmmaker Daria Tregubova; and the producer and head of civic organization Andriy Nogin. The panel will be moderated by Volodymyr Ostapchuk.

Odds on Glasgow hosting the Eurovision Song Contest next year have been slashed to an incredible 1/2 - with punters backing the city "of the boards".

Naman Ramachandran “Mariupol. Unlost Hope,” one of two Ukrainian documentaries recently acquired by Beta Film’s Autentic Distribution, will be released in 40 cities across the world, which are similar to Mariupol either by population or as a port and/or industrial center, or cities that are twinned with Mariupol, on Aug. 24, Ukraine independence day.The film shows the Ukraine war through the eyes of ordinary people who lived through the first month of the invasion in Mariupol.

The final seven Eurovision Song Contest locations in the UK have been revealed. The contest's executive supervisor Martin Osterdahl joined Scott Mills and Zoe Ball on BBC Radio 2 on Friday morning (August 12) to announce the shortlist for the 2023 event.