Riz Ahmed, Emma Watson, Benedict Cumberbatch, Sir Ian McKellen, Colin Firth and Elif Shafak are among the A-list names calling on British ministers to rescue Afghanistan's creative professionals.
The group, which also included Stephen Fry and Sam Mendes, wrote a letter to The Times on Saturday titled "safe passage plea for Afghan performers", demanding that the British government open a "humanitarian corridor" to help artists, writers and filmmakers escape the country, which has been taken over by the Taliban.
"Over the past two decades, civil society has flourished in Afghanistan with new freedoms ushering in a golden age of art, music, film and writing," the letter begins. "At the same time, political dissent and journalism have thrived in a region where free expression is not always respected."
This legacy, the group writes, is now in "imminent peril". "We now have a duty to those artists, writers and filmmakers who will be silenced if we do not act immediately."
The letter urges the British government to "co-operate with the international community to create a humanitarian corridor" for those looking to escape.
"We also call on those in positions of influence in the creative industries to help those who have escaped to continue their vital work and safeguard the culture of Afghanistan for future generations."
The letter was instigated by Iranian director Mohsen Makhmalbaf and Golden Globe-winning Afghan director Siddiq Barmak (Osama), both of whom reside in the UK, according to the publication.
The Index on Censorship, an organisation for the freedom of expression, and non-profit theatre company Good Chance Theatre said they organised the letter.
Other signatories include playwrights Tom Stoppard and David Hare, writer and broadcaster Trevor Phillips, as well as actors Emma Thompson, Keira Knightley, Imelda Staunton and Hugh Bonneville.
A number of Afghan-born professionals who live in the UK signed, too, including director Atiq Rahimi, poet Parwana Fayyaz, writer Shabibi Shah, cinematographer Jawed Taiman and writer Zarlasht Halaimzai, who is also co-founder of the Refugee Trauma Initiative.
Several British-Iranian talents are also named, such as artist Majid Adin, producer and director Zoe Neirizi, writer Nasrin Parvaz and poet Shirin Razavian.
This comes weeks after it was reported that the Taliban banned music in public across Afghanistan, and that Afghan folk singer Fawad Andarabi was killed in the village of Kishaan.
Fixtures (6pm UAE unless stated)
Saturday Bournemouth v Leicester City, Chelsea v Manchester City (8.30pm), Huddersfield v Tottenham Hotspur (3.30pm), Manchester United v Crystal Palace, Stoke City v Southampton, West Bromwich Albion v Watford, West Ham United v Swansea City
Sunday Arsenal v Brighton (3pm), Everton v Burnley (5.15pm), Newcastle United v Liverpool (6.30pm)
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
On sale: Now
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Company profile
Name: Infinite8
Based: Dubai
Launch year: 2017
Number of employees: 90
Sector: Online gaming industry
Funding: $1.2m from a UAE angel investor
The%20specs
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About Karol Nawrocki
• Supports military aid for Ukraine, unlike other eurosceptic leaders, but he will oppose its membership in western alliances.
• A nationalist, his campaign slogan was Poland First. "Let's help others, but let's take care of our own citizens first," he said on social media in April.
• Cultivates tough-guy image, posting videos of himself at shooting ranges and in boxing rings.
• Met Donald Trump at the White House and received his backing.
Bombshell
Director: Jay Roach
Stars: Nicole Kidman, Charlize Theron, Margot Robbie
Four out of five stars
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
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Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
Power: 254hp
Torque: 390Nm
Price: From Dh126,000
Available: Now
Tales of Yusuf Tadros
Adel Esmat (translated by Mandy McClure)
Hoopoe
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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