European conservation officials have adopted EU proposals to end of protections for wolves in Europe
The first snow of winter has fallen in Sanmartin, a village in Romania’s eastern Carpathian mountains.
Shepherd József Rácz and his sons keep 500 ewes up on the high pasture here. It’s a hard life: when he’s not worrying about milking his sheep, which he does three times a day, he’s worrying about protecting them from predators.
Each year, József loses five or six of his herd to a wolf, or a bear. It’s why he keeps 17 dogs.
“A good dog is the best tool a shepherd has, to protect his flock at night, and in the daytime too,” the farmer says.
On Tuesday, 45 years of strict protection for grey wolves in Europe came to an end, after conservation officials adopted EU measures to downgrade the animal’s protected status.
The news means that grey wolves will be moved from Annex II (strictly protected) to Annex III (protected) of the Bern Convention.
This will remove many of the safeguards that have allowed the animals to flourish in Europe and means each EU country will be able to set an annual quota of wolves to kill.
József keeps 17 dogs in a bid to ward predators away from his sheep
The Commission argued that the number of wolves in the EU has almost doubled, from 11,000 in 2012 to over 20,000 today, and that they were causing too much damage to livestock.
But wildlife campaigners say improved protection methods, including trained sheep dogs, would be a better solution than removing safeguards. They say that wolves keep down numbers of deer and wild boar, which damage trees and crops. Wolves also prevent the spread of diseases by eating sick animals.
In the town of Baile Tusnad, in a valley near József’s village, wildlife experts met recently to discuss large carnivores. Most, though not all, oppose the hunting of wolves and bears.
“African swine fever is spreading all over Europe,” said Michal Haring, a biologist from Slovakia, “and the wolf is a very good ‘doctor’ for this, suppressing the disease. Wolves cannot catch it.”
Another argument against shooting wolves is that they hunt in packs of five to eight, usually a pair and their offspring. If the older wolves are shot, the pack fragments, making it harder for them to catch deer and wild boar.
“Individual wolves are more likely to attack sheep and other domesticated animals,” Mr Haring explains.
Jozef Fiala, Arolla Film, Slovakia
Wolves keep down deer and boar populations, and also help to suppress disease, campaigners say
Campaigners also pointed to a 2023 EU report, which states that only around 50,000 of Europe’s 68 million sheep and goats are killed by wolves each year – 0.065% of the total number – adding that the overall impact of wolves on EU livestock is “very small”.
Moreover, it says there have been no fatal wolf attacks on humans for 40 years.
“If we expect countries like India or Indonesia to protect their tigers,” says Laurent Schley, head of the Wildlife department in the Luxembourg government, “and Africans to protect lions and elephants, then we as relatively rich Europeans should be willing to tolerate some wolves.” Luxembourg is one of the few western European countries where no wolves have been sighted yet, Mr Schley believes it’s only a matter of time.
“We have very high densities of deer and wild boar, so the conditions for the wolf are there.
“Of course, if individual wolves or packs start killing too much livestock, or were to show aggression towards humans, we would have to draw the line. Human safety always comes first.”
Wolves can devastate flocks of sheep
But back on the mountainside, József says wolves are dangerous because “they’re clever animals”. He favours tougher legal measures to cull the predators.
Bears approach through the forest, treading on branches and alerting his dogs, József says: if they break into the wickerwork enclosure where his herd stay at night, they will only grab one animal.
If a pack of wolves get in though, they can kill dozens of sheep at a time.
Last year, József’s favourite dog, Moody, was killed by wolves, in broad daylight, as they moved from one pasture to the next. All they found was his bloodied pelt.
The more wolves there are, József says, the more likely they will take his sheep.
A deal that could see the Parthenon Sculptures returned to Greece is “close”, a former adviser to the country’s government has told the BBC.
Prof Irene Stamatoudi said it “seems negotiations have gone forward” over relocating the antiquities – also known as the Elgin Marbles – which were taken from Athens more than 200 years ago and are displayed in the British Museum.
It comes as Sir Keir Starmer and his Greek counterpart met for talks in Downing Street on Tuesday, though No 10 has said the issue is not on the agenda.
The sculptures were not discussed at the opening of the meeting, according to an official account released by No 10.
The meeting comes amid reports that talks over a deal which would see the statues moved to Athens have recently progressed.
The status of the sculptures has been a source of diplomatic tension between the UK and Greece for decades.
Prof Stamatoudi, who advised the Greek culture minister during previous Elgin Marbles negotiations, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme she believes “a deal is close” but was unsure if it was “close enough”.
She said the Greek government has proposed a “cultural, strategic partnership” which would involve other antiquities being sent to the British Museum to fill the gallery which would be left vacant by any return.
Negotiations over what could be sent to the British Museum are “secret”, Prof Stamatoudi said, adding that while she is not personally involved in this round of talks, she believes it would involve “antiquities that attract public attention”.
Prof Statamoudi said securing the return is something “all Greeks are passionate about” as the antiquities are widely considered to be part of the country’s “cultural heritage”.
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has made securing the return of the Elgin Marbles a political priority.
The previous government said the sculptures should remain in the museum. In opposition, Labour’s view was they wouldn’t stand in the way of a loan arrangement between the British Museum and Athens if one was arranged.
Earlier this week, Greek government spokesman Pavlos Marinakis said Mitsotakis would raise the issue again with Starmer but that it was more of a matter for the British Museum than the government.
He also denied a Sky News report that three private meetings had taken place between senior Greek officials and members of the British Museum board of directors.
Downing Street said Starmer told the Greek prime minister he hoped to “build on our strong bilateral relationship and to talk about our common issues”, while Mitsotakis said Greece and the UK would strengthen their relationship during “turbulent times”.
Starmer is thought to be more open to the statues being relocated than his predecessor, providing a deal can be struck between the Greek government and the British Museum.
The Elgin Marbles were crafted in the 5th century BC and were originally displayed in the Parthenon in Athens. They are considered among the most prized antiquities from the Ancient Greek period.
They were removed by British aristocrat Lord Elgin while Athens was part of the Ottoman Empire and were badly damaged en route to London, where they have been displayed since.
The Conservative leader in the Welsh Parliament, Andrew RT Davies, has resigned after only narrowly surviving a vote of confidence.
In a letter Davies said he did so with regret after some of his Members of the Senedd (MSs) had threatened to resign from his frontbench last week if he did not quit.
He won a vote of Senedd members on Tuesday morning but only just – with nine in support and seven against.
Davies described his position as “untenable” following the vote and said in his resignation statement that “it was clear from the result that a substantial minority of the group do not support our approach”.
Colman Domingo was named best actor, beating Nicole Kidman, Adrien Brody and Demi Moore
US actor Colman Domingo has won the top acting prize at the 2024 Gotham Awards, as the Oscars race continues to heat up.
The star won best actor for his performance in Sing Sing, a powerful film about an educational performing arts programme in a New York prison.
There was a surprise but welcome winner in the top category. Best feature went to A Different Man, a thought-provoking movie about a man who has a disfiguring facial condition and drastically changes his appearance.
The Gothams are one of the few awards ceremonies to have merged its gendered acting categories, and all of this year’s winners were men.
The Gotham Awards, held in New York, celebrate independent films. They event is not as big or influential as some others in awards season, but they can indicate early support for certain films in the race.
The next big milestone in this year’s awards season will be the announcement of the Golden Globe nominations on Monday (9 December).
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Zendaya won the spotlight award, which she said was “quite the honour”
Sing Sing tells the real-life story of a man, known as Divine G, who has been imprisoned for a crime he didn’t commit, and finds purpose by acting in a theatre group.
The film first premiered at the Toronto Film Festival in September 2023, but its release was delayed until this summer to give it some distance from Rustin, another film starring Domingo which was in contention for awards last year.
Accepting his prize, Domingo said: “I’m just very grateful for this, to be seen in this way, to do the work that my heart desires, and my soul desires, making work that I truly believe can make a difference in this world.”
He thanked the films director, writer and producer “for inviting me to bring my whole self, to help tell the story of these men that I care so deeply about”.
“They found art to be the parachute that can save them, and they poured themselves into it, and it poured back into them.”
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Clarence Maclin, a former inmate of Sing Sing who portrays himself in the film, won best supporting actor
Domingo’s previous acting credits include One Night in Miami, If Beale Street Could Talk, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom and The Color Purple.
His co-star Clarence Maclin, a former real-life inmate of Sing Sing prison who portrays a version of himself in the film, was named best supporting actor.
The top prize was won by A Different Man, a superb and original film about an aspiring actor who has neurofibromatosis, a disfiguring facial condition.
The man undergoes a radical medical procedure to drastically transform his appearance, but then begins to grapple with a loss of identity, and is perturbed after meeting a man with a similar condition who is happy and fulfilled within his own body.
A Different Man held off competition from films including Anora and Babygirl, both of which could feature prominently in the Oscars race.
Director Aaron Schimberg said he was shocked to collect the award “considering the other nominees”.
Hollywood stars including Demi Moore, Nicole Kidman, Jessica Chastain, Adrian Brody, Pamela Anderson, Zoe Kravitz and Saoirse Ronan also attended the ceremony.
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Director RaMell Ross and actor Brandon Wilson posed with the best director and breakthrough performer awards respectively for Nickel Boys
Elsewhere, filmmaker RaMell Ross won the best director gong for the accomplished Nickel Boys, while the star of the film Brandon Wilson received the prize for best breakthrough performer.
Based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Colson Whitehead, Nickel Boys follows the powerful friendship between two men navigating a brutal reform school together in Florida.
Nickel Boys has attracted attention for its unusual shooting style. Ross opted to tell the story entirely from the characters’ own point of view, which means viewers experience events through the eyes of the protagonists.
It has struggled to stay in the awards conversation in recent weeks despite its innovative style, but its Gotham win could give it a welcome boost of momentum.
There was also recognition for the terrific His Three Daughters, about three women who gather to care for their dying father, which won best screenplay.
Gotham Awards: The winners and nominees
Netflix
Natasha Lyonne, Elizabeth Olson and Carrie Coon star in His Three Daughters, which won best screenplay for Azazel Jacobs
Best Feature
Anora
Babygirl
Challengers
WINNER: A Different Man
Nickel Boys
Outstanding lead performance
Pamela Anderson, The Last Showgirl
Adrien Brody, The Brutalist
WINNER: Colman Domingo, Sing Sing
Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Hard Truths
Nicole Kidman, Babygirl
Keith Kupferer, Ghostlight
Mikey Madison, Anora
Demi Moore, The Substance
Saoirse Ronan, The Outrun
Justice Smith, I Saw the TV Glow
Outstanding supporting performance
Yura Borisov, Anora
Kieran Culkin, A Real Pain
Danielle Deadwyler, The Piano Lesson
Brigette Lundy-Paine, I Saw the TV Glow
Natasha Lyonne, His Three Daughters
WINNER: Clarence Maclin, Sing Sing
Katy O’Brian, Love Lies Bleeding
Guy Pearce, The Brutalist
Adam Pearson, A Different Man
Brian Tyree Henry, The Fire Inside
Best Director
Payal Kapadia, All We Imagine as Light
Sean Baker, Anora
Guan Hu, Black Dog
Jane Schoenbrun, I Saw the TV Glow
WINNER: RaMell Ross, Nickel Boys
Best International Feature
WINNER: All We Imagine as Light
Green Border
Hard Truths
Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell
Vermiglio
Best Documentary Feature
Dahomey
Intercepted
WINNER: No Other Land
Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat
Sugarcane
Union
Best Screenplay
Between the Temples
Evil Does Not Exist
Femme
WINNER: His Three Daughters
Janet Planet
Breakthrough Director
Shuchi Talati, Girls Will Be Girls
India Donaldson, Good One
Alessandra Lacorazza, In the Summers
WINNER: Vera Drew, The People’s Joker
Mahdi Fleifel, To a Land Unknown
Breakthrough Performer
Lily Collias, Good One
Ryan Destiny, The Fire Inside
Maisy Stella, My Old Ass
Izaac Wang, Dìdi
WINNER: Brandon Wilson, Nickel Boys
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Angelia Jolie, who recently portrayed opera singer Maria Callas, received the performer tribute prize
The ceremony also saw tributes made to stars including director Denis Villeneuve and actors Timothee Chalamet, Zendaya and Angelina Jolie.
British actor Josh O’Connor presented the spotlight award to Zendaya, after the pair starred in Challengers together.
O’Connor likened Zendaya to stars including the late Dame Maggie Smith, using “authenticity as a superpower”, having “seamlessly” navigated her way from being a child star.
Zendaya described the award as “quite the honour”, before praising her film crew: “My character is only an amalgamation of the beautiful ideas of the amazing creative people around me,” she said.
“I have to say, I love what I do, so much,” she added, “so incredibly grateful I get to this for a living.”
The Dune star later presented the director tribute award to filmmaker Villeneuve, who said he is most proud that over 12 years in the industry he has been able to “protect my flame” and not compromise his independent freedom and creativity.
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Actor Timothée Chalamet and director James Mangold accepted the visionary tribute award for Bob Dylan biopic A Complete Unknown
Meanwhile, Dune star Oscar Isaac presented Chalamet and director James Mangold with the visionary award for their Bob Dylan biopic, A Complete Unknown.
Chalamet, sporting a moustache, said: “Getting to study and immerse myself in the world of Bob Dylan has been the greatest education a young artist can receive.”
Jolie, who most recently played late opera star Maria Callas in her final days in 1970s Paris, also received the performer tribute during the ceremony.
“I grew up with a mother who kept books inside the oven because there were more books in our house than shelves in the apartment we had,” Jolie said on stage.
The US actress said early influences “nurture and shape us as artists”, noting the importance of art “taught in our schools, and so concerning that many of those programmes are being reduced”.
Karol Kalisky, Arolla Film, Slovakia
Jozef Fiala, Arolla Film, Slovakia
