2018 Literature Nobel postponed over sexual assault scandal
This year's Nobel Prize in Literature has been postponed in the wake of a sexual and financial scandal that has engulfed the Swedish Academy, the cultural institution responsible for awarding the prestigious prize.
The academy, one of Sweden's most highly respected institutions, made the announcement Friday morning following a meeting of its remaining 10 active members Thursday evening.
"We find it necessary to commit time to recovering public confidence in the academy before the next laureate can be announced," Anders Olsson, the academy's permanent secretary, said in a statement. He said the academy was acting "out of respect for previous and future literature laureates, the Nobel Foundation and the general public."
The decision does not affect the other Nobel prizes, which are awarded separately. This year's laureate will be announced in 2019, the academy said.
The crisis centers on a string of allegations against Jean-Claude Arnault, a leading cultural figure in Sweden and husband of Katarina Frostenson, who was an academy member until she stepped down in the wake of the scandal.
Arnault, who has attended many Swedish Academy events, is facing multiple allegations of sexual assault and harassment, first reported in the Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter late last year. The academy announced the following day that it had cut all ties with Arnault.
Carl-Henrik Heldin.The Chairman of the Board of the Nobel Foundation released the following brief
The Swedish Academy has decided to postpone the 2018 Nobel Prize in Literature, with the intention of awarding it in 2019. According to the Swedish Foundations Act, the Nobel Foundation is ultimately responsible for fulfilling the intentions in the will of Alfred Nobel. During the past several weeks, we have pursued a continuous dialogue with the Swedish Academy, and we support Thursday’s decision.
In principle, the Nobel Prize shall be awarded every year, but decisions on Nobel Prizes have been postponed on a number of occasions during the history of the prizes. One of the circumstances that may justify an exception is when a situation in a prize-awarding institution arises that is so serious that a prize decision will not be perceived as credible.
The crisis in the Swedish Academy has adversely affected the Nobel Prize. Their decision underscores the seriousness of the situation and will help safeguard the long-term reputation of the Nobel Prize. None of this impacts the awarding of the 2018 Nobel Prizes in other prize categories.
The Nobel Foundation presumes that the Swedish Academy will now put all its efforts into the task of restoring its credibility as a prize-awarding institution and that the Academy will report the concrete actions that are undertaken. We also assume that all members of the Academy realise that both its extensive reform efforts and its future organisational structure must be characterised by greater openness towards the outside world.
The Nobel Prize for Literature has been awarded by the Swedish Academy since its inception following the death of Alfred Nobel in 1896. The prize was postponed on seven previous occasions, six of which occurred during World War I and II. Recent winners include Kazuo Ishiguro, Doris Lessing and Bob Dylan.
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UP: 90 Bangladeshis, including 28 children, held in Mathura for illegal stay
Mathura (UP), May 16 (PTI): As many as 90 Bangladeshi nationals, including many children, were apprehended from Uttar Pradesh's Mathura district on Friday for alleged illegal stay in India, officials said.
They were taken into custody from local brickyards at Khajpur village under the Naujheel police station limits, a senior officer said.
"Regular searches were being conducted throughout the district. During one such operation, police were searching some local brickyards when they came across Bangladeshi nationals working there," SSP Shlok Kumar said.
Giving a break-up, the officer said in all, 35 men, 27 women and 28 children have been taken into custody.
"During interrogation, all of them admitted to being Bangladeshi nationals living illegally in India. They moved to Mathura three to four months back from a neighbouring state. Police are trying to establish their links," the SSP said, adding that their job contractor and other associates are also being questioned.
The officer told PTI that police also recovered some Aadhaar cards from the Bangladeshi nationals, apparently issued on forged documents in some other state.
Further legal proceedings are underway, Kumar said.
