Best photos of June 24: Patients wounded at Gaza aid point to guests arriving for Bezos wedding in Venice
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Khaleej Times
2 days ago
- Khaleej Times
Top stars and directors head to Venice for high-powered 2025 festival
Hollywood stars, Oscar-winning directors, Asian heavyweights and European auteurs will vie for top honours at this year's stellar Venice Film Festival, all looking to make a splash at the start of the awards season. Running from August 27 to September 6, the 82nd edition of the world's oldest film festival will showcase a rich array of movies that spans psychological thrillers, art-house dramas, genre-bending experiments, documentaries, and buzzy studio-backed productions. Among the leading A-listers expected to walk the Venice Lido's red carpet are Julia Roberts, Emma Stone, George Clooney, Dwayne Johnson, Emily Blunt, Andrew Garfield, Oscar Isaac, Cate Blanchett and Amanda Seyfried. Netflix returns A who's-who of global directors will also be premiering their latest pictures at the 11-day event, including US filmmakers Kathryn Bigelow, Jim Jarmusch, Noah Baumbach and Benny Safdie, alongside top Europeans Yorgos Lanthimos, Paolo Sorrentino, and Laszlo Nemes, and Asia's Park Chan-wook and Shu Qi. Netflix, which skipped Venice last year, returns in full force in 2025 with a trio of headline-grabbing titles, including Guillermo del Toro's Frankenstein, a new take on the classic horror tale starring Isaac, Jacob Elordi and Mia Goth. Baumbach's comedy-drama Jay Kelly, starring Clooney, Adam Sandler and Laura Dern, is also in the main competition and on the Netflix slate, alongside the geopolitical thriller A House of Dynamite, with Idris Elba and Rebecca Ferguson, and directed by Bigelow, who won an Oscar in 2010 for The Hurt Locker. Venice fires the starting gun for the awards season, with films premiering on the Lido in the last four years collecting more than 90 Oscar nominations and winning almost 20, making it the place to be seen for actors, producers and directors alike. In the past nine editions of the Oscars, the award for Best Actress or Best Actor has gone eight times to the protagonists of films first seen in Venice, including Stone for her role in Poor Things in 2024. Stone returns to Venice this year, teaming up again with Poor Things director Lanthimos in an offbeat satire, Bugonia. One film that looks certain to raise emotions is Kaouther Ben Hania's The Voice of Hind Rajab, which uses original emergency service recordings to tell the story of a 5-year-old Palestinian girl who was killed in Gaza in 2024 after being trapped for hours in a vehicle targeted by Israeli forces. "I think it is one of the films that will make the greatest impression, and hopefully (won't be) controversial," said the festival's artistic director, Alberto Barbera, his voice trembling as he recalled the movie.
Khaleej Times
4 days ago
- Khaleej Times
Stellantis expects $2.7 billion first half loss as restructuring costs, US tariffs bite
Stellantis reported a preliminary 2.3 billion euro ($2.7 billion) first-half loss as it faces the dual challenge of revamping its product ranges in Europe and the United States while also dealing with the impact of President Donald Trump's tariffs on imports of vehicles and auto parts. Stellantis said on Monday it booked 3.3 billion euros in pre-tax charges for the first half as it cancelled vehicle programmes, including a hydrogen fuel cell project, while investing more in popular hybrid cars in Europe and large gasoline-powered models in the U.S. market. The automaker's results were "worse than consensus, but we think poor numbers were anticipated," Jefferies analyst Philippe Houchois wrote in a client note. Earlier this month, Stellantis unveiled a 17,000 euro hybrid Fiat 500, which the automaker is banking on to revive its ailing production in Italy. The owner of a sprawling portfolio of brands including Fiat, Peugeot, Chrysler and Jeep, said Trump's tariffs have cost it 300 million euros so far as the company reduced vehicle shipments and cut some production to adjust manufacturing levels. Stellantis' loss, versus a 5.6 billion euro net profit a year earlier, underscores the challenges for new CEO Antonio Filosa, who was appointed in May after a disastrous performance in the company's crucial U.S. market in 2024 forced the ouster of former boss Carlos Tavares. Under Tavares, industry experts said Stellantis had priced itself out of the U.S. market and failed to update popular models, leaving the company with vast numbers of unsold cars. Stellantis' North American sales fell 25% year-on-year in the second quarter, it said on Monday, showing the automaker still has a long way to go. Stellantis also said that it was seeing weak demand in Europe, especially for vans. The automaker's shares fell 2.1% in morning trade, and are down 37% since the start of the year. Rival Renault's shares fell as much as 18% last week when it issued a profit warning citing softening demand for cars and vans in Europe. Burning cash Last year, Stellantis imported over 40% of the 1.2 million vehicles it sold in the United States, mostly from Mexico and Canada. In April this year, the company said it had reduced vehicle imports in response to tariffs and would calibrate "production and employment to reduce impacts on profitability". In April, Stellantis suspended its profit forecasts for 2025 due to uncertainty about tariffs, but said on Monday it was publishing its unaudited preliminary financial data to align analyst forecasts with the group's actual performance. The group's first-half revenue totalled 74.3 billion euros, down from 85 billion euros in the first half of 2024, but up from the second half of 2024 when revenue totalled 71.8 billion euros. "Results reflect the early stages of actions being taken to improve performance and profitability, with new products expected to deliver larger benefits in the second half of 2025," JPMorgan analysts said in a note. Stellantis said it burnt through 2.3 billion euros of cash in the first half. Overall second-quarter shipments fell by 6% compared to the same period last year, to an estimated 1.4 million vehicles, it said.
Khaleej Times
4 days ago
- Khaleej Times
Watch: Ajith Kumar unhurt after GT4 car crash in Italy, praised for humble gesture
Tamil superstar Ajith Kumar, known as much for his passion for motorsports as his on-screen charisma, was involved in a car crash during the latest round of the GT4 European Series at the Misano World Circuit in Italy. The incident occurred during the second round of the race, when Ajith's car collided with a stationary vehicle on the track. The Good Bad Ugly actor walked away unhurt but was forced to withdraw from the race. In a video shared by the race's official page, Ajith was seen doing what very few professional drivers would — stepping in to help the marshals clear debris from the track immediately after the collision. The commentator said, 'Ajith Kumar out of the car, out of the race. It's the first significant bit of damage we've seen from him this year. He's a fine champ; he goes and helps the marshals clear up all the bodies. Not many drivers would do that.' Out of the race with damage, but still happy to help with the clean-up. Full respect, Ajith Kumar ð�«¡ ð��° #gt4europe I #gt4 — GT4 European Series (@gt4series) July 20, 2025 Social media erupted with praise for the actor. Ajith's gesture won over the racing community. He has been a part of the racing circuit since 2003 and continues to juggle his film career with his love for motorsports. He previously competed in the 2010 Formula 2 Championship and has long been regarded as one of the few Indian actors who balances cinema with high-level professional racing. Earlier this year, the Indian government awarded him the Padma Bhushan, the nation's third-highest civilian honour, in recognition of his contributions to both cinema and motorsports. While Ajith is currently taking a break from films, he is prepping for the third round of the GT4 European Series in Belgium. On the cinematic front, he is reuniting with Good Bad Ugly director Adhik Ravichandran for his next project, though details remain under wraps. Good Bad Ugly was released in early 2025 and became Tamil cinema's highest-grossing film to date.
