Affleck unveils Argo at Toronto festival
Ben Affleck's latest film, Argo, premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on Friday. Argo, which Affleck directed and stars in, chronicles the joint effort by the CIA and the Canadian government to rescue six Americans from Tehran after the 1979 invasion of the US embassy, by masquerading as a Hollywood film crew. "You do all this stuff in a vacuum, write the movie, rehearse it, shoot it," says Affleck about unveiling his film. "When the audience is finally there, it's exhilarating and it's terrifying. Luckily, I'm always distracted by the constant evaluation between my expectation of the audience's reaction and how they actually experience it." - AP
Billboard names songs of summer
There's no maybe about it: Carly Rae Jepsen's Call Me Maybe is the song of the summer. Billboard says the 16-year-old Canadian's infectious pop song topped its Songs of Summer chart. The list annually ranks the overall performance of hit songs on the Billboard Hot 100 between May to September. Rounding out the top five are: Maroon 5's Payphone, Gotye's Somebody That I Used to Know, Katy Perry's Wide Awake and Ellie Goulding's Lights. - AP
Gaga's next album to be released as app
Lady Gaga has announced that her forthcoming new album Artpop will be available as an interactive application. "I'm excited to tell you all that Artpop is going to be a multimedia experience that comes in different forms. The most major way to fully immerse yourself is through the app," she said in a statement. The app will feature bonus content, including videos, games and extra tracks. Artpop is expected to be released next year. - IANS
REM battles with Fox News
Michael Stipe and his rock band REM have issued an open letter to Fox News, asking the network to stop using their hit song Losing My Religion in its coverage of the Democratic National Convention. "We have little or no respect for their puff-adder brand of reportage," said Stipe in a statement. "Our music does not belong there."
Blunt to co-star with Cruise in thriller
Emily Blunt will begin shooting next month the futuristic action saga All You Need Is Kill, headlined by Tom Cruise, who plays a soldier in a war against aliens. "It's sort of a Groundhog Day set in the future," says Blunt. "I play the toughest soldier alive, so get ready." The British actress has been training for the role by working out five days a week. She says she is unfazed by the publicity over Cruise's recent divorce: "Tom has always been nothing but professional and a lot of fun for me to be around. He's a doll." - AP
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Starting price: Dh79,000
On sale: Now
Our legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
Champions parade (UAE timings)
7pm Gates open
8pm Deansgate stage showing starts
9pm Parade starts at Manchester Cathedral
9.45pm Parade ends at Peter Street
10pm City players on stage
11pm event ends
more from Janine di Giovanni
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
Scoreline
UAE 2-1 Saudi Arabia
UAE Mabkhout 21’, Khalil 59’
Saudi Al Abed (pen) 20’
Man of the match Ahmed Khalil (UAE)
Shooting Ghosts: A U.S. Marine, a Combat Photographer, and Their Journey Back from War by Thomas J. Brennan and Finbarr O’Reilly
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
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
Analysis
Members of Syria's Alawite minority community face threat in their heartland after one of the deadliest days in country’s recent history. Read more
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
Cryopreservation: A timeline
- Keyhole surgery under general anaesthetic
- Ovarian tissue surgically removed
- Tissue processed in a high-tech facility
- Tissue re-implanted at a time of the patient’s choosing
- Full hormone production regained within 4-6 months
The specs: 2017 Ford F-150 Raptor
Price, base / as tested Dh220,000 / Dh320,000
Engine 3.5L V6
Transmission 10-speed automatic
Power 421hp @ 6,000rpm
Torque 678Nm @ 3,750rpm
Fuel economy, combined 14.1L / 100km
UAE%20medallists%20at%20Asian%20Games%202023
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