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[1/5] Cast members Issa Rae, Lauren Velez, Shameik Moore, Daniel Kaluuya, Jake Johnson and Hailee Steinfeld attend the premiere for Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse in Los Angeles, California, U.S., May 30, 2023. For their sequel to 2018's "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse," they have sought to build new worlds to immerse audiences in a web of animated adventure. The voice cast includes Issa Rae as Spider-Woman, Oscar Isaac as Spider-Man 2099, Daniel Kaluuya as Spider-Punk and Brian Tyree Henry as Miles' father, Jefferson Davis. The pre-pandemic "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse" raked in over $35 million during its first three days of release and went on to win the 2019 Oscar for best animated feature film. Despite some concerns that those box-office-busting days are far from returning, "Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse" is forecast to open with $95 to $130 million in the U.S. and Canada.

Persons: Issa Rae, Lauren Velez, Shameik Moore, Daniel Kaluuya, Jake Johnson, Hailee Steinfeld, Mario, Christopher Miller, Phil Lord, Miller, they've, Miles Morales, Gwen Stacy, Brian Michael Bendis, Sara Pichelli, Gwen, Oscar Isaac, Spider, Brian Tyree Henry, Miles, Jefferson Davis, unapologetically, Rae, Henry, Oscar, Andy Warhol, Stephen Hawking, Owen Gleiberman, Danielle Broadway, Rollo Ross, Jorge Garcia, Mary Milliken, Rosalba O'Brien Organizations: REUTERS, Sony, Miles Morales Marvel, Reuters, Rotten, Variety, Thomson Locations: Los Angeles , California, U.S, ANGELES, Los Angeles, Canada

☆ Operation to empty Yemen Safer oil tanker set to begin, UN says
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

DUBAI, May 30 (Reuters) - Operations to salvage 1.1 million barrels of oil from a decaying tanker moored off Yemen's coast will soon begin after a technical support ship arrived on site on Tuesday, the United Nations said. U.N. officials have been warning for years that the Red Sea and Yemen's coastline was at risk as the Safer tanker could spill four times as much oil as the 1989 Exxon Valdez disaster off Alaska. The Ndeavor tanker, with a technical team from Boskalis/SMIT, is in place at the Safer tanker off the coast of Yemen's Ras Isa, the U.N. Humanitarian Coordinator in Yemen David Gressley said on Twitter from on board the Ndeavor. The war in Yemen caused suspension of maintenance operations on the Safer in 2015. Additional funding is still important to finish the process," the U.N said on its Yemen Twitter account.

Persons: U.N, SMIT, Yemen's Ras Isa, Yemen David Gressley, Muhammad Yusuf The, Nayera Abdallah, Lisa Barrington, Bill Berkrot Organizations: United Nations, Boskalis, Twitter, REUTERS, Thomson Locations: DUBAI, Alaska, Yemen's, Yemen, Ras Issa, China, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Riyadh, Tehran

☆ Ryan Gosling has hilarious reply to those saying he's 'too old' to play Ken in 'Barbie' movie
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-31 | by ( Alli Rosenbloom | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —Ryan Gosling channeled his “Ken-ergy” to defend himself against those who think he’s “too old” to play doll Ken in the new “Barbie” movie. The origin of this silliness began back in April when the first “Barbie” movie trailer was released and a debate on social media ensued, with some users voicing their opinion that the 42-year-old actor appeared too “grown up” to play Ken. “If people don’t want to play with my Ken, there are many other Kens to play with,” Gosling said in a new GQ interview published on Wednesday in response to those skeptics. You never cared,” he said, adding that “if you ever really cared about Ken, you would know that nobody cared about Ken. So your hypocrisy is exposed.”(From left) Ryan Gosling and Margot Robbie in 'Barbie.'

Persons: CNN — Ryan Gosling, Ken, ergy, Barbie, “, ” Gosling, we’ve, ’, ”, Ryan Gosling, Margot Robbie, Gosling, Ken’s, Greta Gerwig, Issa Rae, Kate McKinnon, Hari Nef, Eva Mendes, Barbie ” Organizations: CNN, Warner Bros, Mattel, Ferrera

☆ UK supermarket Asda to buy petrol stations operator EG Group UK
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-30 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

British supermarket group Asda said it would buy petrol station operator EG Group's UK and Ireland business to accelerate its move into the convenience sector, creating a company with combined revenues of nearly 30 billion pounds ($38 billion). Asda, Britain's third-largest grocer, and EG are both owned by brothers Zuber and Mohsin Issa and private equity group TDR Capital. The deal, which includes around 350 petrol stations and over 1,000 food-to-go locations, values EG at 2.27 billion pounds, including debt, the groups said on Tuesday. 2 supermarket and the deal will enable it to roll out Asda Express across the EG petrol estate. Since the Issa brothers bought Asda in 2021, 166 EG sites have already been converted to the "Asda on the Move" format.

☆ UK's Asda to buy EG petrol stations unit in $2.9-bln deal
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Asda, Britain's third-largest grocer, and EG are both owned by brothers Zuber and Mohsin Issa and private equity group TDR Capital. The unit of around 350 petrol stations and over 1,000 food-to-go locations will be valued at 2.27 billion pounds. The deal will help spur Asda in its drive to overtake Sainsbury's (SBRY.L) and become Britain's No. 2 supermarket as it rolls out the Asda Express across the EG petrol estate. The Issa brothers bought Asda in 2021 and have already converted 166 EG sites to the "Asda on the Move" format.

☆ Ancient tombs and large mummification workshops unearthed in Egypt
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-29 | by ( Niamh Kennedy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —Egypt has announced the discovery of two of the largest workshops ever used to mummify human and animal corpses in ancient times. “Today, we announce the discovery of the two biggest mummification workshops for humans and animals at the Saqqara Necropolis. Amr Abdallah Dalsh/ReutersArchaeologists unearthed tools used by ancient Egyptians to dissect bodies to remove internal organs alongside the canopic jars used to preserve internal organs, Waziri said. ‘Beautiful tombs’Alongside the two workshops, archaeologists also came across “one of the most beautiful tombs” in the necropolis, according to Waziri. In January 2021, archaeologists uncovered a plethora of ancient treasures in Saqqara, including ancient coffins, burial sites and a funeral temple.

☆ Rep. Darrell Issa says lawmakers on both sides need to 'tone down a bit' in debt ceiling debate
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailRep. Darrell Issa says lawmakers on both sides need to 'tone down a bit' in debt ceiling debateRep. Darrell Issa (R-California) joins 'Last Call' to discuss the resuming of debt ceiling talks, the Disney vs. DeSantis feud, and more.

☆ The US has a new friend in the Mediterranean that could help it isolate Russia, but not everybody in NATO is happy about it
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( Constantine Atlamazoglou | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Cyprus long had close ties with Russia, but it has turned to the West in recent years. John YountzHowever, Nicosia has been moving away from Russia and pursuing a closer relationship with the US. "We keep a strong military-to-military relationship with Cyprus," Cavoli said. Unhappy neighborsA UN peacekeeper looks at a map of the buffer zone between the Republic of Cyprus and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus in Nicosia in April 2021. ROY ISSA/AFP via Getty ImagesBurgeoning US-Cyprus ties would appear to benefit NATO, but not all of the alliance's members are happy about it.

☆ OpenAI CEO wows lawmakers at closed dinner: 'Fantastic…forthcoming'
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( Lauren Feiner | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman spoke to an engaged crowd of about 60 lawmakers at a dinner Monday about the advanced artificial technology his company produces and the challenges of regulating it. The wide-ranging discussion that lasted about two hours came ahead of Altman's first time testifying before Congress at a Senate Judiciary subcommittee on privacy and technology hearing on Tuesday. The dinner discussion comes at a peak moment for AI, which has thoroughly captured Congress' fascination. "There isn't any question where he pulls back on anything," she said, adding that lawmakers had very thoughtful things to ask. Khanna said the question of openness of the model is something he's discussed with Altman before, though not at Monday's dinner.

☆ Former Trump probe prosecutor refuses to answer House Judiciary Committee questions
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-12 | by ( Dan Mangan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Mark Pomerantz, author, "People vs. Donald Trump: An Inside Account," appears on "Meet the Press" in Washington, Feb. 12, 2023. A former prosecutor refused Friday to answer questions at a deposition by the House Judiciary Committee about a criminal investigation of Donald Trump in which he once played a leading role. The Judiciary Committee, whose chairman Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio is a close Republican ally of Trump, has been investigating whether the Manhattan District Attorney's Office probe and charging of Trump was politically motivated. He argued he had the right to not answer questions if they were not pertinent "to a legitimate legislative function." Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., a committee member, told reporters later Pomerantz refused to answer any questions at the deposition.

☆ How Warner Bros. Discovery plans to take on Disney and Netflix with new streamer Max, according to WBD's top marketing exec
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-01 | by ( Lucia Moses | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

"HBO had its limits," Patrizio Spagnoletto, Warner Bros. WBD research showed that to attract new subscribers, the HBO brand was too nichePatrizio "Pato" Spagnoletto is Warner Bros. DiscoveryIn dropping "HBO" from the name, WBD is acknowledging HBO Max has a potent but narrow appeal that could turn off a broader audience. The Max logo has the same vibe as the HBO Max logo, however, and incorporates a few elements of HBO's logo. "Right now, we have very limited capabilities" in that regard, he said of the current HBO Max app.

☆ Artists give new life to Ivory Coast's neglected 'Pyramid'
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-24 | by ( Loucoumane Coulibaly | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Luc GnagoABIDJAN, April 24 (Reuters) - International and local artists paint giant, colourful murals on the exterior of a 15-storey building in Ivory Coast's commercial capital called "the Pyramid," an architectural gem that fell into disuse 20 years ago. A symbol of Ivorian prosperity in the 1970s and one of the first towers built in the central business district of Plateau in Abidjan, this futuristic pyramid-shaped building was neglected for years. The project "Pyramid 2023, tomorrow is already born" aims to give it a second life. Through this initiative, Ivorian artistic director Lemon Otto renovates external facades of older building such as Pyramid, which was completed in 1973 under the direction of the Italian architect Rinaldo Olivieri. Many buildings in the business district are internationally known and could teach Ivorians about their own urban history, architects say.

☆ Marseille go second as Gusto own goal deals bitter blow to Lyon
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

PARIS, April 23 (Reuters) - A last-gasp own goal by Malo Gusto earned Olympique de Marseille a 2-1 win at Olympique Lyonnais and lifted them back up to second in Ligue 1 with six games left on Sunday. Alexandre Lacazette netted after the break to cancel out Cengiz Under's first-half opener for Marseille, only for Gusto to deflect a poor clearance into his own net two minutes into stoppage time. After a series of half chances for both sides in a lively start, Marseille went ahead one minute before the interval when Under slotted the ball home after Alexis Sanchez's attempt was parried into his path by Anthony Lopes. Lyon, however, hit back in the 68th minute with Lacazette latching onto a cross from Corentin Tolisso to score his 20th league goal of the season to delight the Groupama Stadium crowd. They were eventually rewarded when Gusto got in the way of Johann Lepenant's attempt to clear Issa Kabore's cross, as Marseille claimed their first away win against Lyon in all competitions since 2007.

☆ What Salt-N-Pepa and Issa Rae See in One Another
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( Sandra E. Garcia | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Sandra “Pepa” Denton: In her memoir [2015’s “The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl”], Issa mentions struggling with not feeling Black enough. When Salt-N-Pepa was selling millions of records, they called us “crossover,” which meant that we weren’t Black or hip enough. Like us, Issa stayed strong and was smart about her struggle, turning it into comedy. Issa Rae: I grew up on Salt-N-Pepa. When I was in middle school, I even tried to start rap groups because of Salt-N-Pepa.

☆ Top Warner Bros. Discovery marketing exec reveals the launch strategy for mega-streamer Max, the challenges ahead, and why HBO was dropped from the name: 'HBO had its limits'
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-17 | by ( Lucia Moses | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Spagnoletto, who goes by Pato, was referring to the market research WBD conducted before settling on the name Max — dropping the HBO from its existing service, HBO Max — for the company's long-awaited mega-streamer that will combine content from HBO Max and Discovery+. WBD research showed that to attract new subscribers, the HBO brand was too nichePatrizio "Pato" Spagnoletto Warner Bros. DiscoveryIn dropping "HBO" from the name, WBD is acknowledging HBO Max has a potent but narrow appeal that could turn off a broader audience. The Max logo has the same vibe as the HBO Max logo, however, and incorporates a few elements of HBO's logo. "Right now, we have very limited capabilities" in that regard, he said of the current HBO Max app.

☆ Warner Bros Discovery reveals pricing, promotion, and content details of its new streamer, Max, as it aims to take on Netflix and fire up Wall Street
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-12 | by ( Lucia Moses | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Called Max, the app will feature content from HBO Max and Discovery+. Discovery announced the details of its new streaming app on Wednesday, after much anticipation from Hollywood and Madison Avenue. The prices will stay the same for HBO Max subscribers, who will begin to be automatically ported over to the new service. Presenting the entire WBD content catalog on the combined streamer without diluting HBO's prestige factor was another challenge. HBO Max has greater recognition with younger consumers, according to a new Samba TV/HarrisX poll, which could help grow awareness for Discovery+.

☆ Ramadan soccer league brings a bit of joy to Gaza refugee camp
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/5] Young Palestinian men play football during the holy month of Ramadan, in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, March 31, 2023. REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu MustafaRAFAH, Gaza Strip, April 5 (Reuters) - Soccer fans in the Gaza Strip gather to watch the specially organised Ramadan Popular League, a competition held every year in the Rafah refugee camp which is home to over 120,000 people in the southern part of the coastal enclave. "Every year during Ramadan month we come to watch this league, it brings us joy and happiness," said Issa Shaloula. "As players of clubs we come to these popular fields to please the crowds," said Ahmed El-Loulahy, who plays for Khadamat Rafah Club. "This ground is more popular than many other stadiums, it is a playground for refugees.

☆ Goldman Sachs invests $2 billion in Black women-owned businesses — the first chapter of a bigger plan
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-04 | by ( Frank Holland | In Frank-Holland | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The logo for Goldman Sachs is seen on the trading floor at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, November 17, 2021. Goldman Sachs is investing more than $2.1 billion into Black women-owned businesses and nonprofits via the investment bank's One Million Black Women program — and leaders say it's only the first chapter. One Million Black Women launched in March 2021 with the bigger goal of having a positive impact on the lives of 1 million Black women by 2030. "Turbo boosting Black women entrepreneurs is a key part of the work that we do," Pompey said. The ripple effect of investing in a Black woman entrepreneur is tremendous."

☆ Profit at UK supermarket Asda slumps on inflation hit
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, March 29 (Reuters) - British supermarket group Asda on Wednesday reported a 24% fall in annual earnings after it decided not to pass the full impact of cost inflation onto consumers, taking a hit to profits instead. Asda, owned by brothers Zuber and Mohsin Issa and private equity firm TDR Capital, said core earnings, or adjusted EBITDA, were 886 million pounds ($1.1 billion) in 2022, down from 1.17 billion pounds in 2021, on flat sales of 20.45 billion pounds. Grocery inflation in March hit a record high of 17.5%, according to market researcher Kantar. The group said it was making progress towards achieving its long-term goal of becoming the number two supermarket in UK grocery. In January, the Times reported that the Issas and TDR were exploring a merger of EG and Asda.

☆ Russia's invasion of Ukraine has had wide-reaching effects, including trade and partnerships in Egypt
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-21 | by ( Sponsor Post | Created Insider Studios With Fcdo | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

The Russian invasion of Ukraine has damaged partnerships and trade agreements around the globe. For Egypt, this has meant the country must seek new trade routes and reinforce existing partnerships with Europe and the US. Russia's invasion of Ukraine has presented Egypt with complex diplomatic challenges. Bilateral trade between the US and Egypt, at $9.1 billion in 2021, is also almost double the volume of Egypt's trade with Russia. A year on from the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Western economic partnerships with Egypt are only likely to grow in importance.

Credit Suisse fell 8% in Europe and First Republic tumbled 30%. Banking troubles revived memories of the 2008 financial crisis, when dozens of institutions failed or were bailed out with billions of dollars of government and central bank money. Earlier this week, the franc plunged the most against the dollar in one day since 2015, when the Swiss central bank loosened its currency peg. Japan's Ministry of Finance, Financial Services Agency and Bank of Japan officials met on Friday evening to discuss financial markets. Masato Kanda, vice finance minister for international affairs, told reporters after the trilateral meeting that the government, the central bank and the banking watchdog would coordinate to ensure the stability of the financial system.

☆ As hawkish Fed pricing goes away, bullish dollar calls fade
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( Karen Brettell | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The moves come as investors rush for safe havens and adjust for a less aggressive Fed in the wake of the bank failures. “The market is basically saying that the Fed is done here,” said Mazen Issa, senior FX strategist at TD Securities in New York. Some banks, including Goldman Sachs and NatWest Markets, have also said they no longer expect the Fed to raise rates this month. Traders are also pricing for the Fed to cut rates this year, with the fed funds rate expected to fall to 3.80% in December, from 4.57% now. “From a dollar perspective, that’s very important because the resetting of Fed expectations ever higher was a big part of the dollar rally we had seen before these moves,” he added.

Diverse creators are building incubators, their own production pipelines and venues where they can screen work and receive feedback and support each other. Of the 13,252 Oscar nominees since 1929, 6% are from underrepresented ethnicities, a USC Annenberg Inclusion at the Academy Awards report concludes. Located in Atlanta and Los Angeles, it creates collaborative spaces for diverse talent to support each other. As the most underrepresented group in the industry, Latino talent is also keen to change their narrative. There were 32 years without Latino nominees at the Academy Awards, with the most recent shutout in 2002.

☆ Brentford beat Fulham to fuel European dream
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

LONDON, March 6 (Reuters) - Brentford fuelled their ambition of playing European football with a 3-2 home victory over fellow hopefuls Fulham to extend their unbeaten run in the Premier League to 12 games on Monday. Ivan Toney's second-half penalty and a late effort by Mathias Jensen sealed the points for ninth-placed Brentford against their west London rivals to edge them closer to the European qualification places. Brentford had taken an early lead with a deflected shot by Ethan Pinnock but Fulham hit back shortly before halftime when Manor Solomon scored for the fourth successive league match. The hosts were rampant and Bryan Mbeumo grazed the upright with a free kick before Toney also saw a free kick bounce back off the woodwork. Fulham levelled in the 39th minute when another free kick hit the frame of the goal but this time Andreas Pereira's superb effort bounced down for Israeli Solomon to nod home.

☆ Egypt unveils renovations of venerable Tahrir Square Museum
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Egyptian Minister of Tourism and Antiquities Ahmed Issa talks to the media at the Egyptian Museum during a news conference by Egypt's ministry of tourism and antiquities that unveiled a renovated wing at the museum, in Cairo, Egypt February 20, 2023. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah DalshCAIRO, Feb 21 (Reuters) - Egypt has inaugurated the first phase of renovations on the venerable Egyptian Museum in central Cairo, giving the collection a facelift after many of its objects were relocated to other museums around the country. Egypt hopes to grow its tourism industry by 25% to 30% a year, Tourism Minister Ahmed Issa said at the inauguration ceremony on Monday. The renovation, financed by the European Union and assisted by five major European museums including the Louvre and British Museum, was designed to modernise the presentation of the objects. "The Egyptian Museum continues to develop itself, allowing it to compete with the other major modern museums," Issa said.

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