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With F1: The Movie on track for success, what’s next for Apple’s film business?

The US$145 million global opening of Apple’s F1 The Movie came as a relief, both for the iPhone maker itself and cinema operators in the United States hoping for an original hit during this sequel-dominated summer of blockbusters.

The expensive action sports drama, starring Brad Pitt, directed by Joseph Kosinski (Top Gun: Maverick) and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, was a high-stakes gamble by the California-based tech giant, which until now has enjoyed little success at cinemas.

The film did better than expected in the US and Canada, generating US$57 million in ticket sales in its opening weekend, according to studio estimates.

Analysts were projecting US$40 million to US$50 million, based on pre-release tracking. Warner Bros. Pictures, which is on a much-needed hot streak, distributed F1 in partnership with Apple.

A still from F1: The Movie. Photo: Dawn Apollo Films

Because the movie cost at least US$200 million to make after tax breaks and before marketing costs, the picture is still far from profitable.

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July 3, 2025
The Sevilla Commitment: A vital step to rebuild trust in global cooperation
Activists, many from the Global South, attending the talks in Spain, are calling for greater leadership and commitment from wealthier nations to help address long-standing structural inequalities.

The 4^th International Conference on Financing for Development (FFD4) carries strong symbolic weight, reflected in the agreed priorities of the Sevilla Commitment.

Courtesy of Paula Sevilla

Paula Sevilla, International Institute for Environment and Development.

However, organizations warn that there is still a long way to go before promises translate into tangible action.

Good timing

That is the message from Paula Sevilla, a representative of the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) – a London-based research centre – who has worked for decades on sustainability and climate justice in Latin America, Africa, and Asia.

“This summit has come at a crucial time to try to restore faith in international cooperation, especially after the pandemic, which exposed a lack of global solidarity,” she stated.

One of IIED’s main goals in Sevilla has been to ensure that the announced financial commitments actually reach local communities at the forefront of the climate crisis.

To that end, the organization emphasizes the need to address issues such as external debt – draining public budgets – and to support innovative mechanisms like blended finance to direct resources to those who need them most.

“We’re seeing countries spend more on debt payments than on healthcare or education, while inequalities are deepening,” the expert warned, speaking shortly after a respectful but forceful protest inside the conference centre.

A place to call home

Housing solutions linked to sustainable development are notably absent from the summit’s final document.

“It’s regrettable that it’s not even mentioned, at a time when we are facing a global cost-of-living crisis – not only in the Global South but also here in Spain. Housing is a source of anguish and distrust among citizens, and it has been completely ignored,” Ms. Sevilla said.

Despite this, her organization is working to leverage the Sevilla outcome to find ways to channel funding into providing more affordable homes.

Commenting on the initiative led by Spain and Brazil to work towards fair taxation and push back against tax avoidance by the world’s richest – promoting more transparency and accountability – the IIED representative said it could be a useful path toward correcting structural inequalities.

Tax for development

“We need leadership from the Global North, where many of the world’s major tax-avoiding corporations are based. Without their commitment, we won’t move forward,” she stated.

She also criticized the absence of the United States from the summit – not only as a diplomatic setback but also as a worrying precedent following the dismantling of its international development agency, USAID.

“We’re talking about people counting their pills to figure out how many days of life they have left. This is dramatic,” she emphasised.

With just five years remaining to meet the Sustainable Development Goals, Ms. Sevilla warned that time is running out – and that the Sevilla Commitment will be meaningless without real change.

“We need political leadership, a will to cooperate, and a commitment to protect democratic space. In the end, it’s organized people who keep hope alive and hold leaders accountable,” Sevilla concluded.

The Sevilla Commitment in brief:
- The Sevilla Commitment sets out a new global roadmap to raise the trillions of dollars needed each year to achieve sustainable development, building on previous international agreements
- It calls for fairer tax systems, cracking down on tax evasion and illicit financial flows, and strengthening public development banks to support national priorities
- The agreement highlights the need for new tools to ease debt pressures on vulnerable countries, including debt-swap schemes, options to pause payments during crises, and better transparency
- Countries committed to boosting the capacity of multilateral development banks, increasing the use of special drawing rights, and attracting more private investment to support development
- It also aims to make the global financial system more inclusive and accountable, with improved coordination, stronger data systems, and broader participation from civil society and others
The Commitment launches the Sevilla Platform for Action, which includes over 130 initiatives already underway to turn the pledges into real-world results.
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July 3, 2025
Chinese action-RPG Where Winds Meet confirmed PlayStation console exclusive

Where Winds Meet, the forthcoming action game from Chinese developer Everstone Studio, will be a PlayStation console exclusive on its launch.

A new CGI trailer for the game has been released, showcasing more of its Wuxia-inspired setting and story.

At its close, no release date is given beyond “2025”, but the game is confirmed to be a console exclusive on PS5 alongside its PC and mobile release. “Not available on other consoles until at least six months after release date,” the small print specifies.

Where Winds Meet – Floral Reverie Sect Story Trailer | PS5 GamesWatch on YouTube

We’ve seen similar wording with the likes of Square Enix’s PS5 console exclusive Final Fantasy 16, which has since been released on PC and Xbox.

Other PS5 console exclusives from Chinese developers include Lost Soul Aside and Phantom Blade Zero, with the former listed as part of Sony’s China Hero Project to boost development in the country.

The hugely successful Black Myth: Wukong was also something of a PlayStation exclusive, even if unwittingly – it’s set to arrive on Xbox this August, a year after its PS5 equivalent.

Kaifeng City | Image credit: Everstone Studio

Where Winds Meet is an open-world action-RPG set during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period of Chinese history. Its combat and aesthetics are inspired by classic Wuxia fantasy, with the developers aiming to bring the genre to the west.

A final beta test for the game will take place later this month, on 25th July for players on PC (via Steam) and PS5 across the globe. Registration for access is now open.

The test will include regions from previous tests, as well as the urban region of Kaifeng (pictured above).

The success of Black Myth: Wukong has surely impacted the Chinese games industry, as development has shifted towards console game releases in recent years. Other Chinese-made action-RPGs on the way include Wuchang: Fallen Feathers later this month (across PC, PS5, and Xbox) and the London-set Arthurian fantasy Tides of Annihilation (also coming to PC, PS5, and Xbox).

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July 3, 2025
Mourning processions taken out on 7th Muharram

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DERA ISMAIL KHAN, Jul 03 (APP):Two main mourning processions and ‘Zuljinnah’ were taken out amid tight security here on Thursday.

The mourners reciting Noha and beating their chests took out the first procession from Masjid Latu-Faqir which culminated peacefully at Imambargah Haider Shah Sherazi after passing through its designated routes.

Likewise, another mourning procession appeared from Imambargha Haider Shah Sherazi which ended peacefully at Masjid Latu-Faqir after passing through its traditional routes.

According to the district police, tight security measures have been made as personnel of law enforcement agencies along with Shia community volunteers, escorted mourning processions.

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July 3, 2025
Over and Over (and Over Again) review – behold the human disco ball! | Dance

Choreographer Dan Daw and the dancers from Candoco are celebrating and politicising the dancefloor, looking for freedom and to shake up the system. Over and Over (and Over Again) is set in a club, to a soundtrack of house, drum’n’bass and dubstep, but it’s not exactly a feelgood bop-along, it’s more nuanced, more thoughtful and a bit less fun than that.

Candoco are a long-running integrated company with disabled and non-disabled dancers. We’re told at the outset that anyone can take a break when they need to and that means the audience and also the dancers, especially one who is currently dealing with pain. This is not a forum for pushing through pain, they say. Like so many things Candoco have done, that’s a quietly revolutionary statement, when pushing through pain is usually seen as a given for dancers.

‘Rest as an act of resistance’ … Annie Edwards in Over and Over (and Over Again). Photograph: Hugo Glendinning

Throughout the show, parallels are drawn between the life of the club and the lives of the performers, with projected titles: struggle, desire, solidarity. There’s a section labelled “chill-out”, with the dancers all cuddled together on a beanbag and a definition flashes up on the backdrop: “rest as an act of resistance”. There is a lot of gentle resistance happening here, resistance to expectations, the sense of doing things on your own terms. Often there’s not that much happening at all. The dancing feels as much for the dancers as the audience, although there’s pleasure watching Annie Edwards as the beats of the music pulse around her body, or the wild streak of the always excellent Temitope Ajose.

The show doesn’t quite work as a rousing call to the dancefloor, but it has some stand-out scenes, such as Maiya Leeke becoming a human disco ball as the spotlight reflects off her mirrored top, arms flung wide, soaking up the vocalist’s insistent lyric: “I want to feel everything!” It captures that paradox of the dancefloor, when you’re completely in your body, in the moment, yet melted into the music, the self having dissolved. When the lights in the club come up, one lone dancer is left behind. James Olivo warms up into a churning, exploratory solo that finally digs deep. It’s a real moment of finding yourself on the dancefloor, with not a disco light in sight.

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July 3, 2025
The Beatles’ 1960s ticket stubs set for Lichfield auction

Susie Rack

BBC News, West Midlands

Richard Winterton

There are 17 ticket stubs going under the hammer at Richard Winterton auctioneers

Ticket stubs for 1960s gigs by The Beatles that cost pennies at the time are among a collection expected to fetch up to £500 at auction.

The 17-stub archive includes two for The Beatles and Roy Orbison at Birmingham Town Hall in June 1963, costing fans eight shillings and sixpence.

The Liverpool band was originally second on the bill, but were bumped up to co-headline as Beatlemania grew and ended up closing the set.

Richard Winterton Auctioneers described the “rare and nostalgic collection”, which spans performances between 1962 and 1964, as a “wonderful piece of music history”.

Of the 17 tickets, 16 are for performances in Birmingham and also include The Beatles’ first outing at the city’s Odeon, on 11 October 1964.

There are additional stubs for The Cliff Richard Show at the Hippodrome, The Searchers at the Odeon, and Brenda Lee at the Town Hall.

One stub reveals the owner snagged a balcony seat for an unnamed performance, at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon, for just 7 shillings.

In addition, there is a complete ticket for Jazz 1963 at Birmingham Town Hall, presented by The Musicians’ Union and The Labour Party, in October 1963.

PA Media

In 1963, Beatlemania was taking over the UK, just months before it would do the same in the US during the band’s first visit, in February 1964

“Two ticket stubs for The Beatles at the height of Beatlemania are especially evocative – how incredible it must have been to see the Fab Four live in 1963 and 1964,” a spokesperson for the auctioneers said.

“With a host of other iconic names in the collection, this is a wonderful piece of music history.”

The stubs will go under the hammer on 14 July, at the Lichfield Auction Centre in Fradley Park.

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July 3, 2025
Amazon Web Services Takes Dynamic Journey to Showcase Customer Innovations

Amazon Web Services (AWS) has launched its new global campaign ‘AWS is How,’ created in collaboration with London-based agency Hijinks. This marks the first major global AWS campaign since 2023, and showcases how leading companies are revolutionising its industries using AWS cloud solutions. The campaign debuted in the United States on June 17th, and will be followed by a UK launch, and will expand to nine more markets. It will run through Q1 2026 across television, social media, and out of home.

Directed by Sam Brown through Rogue Films, the ads use movement to take viewers on a dynamic journey up a building where each floor showcases a different level of customer innovation from brands including BMW, Epic Games, and Formula 1. The ad was shot in a modular format that could be tailored to different audiences or regions by swapping in different rooms.

The concept came to life using a motion control camera that could be programmed to create precise, repeatable movements – seamlessly transitioning from BMW’s autonomous parking technology to Epic Game’s ability to deliver smooth gameplay for millions. For the week-long production that took place in Prague, the art department constructed eight distinctive sets. In addition to A-list director Sam, the crew included DOP Franz Lustig, who crafted the perfect lighting for the spot.

Tamryn Kerr and Marc Allenby, co-founders and chief creative officers at Hijinks, said, “’AWS is How’ positions AWS as the answer to how so many amazing businesses are innovating. The campaign is the culmination of an incredible transatlantic co-creation working with the AWS team. Working with the formidable Sam Brown and the Rogue team to bring this to life was a dream come true.”

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July 3, 2025
Smart Power Rankings Vol 2: Massive shake-up

LAUSANNE (Switzerland) – Usually the second volume of a Smart Power Rankings has a couple teams moving up or down a spot or two. The FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup 2025 hasn’t been a usual event – as you can see by the massive shifts by many teams in the review of the teams going into the Quarter-Finals.

You may also want to read this:

Smart Power Rankings Vol 1: Where is your team?

We took stock of the teams and all the madness going on in Lausanne and re-adjusted the rankings.

Here is Volume 2 of the Smart Power Rankings.

16 Jordan =

Jordan were expected to struggle in their first appearance in the competition in 30 years and the Asians have done just that.

Jordan hung around with Dominican Republic for a while but they haven’t been a real threat other than that.

15 China -4

Thoughts about China coming in were that the extensive preparations they had would pay off in victories. But that hasn’t been the case.

The Asians were close in the first game against Canada and then had a rally versus New Zealand in the Round of 16, but it will be tough for them to register wins the rest of the way.

14 Mali -2

Mali pulled off a massive shocker to start the tournament with their win over Serbia.

But the Africans were not able to match that same mix of effort and success the rest of the way.

13 Dominican Republic +1

Dominican Republic have kind of been the unlucky losers so far, falling to Switzerland and Israel by four points in both games and then scoring 96 points against Australia but still losing the Round of 16 game.

12 Argentina -2

Argentina fall into that same category as Dominican Republic.

After losing to New Zealand in the opener, the South Americans beat Serbia and Mali. But they were unable to reach their third straight Quarter-Finals after losing in a heart-breaking defeat against Slovenia.

11 Cameroon -3

Some might question why Cameroon are so high after losing all four games so far and having never played in this competition.

But the Africans played tough in all three group games against basketball powerhouses France, Australia and USA and then missed a golden opportunity to beat Israel in the Round of 16 for a historic first win.

10 France -5

France must bounce back from the massive disappointment of losing to Switzerland in the Round of 16 – and missing out on the podium after three straight top-three finishes.

This is the second consecutive poor showing for France on the global youth stage after they lost to Puerto Rico in the Round of 16 at the FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup 2024 and ended up taking ninth place.

9 Serbia -6

Serbia came to Lausanne with the hopes of finally getting back to the podium for the first time since they were second in 2013. And the chances seemed decent given they were second in the FIBA U18 EuroBasket 2024.

But Serbia lost to Mali and Argentina in the group stage and then had to face Germany in the Round of 16 – a rematch of the U18 European title game from last summer. And they couldn’t slow down the Germans. Now they are playing in Classification 9-16.

Let us know what you think and vote:

Who will be crowned U19 World Cup 2025 champions?

8 Israel +5

Israel have put together a valiant performance in their first appearance in the FIBA U19 World Cup, going undefeated in the group stage and then fighting off Cameroon in the Round of 16 to reach the Quarter-Finals.

7 Switzerland +8

Switzerland’s magical run in their first-ever FIBA U19 World Cup continued as they shocked France in the Round of 16 with an 18-0 run spanning the fourth quarter and overtime.

The hosts have now won three straight games and believe in something great. They are a dangerous team to face right now with that kind of momentum.

6 Canada =

Canada and the Quarter-Finals of the FIBA U19 World Cup go hand-in-hand, now reaching the top eight for the seventh straight time.

But the Americas side has only picked up two wins at this stage of the competition in that run – going all the way to the title in 2017 and finishing third in 2021.

Canada face a tough battle against USA in the Quarter-Finals.

5 Australia -1

Australia have not been so lucky at this competition, reaching the top eight for the first time since 2015. The 2003 champions lost to USA in their opener and have lost since then – fighting back to beat Cameroon and then knocking off France and Dominican Republic.

The Emus next must face a very difficult matchup with Germany.

4 New Zealand +5

New Zealand are in the Quarter-Finals for the first time in history with just one loss thus far – falling to Serbia in the final group game though New Zealand were already secured first place in the group and Serbia last place.

New Zealand have a core of leaders who helped the country make history by finishing fourth at the FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup 2024. Now they are hungry for success at the U19 level.

3 Slovenia +4

It’s been a while since Slovenia have been among the top eight in world in this competition – the only other time was 2003 when they finished seventh. Slovenia started the tournament on a down note – losing to Germany and Canada.

The Europeans bounced back and beat China and then narrowly knocked off Argentina in the Round of 16. Now they are just a win over Israel in the Quarter-Finals to be in the top four in the world.

2 Germany =

Germany have done nothing for them to move from the No. 2 ranking. They had a bit of a subpar opener against Slovenia but have rolled since then.

Comfortable wins over China and Canada were followed by a strong showing against Serbia in the Round of 16 – a rematch of the FIBA U18 EuroBasket 2024 Final.

1 USA =

USA have dominated in every game thus far in the competition, especially with their defense – not allowing more than 77 points in a game. The Americans, who have won this competition a record eight times, have a wealth of weapons who can step up and carry the team.

USA seem clearly set to reach the Final and the only question is if someone can keep them from a ninth crown.

Let us know what you think and vote:

Who will be named FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup 2025 TISSOT MVP?

FIBA

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July 3, 2025
Kensington Palace issues statement as Prince William makes decisive move

Kensington Palace issues statement as Prince William makes decisive move

Prince William, who is quietly preparing for his destined role in the monarchy, has been making big moves for the future of his reign.

The Prince of Wales stepped out on Wednesday at the Groundswell Regenerative Agriculture Festival in Hertfordshire for a solo appearance. The future king announced major plans that he has for his private estate, the Duchy of Cornwall, after inheriting it from King Charles.

Kensington Palace dropped an update on the engagement after the important royal engagement.

“Dropping into the Groundswell Regenerative Agriculture Festival yesterday,” the statement read.

“Fantastic to listen to speakers on subjects aligning with the work of the Duchy of Cornwall’s tenant farmers, who are exploring innovative ways of farming on the road to net zero, and how to work with nature, not against it.”

Before Prince William inherited the position of the of Duke of Cornwall from his father, the royal had been planning to make improvements on the estate in his ambition for having sustainable resources which are not a burden to the planet.

During the visit, William shared that he believes that regenerative farming should be the “foundation stone of British agriculture”.

As Duke of Cornwall, he stressed on his mission to “rebuild the health of our nation” and “working in partnership to enhance the land we share with nature.”

The update comes as King Charles and Queen Camilla are in Scotland to mark Holyrood Week – the annual royal celebration of Scottish culture, community and achievements.

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July 3, 2025
Air chief thanks NA Speaker, MNAs for lauding PAF response to Indian aggression – Ptv.com.pk
1. Air chief thanks NA Speaker, MNAs for lauding PAF response to Indian aggression Ptv.com.pk
2. Air chief marshal lauds parliament for support in face of Indian aggression The Express Tribune
3. PAF chief lauds NA Speaker Ayaz Sadiq’s parliamentary role Aaj English TV
4. Indian warfare foiled by national unity, says Air Chief Marshal Sidhu 24 News HD
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July 3, 2025