Schwarzenegger has said that climate change protests are taking disruptive routes due to public frustration with governments failing to reduce emissions. Due to the lack of action, people are angry and have taken to protesting. He also suggested that instead of worrying about disappointing various industries like car manufacturers and oil companies, it needs strong leadership to make the necessary changes. Furthermore, he called on environmental activists not to block all development when looking for solutions. Instead, he argued that focus should be on building green projects.
Protests against pension reforms in France have failed to affect activities surrounding the 72nd Cannes Film Festival. Although dozens of demonstrators assembled in Cannes to protest the reforms imposed by President Emmanuel Macron’s government, they did so on the Boulevard Carnot, far from the festival's central hub on the Palais des Festivals or Cannes’ seaside boulevard, Croisette. Local authorities instituted a ban on protests throughout many areas of Cannes before the summit. The move avoided any clashes which might have disrupted the celebration. The controversy comes amidst labor unrest in the Cannes, including a Hollywood screenwriters' strike.
Thierry Fremaux, director of the Cannes Film Festival, had a run in with a policeman after being asked to stop riding his eco-friendly bike near the Carlton hotel, popular with Hollywood stars. Fremaux demanded the policeman's name while pointing his finger in the officer's face, and was shoved back in response. Fremaux reportedly continued the argument under the hotel's portico. The incident is the latest in a string of controversies surrounding the 70th edition of the festival, including Quentin Tarantino's request for increased security and controversy over two of the films included in the official competition roster.
Actor Robert De Niro has criticised former US president Donald Trump during the Cannes Film Festival while promoting his new film Killers of the Flower Moon. De Niro called Trump "stupid" and said it was "insane" to have faith in his abilities. Sitting on a panel alongside director Martin Scorsese and actor Leonardo DiCaprio, De Niro compared Trump to his on-screen character, adding: "It's the banality of evil. It's the thing we have to watch out for." The crime thriller, set in the early 1900s, is based on the true story of a cover-up of murders within the Osage Indian nation.
Scores of Boston University graduates turned their backs on Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav, who gave the commencement address, and shouted “pay your writers”, supporting a Hollywood writers’ strike picket. A plane flew a banner reading “David Zaslav — pay your writers” across the stadium, while 100 protesters chanted “No wages, no pages” outside graduation ceremonies, at which thousands of students watched. Zaslav graduated from Boston University Law School in the mid-80s. More than 11,500 members of the Writers Guild of America went on strike on 2 May after their contract negotiations broke down.
The poor performance of JD.com and Alibaba gives little indication of any Chinese economic revival, despite one hedge fund expecting to benefit from China's consumer economy being at its nadir and tripling stakes in JD.com on that basis. The revenue of JD.com increased 1.4% for the March period and Alibaba's 2%, whereas the international games division recorded a far-stronger 10.7% increase while online advertising climbed 17%. While advertising is a leading indicator that statistical evidence of recovery may emerge, cutbacks in marketing expenditure are also expected.
An Afghan colonel who fought alongside British troops has received a threat of deportation to Rwanda after fleeing to the UK on a small boat following the Taliban’s takeover of Kabul in August 2021. The veteran claims that he was not helped after leaving his family behind in Afghanistan to escape danger, and has now received the notice of intent from the Home Office after applying to the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (Arap). The colonel is being supported by Care4Calais and requires urgent assistance as regards his case, having gone through at least 11 countries before arriving in the UK.
The Afghan colonel is one of many veterans who served British interests in Afghanistan and are now being threatened with deportation or are forced to flee through illegal routes as a result of strict restrictions and delays in the UK’s evacuation schemes. Speaking to Care4Calais, he expressed concerns for his family in case he is deported to Rwanda and criticized the UK’s abandonment of Afghan military personnel when the Taliban gained power. Former heads of the Royal Navy and Army have stated that the UK has free moral obligations to Afghan military personnel to secure their safe migration to the country for a better life.
Afghanistan now lies at security risk as the Taliban fights to consolidate its grip on the country, with many civilians and former military personnel facing arrest and execution. The UK’s deadline of 31 August 2021 to evacuate Afghans who had supported coalition forces was met with criticism after only a select few were evacuated in time. The latest case involving the Afghan colonel joins a list of controversial immigration policy actions by the UK government that have been harshly criticized by NGOs and human rights activists.
Jennifer Lawrence turned heads at this year's Cannes Film Festival after swapping her heels for a pair of black flip-flops. The actor wore a crimson Christian Dior gown to the Anatomie D’une Chute premiere, which she paired with the casual footwear. Lawrence, who produced the documentary Bread and Roses, about women in Afghanistan after the Taliban returned to power, is not the only actor to have protested against the festival's requirement that women wear high heels on the red carpet. Kristen Stewart walked the red carpet in bare feet in 2018 amid rumours of an alleged dress code.
American film director Quentin Tarantino has killed off a character from his most recent movie, according to an update posted on Twitter. The character, Rick Dalton, played by Leonardo DiCaprio in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019), has died, said podcast The Video Archives, which Tarantino co-hosts. The next episode will be a Dalton "memorial episode". Ahead of making the 2019 film, Tarantino wrote a book about Dalton's history and his fictional credits.
The S&P 500 index has resisted breaking through the 4,200 point barrier despite flirting with the figure several times, a development which Stockton University's Nathaniel Warner linked to "the markets [being] a game of psychology" and "specific landmarks [being] self-fulfilling" in terms of traders anticipating failure at key levels. Wall Street strategists had been braced to predict a 5% decline by the end of the year after the past 12 months' roiling instability but were taken aback by the coterie of tech giants generating the lion's share of market growth, leaving smaller (usually more vulnerable) companies out in the cold. This situation is leading to qualms among asset allocators, who are remaining cautious even as many increasingly think that the tech stocks are no longer overpriced having enjoyed a several-month-long boom over the past year. Meanwhile, Credit Suisse's equity strategist, Patrick Palfrey, attributed their successful rally to fund managers reversing their decision to underweight the tech firms.
