Oscar winning actor Jamie Foxx leapt to a stranger's rescue Monday night in California, his rep confirmed to E! News.
According to California Highway Patrol, 32-year-old Brett Kyle was driving at “a high rate of speed” when his car drove into a drainage ditch in the road, collided with a drainage pipe and concrete, rolled over multiple times and landed on the passenger side engulfed in flames.
While Kyle was trapped inside the car, two witnesses near the scene — including Foxx — ran to the blazing site to help free the trapped driver. The actor grabbed a rescue tool from his vehicle, which allowed the witnesses to break the window, cut the seat belt and get Kyle out alive.
Immediately after, fire and medical emergency personnel arrived to the scene. Kyle was arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol and was taken to the hospital to treat his injuries.
The 48-year-old actor also went on ABC 7 News yesterday, describing the incident in detail. — The National Staff
Hollywood artists join Spike Lee’s Oscars boycott
Film director Spike Lee, who is leading calls for a boycott of the 2016 Oscars over the lack of black actors among nominees, called for Hollywood to adopt policies to address the issue of racial diversity behind and in front of the camera.
Lee, who was awarded an honorary Oscar in November, said Hollywood had fallen behind the worlds of music and sports, saying it makes sense business-wise for the movie and TV industry to reflect the racial diversity of the United States.
Lee’s call for a boycott on Monday followed nominations last week which featured no people of colour in the 20 lead and supporting actor and actress nominations.
Director Michael Moore said on Tuesday he would join the boycott, along with Jada Pinkett-Smith, the actress wife of snubbed Concussion star Will Smith.
Membership of the Academy is by recommendation of two other members, or is automatically awarded by being Oscar nominated. The full list of the 6,000 or so Academy members has never been disclosed although a 2012 Los Angeles Times study found that its members were nearly 94 per cent white and 77 per cent male. — Reuters
John Abraham plans to remake ‘Rocky Handsome’ in Tamil, Telugu
Actor-producer John Abraham, plans to remake his next venture Rocky Handsome in several Indian languages, including Tamil and Telugu.
The actor said several South Indian superstars were interested in the remake because of its commercial appeal.
Directed by Nishikant Kamat, the Hindi version features Abraham and Shruti Hassan, who last starred together in Welcome Back.
The 43-year-old actor said he trained for martial arts Tai chi and Aikido in Thailand for the movie. — IANS
France honours Michael Keaton for contribution to arts
France has honoured American actor Michael Keaton with a prestigious cultural award, giving him a medal for his contributions to the arts and literature.
The Birdman and Spotlight actor was in Paris on Monday to receive the medal, awarded by French Minister of Culture and Communication Fleur Pellerin.
“I don’t know who you are Michael Keaton and that is just fine,” Pellerin said.
“But I know you are an actor with extraordinary talent and dexterity, capable of taking on the most diverse of roles, from the most tragic to the most comical, sliding from one to the other without ever running out of breath.”
Academy Award nominee Keaton has appeared in a range of movies including Batman, Much Ado About Nothing, Beetlejuice, as well as starring as Boston Globe journalist Walter Robinson in Catholic Church sex abuse probe film Spotlight. — Reuters
Ghulam Ali to make acting debut with Indian film
Pakistan's legendary ghazal singer Ghulam Ali, whose performances in India were marred last year by Shiv Sena threats, is now geared to make his acting debut with Hindi feature film Ghar Wapsi, directed by Suhaib Ilyasi. He has also composed and lent his voice to an Indian patriotic song for the movie.
Ghulam Ali is currently in India to dub his portion of the film.
The ghazal maestro has enthralled fans across the globe with his baritone voice, and was in
Kolkata last week where he performed to a packed audience, three months after the cancellation of his concert in Mumbai.
The film also stars Alok Nath, Farida Jalal, Reema Lagoo, Deepak Tijori and Zarina Wahab, and also includes the work of singers like Sunidhi Chauhan, Sonu Nigam and Shaan, as well. — IANS
Results
2.15pm: Maiden (PA) Dh40,000 1,700m; Winner: AF Arrab, Antonio Fresu (jockey), Ernst Oertel (trainer).
2.45pm: Maiden (PA) Dh40,000 1,700m; Winner: AF Mahaleel, Antonio Fresu, Ernst Oertel.
3.15pm: Sheikh Ahmed bin Rashid Al Maktoum handicap (TB) Dh200,000 2,000m; Winner: Dolmen, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar.
3.45pm: Handicap (PA) Dh40,000 1,200m; Winner: Amang Alawda, Sandro Paiva, Bakhit Al Ketbi.
4.15pm: The Crown Prince of Sharjah Cup Prestige (PA) Dh200,000 1,200m; Winner: AF Alwajel, Tadhg O’Shea, Ernst Oertel.
4.45pm: Handicap (PA) Dh40,000 2,000m; Winner: Al Jazi, Jesus Rosales, Eric Lemartinel.
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
Padmaavat
Director: Sanjay Leela Bhansali
Starring: Ranveer Singh, Deepika Padukone, Shahid Kapoor, Jim Sarbh
3.5/5
Other workplace saving schemes
- The UAE government announced a retirement savings plan for private and free zone sector employees in 2023.
- Dubai’s savings retirement scheme for foreign employees working in the emirate’s government and public sector came into effect in 2022.
- National Bonds unveiled a Golden Pension Scheme in 2022 to help private-sector foreign employees with their financial planning.
- In April 2021, Hayah Insurance unveiled a workplace savings plan to help UAE employees save for their retirement.
- Lunate, an Abu Dhabi-based investment manager, has launched a fund that will allow UAE private companies to offer employees investment returns on end-of-service benefits.
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
