- Pakistan 122-1 at lunch in first England Test
- Kazakhs approve plan for first nuclear power plant
- World marks anniversary of Oct. 7 attack on Israel
- 'Second family': tennis stars hunt winning formula with new coaches
- Philippines, South Korea agree to deepen maritime cooperation
- Mexico mayor murdered days after taking office
- Sardinia's sheep farmers battle bluetongue as climate warms
- Japan govt admits doctoring 'untidy' cabinet photo
- Israel marks first anniversary of Hamas's October 7 attack
- Darvish tames Ohtani as Padres thrash Dodgers
- Asian markets track Wall St rally on jobs data
- Family affair as LeBron, Bronny James make Lakers bow
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- As Great Salt Lake dries, Utah Republicans pardon Trump climate skepticism
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- Mourners pay tribute to latest victims of deadly Channel crossing
- Tunisia incumbent Saied set to win presidential vote: exit polls
- Phillies win thriller to level Mets series
- Yu bags first PGA Tour win with playoff win
- PSG held by Nice to leave Monaco clear at top of Ligue 1
- AC Milan fall at Fiorentina after De Gea's penalty heroics
- Lewandowski treble for leaders Barca as Atletico held
- Fresh Israeli strikes hit south Beirut
- Sucic stunner earns Real Sociedad draw against Atletico
- PSG draw with Nice, fail to reclaim top spot in Ligue 1
- Gudmundsson downs AC Milan after De Gea's penalty heroics for Fiorentina
- 'Yes' vote prevails in Kazakhstan nuclear plant vote: TV
- 'Difficult day': Oct 7 commemorations begin with festival memorial
- Commemorations begin for anniversary of attack on Israel
- Lewandowski hat-trick powers Liga leaders Barca to Alaves victory
- 'Nothing gets in way of team,' says Celtics' MVP hopeful Tatum
- India maintain Pakistan stranglehold as Windies cruise at Women's T20 World Cup
- 'We will win!': Mozambique's ruling party confident at final vote rally
- Tunisia voting ends as Saied eyes re-election with critics behind bars
- Florida braces for Milton, FEMA head slams 'dangerous' Helene misinformation
- Postecoglou slams 'unacceptable' Spurs after 'terrible' loss at Brighton
- Marmoush double denies Bayern outright Bundesliga top spot
- Rallies worldwide call for Gaza, Lebanon ceasefire
- Maresca hails Chelsea's 'fighting' spirit after draw with 10-man Forest
- New 'Joker' film, a dark musical, tops N.America box office
- Man Utd stalemate keeps Ten Hag in danger, Spurs rocked by Brighton
- Drowned by hurricane, remote N.Carolina towns now struggle for water
- Vikings hold off Jets in London to stay unbeaten
- Ahead of attack anniversary, Netanyahu says: 'We will win'
- West Indies cruise to T20 World Cup win over Scotland
- Arshdeep, Chakravarthy help India hammer Bangladesh in T20 opener
- Lewandowski's quickfire hat-trick powers Liga leaders Barca to Alaves victory
- Man Utd fire another blank in Aston Villa stalemate
- Lewandowski treble powers Liga leaders Barca to Alaves victory
- Russian activist killed on front line in Ukraine
Netflix pulls out big Hollywood guns for new production push
Netflix has enlisted an A-list roster of actors for a new slate of film and TV series this year, with several potential blockbusters on deck as the US giant battles to retain its lead in the fiercely competitive streaming market.
An armada of more than 80 films including widely anticipated works from star directors is planned for 2022, accelerating the firm's push into exclusive content production, executives announced at a Paris press conference Thursday.
Netflix has already muscled its way into the Hollywood echelon, most recently with "Don't Look Up" and the gothic Western "The Power of the Dog," which is leading the pack of Oscar contenders with 12 nominations.
But the company has seen subscriber growth stall in recent months despite knockout hits like the macabre South Korean series "Squid Game," as viewers are tempted by rival offers from Apple, Amazon, HBO and others.
This year will see its first super-production, "The Gray Man," an action thriller starring Ryan Gosling that will be directed by the Russo brothers behind "Captain America: Winter Soldier" and other Marvel superhero movies.
Daniel Craig, fresh from hanging up his svelt James Bond suits, will star in a sequel to "Knives Out," this time trying to crack a case in Greece, while Guillermo del Toro will finally get to release the "Pinocchio" announced nearly four years ago.
Charlize Theron, Ana de Armas, Asa Butterfield, Jamie Foxx, Henry Cavill, Tilda Swinton and Adam Driver are among the barrage of stars set for other comedies, dramas, horror and family offerings.
Overseas productions that have often proved to have global appeal haven't been forgotten, with 25 releases set for France for example and already 20 more in production.
Overall Netflix is investing 200 million euros ($220) in the French audiovisual industry this year, of which around 40 million euros to produce 10 films that will also be released in cinemas.
The company did not provide an overall figure of its planned production investments this year.
In January, Netflix reported net profit of $607 million for the fourth quarter on revenue of $7.7 billion, and warned that subscriber growth was likely to slow again in the coming months.
The company said it had a total of 221.8 million subscribers, a number that failed to meet analyst expectations.
T.Ward--AMWN