Monthly Archives: February 2025

TOYOTA GAZOO Racing World Rally Team (TGR-WRT) delivered an exhilarating one-two finish at Rally Sweden, solidifying its dominance in the 2025 FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) season. Elfyn Evans and co-driver Scott Martin exhibited exceptional performance in the No. 33 GR YARIS Rally1, securing victory with the smallest winning margin in Rally Sweden history. Takamoto Katsuta and co-driver Aaron Johnston followed closely in second place in their No. 18 Toyota GR YARIS Rally1, marking their best-ever WRC finish and a remarkable achievement for the team.

Akio Toyoda, TGR-WRT Chairman, commented: “The top five within a 25-second gap, and three GR Yaris Rally1s among them—this year’s Rally Sweden was really exhilarating. Congratulations to Elfyn and Scott for winning the rally! It’s great to see them triumph once again. And congratulations to Takamoto and Aaron for securing second place! Next up is the Safari Rally, and I’m counting on him to showcase his spirit of ‘returning to the finish line no matter what’. Both drivers delivered fantastic performances during the Power Stage, thank you for the perfect one-two finish! I also thank everyone in the team for building cars that allowed the drivers to compete comfortably until the end.”

Rally Sweden, the WRC’s only pure winter event, witnessed one of the most intense battles in recent history, with the top five drivers separated by mere seconds. Evans and Martin led from the start, navigating the treacherous snow and ice-covered roads with precision. Katsuta delivered an impressive drive, taking the lead on the final morning after winning the first pass of the 29.35-kilometre Västervik stage. However, Evans responded decisively in the penultimate stage, reclaiming the lead with a spectacular performance. Holding just a 3.7-second advantage entering the rally-ending Power Stage, Evans clinched victory in style by setting the fastest time, edging out Katsuta by just 0.2 seconds.

With this result, Toyota now leads the manufacturers’ championship with 48 points, further cementing its place at the top of the leaderboard. Evans’ second victory in Sweden—five years to the day since his first with Toyota—also puts him at the forefront of the drivers’ standings with a 28-point lead.

The next round of the 2025 FIA WRC is Safari Rally Kenya, one of the most challenging events on the calendar, taking place from March 20-23. Known for its rugged terrain and unpredictable weather conditions, the rally will test both drivers and their machines to the limit.

Over the years, Toyota has been participating in many different forms of motorsports, including Formula One, the World Endurance Championship (WEC), and the Nürburgring 24 ‎Hours endurance race. Toyota’s participation in these events was overseen by separate entities within the company until April 2015, when Toyota established TGR, ‎to consolidate all of its motorsport’s activities under one in-house brand. Representing ‎Toyota’s belief that ‘the roads build the people, and the people build the cars,’ TGR highlights the role of motorsports as a fundamental pillar of Toyota’s commitment to ‎making ‘ever-better’ cars. Harnessing years of experience gained under the extreme conditions of various motorsports events, TGR aims to forge new technologies and solutions that bring the freedom, adventure, and joy of driving to everyone.

Race Notes:

• 33 Toyota GR YARIS Rally1 (Elfyn Evans and Scott Martin)
  • Position: 1^st
  • Time: 2 hours, 33 minutes, and 39.2 seconds
• 18 Toyota GR YARIS Rally1 (Takamoto Katsuta and Aaron Johnston)
  • Position: 2^nd
  • Time: 2 hours, 33 minutes, and 43.0 seconds

Missed any movies you really wanted to watch at the cinema recently? Or perhaps you really miss a very popular show but just can’t find all its seasons in one place.STARZPLAY, the MENA region’s leading subscription video on demand (SVOD) service, has got you covered this month, with multiple movies coming to TV for the very first time exclusively on the platform, including Weekend in Taipei, Turn Me On, Die Alone and Aftermath. All seven seasons of The Good Doctor will also be making a long-awaited return to the platform – the only streaming service in the MENA region to offer this.

Arab viewers can rejoice, with popular Arabic movies like El Floos, TahtTahdeed El Selah and Ba’ad Al-Khamees coming in, while an exciting lineup of new series and seasons await avid TV lovers, with Dark City: The Cleaner, The Gold, Yellowjackets S3 and Turkish drama, Be My Sunshine, entering the picture. New episodes from season 4 of both FBI International and Ghosts will also continue to keep fans hooked.

First-Time-on-TVExclusives:

Weekend in Taipei (2024)

Set in Taipei, Taiwan, a former DEA agent and a former undercover operative revisit their romance during a fateful weekend in the city, unaware of the dangerous consequences of their past.

Starring: Luke Evans, Gwei Lun-Mei, Sung Kang

Genre: Crime, Action

Available: February 7^th

Turn Me On (2024)

The film is set in a world where the inconvenience of human emotion has been eradicated by a government-imposed daily vitamin. When a young couple skips their dose, they discover a whole new angle to life and relationships for the first time, but quickly come to realize they must also handle the emotional baggage that comes with it.

Starring: Nick Robinson, Bel Powley

Genre: Romance, Drama, Sci-Fi

Available: February 14^th

Die Alone (2024)

In a world overtaken by nature and strange creatures, amnesiac Ethan searches for his lost love, Emma. As he navigates the terrors of a zombie outbreak, his journey takes an unexpected turn when he encounters Mae, a hardened and eccentric survivor. Together, they brave dangers both human and monstrous, until a meeting with Kai unlocks a secret buried within Ethan’s fragmented memories.

Starring: Carrie-Anne Moss, Douglas Smith, Frank Grillo

Genre: Zombies, Horror, Thriller

Available: February 21^st

Aftermath (2024)

A returning war veteran, stricken with PTSD, gets trapped with his teenage sister on Boston’s Tobin Memorial Bridge when a heavily armed group of ex-military revolutionaries take everyone hostage. The film takes viewers through the events as he uses his elite training to save his sister and fellow hostages.

Starring: Dylan Sprouse, Mason Gooding

Genre: Action, Thriller

Available: February 28^th

Returning to STARZPLAY

The Good Doctor S1 – 7 (2017-2024)

Shaun Murphy, a young surgeon with autism and savant syndrome, relocates from a quiet country life to join a prestigious hospital’s surgical unit, with strong support from his mentor. Unable to personally connect with those around him, Shaun uses his extraordinary medical gifts to save lives and challenge the skepticism of his colleagues.

Starring: Freddie Highmore, Richard Schiff

Genre: Medical

Full Series Available: February 21^st

Upcoming Series

Yellowjackets S3 (2025)

The brutal winter is finally over in the wilderness timeline, but the teens are more unhinged than ever. The past is coming back to “hunt” the adult survivors as some mystery force is clearly out to kill them all, and their chances for survival keep dwindling as Shauna reveals that “the only way to truly be safe is to be the only one left.”

Starring: Tawny Cypress, Melanie Lynskey, Sophie Nélisse

Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Drama

Available: February 15(2-episode premiere)

Dark City: The Cleaner (2024)

By day, Joe is a cleaner at the police station. But by night, he has another line of work – he’s an infamous serial killer who’s been dubbed The Christchurch Carver. When another woman is murdered, the police suspect The Carver. The twist? Joe knows it wasn’t him.

Starring: Cohen Holloway, Chelsie Preston Crayford, Dea Doglione

Genre: Crime

Available: February 17^th

The Gold (2023)

Inspired by Britain’s biggest gold heist. On 26 November 1983, six armed men break into the Brink’s-Mat security depot, stealing  gold bullion, diamonds, and cash worth £26m. Chaos ensues as the biggest robbery in history is born, leading to a number of international criminal investigations.

Starring: Hugh Bonneville, Emun Elliott, Charlotte Spencer

Genre: Crime

Available: February 24^th

Latest Turkish

Be My Sunshine (2021)*

The paths of city businesswoman Haziran and Poyraz, a handsome and helpful young man, intersect on Swallow Island, and the age-old saying, “opposites attract,” rings true for the pairing.

Starring: Ayça Aysin Turan, Alp Navruz, Nihan Büyükagaç

Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance

Available: February 10^th

*Available in both original Turkish and Arabic Dubbed

Latest Arabic

TahtTahdeed El Selah (2022)

Despite his resolve to trudge through a dreary marriage for the sake of his kids, Khaled dares to chase old flames. That is until a wedding bullet knocks him into a 4-year coma, during which a maze of conspiracies forms, and he awakens in its midst to find his way out.

Starring: Hasan Al Raddad, Mai Omar, Shereen Reda

Genre: Drama, Crime

El Floos (2020)

After robbing an heiress, Saif has a change of heart, and returns what’s rightfully hers. He’s taken aback when instead of turning him in, she asks him to track down a conman who had cheated her of millions and retrieve the stolen wealth.

Starring: Tamer Hosny, Zeina, Khaled El Sawy, Mohamad Sallam

Genre: Drama, Comedy, Action

Ba’ad Al-Khamees (2020)

After inheriting their father’s fortune, brothers Naser and Sultan are unstoppable, recklessly spending it on a whim. Having had enough of their shenanigans, their uncle Rashid decides to put an end to their chaos by subjecting them to a series of hilarious situations that are sure to teach them the value of money, once and for all.

Starring: Abdullah Al-Jumairi, Muhammad Al-HashimAli, A-Tamimi

Genre: Drama, Comedy, Action

New Episodes

FBI International S4 (2024)

In the show’s latest run, the FBI’s Fly Team has their work cut out for them, as they embark on new journeys in pursuit of the season’s elusive villain, Greg Csonka. The upcoming episodes see the team navigate multiple obstacles, from Csonka’s erratic behaviour to their own complex dynamics.

Starring: Luke Kleintank, Vinessa Vidotto, Jesse Lee Soffer

Genre: Crime, Action

Ghosts S4 (2024)

The STARZPLAY exclusive series, Ghosts season 4, will continue to take you through Sam and Jay’s humorous journey to turn their inherited, but haunted, mansion into a hotel. A supernatural sitcom, this month’s upcoming episodes will show more of the sticky situations the couple’s spectral friends put them through.

Starring: Rose McIver, Utkarsh Ambudkar, Brandon Scott Jones

Genre: Sitcom, Fantasy, Comedy

So, sit back, relax and head onto www.starzplay.com to catch the latest and greatest in streaming this February.

GAMERGY, one of the largest esports, gaming, and entertainment events in the world, announces the success of the inaugural edition of its World Tour 2025 in MENA, which took place in Egypt and it was hosted by IMKAN Misr at Alburouj New Heliopolis, Cairo. Thousands of visitors gathered from January 30 to February 1 to enjoy a multitude of activities, with official attendance by Mr. Ahmed Abdel Khaleq, General Manager of Tourism and Sports Events at the Egyptian Ministry of Youth and Sports.

This event comes as part of the tourism and sports events agenda of the Ministry of Youth and Sports, which aims to organize the best local and international events in a professional manner that suits the name of Egypt.

Brought to the region by MENATech Entertainment (a GGTech Entertainment subsidiary), the first edition of GAMERGY in MENA resulted from a strategic collaboration with ievents, Influence Group, and eProjects LLC.

The event was hosted and sponsored by IMKAN Misr, powered by e& Egypt, with entertainment partner Twist Music, official ticketing partner TicketsMarche, official energy drink Red Bull, and Samsung, which is providing mobile phones and TVs as the electronics partner. Additionally, the event is sponsored by Domty and the Export Development Bank of Egypt- EBank.

A paradise for gamers

GAMERGY Egypt offered the esports and gaming industry a combination of exciting tournaments and cosplay competitions, featuring both international and local teams, engaging experiences, daily live performances, and a delightful shopping experience in retail stores, with food and beverages available. It also provided a unique opportunity for attendees to interact with international and local content creators, influencers, and exclusive gaming figures, with Marwan Serry acting as the official ambassador of GAMERGY Egypt. The event was streamed live on Twitch and other platforms.

In addition, GAMERGY Egypt provided Egyptian talents with the opportunity for scouting in coordination with the Egyptian Esports Federation, allowing them to showcase their skills to a global audience.

The festival featured three days of competitive tournaments across various games, including FC25, VALORANT, PUBG Mobile, League of Legends, Rocket League, and Free Fire, where players showcased their skills and competed for a substantial prize pool exceeding EGP 2 million.

Mr. Ahmed Abdel Khaleq, General Manager of Tourism and Sports’ Events at the Ministry of Youth and Sports, stated: “The state, represented by the Egyptian Ministry of Youth and Sports, strongly supports hosting such events that enhance our global position in the field of esports, as they not only foster community engagement and youth participation but also contribute significantly to our economy. This aligns with the directions of Dr. Ashraf Sobhy, the Minister of Youth and Sports, to strengthen strategic efforts to diversify sources of economic growth and drive digital transformation. By investing in esports, we are creating new opportunities for innovation, collaboration, and international partnerships, positioning Egypt as a leader in the rapidly evolving digital landscape.”

In this context, Mario Perez Guerreira, CEO of MENATech Entertainment, said: “We are thrilled with the unique experience GAMERGY has brought to the Egyptian esports industry. We are confident that this year will be the gateway to upcoming editions in Egypt and the region, enabling Egypt to be a major player in the global esports and gaming industry.”

Eng. Sherif Elbassiouny, CEO of eProjects LLC, also stated: “We are glad to witness the vibrant and positive feedback from all participants, highlighting the potential in the Egyptian market for such an industry, as we projected. We believe that bringing GAMERGY to Egypt will add value in many ways, starting from scouting local talents, as was successfully done in this edition, moving to gaining the support and investment of prominent companies in the coming editions as well, driving Egypt to become a regional esports hub.”

Eng. Ahmad Aref, CEO of IMKAN Misr, expressed his pride, stating: “Hosting the inaugural edition of GAMERGY Egypt at Alburouj New Heliopolis underscores IMKAN Misr’s unwavering commitment to delivering innovative experiences that seamlessly blend entertainment and technology for the Egyptian market. At IMKAN Misr, our strategy revolves around creating integrated destinations that cater to all age groups, providing comprehensive and enriching experiences. This vision aligns perfectly with GAMERGY, which not only offered an unparalleled experience for esports enthusiasts but also played a vital role in empowering and driving growth within Egypt’s gaming and entertainment industry.”

It is worth mentioning that since 2011, GAMERGY has organized more than 20 successful editions in Spain, Argentina, and Mexico, in addition to its strong presence in the USA, Panama, and El Salvador, reinforcing its status as a major player in the esports scene. By 2025, the event has already begun its World Tour, with more countries to be visited throughout the current year.

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) reported a mixed performance for the first quarter of 2025, as record-breaking revenue was overshadowed by disappointing iPhone sales and a significant drop in revenue from China. The tech giant announced record quarterly revenue, bolstered by its thriving services sector, but concerns over iPhone demand and competition in China remain a challenge.

In the quarter, Apple’s revenue from Greater China dropped by 11% to USD 18.5 billion, well below analysts’ expectations of USD 21.6 billion. This decline has raised further concerns among investors that Apple continues to face hurdles in one of its most critical markets. Despite their efforts, Apple has yet to provide a clear turnaround plan for China, where intensifying competition is eating into market share.

Apple’s much-anticipated AI platform, Apple Intelligence, also fell short of expectations. Market analysts hoped the platform would reignite iPhone demand, but it has not delivered the level of impact necessary to make a meaningful difference. Despite the launch, Apple remains behind its competitors in the AI race, with consumers gravitating toward more advanced AI offerings from rival tech companies.

Amidst the challenges, Apple’s services division was a bright spot. The company reported record services revenue of USD 26.3 billion, a 14% increase year-over-year. This growth was driven by in-app purchases via the App Store, alongside significant contributions from iCloud and Apple Music. Apple’s services business continues to grow rapidly, maintaining high margins and reinforcing its value to the overall portfolio. Additionally, both iPad and Mac sales showed year-over-year growth, providing further positive indicators for investors.

Despite these high points, Apple’s flagship product, the iPhone, continues to face headwinds. Sales fell below estimates, reflecting weaker-than-expected demand for the latest models, even with the integration of Apple Intelligence features. Tim Cook, CEO, and his team now face mounting pressure to deliver a stronger 2025 performance, especially as they work to revive iPhone sales and regain traction in the highly competitive Chinese market.

Looking ahead, Apple’s optimistic revenue forecast for the second quarter provides some reassurance, suggesting that the company is positioning itself for a rebound in the months to come. However, investors will remain watchful for signs of a broader turnaround.

Josh Gilbert, Market Analyst at eToro, noted, “While Apple’s services revenue continues to outperform expectations, it’s clear that the company faces challenges with its core iPhone business. With heightened competition in China and underwhelming results from its AI platform, Apple’s leadership has its work cut out for 2025.”