Netflix to release its first Kuwaiti show this month

Netflix to release its first Kuwaiti show this month
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Updated 01 September 2022

Netflix to release its first Kuwaiti show this month

Netflix to release its first Kuwaiti show this month
  • ‘The Cage’ is a comedy-drama featuring a local cast
  • Series produced by Abdullah Boushahri and directed by Jasem Al-Muhanna

DUBAI: Netflix has announced its first Kuwaiti series, a comedy-drama titled “The Cage” that is set to be released on Sept. 23.

The eight-episode series about the ups and downs of married life features a host of local actors including Khaled Ameen, Hussain Al-Mahdi, Rawan Mahdi, Lamya Tareq and Hessah Al-Nabhan.

The show is produced by Abdullah Boushahri, who is best known for movies like “Europa” and “Losing Ahmad,” and directed by Jasem Al-Muhanna, the man behind the TV show “Al-Namous.”

While this is Netflix’s first Kuwaiti show, the streaming giant has been making inroads in the country since earlier this year. In March, it held a six-week program called TV Writers’ Lab 6x6 in partnership with Kuwait-based National Creative Industries Group.

The six participating writers spent six weeks honing their scripts under the guidance of experts, with the goal of turning them into pitches for Netflix. All of the writers received New York Film Academy-endorsed certificates at the end of the program.

“We’ve had several programs in the last two years, but the Lab 6x6 program is the first initiative of its kind in the region that looks to incubate writers in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia and turn their ideas into market-ready pitch decks in six weeks,” Ahmed Sharkawi, director of Arabic series at Netflix, told Arab News at the time.

“The Cage” is another step in the company’s investment in Arabic content. Over the past two years, it has added to its library of Arabic films, launched collections highlighting Arabic cinema and struck deals to create original content.

Last month it partnered with Egypt-based Sard, a hub for scriptwriters in the Arab world, to coach women in creative writing and help them develop their storytelling skills through the latest in a series of Because She Created programs.

Still, Netflix has been under pressure as it looks to retain subscribers and maximize revenue. Just this year, between April and July, it lost nearly a million subscribers.

A study released in July by the US-based subscriber measurement firm Antenna revealed that 19 percent of subscribers to premium services including Netflix, Hulu, AppleTV+, HBO Max and Disney+, canceled three or more subscriptions in the two years up to June 2022, up from 6 percent in the previous two years.

The study also found that streaming services need to allocate huge amounts of resources and capital to produce new shows to keep subscribers satisfied.

Netflix’s investment in original and local content such as “The Cage” might be just what the streaming service needs to continue attracting viewers.


Etisalat removes beIN channels from eLife TV

Etisalat removes beIN channels from eLife TV
Updated 13 sec ago

Etisalat removes beIN channels from eLife TV

Etisalat removes beIN channels from eLife TV
  • Du expected to continue to broadcast beIN until at least end of month
  • BeIN, however, said the partnership ended because the two companies could not reach an agreement

DUBAI: UAE-based Etisalat has removed Qatar’s beIN channels from its platform. The move came into play on Thursday.
“While beIN content will no longer be available on eLife TV, we will continue to invest in sports content to deliver to our customers an extensive range of popular sports both directly and via our partners,” Etisalat said.
BeIN, however, said the partnership ended because the two companies could not reach an agreement.
“After lengthy discussions where beIN has tirelessly sought to extend our decade-long partnership with Etisalat, we are disappointed not to be able to renew this relationship at this time,” it said.
BeIN holds the regional rights for the English Premier League and other major sports events, including last year’s World Cup in Qatar.
Etisalat and du, also based in the UAE, are the two major broadcasters showing beIN channels. According to local media reports, du said it would continue to air beIN channels but could not confirm if they would be available after July 1.


EU envoy to Gulf has Twitter account suspended within 24 hours

EU envoy to Gulf has Twitter account suspended within 24 hours
Updated 29 min 29 sec ago

EU envoy to Gulf has Twitter account suspended within 24 hours

EU envoy to Gulf has Twitter account suspended within 24 hours
  • Luigi Di Maio’s official feed said to have violated platform rules

LONDON: The new EU Special Representative for the Gulf had his official Twitter account suspended within 24 hours of its creation for what the platform said was a violation of its rules.

It remains unclear what rules Luigi Di Maio’s profile broke, just a day after it was created by the former Italian Foreign Minister created to share updates on his new role.

The suspension was lifted within hours.

Di Maio launched the institutional account — @EUSR_Gulf — on June 1, coinciding with his official start. He shared his enthusiasm for the new role in a tweet published in Arabic, Persian, English and Italian.

“First day in office as the EU Special Representative for the Gulf. Ready and fully committed to engaging with the member states and institutions of the EU, as well as each of our partners in the region,” he said in the post.

“There is so much at stake and so much to be done through genuine dialogue and mutual respect. For our common security and prosperity.”

However, before a second tweet could be shared, Twitter suspended the account. 

Di Maio’s new role represents a fresh start after he left Five Star following setbacks in last year’s Italian elections.

His appointment was however criticized at home and in Europe due to a series of faux pas he made while foreign minister.

In 2019, he caused the first diplomatic crisis between Italy and France since World War Two, leading to the withdrawal of the French ambassador from Rome, after he publicly supported the Yellow vests movement as members were demolishing the entrance of a government building in Paris.

He had previously stated that Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet was Venezuelan and that Russia was a country in the Mediterranean.


Ben Roberts-Smith resigns from Seven after losing war crimes defamation case

Ben Roberts-Smith resigns from Seven after losing war crimes defamation case
Updated 02 June 2023

Ben Roberts-Smith resigns from Seven after losing war crimes defamation case

Ben Roberts-Smith resigns from Seven after losing war crimes defamation case
  • Judge found that allegations against Australian top soldier who committed war crimes in Afghanistan were ‘substantially true’
  • Roberts-Smith was appointed general manager of network in 2015

LONDON: Australian soldier Ben Roberts-Smith resigned as vice president of Seven West Media a day after losing a defamation court battle related to war crimes during his service in Afghanistan, The Guardian reported.

The ruling came about in a civil case where multiple newspapers defended a defamation lawsuit brought by Roberts-Smith, asserting that their reporting on the former soldier was accurate.

On Friday, Seven’s Managing Director and CEO James Warburton informed staff that Roberts-Smith had submitted his resignation.

In an email seen by Guardian Australia, Warburton stated: “As you’re all aware, the judgment in the defamation case was handed down yesterday.

“Ben has been on leave whilst the case was running, and today has offered his resignation, which we have accepted. We thank Ben for his commitment to Seven and wish him all the best.”

Roberts-Smith took a leave of absence from his Queensland position in 2021 to concentrate on the high-profile trial, backed financially and publicly by Kerry Stokes, the billionaire chairman of Seven who appointed Roberts-Smith general manager of Seven Queensland in 2015.

“The judgment does not accord with the man I know,” Stokes said after the verdict.

“I know this will be particularly hard for Ben, who has always maintained his innocence.”

In a groundbreaking civil trial that marked the first time a court examined allegations of war crimes by Australian forces, the judge found four out of six murder accusations were “substantially true,” despite Roberts-Smith’s denial.

The allegations consist of handcuffing and torturing civilians, ordering initiation murders for new soldiers, and shooting a Taliban fighter over 10 times in the back, taking his prosthetic leg as a trophy, and repurposing it as a drinking vessel.

The court also determined that allegations against the most decorated living Australian soldier, including the unlawful assault of captives and bullying of fellow soldiers, were true.

Roberts-Smith, who left the Australian Defence Force in 2013, has not been charged with any of the alleged war crimes in a criminal court, where the burden of proof is higher.

After the decision, a Taliban spokesman pointed to the case as evidence of the “uncountable crimes” committed by foreign forces in Afghanistan. However, they expressed skepticism about the global justice system’s ability to address these issues.

Australian troops were deployed to Afghanistan between 2001 and 2021, spanning two decades of conflict. Australian Defence Minister Richard Marles declined to comment on the case, saying it was a civil matter.


MIT Sloan Management Review to launch MidEast edition

MIT Sloan Management Review to launch MidEast edition
Updated 02 June 2023

MIT Sloan Management Review to launch MidEast edition

MIT Sloan Management Review to launch MidEast edition
  • The regional edition will be published by Vibe Media Group

DUBAI: MIT Sloan Management Review has announced the regional edition of the online and print magazine in partnership with local media company Vibe Media Group, which publishes titles like Fast Company.

“ICT investments in the Middle East are projected to grow almost 4 percent annually to surpass $230 billion in 2023,” Ravi Raman, publisher of Vibe Media Group, told Arab News.

“We see MIT Sloan Management with its authoritative content on managing technology to aid leaders understand and harness the potential,” he added.

Published in English only, the regional edition will cover business and tech strategy topics, organizational culture, innovation, and digital transformation, continued Raman.

Many publications around the world have cut down their print issues as the medium struggles to survive in a digital-led world. MIT Sloan Management Review will, therefore, be digital-first with quarterly print editions, which Raman believes will have “relevance” since the magazine is a “tech journal with excellent reference value.”

Major economies in the region, like Saudi Arabia and the UAE, are heavily investing in technology and related fields, which is having “a strong trickle-down effect,” he said.

“Investments in technology are no longer departmental decisions; they are now strategic, impacting the business’ very existence and survival,” he added.

As technology pervades all areas of life and business, leaders need to be well adept at “understanding how technology fits in with their overall goals, and one of the unique features of MIT Sloan Management Review is its focus on bridging the gap between theory and practice,” Raman said.

In addition to digital and print content, the new magazine will hold its NextTech summit this September focused on new technologies such as generative artificial intelligence, digital currencies and the virtual world.

The editorial team is led by Raman and Pamella Ann De Leon, based in Dubai, UAE, who will serve as the editor, and will include correspondents who are based in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Egypt.

The launch will be celebrated at a thought leadership event on MIT’s campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts on June 6.


Inaugural Saudi Festival of Creativity to be held in Riyadh

Inaugural Saudi Festival of Creativity to be held in Riyadh
Updated 01 June 2023

Inaugural Saudi Festival of Creativity to be held in Riyadh

Inaugural Saudi Festival of Creativity to be held in Riyadh
  • Event to be hosted by Motivate Media Group, TRACCS

DUBAI: UAE-based Motivate Media Group, and communications consultancy TRACCS — which started in and is headquartered in Saudi Arabia — have announced the launch of the inaugural Athar — Saudi Festival of Creativity, in Riyadh in November.

The festival aims to bring together the creative and marketing industries in Saudi Arabia to recognize and celebrate them.

Mohamed Al-Ayed, vice chairman of Athar Festival and CEO of TRACCS, said that the event would “enable and empower a new generation of creative-first Saudi marketers and inspire the sustainable development of the country.” 

The festival — which is being held over four days — will include a variety of training courses, roundtables, C-suite sessions, young talent competitions, and an awards ceremony.

It will also boast exclusive programs for women and executive marketers.

The awards will be presented to agencies, networks, and brands, and will be verified by Cannes Lions and Dubai Lynx.

Ian Fairservice, chairman of Athar Festival and managing partner and group editor-in-chief of Motivate Media Group, said: “The festival will be a dynamic and vibrant meeting place in Saudi Arabia where culture, creativity, talent, and technology will collide.

“It is a celebration of the power of creativity in an environment that inspires cultural exchange, collaborative innovation, tangible learning, and training and development.”