The ‘one of a kind’ Beirut theatre surviving Lebanon’s crises
Highlights
– The humour is abrasive, but the bigger surprise is the fact that in the face of the country’s catastrophic economic conditions — hyperinflation, coronavirus lockdowns, a collapsing economy and a devastating explosion at the capital’s port in 2020 — Metro al-Madina has survived, putting on shows almost every night.
– Metro is only 10 years old but the theatre, located in a basement in the heart of the city, quickly became a Beirut institution with its spectacular shows presenting cabaret, burlesque, belly dancing, political satire and musicals. After the show, the action often moves to the theatre bar, where the audience lingers to dance late into the night.
– In order to survive, Metro had to adapt. Jaber said he had reduced ticket prices and that though the 120-seat venue operated at half capacity owing to Covid-19 restrictions, audiences had come back. Fifteen per cent of tickets are sold on a “pay what you can afford” basis. “You feel they need live shows,” said Jaber. “They are surprising us by returning. This city has fallen into a depression and it needs something to make it happy.”
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UAE Crypto News: Bankers Quit Jobs for Shot at Riches in ‘Wall Street of Crypto’ – Bloomberg — www.bloomberg.com
Highlights:
– Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer Changpeng ‘CZ’ Zhao of Binance Holdings Ltd. called UAE the “Wall Street of crypto.”
– We see a lot of interest from employees in traditional financial institutions who want to work for us,” Richard Teng, the head of the Middle East and North Africa at Binance.
– We have witnessed the UAE making a huge push in developing world-class infrastructure and a regulatory environment for crypto firms to thrive and call home.”– Ahmed Ismail – HAYVN, Abu Dhabi-based digital currency investment bank.
– The UAE’s crypto-friendly policies — in contrast to tightening regulations in other jurisdictions — have lured the largest firms.
– The UAE is the Middle East’s third-largest crypto market, trailing Turkey and Lebanon, with a transaction volume of about $26 billion, according to data compiled by Chainalysis from July 2020 to June 2021.
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UAE-India trade deal is new phase of globalisation — www.zawya.com
Highlights:
– The UAE-India Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) that came into effect on Sunday is a precursor to similar trade deals that Abu Dhabi is sewing up with other countries that could allow free movement of goods with zero tariffs.
– The takeaway from the development is this: one-size globalisation does not fit all; countries who are unafraid to experiment and are coming out of their regional shells and partnering with like-minded nations they can trust and have done business with over decades.
– Under this deal, bilateral non-oil trade could see a jump to $100 billion from the current $60 billion in five years, but industry sources said that figure could be achieved in 2-3 years. New Delhi will offer preferential access to the UAE on over 90 per cent of its tariff lines.
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EU Plans to Court Africa to Help Replace Russian Gas Imports – Bloomberg — www.bloomberg.com
Highlights:
– Countries in Africa, in particular in the western part of the continent, such as Nigeria, Senegal, and Angola, offer largely untapped potential for liquified natural gas, according to a draft EU document seen by Bloomberg News.
– The 27-nation bloc wants to prepare the region for imports of 10 million tons of renewable hydrogen by 2030 to help replace gas from Russia, in line with the ambitious EU Green Deal to walk away from fossil fuels and reach climate neutrality by mid-century.
– Another target is to sign a trilateral memorandum of understanding with Egypt and Israel to boost LNG supplies to Europe by summer this year.
– The bloc also plans to support the doubling of the capacity of the Southern Gas Corridor, which brings gas from Azerbaijan to 20 billion cubic meters per year.
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Uber Repairs Paris and London Relationships With EV Push – Bloomberg — www.bloomberg.com
Highlights:
– Uber Chief Executive Officer Dara Khosrowshahi sensing a way to burnish Uber’s green credentials, has set a goal of eliminating carbon emissions from every trip booked on its platform in Europe and North America by 2030 and worldwide a decade later.
– To help persuade manufacturers to build more EVs and to get more of its British drivers to adopt them, Uber has arranged discounts on battery-powered cars from Hyundai, Kia, and Nissan.
– The company announced it would spend £5 million building 700 fast chargers in Newham and two other boroughs that are home to many of its drivers, expanding London’s overall charging network by 7%.
– In Paris, Mayor Anne Hidalgo has aggressively sought to reduce traffic and give the streets back to pedestrians and bikers. Diesel engines will be banned in 2024, followed by all other combustion engine vehicles in 2030.
– Paris was the second city, after Lisbon, where the company introduced what it calls Uber Green—the ability to book a hybrid or EV.
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Instagram must stop the scammers targeting Gen Z | Financial Times — www.ft.com
Highlights
– Lloyds Bank recently reported a 155 per cent annual increase in scams on Instagram in the past year, focused on the under-25s.
– Some of the UK’s most popular personal finance content creators are being deliberately targeted by fraudsters who clone their accounts and attempt to scam their followers.
– It’s frighteningly easy for scammers to copy the account names, profile pictures and months’ worth of content, then use these fake accounts to target young (and often financially naive) followers with scam investments.
– Like it or not, social media is where young people turn to for their financial education. It’s a shame some are learning lessons about fraud the hard way.
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