Universal Music Group Officially Launches ‘Universal Arabic Music’
Universal Music Group Officially Launches ‘Universal Arabic Music’Ahead of its much-anticipated 2021 IPO, Universal Music Group has officially launched “Universal Arabic Music” with The Weeknd manager and XO Records CEO Wassim “Sal” Slaiby as well as Republic Records. The Vivendi-owned Big Three record label announced the debut of Universal Arabic Music (UAM) today, in a general release. On this front, UAM is in the process of “building a team of experts who speak Arabic and have a deep understanding of Arabic music and culture,” according to the announcement message. To be sure, Universal Music in recent months has quietly inked an expanded licensing deal with Boomplay, teamed up with Gibson on a publishing venture in China, and unveiled a multifaceted partnership with Big Hit/Hybe. Warner Music Group – which went public in what was 2020’s biggest IPO – confirmed its investment in Arab heavyweight Rotana Music in February, before closing a massive, multi-year licensing deal with Tencent Music and establishing Atlantic Records Russia in March.
Source:The North Africa Journal
April 06, 2021 21:41 UTC
Flamingos take flight in Turkey
These flamingos were spotted earlier this week flying over Turkey's Lake Mogan, which is south of the country's capital, Ankara. Several lakes in the country are important nesting and breeding areas for the pink and white birds. They usually stay in Turkey during the summer months and later migrate to warmer regions in other countries as winter approaches. Several lakes in Turkey are also resting centres for flamingos and other birds migrating between North Africa and Iran. During their stay, the flamingos draw tourists and photographers to the famous lakes around the country, such as Lake Acigol and Lake Van.
Source:The North Africa Journal
April 06, 2021 21:11 UTC
Islamist violence a game-changer in Mozambique’s natural gas sector
Ideas & Debate Islamist violence a game-changer in Mozambique’s natural gas sectorAn aerial view of the Afungi Liquefied Natural Gas Camp, 20km from Palma in Mozambique on March 18, 2021. PHOTO | AFPBy GEORGE WACHIRAMore by this Author Summary Huge offshore natural gas resources are to be processed onshore into liquefied natural gas (LNG) for exports mostly to the Far East. In February last year, I described in this column major offshore natural gas developments taking place in Mozambique, a new upstream investment destination attracting participation by major global oil firms (ExxonMobil, Total and Eni). Huge offshore natural gas resources are to be processed onshore into liquefied natural gas (LNG) for exports mostly to the Far East. The recent incidents are a negative game-changer for the natural gas sector in Mozambique and going forward a lot will be at stake for its economy.
Source:The North Africa Journal
April 06, 2021 21:00 UTC
Jordan issues gag order as new audio backs prince's claims
The recording appears to capture Saturday's explosive meeting between King Abdullah II's half brother, Prince Hamzah, and the military chief of staff that set off the current political crisis. King Abdullah II of Jordan on August 11, 2017. Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan arrived in Jordan on Tuesday in support of Abdullah, according to Saudi state television. King of Jordan Abdullah II poses with his wife, Queen Rania and his brother, Crown Prince Hamzah on February 10, 2000 in Ahman, Jordan. Prince Hamza Bin Al-Hussein, right, and Prince Hashem Bin Al-Hussein, left, brothers of King Abdullah II of Jordan, attend the opening of the parliament in Amman, Jordan.
Source:The North Africa Journal
April 06, 2021 19:17 UTC
Sawari Ventures and Algebra Ventures stake $150m on North African startups
That is how much Sawari Ventures raised for its Egypt-based fund. The fund has plans to ramp up investments in startups across the North Africa region. Either way, it is a giant leap for the fund launched in 2018 as the Sawari Ventures Fund I. Algebra Ventures, a firm based in Egypt, plans to raise a $90 million fund. According to a company statement, Algebra raised a $54 million fund in 2017 and deployed it in about 21 startups.
Source:The North Africa Journal
April 06, 2021 17:03 UTC
Preston J. Mumford, skilled carpenter
Preston J. Mumford of Millsboro passed from this life to God’s realm Friday, April 2, 2021, at Tidal Health, Nanticoke in Seaford. He was a devoted Christian man who was a long-time member of Hickory Hill United Methodist Church. He was consistently the number one seller of tickets to Hickory Hill Church’s pancake breakfasts. Preston is survived by his two children: Denis Mumford of Georgetown and Diana Pettyjohn, also of Georgetown; and a sister, Emma Jean Shockley, of Seaford. In lieu of flowers donations in Preston’s memory may be made to Hickory Hill Church, c/o Roy Rogers, 28209 Walt Carmean Lane, Millsboro, DE 19966.
Source:The North Africa Journal
April 06, 2021 16:30 UTC
EU chiefs press Erdogan on rights while stressing better ties
EU officials said von der Leyen and Michel wanted to lay out the terms for Erdogan on which they expected to build better relations with the bloc's strategic southeastern partner. "Human rights issues are non-negotiable," said von der Leyen. Turkey received millions of euros in aid under the 2016 agreement and von der Leyen said she was prepared to update the deal's terms. And we have come to Turkey to give the relationship a new momentum," von der Leyen stressed. The Turkish presidency said Erdogan "noted that the EU should not allow some member states to hijack Turkey-EU ties".
Source:The North Africa Journal
April 06, 2021 16:07 UTC
Libya: Foreign reps flock to Tripoli as country reopens
Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi, whose country was the former colonial power in the North African state, held talks in the capital Tripoli, making his first trip abroad since taking office in mid-February. “This is a unique moment for Libya” with a new unity government in place, Draghi told a news conference, standing alongside interim Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah. Italy is a major commercial partner for oil-rich Libya, where its energy giant Eni is a key player. “We have numerous issues of common interest,” said his Libyan counterpart Dbeibah, calling for Italy to reopen its airspace to Libyan aircraft. Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis was due to arrive in Tripoli later Tuesday to reopen his country’s embassy, following the example of France and Malta.
Source:The North Africa Journal
April 06, 2021 13:18 UTC
US, China lead global economic rebound
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Source:The North Africa Journal
April 06, 2021 13:07 UTC
The Three Letters Driving Entertainment
Since then a number of fiber-to-the-home operators started being more prolific in South Africa, enabling more consumers to have broadband at home.”The potential for Africa is huge. “Things in South Africa started to change around three-to-five years ago,” reflects Brasg. “Consider that in South Africa there are approximately 14 million TV households but 53 million smartphones. User-generated content – content created by people rather than brands – like TikTok have become popular overnight. In the last three months, it launched its time-based entertainment platform, Monsooq, in South Africa and Nigeria.
Source:The North Africa Journal
April 06, 2021 12:22 UTC
UMG launches Universal Arabic Music headed by The Weeknd's manager Wassim "SAL" Slaiby
UMG launches Universal Arabic Music headed by The Weeknd's manager Wassim "SAL" SlaibyUMG has announced the launch of Universal Arabic Music (UAM), a newly-created label dedicated to discovering, introducing and championing the artists and musical culture of the Middle East & North Africa (MENA) region to audiences around the world. Republic Records and its parent company UMG founded the new label in partnership with music mogul Wassim “SAL” Slaiby. The new label was unveiled today by Sir Lucian Grainge, chairman and CEO of UMG; Republic Records founder and CEO Monte Lipman; and founder and CEO of SALXCO and XO Records Wassim “SAL” Slaiby, who will serve as founder and CEO of Universal Arabic Music. Sir Lucian Grainge said: “In today’s global music marketplace, we’ve demonstrated time and again that worldwide hits come from anywhere. UAM is building a team of experts who speak Arabic and have a deep understanding of Arabic music and culture.
Source:The North Africa Journal
April 06, 2021 12:22 UTC
Tunisia sends ministerial team to lure Russian holidaymakers
A high key Tunisian delegation has flown to Russian Monday in a bid to promote the North African country as a tourism destination among Russian tourists. Tourism Minister Habib Ammar, head of the national observatory of new and emerging diseases Nissaf Ben Alaya, and Secretary of state of the foreign ministry Mohamed Ali Nafti will hold working sessions with Russian authorities, journalists and tour operators. Tunisia is expected to launch the tourism session starting this April 19 as it reopens borders. Speaking to Mosaïque Fm late last month, Habib Ammar indicated that Tunisia is open to any tourist holding a 48-hours- old PCR test. Tunisia’s tourism industry, the second biggest Gross Domestic Product (GDP) contributor, has been hard hit by the pandemic.
Source:The North Africa Journal
April 06, 2021 12:00 UTC
Rugby Africa's North African Regional Development Officer, Mostafa Jelti, Speaks About International Day of Sport for Development and Peace
Rugby Ready is also a perfect complement to the programs set up by some World Rugby member unions, with Rugby Africa having very satisfactory numbers of participants – second World Rugby region. Can you share examples where sport or more particularly rugby has been used to foster peace? The participation of the Libyan National Rugby Team in the Arab 7’S Championship (February 2021) where the team was made up of the 2 “war” regions East and West. I consider schools and universities to be a breeding ground for the development of rugby and I keep close contact with the universities. In this sense, I host several conferences, each year, on the occasion of the International Day of Sport.
Source:The North Africa Journal
April 06, 2021 11:48 UTC
Labor market policies: ECA focuses on accelerating job creation in North Africa
Rabat, April 6, 2021 (ECA) - 'Active labor market policies: Good practices and recommendations for North Africa' will be at the heart of discussions at the upcoming ECA Office in North Africa webinar on Wednesday 7 April. The meeting will provide representatives of the North African ministries of employment, private sector as well as eminent experts and researchers with an opportunity to discuss how to design and implement labor market policies so as to increase their impact, and share their successful experiences in this field. Unemployment, and especially youth and female unemployment, has become a major challenge for North African countries (Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Sudan and Tunisia). Event: Webinar on 'Active Labor Market Policies: Good Practices and Recommendations for North Africa'Date and time: April 7, 2021, 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. GMT + 1, 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. EAT. Concept Note (English) (عربى)Programme of work (English) (عربى)Communication TeamEconomic Commission for AfricaOffice for North AfricaTel: +212 (0) 673 734 462Email: filali-ansary@un.org
Source:The North Africa Journal
April 06, 2021 11:37 UTC
Egypt: The African Development Bank extends EUR145 million loan to bolster railway safety and reliability
he Board of Directors of the African Development Bank (www.AfDB.org) has approved a loan of €145 million to finance reliability and performance upgrades to the country’s rail system under the Egypt National Railways Modernization Project (ENRMP). The improvement and expansion of Egypt’s rail system through the ENRMP allows for active mobility and enables the urban and rural development through an inter-modal linked system. Distributed by APO Group on behalf of African Development Bank Group (AfDB). Media contact:Fahd BelbachirSenior Communication and External Relations Officer for North AfricaAfrican Development Bankf.belbachir@afdb.orgAbout the African Development Bank Group:The African Development Bank Group is Africa’s premier development finance institution. It comprises three distinct entities: the African Development Bank (AfDB), the African Development Fund (ADF) and the Nigeria Trust Fund (NTF).
Source:The North Africa Journal
April 06, 2021 10:18 UTC