Good afternoon, folks and happy Thursday. Today we bid farewell to February and welcome March as the sun shines on and more greenback comes in.
THE BIG STORY TODAY
Egypt received USD 5 bn from UAE and is expected to receive another USD 5 bn tomorrowas part of the USD 35 bn Ras El Hekma investment, Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly confirmed in a cabinet statement today.
More money rolls in: The government also received USD 520 mn today as part of the sale of seven historic hotels to Talaat Moustafa Group’s Icon, Madbouly added. Earlier this month, Icon finalized the acquisition of 51% stake in the hotels for USD 800 mn. The historic properties — now added under the umbrella of Legacy Hospitality — includes the Cairo Marriott Hotel in Zamalek, Marriott Mena House next to the Giza Pyramids, Steigenberger Hotel El Tahrir, Cairo, Steigenberger Cecil, Alexandria, Sofitel Legend Old Cataract, Aswan, Mövenpick Aswan, and Sofitel Winter Palace, Luxor.
THE BIG STORY ABROAD
The international press is reeling from Russian Premier Vladimir Putin’s threats to Western countries of nuclear war. The Russian leader warned that if Western countries sent in troops to Ukraine, as French President Emmanuel Macron suggested on Monday, he would reportedly retaliate with nuclear warfare, reports Reuters.
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Over USD 40 bn could be poured into green hydrogen projects: Egypt has inked seven MoUs with international and local companies to develop green hydrogen and renewable energy projects worth USD 41 bn in the Suez Canal Economic Zone over the next ten years.
China wants to establish a new industrial zone on the Mediterranean: Trade Minister Ahmed Samir spoke with his Chinese counterpart Wang Wentao about the establishment of a Chinese industrial zone on the Mediterranean Sea that would work to meet both the needs of the local market and export to American and European markets.
🌤️TOMORROW’S WEATHER- Expect a partly cloudy morning with the mercury climbing to 30°C at its peak in the day and dropping to a low of 16°C at night, according to our favorite weather app.
Has Google’s AI tool taken diversity too far? In an attempt to bypass the prevalent AIbias, it seems that Google has programmed Gemini to be so inoffensive that it has inadvertently come full circle. Responding to online backlash in an internal memo, Google CEO Sundar Pichai told employees that Gemini’s bias was unacceptable: “We got it wrong,” he wrote, according to Semafor.
Users had been reporting historically inaccurate images created by the AI chatbot, which generated Black Vikings, Asian women as German WWII soldiers, and a woman pope. Google has since temporarily paused Gemini’s ability to generate images of people until the team improves the chatbot’s image-generation capabilities.
Google is going scorched earth on Gemini’s human image-generating facilities. Pichai has instructed the team to make structural changes to Gemini, which includes an update to the product guidelines, The Guardian reports, citing a Google spokesperson who confirmed the accuracy of the CEO’s memo. They will also be conducting more red-teaming — the simulation of the misuse of Gemini — to identify potential problem areas.
AI bias is an issue Silicon Valley has yet to conquer. Despite big tech spending between USD 20-25 bn on AI development last year, AI systems still tend to regurgitate human bias. For example, Google would routinely translate gender-neutral phrases to reflect gender biases in English. OpenAI’s Dall-E would reflect racial bias when asked to produce images of certain occupations, states the Guardian.
In Inside, veteran art thief Nemo (Willem Defoe) breaks into a Manhattan penthouse to steal valuable art. His mission to steal some Egon Schiele paintings goes wrong when the security system malfunctions, trapping him inside the luxurious home. His handlers who were speaking to him through a walkie-talkie abandon him and he is left to his own devices.
As days turn into weeks, Nemo struggles to survive in the increasingly hostile environment of the penthouse. With limited resources and mounting desperation, he experiences a harrowing journey of survival, marked by isolation, hunger, and hallucinations. Despite his dire circumstances, Nemo remains fixated on escaping and finds solace in his artistic endeavors.
This modern-day Robinson Crusoe is very claustrophobic — which is probably the point. The artistry got some love which we can owe to Defoe’s performance. However, the director, Vasilis Katsoupis, received some heat from the Ebert Report.
⚽ Zamalek looks to move up the ranks: The White Knights will host El Dakhleya in gameweek 14 of the Egyptian Premier League in Cairo Stadium at 7pm. Zamalek ranks fourteenth with 12 points and hopes to gain three points along with a victory in the upcoming match to improve their standing. Meanwhile, Modern Future plays Smouha at the same time.Also coming up is Ismaily’s game with Baladiyat Al Mahalla on matchday 15this Saturday at 7pm.
Al Ahly is ready to secure the African lead: The team is preparing to go head-to-head with the Tanzanian Young Africans at 6pm on Friday as part of the final round of the group stage matches in the CAF Champions League. Al Ahly has already ensured qualification to the next round but hopes to win or tie in tomorrow’s match to maintain their first-place position.
A heated day of matches awaits us in gameweek 27 of the Premier League on Saturday. The most significant being Nottingham Forest versus Liverpool at 5pm. The Reds, with a Carabao Cup win and a qualification to the FA Cup quarter-final, look to defend their lead in the league and perhaps widen the one-point gap between them and second place’s City and the two points between them and Arsenal.
As for the rest of the competition:
Brentford vs Chelsea (5pm)
Everton vs West Ham (5pm)
Newcastle vs Wolverhampton (5pm)
Tottenham vs Crystal Palace (5pm)
Fulham vs Brighton (5pm)
Lutton vs Aston Villa (7:30pm)
Don’t miss out on joining the Enterprise fantasy Premier League to compete against our readers. All you have to do is click on this link or enter the following code: abd0f7
Les Merengues and the Bats: Real Madrid hosts Valencia at 10pm on Saturday in matchday 27 of the Spanish league. The home team reigns supreme in La Liga with 65 points under their belt, putting them six points ahead of Girona in second place, and eight points ahead of third place’s Barcelona, while hoping to regain the title.
The European leagues’ matches we’re keeping an eye on this weekend:
Lazio vs Milan (Serie A, 9:45pm, Friday)
Freiburg vs Bayern Munich (Bundesliga, 9:30pm, Friday)
Monaco vs PSG (Ligue 1, 10pm, Friday)
Union Berlin vs Borussia Dortmund (Bundesliga, 4:30pm, Saturday)
Monza vs Roma (Serie A, 7pm, Saturday)
Related
🎤 OUT AND ABOUT- (all times CLT)
ARTS-
Cairo Design Week is coming to a close this weekend. The week-long event is allocated in five different areas in Cairo: The Citadel, Heliopolis, Downtown, Zamalek, and Maadi, and brings creatives and industry experts together in a venue that showcases the latest in Egypt’s design industry. Get your ticket now through their website.
Bibliothek Art Gallery is hosting an artist talk featuring Amani Mousa, Eman Hussin, and Yasmine Shash, moderated by Ismail Fayed, to discuss their Lines of Intimacy Exhibition which continues until this Saturday, 2 March. You can find the catalog here.
Catch a glimpse of Egyptian cinema through Mohamed Bakr’s lens at Photopia in FiftyYears of Cinematic Portraits. This exhibition opened yesterday and continues until Saturday, 9 March (except for Sunday) where you’ll get to see a selection of portraits taken from his extensive collection of over 2000 artistic works captured since 1956. The exhibition showcases around 100 images from 80 films, covering various genres including literature, cinema, performance, comedy, and realism.
Like comedy and want to get in on the fun? Presented by Al Mothalas, El Khatba is an interactive comedy experience at Rawabet Art Space this Friday, 1 March at 8pm.
SPORTS-
The Cairo Half Marathon is happening tomorrow.Start stretching now as Cairo Runners is bringing back a fan favorite, offering 5km, 10km, and 21km runs as well as a Family Run. Tickets are still available, register now.
The TriFactory’s Tough Mudder Egypt is also on tomorrow. The obstacle course challenge will take place at Belle Vie Club in New Zayed. Today is your last chance to register for the event, click here for registration.
FILM-
Gaza Mon Amour will be screened at Qahrawya tonight from 8pm till 11pm. Find out how to get your tickets here, but before you do, keep in mind that the Qahrawya studio is home to a few friendly cats. Tickets can be purchased at the door, but seating is limited, so don’t take any chances.
EVENTS-.
Bibliothek Egypt is hosting yet another book signing for Reem Basyuni’s two latest works, Mario Abu al-Abbas and In Search of Happiness, tomorrow at 6:30pm. Along with the book signing will be a seminar titled Architecture and Impact.
Fancy yourself a detective? Murder-mystery fans can pull out their magnifying glasses to crack this case. Cluedupp and Crime Scene Investigator are staging a hard-boiled outdoor event this Saturday, 2 March where you have to solve four murders around the city by solving puzzles, interrogating witnesses, and hunting for clues. Find more details here.
For all the mothers who need a break — or a bit of fun — Rahet Bally is collaborating withEl Malahy to give moms a day of fun with their children this Saturday, 2 March. All you have to do is download the Rahet Bally app, sign up for entry without charge for you and your kids, and buy your playing credit — at a marked-down price — for you to play all day alongside endless competitions and prizes.
Dust off your tote bags: The Cairo Flea Market is back at the Zamalek Fish Garden this Saturday, 2 March. You’ll have a day of second-hand shopping where you can browse the products of over 250 local vendors selling handmade products, antiques, secondhand items, and more. It only happens once a month so be sure not to miss it. The market runs from 11am to 7pm but we’d recommend getting there early to avoid the crowds.
The workplace can be tricky to navigate, but Work Appropriate will help you through it. Hosted by Anne Helen Petersen, with the help of featured guests, the podcast tackles problems you may have at your place of employment, no matter what they may be.
The show will give you concrete advice while keeping it light. The hosts will answer listeners’ questions using their expertise to the best of their abilities, but they’ll keep the content humorous and easy to listen to. Don’t worry — they don’t sound like an HR manual and they genuinely work on answering their audience’s real-life concerns.
There’s a wide variety of subject matter. The podcast will take on diverse questions that pertain to office/workplace conduct that can range from feeling too old for your job, to whether or not you should cover up your tattoo, to the soul-draining process of looking for employment. If you’ve ever found yourself unsure about how to navigate something work-related, chances are Work Appropriate has covered it — or if they haven’t, you can send in your question for them to answer.
There’s no chronology, so you can listen whenever you feel like it. You can choose to play an episode whenever the title seems relevant which makes this an easy podcast to get into without too much commitment and without having to stay up to date on each release.
The EGX30 rose 0.3% at today’s close on turnover of EGP 4.8 bn (3.3% below the 90-day average). Foreign investors were net sellers. The index is up 16.4% YTD.
In the green: Ezz Steel (+8.9%), Eastern Company (+6.7%) and Alexandria Containers and Cargo Handling (+6.3%).
In the red: Juhayna (-4.7%), Telecom Egypt (-4.7%) and Madinet Masr (-4.6%).
It seems that recently everyone and their mother has hopped onto the podcast train.Nowadays, it’s rare to find someone who hasn’t at least heard of, if not actively listened, to a podcast. This trend shows no signs of slowing down, with over 2 mn podcasts available in over 100 languages, catering to a staggering 400 mn podcast listeners.
The podcast phenomenon has witnessed significant growth. Before the pandemic, approximately 62 mn people in the US listened to podcasts. However, after only one month of social isolation, podcast consumption skyrocketed by a whopping 18%. The increase is nowhere near negligible if you look back at the past decade when podcasts transformed from a completely untapped medium to a well-established form of entertainment by 2018. According to The New York Times, between 2018 and 2019 alone, the number of people listening to at least one podcast in the US increased from one in four to one in three.
The concept of podcasting, originally known as audio blogging, was initiated by Dutch
MTV video jockey Adam Curry and software wiz Dave Winer, according to Pinkston. The pair created the first audio files for internet download, essentially pioneering audio content subscription. The term “podcasting” was coined in 2004 when Ben Hammersley wrote an article for The Guardian about it. Journalist Christopher Lydon, in collaboration with Dave Winer, launched the first-ever podcast, “Open Source,” hailing it as a way for “anyone to be a broadcaster.”
The podcast landscape gained traction with Apple’s release of thousands of podcasts in 2005. The real turning point, however, occurred in 2014 with the release of iOS8, featuring a dedicated podcast app. This move by Apple established podcasting as the new norm.
There was one trailblazer. One of our favorite podcasts, Serial, was groundbreaking — becoming the first to amass 5 mn downloads. In the five years following Serial’s success, podcast listenership surged from 39 mn to 90 mn.
ALL THE POTENTIAL TO GROW
#1- Low barriers to entry. The low costs associated with podcasting make it accessible to anyone with a microphone and recording equipment. With minimal investment there is a podcast for every niche, leading to a diverse market.
At the same time, it’s easy to monetize. Low cost + high revenue = production gold. What’s specific to the broadcasting genre is that there is no need to fight to secure a live air spot or agreements with big networks to enter the scene. Anyone can enter, and anyone can profit if they’re able to gain popularity. The global podcast ad revenue is expected to grow to USD 4 bn in 2024 up from USD 1.1 bn before Covid, according to data from Statista Market Insights.
#2- Human connection in a lonely world. The pandemic saw an astronomical rise in podcast listening, driven by the inherent human need for connection. In a time of social distancing and isolation, podcasts provided a source of intimacy, filling the void left by the absence of physical interaction. people were craving some sort of intimacy to fill the hole of being around others that we so dearly missed.
#3- Content for the masses: Podcasts are refreshingly accessible, available on most smart devices, and often without the need for a paid subscription. They exist in both audio and video formats on platforms like YouTube, making them versatile and easy to consume.
#4-You can also enjoy them anywhere. Podcasts can be enjoyed everywhere — whether during chores, commuting, or simply relaxing at home. The flexibility in consumption has contributed to their widespread appeal.
#5-There’s something out there for everyone. The diversity of the podcasting landscape draws a lot of appeal. From small content creators to major companies, there is a podcast for every topic imaginable: Want to learn about trees? You got it. Wondering how your favorite movie got made? Not for long. Trying to keep up with the latest news? They’ve got you covered. Not only that, there are chatty podcasts, educational, true crime, or a mix of all so that you can tune in no matter what mood you’re in or whatever your interest is.
It looks like podcasts will continue to shape the entertainment industry, and their influence is likely to endure, providing a space where anyone can be a broadcaster and everyone can find content that resonates with them.
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