Graft, security issues feed trade in Iraq’s past

• The purchased antiquity may not be handed down but handed on, via smugglers and middlemen
• Also, the ownership history of some such objects can be harder to prove

Nawal El Zoghbi snubs award over Lebanon economic crisis

• The Murex d’Or award ceremony was about to take place on Wednesday at Beirut’s Casino du Liban
• Its organizers have now announced that it has been postponed because of the recent fuel tanker blast that killed several people

Athletes not only win hearts, but a lot of money too

• Singapore tops the list of most generous countries with a reward of US$750,000 to the gold medalist
• The Egyptian Olympic Committee has allocated a financial reward of US$64,000 for the gold medal

Netflix rules Mideast as rivals eye content share

• Saudi Arabia seeks be an essential base for entertainment companies with an attractive investment environment
• The UAE and Saudi Arabia account for almost half of all MENA subscriptions to streaming services

Iranian artworks fetch over $10m during Tehran Auction

• The highest-earning painting was Reza Derakhshani’s Counting Days and Nights, Every Day and Every Night
• The mixed-media painting with fig leaves on canvas, created in 2017, fetched 52 billion rials (about $1.24 million)

Katy Perry unveils shoe range inspired by trip to Egypt

• The Pyramid and the Bettie are currently available for sale on Perry’s website for the discounted prices of $89 and $59, respectively
• The actual costs are $129 for the Pyramid, which comes in two colors, and $89 for the Bettie, which comes in two colors

Saudi handouts, to poor, leap to $27bn

• Expenditure on social benefits rose by 51 percent as the largest rise from H1 2020, reaching SR42 billion for H1 2021
• Saudi Arabia gives some $27bn in handouts to poor families

Dubai Tourism launches new trailer

• This trailer comes just days after the Dubai Presents campaign was launched with the spy-action genre
• This one-minute-six-second trailer is titled Dubai: A Romance to Remember

Park featuring world’s largest aquarium 64 percent complete

• The aquarium will be home to 68,000 marine animals including, sharks, schools of fish, manta rays and sea turtles.
• Yas SeaWorld Research and Rescue Center to become first of its kind in UAE, focusing on indigenous Gulf and marine life ecosystems.

Dubai ropes in Hollywood stars for new tourism drive