MENA streaming service Starz Play eyes expansion after funding round

CEO Maaz Sheikh said a listing could “one day” be an option for the firm

Saudi king suspends newspaper columnist for piling on the praise

The columnist lauded the king, equating him with God

Saudia denies rumours that its flight landed in Tel Aviv

A picture circulated on social media allegedly showed a Saudia aircraft landing at the Ben Gurion Airport

New editor-in-chief appointed for Abu Dhabi daily The National

The newspaper is relaunching on July 2 under its new owner

‘Fake website’ claims to be UAE Arabic daily, publishes ‘false quotes’ – report

A website claiming to be Al Ittihad published quotes attributed to the Abu Dhabi Crown Prince

Emirati director Nayla Al Khaja calls for film fund to boost UAE cinema

Al Khaja says its important to generate support for the business side of the UAE’s film industry

UAE closes its airspace to planes from Doha, blocks Qatari websites

The website of Qatar Airways has now been blocked in the UAE

UAE bans expressions of sympathy towards Qatar

Offenders could face a possible jail term and also be hit with a fine of at least Dhs500,000

Telecoms operator du confirms beIN Sports network suspended in the UAE

The sports network is part of the Qatar-state owned Al Jazeera group

Saudi shuts down Al-Jazeera office, withdraws licence

Saudi accused the channel of promoting ‘plots of terrorist groups’

UAE-based billionaire R. Shetty aims for $1bn in revenue from Indian film epic

Shetty announced in April he was investing $150m in the film franchise

New Abu Dhabi-China joint film fund to co-finance Hollywood thriller

The movie, earlier called Inner City, is being directed by Dan Gilroy and stars Denzel Washington

Abu Dhabi’s Aldar wins deal to develop Twofour54’s new freezone in Yas Island

The new development will feature offices, TV studios and retail and aims to attract 10,000 professionals

Youth media brand Vice to launch in the MENA region by October

The initial launch will be an Arabic website, with a mixture of video and written content

Qatar becomes media group Lagardere’s top shareholder

Qatar first invested in Lagardere in 2006

Unemployment, Trump hit optimism of young Arabs – survey

The Arab Youth Survey revealed rising pessimism but also a significant variance in outlook across the MENA region

Eight in 10 Americans unable to point out the Arab world on a map – survey

More than a fifth of respondents also believed Agrabah – a fictional city from Disney’s Aladdin – was a real place in the region

Dubai TV channel City7 shutting down – report

The English language television channel is owned by BinHendi Enterprises

Abu Dhabi’s The National newspaper cuts jobs as part of restructuring

New owner IMI did not confirm the number of job losses

Staff at Saudi Prince Alwaleed’s Al Arab channel start receiving settlements

The news channel ceased operations earlier this year

Saudi princess ‘fired’ as editor in chief of Vogue Arabia – report

Deena Aljuhani Abdulaziz was appointed to the role in July 2016

GCC media advertising down 22% in Q1

TBWA Worldwide noted a sizeable decrease in ad spend compared to 2016

Abu Dhabi Media relaunches Radio 1 and Radio 2

The two stations were previously operated by Gulf News Broadcasting

Vice Media launches in the Middle East with Dubai HQ

Vice will launch a website and digital channel this summer in the region

Kuwait pulls Beauty and the Beast from Cinemas

The country’s ministry of information has asked for additional cuts to the film

Dubai issues new regulations for marketing property abroad

No company is permitted to advertise about any property without first obtaining DLD’s permission

Businesses “not delivering” on advertised promises – Publicis.Sapient

Too many brands do not follow through on the claims and promises they make through advertising, says Nigel Vaz

Saudi billionaire Prince Alwaleed’s Al Arab channel closes down

The channel has been unable to find a new base after it was shut down in Bahrain

Dubai-based PR agency Edelman DABO lays off staff

The agency said about 20 employees had been made redundant

Whatsapp new privacy features

WhatsApp, Facebook most popular social media platforms in UAE

The least popular platforms were found to be Snapchat and LinkedIn