One of next year’s most anticipated Arabic dramas could be in jeopardy.
The Emperor, a series tracing the life of celebrated Egyptian actor Ahmed Zaki, was supposed to begin production later this year, ahead of its release next Ramadan.
However, lead actor Mohamed Ramadan, who was set to portray the star, said the show has been put on ice due to a breakdown in discussions with Zaki's heirs.
Never one to waste any time, Ramadan then swiftly announced his next TV project, a 2021 Ramadan series called Mousa.
The news, announced by Ramadan on his Facebook page on Tuesday, July 21, blindsided Bashir El Deek, The Emperor's scriptwriter.
Speaking to online entertainment site ET Bil Arabi, El Deek said he had finished penning the second episode of the 30-part series when he heard Ramadan had moved on to another project.
“There is no point commenting on things until we see how it full transpires,” he said. “Also, if the parties [Zaki’s heirs and Ramadan] have certain legal aspects that need to be discussed, then it should be discussed with the production company. I don’t have anything to do with this.”
When it comes to the series, El Deek said the script will cover Zaki’s life on and off-screen. The series would begin with Zaki’s enrolment at the Cairo Higher Institute for Drama Studies in the early 1970s and go on to cover some of his key films before his death in 2005 from lung cancer at the age of 55.
"I have already done deep research on the life of Ahmed Zaki," El Deek said. "The show will follow his ups and downs in Egypt. We will also touch on certain aspects of his childhood when [the plot] needs it.”
What do we know about 'Mousa'?
As of yet, there is no information regarding the plot of Mousa. However, judging by the pedigree of talent involved, chances are it will be a hit.
For the past three years, Ramadan has starred in some of the most-watched series screened during the holy month, including this year's thriller El Prince, 2019's Zelzal and 2018's El Diesel.
Producing his next Ramadan TV foray is the blockbuster Egyptian production house Synergy Art Production, which was behind this holy month's most-viewed series, the military thriller Al Ikhtiyar, and 2019's lavish drama Hekayti.
Directing all 30 episodes of Mousa will be Mohamed Salama, who was behind the critically acclaimed 2018 series Raheel, starring Yasser Galal.
Penning the script is Nasser Abdulrahman, a seasoned talent who wrote previous Ramadan dramas Gabal Al Halal (2017) and the 2009 film Dokkan Shehata, starring Lebanese pop star Haifa Wehbe.
A year of ups and downs for Ramadan
The latest news marks what has been bittersweet month for Ramadan.
On July 16, his image was projected on to screens in New York City's Times Square to promote his latest viral hip-hop hit, Tik Tok.
It was also the same weekend he was sentenced to a year in prison.
Ramadan was handed a 12-month sentence by an Egyptian court for slander, after posting a video inside the cockpit of a private plane, which caused pilot Ashraf Abou El Yousr to be fired and have his licence revoked.
The video, which went viral, showed Ramadan pretend to operate the plane and was confirmed by The Civil Aviation Authority to be authentic. According to reports, Yousr did not realise a video was being taken and did not give permission for it to be posted online.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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GAC GS8 Specs
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Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km
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OPENING FIXTURES
Saturday September 12
Crystal Palace v Southampton
Fulham v Arsenal
Liverpool v Leeds United
Tottenham v Everton
West Brom v Leicester
West Ham v Newcastle
Monday September 14
Brighton v Chelsea
Sheffield United v Wolves
To be rescheduled
Burnley v Manchester United
Manchester City v Aston Villa
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Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
What sanctions would be reimposed?
Under ‘snapback’, measures imposed on Iran by the UN Security Council in six resolutions would be restored, including:
- An arms embargo
- A ban on uranium enrichment and reprocessing
- A ban on launches and other activities with ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons, as well as ballistic missile technology transfer and technical assistance
- A targeted global asset freeze and travel ban on Iranian individuals and entities
- Authorisation for countries to inspect Iran Air Cargo and Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines cargoes for banned goods
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Mercedes-AMG GT 63 S E Performance: the specs
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On sale: October to December
Price: From Dh875,000 (estimate)
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Sholto Byrnes on Myanmar politics
Auron Mein Kahan Dum Tha
Starring: Ajay Devgn, Tabu, Shantanu Maheshwari, Jimmy Shergill, Saiee Manjrekar
Director: Neeraj Pandey
Rating: 2.5/5
The specs
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Power: 181hp
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Honeymoonish
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SNAPSHOT
While Huawei did launch the first smartphone with a 50MP image sensor in its P40 series in 2020, Oppo in 2014 introduced the Find 7, which was capable of taking 50MP images: this was done using a combination of a 13MP sensor and software that resulted in shots seemingly taken from a 50MP camera.
LILO & STITCH
Starring: Sydney Elizebeth Agudong, Maia Kealoha, Chris Sanders
Director: Dean Fleischer Camp
Rating: 4.5/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Tips for SMEs to cope
- Adapt your business model. Make changes that are future-proof to the new normal
- Make sure you have an online presence
- Open communication with suppliers, especially if they are international. Look for local suppliers to avoid delivery delays
- Open communication with customers to see how they are coping and be flexible about extending terms, etc
Courtesy: Craig Moore, founder and CEO of Beehive, which provides term finance and working capital finance to SMEs. Only SMEs that have been trading for two years are eligible for funding from Beehive.
