The National Staff
Seventy-two applicants in the Middle East and North Africa were shortlisted and invited to audition in Sharjah for a theatre training programme called Home Grown, it was announced yesterday.
The programme, offered by the Middle East Theatre Academy (Meta), drew more than 300 applications.
The course, open to 18 to 25-year-olds, is in partnership with the Kevin Spacey Foundation, established by the Oscar-winner to nurture young film and theatre talent.
The film and television star teamed up with the Emirati businessman Badr Jafar in 2011 to launch Meta as a non-profit organisation.
The coaching of 35 youths from 16 countries in the region is free and will culminate in a performance at the Sharjah Institute for Theatrical Arts on January 25.
It is being held under the patronage of Sheikha Jawaher bint Mohammed, wife of Dr Sheikh Sultan bin Mohammed, Ruler of Sharjah.
“Some of the stories that emerged from these young people were very interesting and showed us just how vital this programme can be to them,” the foundation team said.
Spacey will be present at times throughout the project, lead expert classes for participants and observe rehearsals.
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In 2013, The National's History Project went beyond the walls to see what life was like living in Abu Dhabi's fabled fort:
TOURNAMENT INFO
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Jul 3- 14, in the Netherlands
The top two teams will qualify to play at the World T20 in the West Indies in November
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What is an ETF?
An exchange traded fund is a type of investment fund that can be traded quickly and easily, just like stocks and shares. They come with no upfront costs aside from your brokerage's dealing charges and annual fees, which are far lower than on traditional mutual investment funds. Charges are as low as 0.03 per cent on one of the very cheapest (and most popular), Vanguard S&P 500 ETF, with the maximum around 0.75 per cent.
There is no fund manager deciding which stocks and other assets to invest in, instead they passively track their chosen index, country, region or commodity, regardless of whether it goes up or down.
The first ETF was launched as recently as 1993, but the sector boasted $5.78 billion in assets under management at the end of September as inflows hit record highs, according to the latest figures from ETFGI, a leading independent research and consultancy firm.
There are thousands to choose from, with the five largest providers BlackRock’s iShares, Vanguard, State Street Global Advisers, Deutsche Bank X-trackers and Invesco PowerShares.
While the best-known track major indices such as MSCI World, the S&P 500 and FTSE 100, you can also invest in specific countries or regions, large, medium or small companies, government bonds, gold, crude oil, cocoa, water, carbon, cattle, corn futures, currency shifts or even a stock market crash.
Strait of Hormuz
Fujairah is a crucial hub for fuel storage and is just outside the Strait of Hormuz, a vital shipping route linking Middle East oil producers to markets in Asia, Europe, North America and beyond.
The strait is 33 km wide at its narrowest point, but the shipping lane is just three km wide in either direction. Almost a fifth of oil consumed across the world passes through the strait.
Iran has repeatedly threatened to close the strait, a move that would risk inviting geopolitical and economic turmoil.
Last month, Iran issued a new warning that it would block the strait, if it was prevented from using the waterway following a US decision to end exemptions from sanctions for major Iranian oil importers.
About Proto21
Date started: May 2018
Founder: Pir Arkam
Based: Dubai
Sector: Additive manufacturing (aka, 3D printing)
Staff: 18
Funding: Invested, supported and partnered by Joseph Group