Latest news with #Sakr
Perth Now
26-05-2025
- Business
- Perth Now
Business owner slammed after shock find in cheese block
An Australian business owner has been slammed for claiming to have received 'diabolical customer service' after she found a rogue item in a block of cheese. Julia Sakr, founder of pet bedding company Barney Bed, purchased a block of Maffra cheese from gourmet grocer, Fruitologist, in Bondi. Upon unwrapping the cheese, Sakr was alarmed to see a dark shadow on the corner of the block. After further inspection, Sakr found a metal bolt imbedded in the cheese. If you'd like to view this content, please adjust your . To find out more about how we use cookies, please see our Cookie Guide. Sakr reached out to Maffra Cheese Company with photo receipts to alert them of the contamination and request either a new block of cheese or a refund. In response, Maffra requested a photo of the package showing the batch number and best before date to investigate the incident. Unhappy with the email she received back, Sakr took to TikTok to air her frustration. 'I've already thrown it away, and you know my cleaners come once a week so by the time I get back from Cairns it's not going to be there,' she said. Julia Sakr discovered a metal nut in a block of cheese. Credit: TikTok 'To be honest I was a bit pissed off, because if a customer is telling you that they found a bolt in your cheese, that's not the response you should have, you should be like, I'm so sorry this happened to you.' After further back and forth and no word of a refund, Maffra informed Sakr a police report would be filed. 'Someone please explain to me what a police report is going to do, like what crime did I commit? I bought your cheese and found a bolt in it,' Sakr said. People of the internet have since piled on the business owner. 'The reason they asked for the batch and best before date is so they could investigate the production batch and issue a public food recall. Her initial response was perfectly acceptable and to industry standard,' one person wrote. 'Maybe she meant a police report to investigate someone tampering with the product between them and you. Like that time someone was putting needles in the strawberries, but you should get a refund regardless,' added another. 'The woman you contacted could not refund you in the first place as you bought the cheese from the fruit shop, they would have refunded you and then contacted Maffra to notify them,' a third said.
Zawya
29-04-2025
- Automotive
- Zawya
Egypt: 4Sale drives Digital Innovation in Kuwait
Arab Finance: In this insightful interview with Tarek Sakr, Founder and CEO of 4Sale, a leading classifieds platform with a strong presence in Kuwait and Egypt, shares a compelling perspective on the dynamics of e-commerce in these key Middle Eastern markets. The e-commerce market in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region saw substantial growth, increasing by over 30% in 2024, according to a report by Flowwow and Admitad. Furthermore, the MENA e-commerce market is projected to expand to approximately $50 billion by 2025, as noted by Virto Commerce. Sakr unpacks 4Sale's impressive growth, particularly within the thriving automotive sector. His perspectives underscore the burgeoning importance of online platforms in facilitating commerce in Egypt and Kuwait, highlighting the unique opportunities and consumer behaviors shaping the digital marketplace in the region. 1- 4Sale has achieved impressive growth in recent years, including record revenues and increased ad activity. What do you attribute this success to? 2024 was a breakthrough year for us. We experienced solid performance across our core business lines, a testament to our innovation and the trust we built with users. Office listings generated a 61% year-on-year (YoY) revenue increase, with steady growth also observed in both free and paid listings. Our users are more engaged than ever and see the value our platform provides. In the automotive sector, several factors contributed to our success. We have seen a noticeable increase in the availability of high-quality used vehicles, rising disposable income among Kuwait's expat community, and a growing appetite for SUVs and luxury cars. We have also expanded our network of dealership partnerships, bringing premium brands such as Mercedes, Audi, and Volkswagen onto the platform, which has strengthened our position in this vertical market. 2-How does 4Sale maintain its leadership in the Kuwaiti market? 4Sale's business model remains exclusively focused on Kuwait. With deep local expertise, we are building on strong foundations established over years of world-class service, introducing new services and verticals to meet the evolving needs of Kuwaiti consumers. Our leadership is rooted in our ability to truly listen to our customers. A key strategic initiative is delivering hyper-personalized product and service recommendations tailored to each user's unique needs. Modern consumers expect more than just convenience; they want highly specific, personalized interactions, an understanding of their preferences, and seamless access to the goods and services they seek. 4Sale is perfectly positioned to deliver this. We embrace a data-driven optimization model-similar to platforms, such as Google and Facebook, so we can optimally understand user behaviors and preferences. This allows us to deliver more relevant and engaging recommendations, creating a richer, more valuable customer experience. In 2024, we also scaled our infrastructure significantly to prepare for strong growth in the months and years ahead. 3-The automotive sector has been a major contributor to 4Sale's business model. Can you elaborate on the innovations and partnerships that have strengthened your position in this sector? 4Sale maintains its market leadership by doubling down on what it does best — offering tailored, high-impact solutions for the Kuwaiti audience. The automotive vertical has been one of the company's most successful segments since its inception, and its continued growth is supported by strategic partnerships with leading local dealerships. This network is set to expand further in 2025. In early 2025, we introduced our new 'Worry-Free' packages, a full-service offering that simplifies the car buying and selling process for users. From professional photography to managing buyer enquiries, this package streamlines the entire journey while enhancing visibility for service providers on the platform. 4-What role do hyper-personalization and enhanced user experiences play in your strategy for retaining users and attracting new ones? Hyper-personalization is at the heart of our strategy. We are focused on not only retaining our loyal user base but also constantly finding new ways to engage broader audiences. We are very proud of our market position, but our ambition remains undimmed. We want everything we do to be faster, easier, more personalised, and ultimately more impactful for our users, while offering as much choice as possible. AI also plays a huge role in helping us evolve into a true superApp. It powers everything from personalised recommendations and chat automation to dynamic pricing and fraud detection. Equally important, it enhances the security and reliability of the platform, which is critical for user trust and loyalty. 5-4Sale recently launched new car-selling packages that simplify transactions for users. Can you share more about how these innovations have impacted user engagement and revenue growth? In February 2025, we introduced our 'Worry-Free' packages, designed to remove common stresses from selling a car. This full-service solution includes everything from professional photography and premium listing placement to managing buyer enquiries, allowing users to sell faster and with less effort. This launch was important in our wider strategy of making the entire 4Sale experience as seamless and stress-free as possible. We are constantly exploring how to simplify complex transactions for users. The packages are available in three tiers: Basic, Pro, and Premium. Users can choose what suits their needs best. We have included features such as professional inspections and vetted buyer interactions, which are important in building trust and credibility, and have influenced the strong engagement experienced since launch. The impact has been great in user satisfaction, platform engagement, and increased visibility for car service providers. It has grown our revenues and reinforced our position as the go-to destination for car transactions in Kuwait. 6-What are your plans for further diversifying 4Sale's offerings? Are there untapped sectors you aim to explore in Kuwait? Diversification is key to our growth strategy. We have over 197 categories and continue to expand to meet evolving consumer needs and behaviours. We remain focused on identifying and unlocking opportunities in under-served or emerging sectors within Kuwait. We aim to broaden our platform's relevance across all aspects of daily life, offering even more variety, convenience, and value to our users. 7-What advice would you give to entrepreneurs looking to build successful e-commerce platforms in emerging markets like Kuwait and Egypt? First, be prepared to put in the hard work. Building a business from the ground up comes with many challenges, from operational hurdles to market uncertainties. Success often requires long hours, persistence, and much self-belief. However, it is important to stay open to feedback and surround yourself with people whose advice you can trust. Second, develop patience. Not everything will go to plan. Suppliers may fall short, processes might fail, and mistakes will happen. Patience allows you to stay focused and learn from setbacks. The ability to keep going, even in the face of failures, often separates those who succeed from those who don't. Third, focus on relationships. Building strong personal connections with your team, your backers, and especially your customers is essential. Trust and loyalty are invaluable assets, and delivering great customer service is one of the most effective ways to build a lasting brand in any market. Above all, believe in yourself and your vision. If you don't, no one else will. Stay committed, prove your ideas work, and success will follow. 8-With your offices in Kuwait and Egypt, can you tell us more about how this setup supports your growth and how the team dynamic contributes to your success? Having offices in Kuwait City and Cairo has been a real advantage for us. We can tap into diverse talent pools and build a team with broad perspectives and expertise. One example is our tech team, which is 80 people strong. They are constantly developing new products and features, driving innovation in the classifieds space. I am incredibly proud of how far they have come and excited for what is next as they evolve. They are a big part of our confidence in achieving further organic growth. We also strengthened our leadership team in 2024, which is another important strategic step forward. We welcomed Khaled Gomaa as Chief Technology Officer, Fadila El Badry as Chief Marketing Officer, and Mohamad Salah Khouzam as Chief Operating Officer. The appointments reflect our commitment to building best-in-class operations and bringing in top-tier talent to support our growth. Overall, this setup gives us the flexibility to scale smartly, move quickly, and continue growing our platform and our people. © 2020-2023 Arab Finance For Information Technology. All Rights Reserved. Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (
Daily News Egypt
29-04-2025
- Business
- Daily News Egypt
Military Production Ministry to participate in SOLAR & STORAGE LIVE EGYPT 2025 expo
Egypt's Ministry of Military Production will participate with its affiliated companies in the SOLAR & STORAGE LIVE EGYPT 2025 exhibition, scheduled for April 29-30 at the Egypt International Exhibition Centre in the Fifth Settlement area of Cairo. The ministry announced its participation in a statement, noting it follows directives from Minister of State for Military Production Mohamed Salah El-Din Mostafa regarding the importance of ministry entities participating in relevant domestic and international exhibitions to contribute added value to the national economy. Ministry spokesperson Mohamed Sakr stated that the primary objective of participating in the exhibition is 'to showcase the latest manufacturing technologies, techniques, and solutions reached by Military Production companies in the field of solar energy and storage.' Sakr added that the ministry also seeks to enhance cooperation between various entities to help develop new strategies for addressing challenges in new and renewable energy. He described the exhibition as a 'platform for exchanging expertise and investment opportunities, contributing to achieving national sustainable energy goals.' Several ministry companies involved in producing solar energy-related products will be present at the exhibition, Sakr confirmed. These include Shobra Company for Engineering Industries (Factory 27), Helwan Company for Non-Ferrous Industries (Factory 63), Benha Company for Electronic Industries (Factory 144), and Qaha Company for Chemical Industries (Factory 270). The spokesperson indicated that the companies will display a variety of energy-related products, including: solar panels (550W and 620W capacities), batteries, pumps, radiator coolant, structural motors (1/3 hp – power motor), Deutz FL511 engines, axle components (chairs and bushes) for various vehicle engines, aerial and insulated cables, copper and aluminium sections, pressed items, aluminium foil, and copper coils. The statement described SOLAR & STORAGE LIVE EGYPT 2025 as a significant energy sector event attracting manufacturers and suppliers globally to display new technologies and innovative solutions covering the entire energy sector – from generators and energy storage systems to high and low voltage cables, energy transmission, and distribution. The ministry's participation reflects its interest in these areas and its aim to contribute to accelerating initiatives and efforts towards cleaner, safer, and more efficient energy systems, the statement concluded. The Ministry of Military Production invited all concerned parties, including companies, investors, researchers, and innovators involved in energy transition solutions worldwide, to visit its pavilion at the exhibition for an opportunity to view the various products offered by its companies in the solar energy field.
CairoScene
16-04-2025
- Entertainment
- CairoScene
How Art, AI & Science Combine to Shape Diriyah Art Futures
The institution brings artists, technologists, and scholars together to explore digital media. The Saudi Museums Commission launched Diriyah Art Futures as the region's first institution centred on New Media and Digital Arts. Its inaugural exhibition, 'Art Must Be Artificial: Perspectives of AI in the Visual Arts', featured over 30 artists from Saudi Arabia, the MENA region, and beyond. The exhibition explored the evolution of computational art from its emergence in the 1960s to its current role in shaping modern artistic expression, grounding the conversation in the work of the influential polymath Al-Khwarizmi, whose contributions to algorithms marked the beginning of a conversation that is still ongoing to this day. Laila Shereen Sakr, an Associate Professor at the University of California, Santa Barbara, is one of the artists featured in the exhibition. Her work revolves around examining the connections between motherhood, technology, and the idea of the cyborg in both local and global Arab contexts. Instead of seeing these ideas as fixed labels, Sakr views them as overlapping experiences that focus on movement and action. "Fixed identities can only be located within a single time and place,' Sakr says. 'Life is change and movement, and digital and new media art is a medium that expresses that well. I have been both Arab and American. Before we were mothers, we were daughters. We continue to move in and out of these categories throughout our lives." A key aspect of Diriyah Art Futures is its focus on collaboration between artists, technologists and scholars. For Sakr, this interdisciplinary approach is vital to her work. While she finds it challenging to navigate the separate communities of art, tech and academia, she views her work as a vehicle to bridge these fields. The real difficulty, she notes, is in getting audiences to engage with these diverse practices. The same interdisciplinary approach can be seen in the work of Nasser Alshemimry, aka DesertFish, who brings together sound, visual art and technology to forge new artistic expressions. Based in Jeddah, Alshemimry draws inspiration from his Najdi roots along with his background as a multi-instrumentalist recording artist. He dedicates much of his time to his studio, where he works with local artists to hone his craft. In his piece 'Digital Anemone', DesertFish creates a digital version of an anemone using simple shapes and computer techniques. He starts with a pipe shape, which he repeats in a grid to form a digital organism. The piece has the anemone respond to the movement of the viewer within the space. The work uses the camera to track how the viewer moves and makes the anemone interact with them, giving it a sort of "sight" and making it react in real time. "One has to have a multi-disciplinary approach. Collaboration can lead to new ideas and insights if done correctly with like-minded individuals who share a similar vision,' DesertFish tells SceneNowSaudi. He believes his experiments with new ideas to be a part of a bigger shift in Jeddah, especially during a time where the city is becoming more and more recognised as a creative hub for many. Another artist featured in the exhibition is Lulwah AlHumoud, an award-winning artist and curator with a strong international presence. Her work is inspired by research into Islamic geometric patterns, which are rooted in accumulated knowledge from various sciences and cultures. These compositions use repeating basic shapes, but they don't strictly follow geometric rules. Instead, they allow for variation and gradual transformation. Speaking with SceneNowSaudi, AlHumoud shares how cross-disciplinary collaboration has influenced her work: 'When I work with engineers or technologists, it opens up new possibilities for my practice. Their expertise brings fresh insights that help me push my work further. Cross-disciplinary collaboration allows me to explore new dimensions and enriches my artistic process.' The Ministry of Culture presents Diriyah Art Futures as the first institution of its kind in the MENA region. Its building, now a finalist for the ArchDaily 2025 Building of the Year Awards, was designed specifically to serve as a hub for digital art. Though this exhibition has concluded, more events and workshops are planned as the institution continues to expand.
The Guardian
04-04-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
‘Blood-pumping', ‘outstanding', ‘urgent and essential': the best Australian books out in April
Nonfiction, Black Inc, $36.99 Twenty years after she fictionalised her ex-convict great-great-great-grandfather Solomon Wiseman in The Secret River, speculating he took part in killing Dharug people, Grenville makes a pilgrimage through the landscape of northern New South Wales to better understand more than two centuries of suffering by Indigenous people dispossessed by colonisation. Moments of profound clarity ensue in Unsettled: looking down on Mogo Creek to the Hawkesbury River's north, Grenville's imagination tracks her great-great uncles riding horseback armed with guns. 'In the great humming silence of this landscape – a silence created in part by what people like my forebears did – I know how little I really belong.' – Steve Dow Fiction, Ultimo Press, $34.99 In former Triple J presenter Vijay Khurana's debut novel, two schoolboys flee their small town in Canada for a road trip to wherever. Adam is the alpha, an apparent student of Tate and Peterson and the only licensed driver – but it's Teddy who has the gun licence, and the money to put it to use. The devastating story that follows – narrated by each character in alternating chapters – is a tense and gripping power struggle of toxic masculinity, as the teenagers push each other further and further down a violent road of no return. Where hit UK TV show Adolescence illuminated the myriad societal failures that are driving young boys to violence, this outstanding debut takes us inside the darkest and most vulnerable parts of their minds. – Steph Harmon Poetry, UQP, $29.99 Safdar Ahmed, whose graphic memoir Still Alive was a searing indictment of Australia's refugee detention system, teams up with poet and author Omar Sakr (Non-Essential Work; The Lost Arabs) for this collection of poems and illustrations responding to the atrocities committed by Israel against the Palestinian people in Gaza and the West Bank since 7 October 2023. Read cover to cover, it evokes Sakr's excruciating, sometimes bewildered, experience of bearing daily witness from afar (heightened by recently becoming a father), while the poet and artist both grapple with the moral complexities of their roles documenting what Sakr describes as 'the daily immiseration of Palestinians in the brutal reality of apartheid'. As the people of Palestine continue to suffer systemic violence and dehumanisation, this is urgent, essential work. – Dee Jefferson Fiction, Hachette, $32.99 Chris Flynn's fourth novel follows a trio of old friends – who grew up together in the small country town of Gattan – in the aftermath of an inexplicable global catastrophe, which sees every nine-year-old on the planet suddenly drop dead. Each of them is struggling, in their own way, to regain some sense of agency in the face of this threat, and to protect or honour their children as the world threatens to collapse around them. This is a fast-paced and compelling novel, written with Flynn's characteristic dark humour, and great generosity of heart as well. – Fiona Wright Fiction, Allen & Unwin, $32.99 Debut author Sophie Quick's sharp, pacy satire centres on an unexpected antihero: a scammer with a heart of gold. Christina is a single mum in suburban Melbourne who has created a Zoom-only alter ego – Dr Ruth Carlisle – for the purposes of life coaching, then blackmailing her clients. As we learn more about her background, Christina's actions take on a Robin Hood quality. Her targets are wealthy – grifty influencers and sleazy marketers – while her financial situation is shaky at best. Taking aim at TedCore and the self improvement industrial complex, the story also contains shades of Caroline and Natalie. Timely and slyly funny, it is a gut-check for anyone who's ever taken social media-sized slivers of life advice too seriously. – Alyx Gorman Fiction, UQP, $34.99 Sign up to Saved for Later Catch up on the fun stuff with Guardian Australia's culture and lifestyle rundown of pop culture, trends and tips after newsletter promotion The premise might feel a dime a dozen: disillusioned woman flees big city to find herself in an exotic location. But this short, sparse, deeply absorbing debut – which won the 2024 Victorian premier's literary prize for an unpublished manuscript – is about so much more than that. Ruth's refuge is Guatemala: a tourist town called Panajachel, painted so vividly you can almost see it. There she meets two women who inspire two very different infatuations; and soon, without us even noticing, Ruth is stuck – with a job, a house, and a desire to go deeper into the country and into herself. The promo calls the novel 'perfect for fans of Deborah Levy, Miranda July and Rachel Cusk'; as a fan of all three, I loved this one too. – Steph Harmon Fiction, Transit Lounge, $34.99 What does it mean to bear witness? To listen to the survivors of war crimes recount their experiences and suffering? Out of the Woods, Gretchen Shirm's fourth novel, offers a poignant, insightful answer. Incorporating real witness testimony, the narrative is closely intertwined with real events: namely the massacre of 8,000 Bosnian Muslim men and boys in the town of Srebrenica in 1995, and the conviction at The Hague of a senior military commander for genocide. Though imperfect, the story asks probing questions about how we can begin to comprehend the incomprehensible. – Jack Callil Crime/thriller, Penguin Australia, $34.99 This is a return-of-sorts to familiar territory for Bradley, who writes timely and thrilling novels imbued with a sense of social urgency, often involving the climate crisis and scientific developments. His last book, Deep Water, was a nonfiction hit – but he's back on fiction again, this time a crime novel set in a future Sydney that has been transformed by rising sea levels. This propulsive novel follows Senior Detective Sadiya Azad's efforts to find a missing five-year-old who disappeared 'in the tideline', amid submerged apartments and pontoons as a huge storm approaches. – Sian Cain Graphic novel, Scribe, $39.99 Rachel Ang's graphic novel is made to be devoured. Blood-pumping and fresh, these five loosely connected tales revolve around Jenny, a young Australian woman who stumbles through interactions with lovers, family and strangers with a sense of paralysis. From feeding fetishes, repressed childhood horrors and surreal exchanges with her future child, Jenny endures much in her painful quest to overcome bodily shame, and to connect. Ang's expressive compositions and darkly comic voice perfectly capture these hermetic moments, which appear so slight and mundane on the surface but belie an interior storm. A bold, hallucinogenic collection that feels uncomfortably human. – Claire Cao Nonfiction, UNSW, $34.99 By her own admission, Jane Rawson is not a nature natural. A novelist, former environment editor at the Conversation and literary magazine editor, her comfort zone is less bushcraft, more towncraft. In Human/Nature, she weaves in her own complex relationship with nature as she dissects the broader human understanding of the natural world, offering a moment of pause as the environment changes around us. With levity, beauty and deep contemplation Human/Nature interrogates how our own ideas of purity, intelligence, care (for starters) affect how we impact, ignore, undermine and protect all the wild things which are not human. – Celina Ribeiro Cookbook, Murdoch Books, $29.99 Zucchinis were the gateway veg for Alex Elliott-Howery's pickling habit. Her partner had a bountiful back yard crop that her kids didn't want to eat, so she taught herself to pickle. Her hobby became an obsession and then a business, when she opened Sydney's now-closed neighbourhood cafe Cornersmith in 2012. Four cookbooks, community cooking classes and another cafe later, she's a leading force in delicious solutions to food waste. Her fifth book goes back to basics, featuring 80 quick, achievable recipes for condiments, such as bread and butter cucumber pickles, cauliflower relish and banana ketchup. It's no-fuss, light on storytelling and keeps it seasonal. A truly compelling pocket-sized guide to making your kitchen scraps worth keeping. – Emma Joyce
