Latest: Oman blocks audio app Clubhouse citing lack of permit
Clubhouse continues to enjoy soaring popularity around the world, but users of the invitation-only audio platform in the UAE say it is almost impossible to tune in because of the poor sound quality.
Members say the audio during discussions in conversation rooms is often glitchy, with the sound dropping out mid-chat.
In a short clip posted on Twitter by Omar Kassim, the founder of start-ups JadoPado and Nomod, the sound is sometimes distorted before becoming clear again.
He wrote: “This is what @joinClubhouse sounds like in the UAE. The cruel machinations of traffic shaping are back."
“I tried it a couple of times in the last week,” said Clubhouse user Alex Malouf, 41, who is from the UK and lives in Abu Dhabi.
“I tried it on my network 4G and also on Wi-Fi. But the sound was so bad,” he said. He was able to stream shows on Netflix without a hitch, he said.
“You have that voice echo. You just can’t hear anything.”
He said the problem affects only conversation rooms, because users are still able to speak to each other one to one.
“The voice quality is great for private chats. It doesn’t drop out.”
One user tagged the UAE’s communications regulator, asking whether it had been banned.
“What should we do? Is VPN allowed to be used?” the user wrote.
TRA replied: “#Clubhouse is not banned in UAE.”
The voice-based social network, which launched last year, allows people to eavesdrop on conversations, interviews and chats on a variety of topics.
It feels as if the user is tuning in to a live podcast.
In addition to receiving an invitation, users must have an iPhone to join, because it operates only on the iOS platform.
Conversations can be found on just about any topic, from entrepreneurship to books to the latest technologies.
Elon Musk recently launched a popular chat on the platform and is hoping to interview Russian President Vladimir Putin.
How to join Clubhouse
A Clubhouse user must first send an invitation to give anyone else access to it. Users initially have only two invitations available on their account.
The invitation link usually comes in the form of a text message direct to a person’s phone. Clicking on the link directs the user to a sign-up page in the app.
Frankenstein in Baghdad
Ahmed Saadawi
Penguin Press
Libya's Gold
UN Panel of Experts found regime secretly sold a fifth of the country's gold reserves.
The panel’s 2017 report followed a trail to West Africa where large sums of cash and gold were hidden by Abdullah Al Senussi, Qaddafi’s former intelligence chief, in 2011.
Cases filled with cash that was said to amount to $560m in 100 dollar notes, that was kept by a group of Libyans in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
A second stash was said to have been held in Accra, Ghana, inside boxes at the local offices of an international human rights organisation based in France.
FFP EXPLAINED
What is Financial Fair Play?
Introduced in 2011 by Uefa, European football’s governing body, it demands that clubs live within their means. Chiefly, spend within their income and not make substantial losses.
What the rules dictate?
The second phase of its implementation limits losses to €30 million (Dh136m) over three seasons. Extra expenditure is permitted for investment in sustainable areas (youth academies, stadium development, etc). Money provided by owners is not viewed as income. Revenue from “related parties” to those owners is assessed by Uefa's “financial control body” to be sure it is a fair value, or in line with market prices.
What are the penalties?
There are a number of punishments, including fines, a loss of prize money or having to reduce squad size for European competition – as happened to PSG in 2014. There is even the threat of a competition ban, which could in theory lead to PSG’s suspension from the Uefa Champions League.
And%20Just%20Like%20That...
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Various%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Sarah%20Jessica%20Parker%2C%20Cynthia%20Nixon%2C%20Kristin%20Davis%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%203%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Tamkeen's offering
- Option 1: 70% in year 1, 50% in year 2, 30% in year 3
- Option 2: 50% across three years
- Option 3: 30% across five years
Springtime in a Broken Mirror,
Mario Benedetti, Penguin Modern Classics
UK’s AI plan
- AI ambassadors such as MIT economist Simon Johnson, Monzo cofounder Tom Blomfield and Google DeepMind’s Raia Hadsell
- £10bn AI growth zone in South Wales to create 5,000 jobs
- £100m of government support for startups building AI hardware products
- £250m to train new AI models
MATCH INFO
Champions League quarter-final, first leg
Tottenham Hotspur v Manchester City, Tuesday, 11pm (UAE)
Matches can be watched on BeIN Sports
