Netflix founder Reed Hastings steps down as co-CEO

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Taylor Hatmaker@tayhatmaker -- techcrunch -- Netflix founder and co-CEO Reed Hastings announced Thursday that he would step down after more than two decades at the company. While news of his departure comes as a shock, Hastings noted that Netflix has planned its next era of leadership “for many years” in the announcement, which was shared on the company’s blog. In 2020, Netflix named Ted Sarandos, who has long led content efforts at the company, as co-CEO alongside Hastings. At the time, Netflix characterized the change as formalizing the way that the company was already operating. Netflix will maintain the co-CEO structure in Hastings’ absence, promoting COO Greg Peters to the tandem role with Sarandos. “It was a baptism by fire, given COVID and recent challenges within our business,” Hastings said of Sarandos and Peters taking the reins. “But they’ve both managed incredibly well, ensuring Netflix continues to improve and developing a clear path to reaccelerate our revenue and earnings growth. So the board and I believe it’s the right time to complete my succession.”

Hastings will stay involved with the company as executive chairman of the board, following a precedent shared by other prominent major tech company founders, including Amazon’s Jeff Bezos and Microsoft’s Bill Gates. The news came shortly before Netflix reported its fourth-quarter earnings. The company beat expectations in Q4, adding 7.7 million subscribers — well over the 4.5 million it anticipated. The company brought in $7.85 billion during the final quarter of 2022, extending its recent trend of slowing revenue growth. Netflix credited the popularity of content it released in Q4 for the huge subscriber boost, including the “Addams Family” reboot “Wednesday,” the stand-alone “Knives Out” sequel “Glass Onion” and the royals documentary “Harry & Meghan.”

Like most of tech, Netflix’s stock price has fallen well short of previous pandemic highs over the last year, but the company did recover from its midy

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Reformist MPs begin sit-in at Lebanese parliament in protest against political deadlock

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 Lebanese MPs spend night in parliament in push to end political deadlock

By Jamie Prentis - thenationalnews.com -- Update: Using candles and phone torches to illuminate the room, two Lebanese MPs spent the night in the country's parliament in an attempt to end the impasse that has left Lebanon without a president for two and a half months. In 11 sessions, Lebanon’s divided and factional parliament has come nowhere near to electing a successor to Michel Aoun as the country grapples with one of the worst economic crises in modern history. The two MPs, lawyer Melhem Khalaf and chemistry professor Najat Saliba, want parliament to hold successive sessions without interruption until a president is elected and say they will not leave the legislature until that happens. They are urging their fellow MPs to do their job, respect the constitution and come to parliament to agree on Lebanon's next president.

 “The first message is to give hope to the people,” Mr Khalaf told The National on Friday night from parliament, as he lamented the fact that people in Lebanon did not have people in power willing or able to solve the country's multitude of problems. “You think it’s normal? We don’t have a government, we don’t have a president and more than that, we have a parliament that is completely incapable. This is a dangerous situation.” He described electing the next president as “a national, constitutional and moral obligation”.

The impasse over the presidential election is not without precedent — it took 46 sessions or Mr Aoun to finally ascend to the presidency in 2016, after a series of back-door deals between major players. “Last time we elected a president we stayed in a vacuum for about two and a half years,” Ms Saliba told The National. “We don’t want this scenario to be repeating itself. It is not constitutional and it’s just devastating to the country. “We really want people to go on with their lives, we want the economy to get back up on its feet. This is not sustainable, we cannot continue like this.”

The move came after Thursday’s latest presidential session, which highlighted how deeply divided the 128-seat parliament is. Blank, protest and invalid papers far outstripped the votes given to Michel Moawad, who has consistently polled best of the real candidates put forward. Ms Saliba and Mr Khalaf are part of a new generation of MPs elected last year who are affiliated with the 2019 protest movement against Lebanon’s ruling classes that led to the collapse of the government. Several of their fellow “Change MPs” have joined them in parliament in solidarity. Mr Khalaf said it was “not the way to build the future” for a parliament to be constantly fighting within itself.

As images of the two MPs sitting in near-darkness made the rounds on social media, they pointed out that this is the same situation that many in Lebanon face. There is a near-absence in state electricity or expensive private generators, for the few who can afford them. In a statement on Thursday explaining his decision, Mr Khalaf had said “the people are hungry, desperate, miserable, tired of everything”. “The display of repeating the sessions for the election of the president of the republic without any result has, unfortunately, become absurd and reprehensible,” Mr Khalaf said. “The continued vacancy of the presidency leads us to more misery and fatal collapse.”

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Lebanese parliament session fail to elect a president after 11th Session

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 The 11th parliament session to elect a president of the republic ended on Thursday but no head of state was chosen. Results came as follows:

Michel Mouawad: 34 votes

Issam Khalife: 7 votes

Edward Honein: One vote

Ziad Baroud: 2 votes

Annulled votes: 29

Explainer-The probes into Lebanese central bank chief Salameh

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By Timour Azhari -- BEIRUT (Reuters) - European investigators are in Beirut quizzing witnesses as they probe suspected money laundering and embezzlement by Lebanese central bank governor Riad Salameh, who denies any wrongdoing and still enjoys support from powerful Lebanese factions. Their arrival marks progress in one of several probes into Salameh, whose three decades leading the central bank are now under increased scrutiny since the collapse of Lebanon's financial system. Salameh, who has not been convicted of any crime, has said the probes are part of a campaign to scapegoat him for the 2019 collapse. His brother Raja, a suspect in the investigations, also denies any wrongdoing. Here's what you need to know about the cases:

EUROPE INVESTIGATES

Investigations began with a Swiss probe into whether Salameh and Raja illegally took more than $300 million from the central bank between 2002 and 2015. Since then, European countries including France, Germany, Luxembourg and Liechtenstein have initiated their own investigations into whether tens of millions of dollars of the funds allegedly embezzled from the central bank were laundered in Europe. In March 2022, the European Union's criminal justice cooperation organization announced the freezing of some 120 million euros($130 million) of Lebanese assets in France, Germany, Luxembourg, Monaco and Belgium. The assets were frozen in a case in which Munich prosecutors said Salameh was a suspect. Lebanon has received several requests for cooperation from European judiciaries. In January 2023, a team of European investigators from Germany, France and Luxembourg arrived to interrogate witnesses and obtain additional evidence.

LEBANESE PROBE LIMPS ALONG

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EVs now 10% of new car market

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By Harriet Sinclair, Editor at LinkedIn News --- Electric vehicles made up 10% of the total new cars sold globally in 2022, marking the highest percentage to date, a big milestone for the market. The growth was largely driven by markets in China and Europe. Worldwide, EV sales totaled 7.8 million units — a 68% uptick on the previous year, research from LMC Automotive and EV-Volumes.com shows. While Tesla leads globally as the most popular EV vehicle, EV sales still only make up "a fraction" of car sales in the U.S. The news comes as the traditional car market suffers amid supply chain snarls and lower sales due to inflation.

Lebanon's Yasmina Zaytoun says Miss Universe pageant was a 'wonderful journey'

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Story by Katy Gillett - thenational.ae -- - Yasmina Zaytoun may not have won Miss Universe for Lebanon on Sunday, but her reign as national beauty queen is not over. Soon, she will also compete in the 71st Miss World, where Karolina Bielawska of Poland will crown her successor. A date and location for the pageant final have yet to be announced, but more than 80 contestants around the world have been named so far. Miss USA R’Bonney Gabriel was named Miss Universe 2022 during the dazzling final, which took place in New Orleans. Zaytoun didn't make it to the final stages, but she's not letting that hold her back. "It was a wonderful journey," she wrote on Instagram after the pageant ended. "Full of ups and downs, but as Lebanese we will never give up because Lebanon needs us!!"

A video of her tearily talking about her beloved homeland was also posted on the Miss Lebanon Fan Club account, with the message: "Hard Luck Yasmina! You were strong, confident & raised your voice! You did your best! Miss World is NEXT! Sending you so much love." Zaytoun was named Miss Lebanon 2022 in a glittering ceremony in Beirut in July. The pageant was the first to take place since 2018. She was crowned by Maya Reaidy, who held the Miss Lebanon crown from 2018 to 2021. "I did it," Zaytoun, 20, wrote on Instagram, celebrating being declared the winner. Zaytoun, who is from Kfarchouba, a village in southern Lebanon, is a journalism student, studying at Notre Dame University — Louaize. She is currently in the third year of her course. As well as doing some modelling, she hosts the With Yasmina Show on Instagram, which she describes as an educational show and on which she interviews notable Lebanese media and sport personalities. Guests have included TV presenter Lana Daoud, politician Paula Yacoubian, and actress and influencer Enjy Kiwan, to name a few.

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