???? ON THE TUBE TONIGHT-

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The new Spider-Man adds a “make love, not war” spin on traditional superhero flicks: We’ll try not to spoil anything for you, but the new Marvel film Spider-Man: No Way Home is definitely worth a watch in the cinema. The audience was super engaged and there were a handful of scenes where everyone started clapping (flight landing style). The film was full of surprises and will definitely act as a throwback to every Spider-Man film or video game you’ve ever played. Seriously, the surprises are awesome. The movie dives back into the multiverse and it really wreaks havoc on poor old Spider-Man.

An era of ‘woke’ superheros? This became apparent when they introduced a black Captain America, but it seems that Marvel is really targeting a ‘woke’ audience and this film is a huge example of that. Of course, there were some really badass fight scenes, but there was also a narrative of second chances and addressing your feelings and flaws that worked in some places during the film, but seemed too forced in others. Overall, we absolutely loved the new Spider-Man (even though the ending made us tear up) and we’re excited to see where this new take on superhero movies will take Marvel to next.

Don’t forget to sit through the credits: there are two scenes at the end that link the film to further Marvel multiverse releases. You can check out cinemas and showtimes at elcinema.com.

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⚽ Arab Cup finals: After being defeated 0-1 by Tunisia yesterday due to an own goal by our team in the last seconds of the match, Egypt will meet host Qatar in the match for third place next Saturday at 12pm. Qatar lost 1-2 in an exciting match yesterday against Algeria, which qualified to face Tunisia in the final at 5pm on Saturday.

Gameweek 17 of the English Premier League (EPL) resumes today with three important matches, and we hope that covid-19 will not cause any of them to be postponed. At 9:30pm, Leicester City faces Tottenham, and a quarter of an hour later, at 9:45pm, the Chelsea versus Everton match begins, while another quarter of an hour later, the Liverpool versus Newcastle match begins at 10pm.

Friday matches from around the world: There are a few matches that we recommend for tomorrow, the most important of which is Bayern Munich versus Wolfsburg in the German League at 9:30pm. In Italy, league leaders Salernitana will host Inter Milan at 10:15pm, while Lazio will play Genoa at 7:30pm and Celta Vigo and Espanyol will compete at 10pm.

As for Saturday:

EPL: Matchweek 18 (the last in the first round) of EPL begins with a match between Manchester United and Brighton at 2:30pm, followed by four matches at 5 pm: Aston Villa versus Burnley, Southampton versus Brentford, Watford versus Crystal Palace, and West Ham versus Norwich. Finally, the day ends with Leeds and Arsenal hitting the field at 7:30pm.

La Liga: Barcelona hosts Elche in the Spanish League at 7:30pm on Saturday, while Atletico Madrid goes out to face Seville at 10pm.

Serie A: Atalanta competes against Rome at 4pm before Bologna plays against Juventus at 7pm.

We bid farewell to Sergio Aguero, who retired from football permanently: The legendary Argentinian striker did not hold back his tears during the press conference held yesterday to announce the end of his 18-year football journey, during which he moved between the largest European clubs. His name and his accomplishments are etched in fans' minds and game records forever. Aguero said in a press release after the conference that he had conducted several medical tests, after which the doctors advised him to stop playing for the sake of his health. Aguero is the historical top scorer for Manchester City with 260 goals and the fourth top scorer in the English Premier League overall with 184 goals. He also helped his team receive the English Premier League title five times, and aided Argentina to take home the Copa America Cup 2021, and the gold medal in the 2008 Beijing Olympics, along with several other awards and titles.

We highly recommend watching Aguero's goal against Queens Park Rangers in 2012, which he scored in killer time to steal the Premier League title for Manchester City, kicking off the team’s journey to control the most important tournament in England (watch, runtime: 24:16).

???? EAT THIS TONIGHT-

Newly opened The Diner has the food and the aesthetics: Taking inspiration from classic 50s diners in the US, the new Masr El Gedida eatery is all pink chairs, neon lighting, and the quintessential black and white checkered floors. However, it’s their food that really brings on the creativity. They have the diner must-haves including burgers, fries, and milkshakes, but also add more diversity on their menu. The Diner has cheesy hot Cheetos donuts, breakfast burritos, and a whole lot of pancakes. The joint currently is offering a Christmas menu that has hot chocolate (with a marshmallow snowman swimming in it), gingerbread man pancakes, and even a non alcoholic butterbeer for the Potterheads among you.

???? OUT AND ABOUT-

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It’s opening night of group exhibit The Cheating Hand of Randomness, hosted by our friends at Gypsum Gallery. The exhibit features painting, film and photography by Tamara Al Samerraei, Basim Magdy and Cyrus Mahboubian that explore preoccupation with vast landscapes devoid of human inhabitants — a fitting concept during this time of collective uncertainty.

Beatles cover band Glass Onions are performing tonight at The Tap East at 9:30pm.

Aya Tarek’s exhibition Token is “Egypt’s first art collection for an NFT marketplace,” writes The National. The exhibit, running at the Kodak Passageway until 22 December, will see the digital art work sold on UAE NFT marketplace NFTY Arabia which is powered by NIFTY Souq. Tarek gained popularity as an artist for her colorful and defiant street art in her home city of Alexandria.

???? EARS TO THE GROUND-

In keeping with our accidental theme of cybersecurity, we bring you The Lazarus Heist — the BBC’s deep dive into North Korea’s elite cyberwarfare / cybercrime unit. The 10-episode investigation kicks off with how the hacker unit first came to the attention of the world when back in 2014 they released internal and embarassing emails of Sony Pictures executives after the Hollywood studio refused to pull the move ‘The Interview’ — a Seth Rogan comedy on the assassination of Kim Jong Un. It then shifts the spotlight on the unit’s most ambitious crime: The attempted theft of over USD 1 bn from the central bank of Bangladesh.

Beyond thoroughly tracking the crimes of the Lazarus Group, where the series truly shines is in the context it gives on the hermit nation. It dives into everything from cyberwarfare, to how transnational crime is a crucial source of FX for the Kim regime, to interviews with defectors on what life is like in North Korea, to the history of Korean emigres and how North Korea uses them. We have yet to find a podcast that taught us as much about the DPRK as this. You can catch the series on Apple Podcast and on Spotify.

???? UNDER THE LAMPLIGHT-

WHAT’S NEXT- Bootstrapping might seem like a bad word in startupland, but a lot of companies have managed to gain success without VCs. That concept is exactly what Basecamp’s Bootstrapped, Profitable, & Proud series of articles tries to highlight by profiling companies that have over USD 1 mn in revenues and continue to be profitable, all without the help of outside funding. The featured businesses operate in a number of sectors with different business ideas, but they have a few aspects in common: a good team, a solid business model, and a whole lot of creativity.

These firms identified gaps in the market and jumped in with solutions that utilized their existing resources at every stage. The series showcases everything from email marketing software Campaign Monitor and digital assets and services marketplace Envato, all the way to guitar effects pedal creators Z. Vex. The profiles are written in interview form and the founders divulge their origin stories, how they scaled, and the decisions they took along the way. Any aspiring entrepreneur would benefit from hearing these stories — and you never know, you might just get inspired along the way.