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30 Nov 2021
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Around 16,000 people buy virtual plots of land in Sandbox metaverse: Co-founder

November 30, 2021

Around 16,000 people have bought plots of virtual land in a new blockchain-linked video game, Sandbox cofounder and COO Sebastien Borget told Al Arabiya English.For the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.The Sandbox, a virtual metaverse world that allows users to create and play games within a game, launched an early Alpha version on Monday.At the time of writing, the most affordable plot of land for sale on NFT marketplace Openseas had an asking price of $15,179.A digital currency associated with Sandbox, linked to the Ethereum blockchain, quadrupled in price in the two weeks running up to the launch. It hit a peak of $8.40 and is currently worth around $7.08.Borget said that the number of people who own the SAND currency ballooned from around 500,000 at the beginning of the month to around 900,000 currently.“It’s a very exciting time,” he told Al Arabiya English.The platform has a host of name-brand backers including sportswear company Adidas, gaming giant Atari, and rapper Snoop Dogg.It was also funded in part by the SoftBank Vision Fund, which was co-created by the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF).What is the Sandbox?The Sandbox is essentially a platform for game designers and artists to earn money through their digital wares.“We think the opportunity of virtual real estate, digital land is it is much more interesting than the real physical, real estate because of how fast you can develop your business, your experience on top of it,” Borget said.Landowners can customize their plots in a variety of ways. Some will create games for other users to play, others are expected to build virtual art galleries in hopes of selling NFTs.“We’re aiming to make this world fully decentralized over the next two to three years, allowing users to participate and bring value to this world; To govern it and own it,” the co-founder added.Anyone can enter the Sandbox world, create an avatar, play, and chat with other users.A select 5,000 people who hold the ‘Alpha pass’ – currently selling for around $10,000 on NFT marketplace Openseas – can participate in play-to-earn activities and be rewarded SAND tokens.The project is still in its “very early” stages according to Borget, with a wider array of functions expected to rollout to users in the coming months.The possibilities are seemingly endless. With NFT technology allowing users to directly monetize digital assets for the first time, Borget envisions that an entire economy will blossom within the Sandbox.“There’s wide range of new job opportunities to this virtual economy and Sandbox makes those possible in its open metaverse by having land as one of its key assets that users can own.”The Sandbox is currently only available for Windows, although Borget said a Mac version is expected in early 2022.Read more: NFT ownership in the UAE is double the global average: SurveyDubai creator claims to be first in region to sell digital art NFTs for cryptocurrencySouth Korean game producers chase NFTs in real-money boost for players, firms
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Around 16,000 people buy virtual plots of land in Sandbox metaverse: Co-founder

30 Nov 2021
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Hezbollah working to delay Lebanon elections: Geagea

November 30, 2021

One of Lebanon’s main Christian politicians accused foe Hezbollah and its allies of working to postpone a parliamentary election set for March over fears of electoral losses, warning such a move would condemn Lebanon to a “slow death.”Western donors that Lebanon is relying on to stem its financial implosion have said the vote must go ahead. Politicians from all sides, including Shiite Muslim Hezbollah, have repeatedly said it should happen otherwise the country’s standing would be dealt a further blow.For the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.But Samir Geagea, leader of the Lebanese Forces and an ally of Saudi Arabia, pointed the finger at Hezbollah and its ally President Michel Aoun’s Free Patriotic Movement for moves to delay it “because they are near certain that they will lose their parliamentary majority.”Aoun said this month he would not sign authorization for the vote, approved by parliament, to be held on March 27 as the date was too early.Asked whether a postponement would lead to more fighting after clashes last month between the Lebanese Forces and Hezbollah, Geagea, said: “Not fighting, but to more slow death.”“With the current way things are going, state institutions - and so the state - is dissolving day by day,” he told Reuters at his residence in the mountains overlooking the coastal town of Jounieh.Lebanon has no reliable opinion polling but should the election take place, Geagea’s party is widely expected to make gains, with the Free Patriotic Movement expected to lose seats, potentially robbing Hezbollah of its majority.Without an election to shake up parliament “you will see more of the same,” Geagea said.The United Nations says the economic meltdown has left nearly 80 percent of people in poverty.Lebanon’s government, formed from most major political parties in September following a 13-month period of political paralysis, has already not convened in nearly 50 days amid a push by Hezbollah and its allies to remove the judge investigating the deadly August 2020 Beirut port blast.Adding to the economic peril, Lebanon is facing a blast of Gulf Arab anger after a prominent broadcaster-turned-minister levelled blunt criticism at Saudi Arabia, in a row that has further strained Beirut’s ties with once generous benefactors.Geagea, who maintained close contact to the Saudi ambassador in Beirut, said Hezbollah’s increasing influence was the main problem behind the rift that is harmful to Lebanon’s economy.“We see Saudi and the Gulf as economic lungs for Lebanon,” he said.Street clashesGeagea’s Lebanese Forces is the second largest Christian party in parliament. It has stayed out of the cabinet since a popular uprising against the sectarian elite in 2019.But the group was thrust back into the headlines when tensions over the probe erupted into the worst street violence in more than a decade last month, reviving memories of the country’s 1975-90 civil war.Seven people, all followers of Hezbollah and its ally Amal, were killed.Hezbollah accused the Lebanese Forces of ambushing its supporters at the protest. Geagea confirmed supporters of his party, along with others, were involved in the clashes, but denied the move was pre-meditated and blamed Hezbollah for entering Beirut’s mostly Christian Ain al-Remmaneh neighbourhood, a strong support base for the Lebanese Forces.During Lebanon’s civil war, the Lebanese Forces, under Geagea, was a right-wing militia that controlled swathes of territory including eastern Beirut.Following October’s clashes, Hezbollah’s leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah accused it of seeking to start a sectarian conflict and warned Hezbollah had 100,000 fighters at his disposal.Geagea denied Nasrallah’s allegation that the Lebanese Forces had 15,000 fighters, saying the party had 35,000 members of whom only some had personal arms and perhaps more than 10,000 – “the whole old generation” - had military training.Geagea said the Lebanese Forces did not seek a physical confrontation with Hezbollah and were not concerned about the breakout of sectarian violence due to the role of the Lebanese Army in maintaining civil peace.However, he said he had limited his movement and was not leaving his mountain residence in Maarab due to security threats, without giving further details.Read more: Lebanon’s interior minister: Crisis with Gulf could worsen
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Hezbollah working to delay Lebanon elections: Geagea