News

Twitch Launches Arabic Right-To-Left Interface For Web & Mobile

The livestreaming service has expanded access and inclusion for Arabic-speaking users, unlocking new opportunities for creativity, and growth.

Published

1 year ago

July 14, 2025

Nour Nasir

twitch launches arabic right to left interface for web and mobile

Livestreaming service Twitch has launched a global Arabic Right-to-Left (RTL) interface across its desktop and mobile platforms, marking a major step in its commitment to supporting Arabic-speaking communities. The update allows users to navigate the site in Arabic, with RTL alignment enabled throughout the interface.

Arabic language settings are now available worldwide and can be activated through Twitch account preferences or by adjusting a device’s language settings. Further localization — such as RTL support for notifications and emails — is expected to roll out later this year.

The launch reflects Twitch’s broader strategy of purposeful localization and community investment. “By delivering Arabic RTL, we’re enabling access and supporting streamers to build vibrant communities in their own language,” said Dan Clancy, CEO of Twitch. “Our long-term vision is to localize with purpose and invest in the people behind the content”.

Usage trends point to Twitch’s growing presence in the Middle East and North Africa. In 2024, MENA viewers spent more than 209 million hours watching Twitch content. Top categories in the region include Just Chatting, Valorant, League of Legends, Counter-Strike, and Overwatch 2 — indicating a broad mix of esports, gaming, and conversational content.

The Arabic RTL experience arrives amid rising investment in the regional gaming economy, which is projected to exceed $6 billion by 2027. National digital strategies and youth-led innovation continue to drive growth, and platforms like Twitch are expanding local support to meet the demand.

Also Read: Google Launches Flow And Gemini Photo-To-Video In MENA

Streamers in the region have welcomed the update as a meaningful move toward inclusion. Saudi Arabia – based Twitch Partner Meshael MR commented, “This update makes Twitch feel more like home. It removes barriers for new streamers and shows that Twitch sees our community and is building with us”.

Globally, Twitch remains the leading platform for interactive live streaming, capturing over 60% of the market and logging more than 655 million hours watched in 2024. The Arabic RTL launch adds to its ongoing efforts to build safer, more inclusive spaces for creators and audiences across all regions.

News

Visa’s Return To Syria Starts With A Test And A Bank In Lebanon

Foreign visitors will be the first users to benefit, but whether Syria’s own banks and cardholders follow is still an open question.

Published

2 weeks ago

August 27, 2026

Dana Saadeh

visa's return to syria starts with a test and a bank in lebanon

Visa is returning to Syria. Its first live international card transaction in the country was a test rather than a launch, and the milestone event ran through a Lebanese bank.

The acquirer (the bank on the merchant’s side of a card payment) was Fransabank Lebanon, with Paymera as the other named partner. Nadim Moujaes, who heads a Fransabank Group subsidiary, describes the test as both the culmination of “longstanding efforts to link Syria back to international payment networks” and “the first step in a larger path”.

Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa makes the first electronic payment in Syria using a @Visa card at a store in Damascus, following the lifting of US sanctions on Syria. pic.twitter.com/lpAN7nQ6Fc

— Tech Magazine (@TechMGZN) August 27, 2026

“We are excited to have successfully tested live transactions today as we plan to enable international visitors to use their Visa cards while in Syria,” says Leila Serhan, Visa’s senior vice president and group country manager for the North Africa, Levant and Pakistan region. Although a significant first step, that plan doesn’t come with a hard date for when a visitor’s card will work normally.

Mohammed Safwat Raslan, governor of the Central Bank of Syria, says the test paves the way for international card acceptance in Syria and that maintaining strong compliance, risk management and operational controls will remain essential. Serhan likewise stresses that Visa has worked within applicable legal, regulatory and compliance requirements. For a test transaction, it seems there was a great deal of attention paid to the rules, with the entire operation being carefully managed.

Also Read: Lebanon’s 5G Era Begins With 150 Stations And A $1M Budget

The test is the latest step in a sequence that began in December 2025, when Visa announced a strategic roadmap to support Syria’s integration into the global digital economy. In February 2026 it hosted its first industry gathering of banks, ecosystem partners and policymakers in Damascus and, the same month, signed an agreement with Syria’s Ministry of Communications and Information Technology in San Francisco.

Michel Kattouah, Paymera’s CEO, called the test “the return of international card acceptance,” but while that’s positive news, there’s no word yet on when a Syrian bank will issue a Visa card to a Syrian customer.