We’re now well into our fifth year without a new Kindle store being launched – the last was the Netherlands in November 2014 – and there seems little prospect of any new Kindle store launches in the foreseeable future.

Meanwhile Amazon Prime Video is available pretty much everywhere in the world, and this week comes news its reach is extending still further, with a deal with the United Arab Emirates telco du, which is offering free access to Prime Video for the next three months, with the option to pay thereafter.

Starting January 17, all du customers  can enjoy an exclusive offer to access Prime Video for three months, on du. They will be able to enjoy Prime Video’s streaming service that offers a collection of TV shows and movies, plus a line-up of Bollywood titles.
Fahad AlHassawi, Deputy CEO, du Telco Services, EITC, said: “Our discerning customers prefer a wide variety of content and we are delighted to be the first telco in the UAE to launch a special offer on Prime Video. du customers will now be able to enjoy unlimited, uninterrupted streaming of award-winning Prime Original series and popular movies and TV shows.”

We want Prime Video customers to have the flexibility of watching all their favourite TV shows, where and when they want. With the addition of Prime Video on du, we’re delighted that even more customers can watch their favourite Prime Originals and popular TV shows and movies, both in the home or on the move.

Via Digital Studio ME.
Meanwhile, despite introducing Arabic as a language in the Kindle store in November 2017, and despite reports Amazon was in discussion with some Egyptian publishers about ebook formatting –

Amazon finally moves on the Arab ebook markets. Is a Kindle Egypt store or even a pan-Arab Kindle store on the cards?


it seems the reality is Amazon has no interest in the global markets beyond the boundaries it set back in 2014.
That said, it’s still conceivable Amazon could launch a Kindle Egypt store at the Cairo International Book Fair next week.
With almost 50 million Egyptians online it’s a bigger digital market than Spain. Amazon also owns the Middle East e-commerce site Souq, which could easily double as a pan-Arabia ebook store.
But there’s little evidence the will is there, despite the assertion on the Amazon website that Amazon’s stated goal,

to have every book, ever published, in any language available for Kindle customers to purchase and begin reading in less than 60 seconds.

A goal now buried beneath almost five years of cyber-dust.