With a swimming time of 8 hours and 30 minutes, Baraka secured a Guinness record for setting the “fastest time to swim the length of the Aqaba Gulf.”
Moroccan swimmer Hassan Baraka has set a Guinness World Record for being the first person in the world to swim across the Gulf of Aqaba, northeastern arm of the Red Sea between Saudi Arabia and the Sinai Peninsula.
source/content: moroccoworldnews.com
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MOROCCO
The British Embassy and British Council announced the recipients of the Study UK Alumni Awards 2020-2021 in Saudi Arabia at an awards ceremony hosted by British Ambassador in Riyadh, Neil Crompton.
UK alumni from Jeddah, Riyadh, Dhahran, Qassim and Thuwal were recognized for their outstanding achievements as business professionals, entrepreneurs and community leaders, and for their important contributions in strengthening collaborative ties between the UK and Saudi Arabia.
7th Study UK Alumni Award Ceremony:
“This prestigious international award celebrates UK higher education and the achievements of outstanding Saudis who studied in the UK and are using their education to make a positive impact.
The award received around 1,300 applications from international UK alumni in more than 100 countries, representing more than 120 UK higher education institutions across the UK. Following interviews with a judging panel, recipients were selected for the three award categories: Professional achievement, entrepreneurial, and social impact.
The professional achievement award, which recognizes alumni who have displayed exemplary leadership in their professional field, was presented to Dr. Roua Alsubki , alumna of University College London.
Roua is vice dean of skills and development deanship at King Saud University, the first woman to hold this position.
The social impact award, which acknowledges alumni who have made an exceptional contribution to creating positive social change, was presented to Dr. Bandar Alosaimi for establishing COVIDAT, a website that provides scientific information on COVID-19 in Arabic.
He saw a need to translate developments in medical research to the everyday Arabic reader to avoid misinformation and misconceptions about the coronavirus.
A graduate of University of Manchester and University of Salford, where he earned his master’s and Ph.D degrees, Alosaimi is assistant professor of virology at the faculty of medicine, the head of the virology research team and chairperson of Research Laboratories at King Fahad Medical City.
The entrepreneurial award was presented to Dr. Wail Mousa, graduate of the University of Leeds.
The University of Birmingham on Tuesday signed an agreement with King Saud University, he added.
2022 :
The Study UK Alumni Awards 2022 call for applications is open until Oct. 29, 2021.
source/content: arabnews.com
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SAUDI ARABIA
UNESCO announced Damietta city is among the ten cities to receive cities the UNESCO Learning Cities Award 2021
“Whether they are megacities or smaller urban areas, all of the awardees have shown how learning opportunities empower citizens of all ages when suitable policies and programmes are put in place,” said the UNESCO on the official website of the United Nations in Egypt.
UNESCO added that Damietta seeks to promote sustainable development, advance basic skills among adults, and improve public health for a population of over 330,000.
source/content: egypttoday.com
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EGYPT
Abdullah Mohammed Al Maainah
UAE Flag Day – November 03rd.
It is commemorated every year on the anniversary, which is, however, not a public holiday.
The day is marked by schools, government offices, businesses, and individuals hanging the national flag outside their homes and workplaces.
The veteran Emirati diplomat, Abdullah Mohammed Al Maainah, had designed the symbol of the country’s unity, pride and dignity when he was only a teenager 19 years old.
Al Maainah’s design was chosen among more than 1,030 entries submitted as part of a nationwide contest.
Later, the winning flag was raised on December 2, 1971 — the Foundation Day of the UAE.
On December 2, it will be exactly 50 years since the UAE flag was first hoisted to mark the country’s union.
Curiously, he did not know his design had been selected until he saw the flag fluttering at Mushrif Palace in Abu Dhabi with his own eyes.
“It was an overwhelming feeling. All of us were happy because we had unified as one country. However, I was overjoyed the most,” said the veteran diplomat, as he recalled how he found out about the contest and prepared for it with barely any time or resources.
“One of the arrangements related to declaring the establishment of the UAE at that time was to design a flag for it. A committee was formed to look into the matter and an advertisement was put out in the Al Ittihad newspaper inviting submissions from various artists,” he reminisced.
Al Maainah said he stumbled upon the advertisement just three days before the deadline was to expire.
“It was a race against time, as I didn’t have any drawing tools or colouring pencils. I rushed out to get them and worked all night to come up with the design. It was a happy feeling staying awake for the sake of designing the flag for my beloved country,” he added.
Only two flags were raised on December 2, 1971, to mark the formation of the nation – one in Abu Dhabi, the other at Union House in Dubai.
Al Maainah said the colours of the UAE flag were not chosen randomly.
“Every colour has an innate meaning. White symbolises peace, goodness and purity, black represents solidarity, green stands for hope, prosperity and development while red denotes bravery and courage,” he added.
Later, he was awarded 4,000 riyals as prize money, as the UAE dirham was yet to be introduced as the legal tender.
Al Maainah, who has travelled around the world as the UAE’s ambassador to several foreign missions, cherishes the honour bestowed on him by the country’s wise and visionary leadership for his design of the flag.
source/content : khaleejtimes.com
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UNITED ARAB EMIRATES (U.A.E)
Saudi Arabia’s General Authority for Military Industries announced the signing of a contract with the Saudi Arabian Military Industries for the development and manufacturing of the “SkyGuard” unmanned aerial vehicle.
SAMI also signed an agreement with Prince Sultan Defense Studies and Science Research Center with the aim of further developing the UAV.
“SkyGuard” is “the outcome of numerous research and development efforts, undertaken by the center and geared towards developing a truly local product,” it said, as the Kingdom plans to supply half of its military needs with products made at home.
GAMI has identified 74 investment opportunities, across six domains of the military industries sector.
The authority has launched a digital platform called the Military Industry Marketplace that links local industry projects with investors that are authorized and licensed by the authority.
source/ content: arabnews.com
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SAUDI ARABIA
Ohood bint Khalfan Al Roumi and Huda AlHashimi named in 2021 Agile 50 List.
Two UAE government’s top officials have been listed among the world’s most influential people navigating disruption.
The World Economic Forum’s Global Future Council on Agile Governance has named Ohood bint Khalfan Al Roumi, Minister of State for Government Development and the Future, and Huda AlHashimi, Deputy Minister of Cabinet Affairs for Strategic Affairs, in the 2021 Agile 50 List.
Al Roumi was recognised in the Public Figures category, together with five global government leaders, including Ana Brnabić, Prime Minister of Serbia, and Mikhailo Fedorov, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Digital Transformation of Ukraine.
While AlHashimi was also selected in the Agile Enablers category, which included government officials from several countries around the world, including Brazil, Sweden and Shanghai.
Al Roumi was chosen among the world’s leading public figures for spearheading a transformative vision to accelerate government development in the UAE, enhance government performance, and embed future foresight and readiness in government.
She further supported building agility to adapt to emerging trends, enhancing competitiveness, and supporting effective government coordination. The recognition also highlighted Her Excellency’s continuous efforts to spur innovation, create a new generation of anticipatory government services, and support future-readiness.
Huda AlHashimi was selected in recognition of the significant role she undertakes in various government fields, including driving innovation and agility in the government through initiatives and projects launched by the Mohammed bin Rashid Center for Government Innovation.
AlHashimi achievements include supporting the initiatives that accelerate delivery and finding solutions for the pressing challenges through leading the world’s first Government Accelerators.
source/content: khaleejtimes.com
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UNITED ARAB EMIRATES (U.A.E)
Morocco competed in both the event’s Kumite and Kata categories with 25 athletes.
The competition took place in the Cypriot city of Limassol and finished on Sunday 24 October, with Morocco winning 16 medals.
Morocco also won 8 medals on the second day of competition, including four bronze, three silver, and one gold medal won by Abdelali Jina in the under 60 kg category.
The North African kingdom also won an additional 8 medals on Saturday, five bronze, four silver, and two gold.
The two gold medals went to Douae El Machouat in the female category under 54kg, and Wadie Sassioui in the male Junior Kumite category under 76kg.
The four silver medals went to Othmane Chetoui in kumite under +70 kg, Sanae Agalmam in kata, Bilal Benkacem, and Oussama Edari. As for the bronze medals, they were notably obtained by Samir Sadini (-52 kg) and Wail Soultani (-57 kg) in the cadets category as well as Aya Ouahra (+59 kg) in the junior category.
Egypt was this year’s runner-up in the competition; the country won 60 medals this year, placing it ahead of Italy with 15 medals, then Greece with 25 medals.
Morocco previously won the 2020 title of African champion in Karate , repeating its 2019 achievement. The Moroccan Karate team had dominated in all categories, winning 37 medals, including 15 gold, 13 silver, and 9 bronze.
source/content: moroccoworldnews.com
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MOROCCO
Nearly 100 women Tuesday became the first female judges to join Egypt’s State Council, one of the country’s main judicial bodies.
The 98 women were sworn in before the council’s chief judge, Mohammed Hossam el-Din, in a celebratory event in Cairo.
The swearing-in came months after President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi asked for women to join the State Council and the Public Prosecution, the two judicial bodies that until recently were exclusively male.
Established in 1946, the State Council is an independent judicial body that mainly handles administrative disputes, disciplinary cases and appeals. It also reviews draft laws, decisions and contracts to which the government or a government-run body is a party.
source/content: english.ahram.org.eg
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EGYPT
The Technology Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center (TIEC), an affiliate of Egypt’s Information Technology Industry Development Agency (ITIDA), announced Thursday the winning teams of the first hackathon for women in Egypt “She Hackathon”, organized in collaboration with Intel, and Digital Egypt Innovation Hubs (Creativa).
“She Hackathon” is the first hackathon for women entrepreneurs in Egypt that aims to empower women by addressing the challenges they face in establishing their companies and businesses.
The first prize was awarded to a team of three young women from Aswan governorate, for a mobile application developed to aid in combating harassment and violence against women, through features of voice distress calls and messages, sharing location, classification of places, according to the degree of safety, in addition to providing psychological support.
The second prize was awarded to “Trisomy” from Ismailia governorate, for a free mobile application to achieve effective communication between parents of children with Down syndrome and help them connect with doctors, nurses, and psychologists in their vicinity.
The third prize was awarded to “Fem Scan” from Mansoura governorate, for presenting an idea and a prototype of an application and a system that helps reduce misdiagnosis and the time it takes to perform X-rays, especially in women’s breast cancer screening cases.
source/content: egypttoday.com
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EGYPT
A tasty Guinness World Record was broken at Expo 2020 Dubai , four days after the initial attempt was postponed due to a tropical storm in the region.
A warm, sweet scent filled the air inside the Swedish Pavilion at the world’s fair, as an attempt to create the world’s “longest cinnamon bun train” got under way.
Fifteen hundred sticky and delicious buns, made from about 6kg of butter, 11kg of sugar and 36kg of flour, were placed in a spiral pattern on a large circular table.
All ingredients used to make and connect the buns – which were comically referred to as the “original gangsters of Swedish bakery” by the chefs – had to be edible, so no glue, tape or sticks were used.
“To bake our way into the record books is a testament to the hard work, agility and dedication that you see every day in our 22 cake shops,” said Tushar Fotedar, a director at Mister Baker.
The world record commemorates Fika, which is a Swedish social phenomenon that brings together colleagues, family members and friends over coffee and pastries.
source/content: thenationalnews.com
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DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES (U.A.E) / SWEDISH PAVILION @ Expo2020Dubai