source/content: khaleejtimes.com
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DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES (U.A.E)
Winners of ‘ 2021 Business Excellence Awards, Dubai Economy Department ‘ : October 2021
Author: ArabianRecords.org
Morocco’s Fathallah Sijilmassi Appointed as First Director General of ‘African Union Commission (AU)’ : October 2021
Fathallah Sijilmassi. Diplomat. Leader
The African Union (AU) selected Fathallah Sijilmassi from a wide panel of high-level candidates to become the first Director General in the history of the AU Commission.
His appointment follows his previous international obligations as Secretary General of the Union for the Mediterranean.
Born in 1966, the Moroccan politician and diplomat holds a PhD in economics from the Grenoble Institute of Political Studies in France.
He occupied different positions within Morocco’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation such as Director of Multilateral Cooperation and Director of European Affairs.
He was appointed as the Moroccan ambassador to France from 2004 to 2008 and upon his return to Morocco, King Mohammed VI named him director of the Moroccan Investment and Trade Agency (AMDIE) in 2009.
Sijilmassi had also been head of the Moroccan mission to the European Union (EU) and was also ambassador of Morocco in charge of the Barcelona Process and the Mediterranean dialogue of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
Fathallah Sijilmassi has been awarded both the French orders ‘Legion of Honor’ and ‘Ordre national du Merite’.
source/content: moroccoworldnews.com
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MOROCCO
Dana Ballout Emmy-Nominated Producer
Dana Ballout, the Lebanese-American Emmy-nominated producer of “Trafficked with Mariana Zeller,” knows the exact moment she started paying attention to what was going on in the world. It was February 14, 2005.
Ballout was a senior in high school in Beirut, and as she sat in class that Valentine’s Day morning, a bomb went off just down the block, sending the building’s shatter-proof windows into convulsions. Lebanon’s recently-resigned prime minster, Rafic Hariri, had been assassinated.
She spent years covering the war in Syria as a reporter for outlets including The Wall Street Journal, but it was in podcasts and documentaries that she fully found her voice, allowing her to journey in depth into people’s lives in a way she never could before.
Ballout is a storyteller, but the stories she chooses to tell are ones that few are brave enough to tell. Often they can be harrowing, including the latest documentary she co-produced, “Groomed,” which follows a woman returning to her hometown in search of answers about the man who abused her as a child.
In “Trafficked,” recently renewed for a third season at National Geographic, Ballout and company travel across the world to profile the global underworld, sitting down with the titans of illegal industries such as scamming, steroids, counterfeiting and poaching.
source/content : arabnews.com
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AMERICAN / LEBANESE
Rawdah Mohamed is the First Hijab-Wearing Editor of Color at a Western Fashion Magazine ‘Vogue Scandinavia’
Rawdah Mohamed. Somali Origin – Norwegian. Social media influencer, model, blogger, activist, healthcare professional.
Mohamed landed the role as Vogue Scandinavia’s Norway fashion editor earlier this year.
The magazine launched last week with Swedish teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg on the front cover.
At the beginning of her modeling career, Mohamed juggled the job with working with autistic people and people with different mental disabilities.
She continues to volunteer in mental health care to this day and has been working with patients at overstretched hospitals during the COVID-19 pandemic.
source/content: arabnews.com
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NORWAY / SOMALIA
New World Record by Tunisian Walid Boudhiaf in Freediving Variable Weight in Egypt : January 2021
Tunisian freediver Walid Boudhiaf set a new world record in the variable weight modality of the International Association for the Development of Apnea.
On January 17, 2021, the Tunisian freediver Walid Boudhiaf acheived a new world record in the variable weight modality of the International Association for the Development of Apnea (AIDA), in the waters of Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt.
Walid made a dive of -150 meters in variable weight Apnea, in which the freediver dives with the help of a sled and ascends with his own effort with the impulse of his arms or by flapping flapping, surpassing the previous mark of -146m that had the Greek Stavros Kastrinakis since November 2015.
The official information of the announcement of the world record is published in the official website of AIDA International WR Attempt Sharm FIM WR Attempt Sharm VWT.
source/content: carthagemagazine.com
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TUNISIA
Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, Pope Francis receive Trophies for ‘Zayed Award for Human Fraternity’ : October 2021
His Eminence the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar Dr. Ahmed Al-Tayeb and His Holiness Pope Francis have received their respective Zayed Award for Human Fraternity trophies.
The Zayed Award for Human Fraternity is an independent global award recognising individuals and entities who are making profound contributions to human progress and peaceful coexistence.
The award was established in February 2019 to mark the historic meeting between Pope Francis and the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar Professor Ahmed Al-Tayeb, in Abu Dhabi, where the two religious leaders signed the historic Document on Human Fraternity – under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan , Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, and patron of human fraternity – and became the first honourary recipients of the Zayed Award for Human Fraternity.
The trophies were presented by Cardinal Miguel Ángel Ayuso, meeting chairperson of the Higher Committee of Human Fraternity (HCHF) and Judge Mohamed Abdelsalam, Secretary-General of HCHF.
The Zayed Award for Human Fraternity is named in honour of the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, Founder of the United Arab Emirates. The values the award celebrates reflect Sheikh Zayed’s dedication to working closely with people from all backgrounds, his moral legacy, humanitarianism, and respect for others and helping them, regardless of their religion, gender, race, or nationality.
The Zayed Award for Human Fraternity is decided every year by an independent judging committee, appointed by the HCHF. Earlier this week, members of the 2022 judging committee held meetings with Pope Francis and the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, in Vatican City and Rome, respectively.
The independent Zayed Award for Human Fraternity 2022 judging committee includes Mahamadou Issoufou, former president of Niger and winner of the 2020 Ibrahim Prize for Achievement in African Leadership; José Ramos-Horta, the 1996 Nobel Peace Laureate and former President of East Timor; Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, former Deputy President of South Africa and former UN Under-Secretary-General; Cardinal Michael Czerny, Under-secretary of the Migrants and Refugees Section of the Holy See; Dr. Leah Pisar, president of the Aladdin Project; and Judge Mohamed Abdelsalam, Secretary General of the Higher Committee on Human Fraternity (HCHF).
www.zayedaward.org
source/content: wam.ae
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EGYPT
Book Review: Mokhtar Mokhtefi’s ‘I Was a French Muslim’ offers a unique narrative
I Was a French Muslim: Memories of an Algerian Freedom Fighter.
pproachable writing and a refreshing perspective bring his story to life in “I Was a French Muslim,” released in September by Other Press.
Mokhtefi’s memoir was translated and prepared for publication posthumously by his widow, an American painter and author. After independence, the couple lived in Algeria, where they liaised with the Black Panthers and leading Algerian figures such as former presidents Houari Boumediene, and Ahmed Ben Bella.
His story begins with his formative years as a child in a small town in Algeria. He slowly moves toward becoming a revolutionary within the National Liberation Front (FLN), and he goes out of his way to note the French colonial figures who played a role in his formative years and in supporting his education. Some were French priests, members of the worker-priest movement who supported the Algerian cause.
Mokhtefi was a pious Muslim, but it is clear from his text that he was also enamored with French culture and ideals. Yet as a child growing up in French Algeria, it was painfully clear to him that French colonialists were hypocritical in their application of the ideals of their society. It is this duality that is expressed in the title.
Given recent events, this book offers both important context and a unique narrative on perhaps the most important event in the Francophone Arab world in the 20th century.
source/content: arabnews.com
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ALGERIA / USA
Bodybuilding: Egyptian ‘Big Ramy’ claims ‘2021 Mr. Olympia’ Title held in Florida, for 2nd year in row: October 2021
Big Ramy (aka) Mamdouh Mohammed Hassan Elssbiay (aka) Mamdouh ‘Big Ramy’ Elssbiay
For the second year in row Egyptian bodybuilding star Ramy Elssbiay ‘Big Ramy’, has claimed the 2021 Mr. Olympia title that took place in the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida, United States.
The 37-year-old, Big Ramy defeated the 2019 Mr. Olympia champion Brandon Curry of America and Hadi Choopan of Iran to snatch the 2021 title.
Big Ramy made eight appearances in the Mr. Olympia competition as he finished in the runner-up place four years ago.
After winning last year’s title, the Egyptian bodybuilding star became the first non-American to win the title since British champion Dorian Yates in 1997 to prove himself as the best bodybuilder in the world.
The 2021 Mr. Olympia top five:
1. Big Ramy (Egypt) $400,000
2. Brandon Curry (USA) $150,000
3. Hadi Choopan (Iran) $10,000
4. Hunter Labrada (USA) $40,000
5. Nick Walker (USA) $35,000
source/content: english.ahram.org.eg
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EGYPT
Emirati Engineer Mohammed Hassan Wins Seat in Int’l Electrotechnical Commission Young Professionals Programme (IEC YPP) : October 07th, 2021
Mohamed Hassan. Engieer.
Mohamed Hassan, Physical Health Engineer at the Federal Authority for Nuclear Regulation, has won the Asia and the Middle East seat in the International Electrotechnical Commission’s Young Professionals Programme (IEC YPP).
The UAE nominated four candidates in security, services, nuclear energy, oil and gas, renewable energy, industry and telecommunications for the IEC YPP, which was an integral part of the 85th General Assembly of the IEC.
The event was hosted by the Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology and took place in Dubai between 3rd and 7th October, 2021.
The IEC provides a global institutional framework that encourages global cooperation between 172 countries (89 members and 83 affiliates) and more than 20,000 technical experts, who come together to discuss, shape and enhance the field of standards, specifications and certifications in electrical and electronic devices and systems.
source/content: wam.ae
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UNITED ARAB EMIRATES (U.A.E.)
Saudi-led Consortium Completes ‘Newcastle United’ Football Club Takeover : October 2021
A consortium led by Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund (PIF), has clinched a deal to buy Newcastle United, the English football club.
After 18 months of on-off negotiations, the PIF, along with British financial entrepreneur Amanda Staveley and billionaire investors the Reuben brothers, finally sealed a £300 million ($410 million) deal with Mike Ashley, the club’s owner.
“We are extremely proud to become the new owners of Newcastle United, one of the most famous clubs in English football,” Yasir Al-Rumayyan, governor of PIF, said. “We thank the Newcastle fans for their tremendously loyal support over the years and we are excited to work together with them.”
With the purchase, Newcastle will join the ranks of Europe’s super-clubs, including Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain, which have the backing of wealthy and committed owners.
source/content: arabnews.com
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SAUDI ARABIA