World’s First Shipment of Blue Ammonia, Saudi Arabia to Japan : Sep. 27, 2020

The world’s first shipment of blue ammonia was dispatched from Saudi Arabia to Japan on Sep. 27, 2020 for use in a power station for the production of zero-carbon power generation, paving the way for the further use of hydrogen in the energy system.

The Saudi-Japanese collaboration is part of a pilot project, conducted by the Institute of Energy Economics, Japan (IEEJ) and oil company Saudi Aramco in partnership with Saudi Basic Industries Corp. (SABIC).

“The shipment is considered the first around the world, and it represents a crucial opportunity for Aramco to introduce hydrocarbons as a reliable and affordable source of low-carbon hydrogen and ammonia,” said Ahmad Al-Khowaiter, chief technology officer, Saudi Aramco, according to Saudi media.

source: arabnews.com

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A blue ammonia carrier at Jubail terminal in Saudi Arabia. The renewable fuel is being touted as a new opportunity to meet climate change targets and power the future. (Aramco) / pix: arabnews.com

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SAUDI ARABIA

Morocco Receives Certificate of UNESCO Heritage Registration for COUSCOUS : December 2020

UNESCO gave couscous the special designation on December 16, 2020.

Samir Addahre, Morocco’s ambassador to the UN Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), received the certificate of registration of couscous on the Intangible Cultural Heritage list.

Couscous is Morocco’s 10th “element” on the list. Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, and Mauritania presented a joint request to include couscous on UNESCO’s list in December 2018.

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How heritage brings people together

The registration of “Knowledge, know-how and practices related to the production and consumption of couscous” is the result of a joint application by Algeria, Mauritania, Morocco and Tunisia. This joint inscription of a shared heritage illustrates the extent to which intangible cultural heritage can be a subject on which States meet and cooperate. This is, moreover, the meaning of UNESCO’s action: building bridges between peoples, bringing them closer together through the practices and knowledge they have in common.

UNESCO / www.en.unesco.org

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source: moroccoworldnews.com

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pix: moroccoworldnews.com

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MOROCCO / NORTH AFRICA

AlAnoud Al Sharekh – First Kuwaiti Woman to Receive France’s Ordre National du Merite : 2016

Dr. AlAnoud Al Sharekh. Researcher. Academic. Author. Women’s Rights Activist.

Presently, Research Associate, The Chatham House and ‘The Arab Gulf Institute, Washington

Activity :

  • Founding Member – Abolish 153 (aka) Abolish Article 153
  • Founding Member – Mudhawi’s List
  • Director – Ibtkar Strategic Consulting

Awards:

  • First Kuwaiti Woman to receive France’s ‘Ordre National du Merite’ (National Order of Merit)
  • Listed among BBC’s 100 Women of 2019
  • Arab Prize – Best Publication in a Foreign Journal (2013-2014) by The Doha Institute (2014)
  • Voices of Success Kuwait Award (2018)

Education:

  • BA – Bachelor’s Degree – English, Kings College, London (1996)
  • MA – Masters Degree – Applied Linguistics and English-Arabic Language and Translation – School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), London
  • Ph.D – Doctorate – Near and Middle Eastern Studies, Comparative Literature and Feminism

Books:

  • Challenging Limitations: The Redefinition of Rules for Women in the GCC (2005)
  • Angry Words Softly Spoken: A Comparitive Study of English and Arabic Women Writers (2006)
  • The Gulf Family : Kinship Policies and Modernity (2007)
  • Popular Culture and Political Identity in the Arab Gulf States (2008)

http://www.alanoudalsharekh.com

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pix: alanoudalsharekh.com

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KUWAIT

Robert Purvis, Moroccan-American Who Helped 9,000 Slaves Gain Freedom

Robert Purvis.

Born in Charleston, South Carolina in 1810, Robert Purvis was the grandchild of a woman known as Dido Badaracka. She was captured in Morocco at the age of 12 and transported to the US to serve as a slave.

According to American historian Margaret Hope Bacon, Purvis described his Moroccan grandmother as a “full-blooded Moor of magnificent features and great beauty. She had crisp hair and a stately manner.”

Purvis received his early education in Philadelphia at the Clarkson Hall, a school for black children, run by the Pennsylvania Abolition Society — one of the first organizations ever to advocate for ending slavery in the US. He also studied at Amherst Academy in Massachusetts.

Robert Purvis became a prominent officer of the American Anti-Slavery Society. He also served as president of the Pennsylvania Anti-Slavery Society between 1845 and 1850.

Robert Purvis, as the main organizer of the network, earned the nickname “The President of the Underground Railroad.”

The US Embassy in Morocco has paid tribute to Robert Purvis, an American man of Moroccan descent who dedicated his life to the abolition of slavery.

source: www.moroccoworldnews.com/yahya hatim

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pix: moroccoworldnews.com

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U.S.A / MOROCCAN-AMERICAN

Egyptian Ballet Dancer Luca Abdel Nour Wins 2nd Rank at International Ballet Competition Prix de Lausanne, Switzerland : February 2021

Luca Abdel Nour – Ballet Dancer claimed the second rank for classical ballet at the international ballet competition Prix de Lausanne in Switzerland which was held from January 31 to February 6.

Abdel Nour also won the “Best Swiss Candidate” award and the “Audience Favorite” Award.

78 dancers participated in this year’s competition. They were selected based on audition videos. 

source: egypttoday.com

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pix: egypttoday.com

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EGYPT

Etihad Airways – First Airline in World with 100% of Flight Crew Vaccinated : February 2021

 Etihad Airways, the UAE national airline, has become the first airline in the world with all its operating pilots and cabin crew vaccinated to help curb the spread of COVID-19.


In January 2021, Etihad was awarded Diamond status for ensuring the highest standards of cleanliness and sanitisation in the inaugural ‘APEX Health Safety, powered by SimpliFlying’ audit.

This achievement was made possible through Etihad’s ‘Protected Together’ employee vaccination initiative which was formally launched in January this year.

Building on the UAE’s “Choose to Vaccinate” campaign, Protected Together is about helping staff take proactive, personal steps towards protecting themselves against COVID-19.

source: www.wam.ae

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pix: wam.ae

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ABU DHABI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

UAE Makes History, Becomes 5th Nation in the World to Reach Mars. First Arab Nation : February 09th, 2021

“If you ventured in pursuit of glory, don’t be satisfied with less than the stars.”

The Iraqi poet – Al Mutanabbi’s writings were chosen by Nasa to congratulate the Hope probe project team.

Those words were chosen by US space agency Nasa in a congratulatory tweet to the UAE Mars Mission team after its Hope probe successfully entered the Red Planet’s orbit on Tuesday, February 09th, 2021.

Nasa told the UAE: “Congratulations on arriving at Mars!” before using the words quoted above.

Who is the Arab poet Al Mutanabbi ?

The man behind the words is the 10th century Iraqi poet Al Mutanabbi, considered to be the greatest in the Arabic language.

Born into a distinguished family in Kufa in 915 AD, Abu Al Tayyib Ahmad ibn Al Husayn Al Mutanabbi received an education because of his poetic talents. He is remembered in the country of his birth. A street is named after him, which is a historic bookselling centre of Baghdad. A statue of him still stands in the Iraqi capital today

source: thenationalnews.com

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Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed and Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid personally thank staff from mission control in Dubai. / The National / pix: thenationalnews.com

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UNITED ARAB EMIRATES (U.A.E.)

Lbachir BenMohamed – Scientist, Immunologist. Cutting Edge Work on New Covid-19 Vaccine in the US

Moroccan scientist Lbachir BenMohamed is making headlines in the US for working on a universal COVID-19 vaccine — a vaccine that would work on all variants of the coronavirus, even those that have not appeared yet.

At the Institute for Immunology affiliated to the University of California, Irvine, BenMohamed is leading a nine-member research team tasked with developing a universal COVID -19 vaccine .

Vaccine on a patch

Another original concept that BenMohamed and his team are working on is the injection method of the vaccine.

While all currently-available COVID-19 vaccines are injected through a syringe, the in-development universal vaccine would be administered through a patch, similarly to the widely-available nicotine patches.

Currently:

  • Professor, of Immunology,University of California, Irvine (2014). Founder and Head of Cellular and and Molecular Immunolgy
  • Assistant Researcher, University of California, Irvine (2002)

Education:

  • Diploma – Faculty of Sciences, Ibn Zohr University, Alghadir, Morocco
  • Licence (Bachelor’s equivalent) – Biochemistry
  • Diploma of Advanced Studies in Immunology – University of Paris VII (aka) Paris Diderot University
  • M.S. in Immunolgy and Parasitolgy – Pasteur Institute, Paris
  • Ph.D. in Immunology – Pasteur Institute, Paris (1997)

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The immunologist and his team are developing a universal vaccine against COVID-19.The immunologist and his team are developing a universal vaccine against COVID-19. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG) / pix: moroccoworldnews.com

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U.S.A. / MOROCCAN AMERICAN

Dana Shubat – 2nd Arab-American Appointed by U.S. President Joe Biden as Senior Legal Affairs Advisor: January 2021

Dana Shubat was appointed by U.S. President Joe Biden to the White House Team as Senior Legal Affairs Advisor.

  • Served as Senate, Vice President of the Congressional Middle East and North African Staff Association
  • Served as Legislative aide to Colorado Senator Michael Bennet

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pix: english.alaraby.co.uk

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AMERICAN / ARAB-AMERICAN / JORDANIAN-AMERICAN

Maher Al Bitar – Palestinian American Appointed as Director of Intelligence Service in US National Security Council (NSC): January 2021

U.S. President Joe Biden appoints Maher Al-Bitar as Director of Intelligence Service in the NSC.

Highlights:-

  • Served as general counsel to Democrats on the House Intelligence Committee
  • Worked as Director of Israeli Occupation-Palestinian affairs on the National Security Council under former president Barack Obama.
  • Worked with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Malaysia
  • Worked with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) in the Near East in Jerusalem.

Education:

  • Bachelors Degree : Georgetown University’s Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Sevice
  • Masters of Science : Forced Migration – Oxford University’s Refugee Stricken Centre
  • Juris Doctor (JD) – Law – Georgetown Law

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pix: en.royanews.tv

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AMERICAN / ARAB-AMERICAN / PALESTINIAN-AMERICAN