Category: Amazing Feats

Ancient 100-piece gold jewelry set from Abbasid era discovered in Saudi Arabia

A collection of 100 pieces of gold jewelry dating back to the Abbasid era has been discovered in Saudi Arabia’s Al-Qassim region, the Saudi Heritage Commission announced on Tuesday.

The ancient artifacts are thought to have formed a complete adornment set, and were designed to look like flowers with stone settings fixed within gold frames.

There is also a large disc-shaped piece inlaid with colored stones arranged symmetrically in a central pattern, as well as a large group of multi-colored beads and delicate gold spacers.

The items were crafted using hammering and hand-forming techniques on gold sheets, along with decorative pressing and stone inlay within the frames.

These techniques reflect the advanced craftsmanship of the period and the development of gold jewelry-making during the Abbasid era, according to the commission.

They were found at the Dariyah archaeological site as part of the fourth season of the commission’s archaeological survey and excavation project.  

Dr Jasir Suliman Alherbish, CEO of the Saudi Heritage Commission, said in a statement: “This discovery at Dariyah reflects the abundance of the Kingdom’s cultural heritage and its longstanding role as a crossroads of trade routes and cultural exchange.

“It underscores the Heritage Commission’s commitment to research, documentation and preservation, further strengthening understanding of the Kingdom’s history and safeguarding its cultural legacy.”

Excavations also revealed architectural features dating back to the Abbasid period, including the foundations of stone buildings, mud walls, fire hearths and plastered rooms, in addition to pottery vessels and metal tools.

These finds indicate human settlement dating back to the late ninth century A.D. and confirm the strategic importance of the site along pilgrimage and trade routes.

Located in the southwest of Al-Qassim Region, Dariyah is one of Saudi Arabia’s significant archaeological sites, with evidence of activity from the pre-Islamic period into the early Islamic era. 

It was historically an important stop on ancient trade and pilgrimage routes, including the Basran Hajj route from Iraq.

Its surviving remains, set among mountains and valleys, include archaeological mounds, stone building foundations, pottery and glass fragments, soapstone artifacts and Islamic inscriptions in the surrounding area, reflecting the site’s long-standing historical and cultural significance.

source/content: arabnews.com (headlines edited)

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The set of ancient gold jewelry dates back to the Abbasid era. (Supplied)

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SAUDI ARABIA / ABBASID DYNASTY (Baghdad)

ALGERIAN-BRITISH : UK train attack hero named as British-Arab rail worker Samir Zitouni

London North Eastern Railway employee Zitouni is in a critical but stable condition after he was injured shielding passengers from the attacker

His family, colleagues, police and politicians praise his bravery, which is credited with saving many lives during mass stabbing

A British-Arab railway worker credited with saving many lives during a mass stabbing on a UK train was named on Tuesday as Samir Zitouni.

The 48-year-old, who shielded passengers from the attack, remains in a critical but stable condition in hospital, British Transport Police said.

Zitouni, a customer experience host who has worked for London North Eastern Railway for more than 20 years, was on duty on the Doncaster to London King’s Cross service on Saturday evening when the attack took place. Witnesses, colleagues, police and politicians have praised his actions as “courageous” and “heroic.”

David Horne, LNER’s managing director, said: “In a moment of crisis, Sam did not hesitate as he stepped forward to protect those around him. His actions were incredibly brave and we are so proud of him, and of all our colleagues who acted with such courage that evening.

“Our thoughts and prayers remain with Sam and his family. We will continue to support them, and wish him a full and speedy recovery.”

Zitouni’s family said they were “deeply touched by the outpouring of love and kindness” toward him.

“We are immensely proud of Sam and his courage,” they added. “The police called him a hero on Saturday evening, but to us he’s always been a hero.”

The statements on Tuesday did not provide any further details about Zitouni. Some social media posts described him as Algerian-born.

Transport police said on Sunday that CCTV footage of the attack showed an LNER employee, now identified as Zitouni, attempting to stop the attacker.

“The actions of the member of rail staff were nothing short of heroic and undoubtedly saved people’s lives,” Deputy Chief Constable Stuart Cundy said.

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood on Monday paid tribute to the “breathtaking bravery” of those on the train, including Zitouni.

“On Saturday, he went to work to do his job — today, he is a hero and forever will be,” she said.

Passengers told how a man wielding a knife began attacking people on the train as it passed through Cambridgeshire on Saturday evening. Ten people were taken to hospital for treatment after the train stopped at Huntingdon station and another admitted themselves later. Seven have been discharged and three remain in hospital in a stable condition, along with Zitouni.

Anthony Williams, 32, has been charged with 10 counts of attempted murder related to the train attack, and an additional count of attempted murder in connection with a separate incident in London on Saturday.

source/content: arabnews.com (headline edited)

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Samir Zitouni, who shielded passengers from a knife attack on a train, is in a critical condition in hospital. (LNER)

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BRITISH / ARAB /ALGERIAN

ABU DHABI, U.A.E : Sheikh Zayed Book Award names 2026 winners and outlines plans for 20th anniversary

Authors, scholars and institutions from Arab world and beyond honoured as Abu Dhabi prize celebrates two decades of cultural influence.

The 2026 winners of the Sheikh Zayed Book Award were announced on Friday, marking two decades of one of the Arab world’s most influential literary prizes.

Established in 2006 and held under the patronage of President Sheikh Mohamed, the award has grown into a fixture on the region’s cultural calendar, drawing submissions from across the world and supporting the global reach of Arabic literature.

This year’s winners reflect that international scope, with recipients from countries including Egypt, Morocco, Germany and the UAE.

Egyptian writer Ashraf Elashmawy took the Literature prize for his novel Births in the Zoo, a work that explores shifts in Egyptian society through closely observed, character-driven storytelling. Moroccan researcher Mustapha Rajouane won in the Young Author category for a study examining how rhetoric shapes narrative in the modern Arabic novel.

In Translation, Iraqi-American scholar Nawal Nasrallah has been recognised for her English edition of a 13th-century Arabic culinary text, bringing a complex historical manuscript to a wider readership. Jordanian academic Zuhair Tawfiq received the Literary and Art Criticism award for his study of how Arab and western cultures have historically imagined one another.

German writer and translator Stefan Weidner won in the Arab Culture in Other Languages category for a major anthology of pre-Islamic Arabic poetry, while the Emirates Literature Foundation was honoured for its role in developing the UAE’s literary scene and supporting readers and writers.

The Encyclopaedias and Lexicons category went to Egyptian academic Mohamed Elkhosht for his six-volume Encyclopaedia of World Religions, and veteran Egyptian singer Nagat Al Saghira was named Cultural Personality of the Year, recognising a career that has helped shape modern Arabic song and language.

More than 4,000 submissions were received from 74 countries, underlining the award’s growing international profile. Since its launch, it has attracted more than 33,000 entries and honoured 136 winners, including writers, translators and cultural institutions.

Mohamed Khalifa Al Mubarak , chairman of the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi, said the award continues to build on the UAE’s long-standing investment in culture and knowledge, while Ali bin Tamim, secretary general of the award, described it as a platform that has helped shape contemporary Arabic literary and research landscapes.

A programme of events is planned throughout the year to mark the award’s 20th anniversary. Winners will be honoured at a ceremony in Abu Dhabi, with Al Saghira receiving Dh1 million for being Cultural Personality of the Year, and other category winners awarded Dh750,000 each.

source/content: nationalnews.com (headline edited)

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From left, Nawal Nasrallah, Ashraf Elashmawy and Stefan Weidner are among the winners of the 20th edition. Photo: Sheikh Zayed Book Award

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EGYPT / IRAQ / JORDAN / MOROCCO / U.A.E

SAUDI ARABIA : King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) scientists develop nanoscale ‘drug factory’ that produces medicine inside living cells

Breakthrough advances programmable drug delivery through nanoscale protein engineering, say researchers.

Scientists at the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology have engineered nanoscale particles capable of transporting six proteins into living cells, where they work together as a miniature “drug factory” to produce violacein, a bioactive compound under study for therapeutic use.

The findings, detailed in a press release published recently on KAUST’s news site, offer an early demonstration of how future therapies might one day generate treatment compounds directly inside the body, only where they are needed.

Researchers said the approach could eventually allow treatments to act more precisely at the site of disease while reducing unwanted effects on healthy tissue.

Published in the journal Advanced Materials, the study combines nanotechnology, materials science and bioengineering to tackle a longstanding medical challenge: delivering multiple proteins into cells simultaneously so they can perform coordinated biological functions.

Researchers packaged six proteins inside porous, sponge-like particles known as metal-organic frameworks, or MOFs, creating what they described as synthetic organelles — engineered structures that mimic functions found in living cells.

Once inside mammalian cells, the proteins remained active and worked sequentially to convert a simple amino acid into violacein. According to the researchers, it is the most complex multiprotein system yet delivered into living cells and the first example of a “protein pathway transplant.”

“It was a bit of a moonshot,” said Raik Grunberg, senior research scientist at KAUST and one of the study’s corresponding authors.

“Protein delivery into the cell is difficult enough for individual proteins, so researchers usually do not even try with more than one or two. What we show here is that we can take a whole integrated protein system … and bring it into human cells as one functional unit.”

Niveen Khashab, professor of chemical science at KAUST, said the team overcame major technical hurdles after conventional MOF materials caused proteins to lose activity.

“By engineering a more porous, sponge-like framework, we were able to create an environment where the system could finally work as intended,” she said.

Researchers said the platform is designed to be adjustable, allowing scientists to fine-tune how proteins interact inside cells and potentially paving the way for programmable therapies tailored to specific diseases.

Stefan T. Arold, professor of bioscience at KAUST and another corresponding author, said the project demonstrated how combining expertise across biology and materials science could unlock new therapeutic approaches.

Although the work remains at an early stage and requires further validation before clinical use, the researchers said it points toward future treatments capable of producing beneficial compounds directly inside diseased tissue while minimizing side effects elsewhere in the body.

The KAUST team plans to test the system next in animal models as part of ongoing efforts to explore its therapeutic potential.

source/content: arabnews.com (headline edited)

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The breakthrough offers an early proof of concept for therapies that could one day generate treatment compounds directly inside the body at the site of disease. (KAUST News photo)

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SAUDI ARABIA

GCC holds ‘Gulf Achievements Forum’ to spotlight regional achievements 

The Gulf Radio and Television Organization hosted the “Gulf Achievements Forum,” at GCC headquarters in Riyadh on Monday to showcase the milestones of joint Gulf action, enhance public awareness of regional achievements and explore the strategic future of Gulf integration.

The event aimed to “enhance awareness of the achievements that have directly reflected on the quality of life of the Gulf citizen, and to strengthen the position of the Cooperation Council regionally and internationally,” said secretary-general of the Gulf Cooperation Council, Jasem Al-Budaiwi.

During his opening remarks, the secretary-general affirmed that the Gulf Cooperation Council had transformed challenges into opportunities through integration across all areas of joint Gulf action, “directly impacting the quality of life for Gulf citizens, enhancing their well-being, and strengthening the GCC’s regional and international standing.”

He also stressed that the GCC was no longer just a regional bloc joined by geography and history, but has become a global strategic power where opportunities were created, and models of development, prosperity, security and stability were built.

Al-Badawi said that rapid regional and international changes had proven that the strength of the GCC lay in its “unity and cohesion.”

He stressed that joint Gulf action was no longer merely a developmental choice but a strategic necessity dictated by the nature of the current regional security requirements, global economic shifts and accelerating global challenges.

He added that the GCC states had adopted a specific strategy to combat money laundering, noting the high level of coordination among the interior ministers of the GCC countries to unify their anti-drug strategy.

“The GCC achievements reviewed today are a reflection of an ambitious strategic vision, continuous coordination and a firm political will among the GCC countries,” he said.

Al-Badawi underlined that 95 percent of the traffic connectivity between the Gulf Cooperation Council countries had been completed.

The secretary-general highlighted several qualitative achievements he took pride in, including political integration, military and security cooperation, economic infrastructure, digital transformation, education, health, media, electrical interconnection and food security.

The forum opened with remarks from senior GCC officials, including the secretary-general and the director general of the Gulf Radio and Television Organization, Dr. Abdulrahman bin Abdulaziz Al-Hazzaa.

In his address, Al-Hazzaa emphasized that the event shed light on unifying the media message to amplify the achievements of joint Gulf action.

Al-Hazzaa said that the citizens of the GCC countries were living in “prosperity and stability,” stressing that joint Gulf action was prospering under a clear vision that enhanced development and integration among the GCC countries.

The forum also featured panel sessions and keynotes from key stakeholders on topics such as media, AI, countering money laundering, and connectivity. 

“The future of the GCC is not measured only by the scale of the achievements made, but by our ability to build upon them and transform them into sustainable gains that meet the aspirations of our peoples and future generations,” Al-Budaiwi said.

The forum was held as the region prepares to celebrate the 45th anniversary of the founding of the GCC on May 25.

“The next phase requires intensified joint Gulf efforts, strengthened integration across all fields, and the building of a Gulf economy capable of competing globally, thereby consolidating the position of the GCC countries as an influential global partner in shaping the economy of the future and sustainable development,” Al-Budaiwi said.

source/content: arabnews.com (headlines edited)

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Al-Badawi said that rapid regional and international changes had proven that the strength of the GCC lay in its “unity and cohesion.” (Supplied)

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GCC ACHIEVEMENTS

ARAB ARTEFACTS : France restitution bill puts five colonial-era artefacts from Algeria, Egypt and Jordan back in focus

As country debates easing return of treasures, attention turns to regional pieces still held in its national collections.

French lawmakers are debating a new bill aimed at simplifying the return of colonial-era cultural objects to their countries of origin, drawing renewed attention to artefacts still held in France’s national collections, which number in the tens of thousands.

The draft legislation was unanimously approved by the Senate in January and now requires backing from the lower house, the Assemblee Nationale, before it can become a law.

While not all cases are at the same stage, these five objects from Algeria, Egypt and Jordan sit within that broader restitution debate, whether through formal state requests, public campaigns or long-standing calls for their return.

1. Baba Merzoug, Algeria

The 16th-century cannon known as Baba Merzoug at the Arsenal of Brest in western France. AFP

The 16th-century bronze cannon from the Ottoman era in Algiers is housed at the naval base in the French coastal city of Brest after being taken by French forces in 1830 following the capture of Algiers.

While seized as a spoil of war, the cannon remains a politically charged symbol of French colonial rule in Algeria. The Algerian government formally requested its return in 2012, and the cannon was explicitly cited during the April 2026 parliamentary debate over France’s proposed restitution framework.

2. Emir Abdelkader’s effects, Algeria

Rather than a single object, this refers to personal items associated with the 19th-century Algerian leader Emir Abdelkader, who led the resistance against French invasion before his surrender in 1847.

Held across French collections including at Musee de l Armee in Paris and Musee Conde in Chantilly, the objects include a steel sabre, pistol, ceremonial cloak and related belongings linked to Abdelkader’s life and leadership.

Algeria has included these effects on a formal restitution list submitted to French authorities in 2021, and they remain a sensitive part of the wider dispute over colonial-era holdings.

3. Dendera Zodiac, Egypt

The Dendero Zodiac is an ancient bas-relief that formed part of the ceiling of the Temple of Hathor in Upper Egypt and is now held at the Louvre in Paris.

Removed in the early 19th century, it has been part of the Louvre collection since 1822 and has become one of the most recognisable Egyptian antiquities in a French museum.

While there is no verified formal Egyptian state request for its return, the object has been repeatedly cited in public repatriation campaigns, including those led by archaeologist and former antiquities minister Zahi Hawass.

4. Mesha Stele, Jordan

Also known as the Moabite Stone, the Mesha Stele is a 9th-century BC basalt monument from present-day Jordan and is considered one of the most important inscriptions from the ancient Levant.

Discovered in 1868 by the Anglican missionary Frederick Augustus Klein at Dhiban, it was later shattered by the Bani Hamida tribe over an ownership dispute, before the fragments were recovered and reassembled in France.

In June 2014, non-governmental Mesha Centre for Studies and Human Rights delivered an official request for the stele’s return to the French embassy in Amman.

The Jordan Times reported in 2015 that French ambassador Caroline Dumas discussed the request with representatives and said she would convey their public appeal to the French government. No formal response has been reported.

5. The Seated Scribe, Egypt

One of the Louvre’s most famous Egyptian works, the Seated Scribe is a painted limestone sculpture from the Old Kingdom, dating back to circa 2600BC-2350BC. It is famed for its striking realism and remarkably preserved features.

Found at Saqqara in the 19th century by the French archaeologist Auguste Mariette, it is among the most celebrated masterpieces of the Louvre’s Department of Egyptian Antiquities.

While the Egyptian government has not included the Seated Scribe on any formal restitution lists, it has appeared in broader public discussion in Egyptian cultural circles around the recovery of major artefacts held abroad.

source/content: thenationalnews.com

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ALL PHOTOS ABOVE

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ALGERIA / EGYPT / JORDAN

SAUDI ARABIA wins first-ever seat on International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) executive committee

Adhwan Al-Ahmari, chairman of the Saudi Journalists Association, was elected at the federation’s International Press Congress in Paris

Seat strengthens Saudi presence within international media institutions, opens the door to a larger role in shaping journalism worldwide

Saudi Arabia has won a first-ever seat on the executive committee of the International Federation of Journalists, the world’s largest journalists’ organization, after Adhwan Al-Ahmari, chairman of the Saudi Journalists Association, was elected at the federation’s International Press Congress in Paris.

Al-Ahmari said the result reflected the confidence of international professional unions in the Saudi Journalists Association, which was founded in 2003.

“This achievement represents the work of my colleagues on the board of directors and in the general secretariat,” he said.

“We have already established an international presence through our presidency of the Executive Office for West Asian Journalists and today we take that further,” he added, saying the association would continue working to expand Saudi Arabia’s presence on the world stage.

The result marks a milestone for the Kingdom’s presence in global media institutions at a time when it is playing a larger role in international bodies, including in the media and communications sphere.

Only 16 candidates secured seats on the committee, which was contested by representatives from more than 148 countries.

Saudi Arabia’s victory gives it a voice in shaping the direction of the federation over the next four years and strengthens its standing within international journalist circles.

Established in 1926, the IFJ is the world’s largest journalists’ organization, representing 600,000 media professionals from 187 trade unions and associations in more than 140 countries.

The executive committee helps steer the federation’s priorities and shape its response to issues affecting journalists globally, making Saudi Arabia’s first-ever presence on the body a notable development for the Kingdom’s media diplomacy.

The Saudi delegation to the congress was led by Al-Ahmari and included board members Lama Al-Shethry, Mai Al-Sharif and Hamed Al-Shehri.

source/content: arabnews.com (headline edited)

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The result marks a milestone for the Kingdom’s presence in global media institutions at a time when it is playing a larger role in international bodies, including in the media and communications sphere. (Supplied)

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SAUDI ARABIA

ARAB-AMERICAN : Najah Bazzy–The Arab-American CNN Hero of 2019

Just recently CNN revealed the Top 10 CNN Heroes of 2019 – these are men and women that are changing the world by helping families affected by the tragedy, cleaning up the environment, protecting neglected animals, and so much more. They were nominated by CNN to receive a ten thousand dollar cash prize with the Hero of the Year to receive one hundred thousand dollars. One of the nominees is Najah Bazzy, an Arab-American who changed the lives of thousands of women and children in the Detroit Metropolitan Area.

Background

Najah learned to navigate through attitudes and beliefs that were conflicting very early in life. Born in a neighborhood that was predominantly Arab and Muslim – Dearborn, Michigan –  she refers to herself as ‘a new thing’ – a by-product of a merger between being Arab, American, and Muslim all at once. She believes these are not mutually exclusive identities, even in a post 9/11 America.

They are, which is now having the largest concentration of Arab Americans in the United States, back then was a hub of immigrants. In an interview, Najah says: “It was the people from Poland, Italy, Macedonia, Mexico, and others that we learned about their traditions and their different faiths. That’s why I love diversity so much. Neighbors sat on the front porch and they shared food while their children would go from house to house visit other children and play.  The amount of care that people had for each other was tremendous, and this is where I learned to love my neighbor.”

However, she also felt a different attitude towards Muslims after the September 11 attacks. “I’ve had death threats. I’ve had to have protection placed on me. It’s an uncomfortable feeling,” she shares. “To know that you can put out love, and other people judge that love saddens me. I want to make every breath count, so I can’t fear those who choose hate. I can only control the love I have in my heart and choose that love.”

Cause

Najah is the founder of Zaman International, a non-profit organization, which has the mission to facilitate change and advance the lives of marginalized women and children of different backgrounds in the Detroit area; she has been doing it by enabling them to meet essential needs common to all humankind. The group’s 40,000-square-foot warehouse offers for free aisles of food, rows of clothes, and furniture to those in need.

The history of the organization is truly inspirational. In 1996, when a three-month-old infant was with a terminal diagnosis, Najah Bazzy, a Transcultural Clinical Nurse Specialist, provided clinical, spiritual and cultural support to his parents who were new arrivals to the United States. She helped them face the reality that no treatment would save their child.

After visiting the family at their home, Najah was shocked by their living conditions. Instead of a refrigerator, the family used a picnic cooler to house their limited food supply and baby formula. Instead of a stove, a portable propane stove was used for cooking. The infant’s bed was a laundry basket piled high with towels, and the infant only had the hospital’s receiving blanket to keep him warm. When the infant passed away and the family was unable to pay for a funeral, Najah raised funds from the community to provide him with a proper burial. This was the beginning of Plots for Tots, Zaman’s signature program which provides dignified burial support for families that have lost a fetus or infant.

Witnessing this family’s sorrowful experience and shocking living conditions, Najah was inspired and determined to harness the community’s efforts to help struggling families. She asked community members to donate furniture, food, clothing, and household goods. The support and need for such efforts quickly increased, encouraging Zaman to formalize as an organization committed to using community support to address community needs.

Impact

In 2018, Zaman distributed 170,400 pounds of food, collected 886,950 pounds of clothing, provided over 7,750 hours of job skills and literacy instruction to more than 90 women, and gave 268 winter coats and 895 school supply-filled backpacks to local children. Meanwhile, it partnered with 444 community partners on a range of initiatives and funded overseas relief projects, bringing safe water and humanitarian relief to more than 431,900 people.

Now that Zaman’s mission has been shared with the world, Bazzy is encouraging interested readers to help by donating through the CNN Heroes program, for which a CrowdRise donation page has been set up.

“What I’m most proud of this year is that Zaman is 94 cents on the dollar (which has been audited financially), she said, and it goes to programs,” she said about the percentage of donation dollars used to help fund its operations to serve those in need.

“We really encourage people to go to the website and to donate any amount that they can, anything helps.”

source/content: wisconsinmuslimjournal.org (headline edited)

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AMERICAN / ARAB

SOMALIA : Dr Hawa Abdi Dhiblawe, human rights champion, Nobel Peace Prize nominee, ‘Somali hero,’ passes away at 73

Dr Hawa Abdi Dhiblawe, prominent human rights activist, founder and chairperson of the Dr Hawa Abdi Foundation and one of Somalia’s first female obstetricians has passed away in Mogadishu. She was 73.

She died Wednesday morning, but the circumstances surrounding her death remain unestablished at the moment.

Dr Abdi affectionately referred to as the Mother Theresa of Somalia, was a Nobel Peace Prize nominee. Her work is credited for saving the lives of thousands during some of Somalia’s darkest moments. She cared for the wounded, the sick – often for free – at a hospital, she established on her family’s land in 1983. What began as a humble one-room operation would eventually care for close to 90,000 people during Somalia’s catastrophic drought in 2011.

While caring for her patients, Dr Abdi famously faced down nearly 750 militants from Hizbul Islam who laid siege to her compound in 2011. She heroically told them at the time, “I’m not leaving my hospital. If I die, I will die with my people and my dignity.’ She yelled at the young gunmen, “You are young, and you are a man, but what have you done for your society?”. The militants were met with fierce resistance from the locals who gathered around the hospital demanding to see Dr Hawa and mounting international pressure. After a week, the second-in-command came to Dr Hawa with a signed apology letter written in both Somali and English.

When the civil war broke out in 1991, Dr Abdi’s grandmother implored her to stay behind and use her skills to assist the most vulnerable. She witnessed firsthand the devastation that occurred in Somalia early after the collapse of the government.

“During those dark days of 1992, starvation set in, and I sold my family’s gold to buy enough food to sustain the vulnerable children and give the gravediggers enough strength to work. Even when we were burying 50 people per day, I was still able to provide free land, security, and medical treatment. We clung to one another, and we survived, but the fighting continued. Now, again, we see famine—not caused by drought alone, but by the conflict that continues to ravage Somalia,” she said in an interview.

Dr Hawa Abdi was born in Mogadishu in 1947 and attended local elementary, intermediate and secondary academies. 

In 1964 she travelled to the Kiev to study gynaecological medicine with the help of a Soviet scholarship. In 1971, she began her medical career as one of Somalia’s first female gynaecologists working in Mogadishu’s most prominent hospital. She quickly recognized the lack of resources for a hospital birth outside the capital. She decided in 1983 to open her clinic known as the Rural Health Development Organisation (RHDO) in the outskirts of Mogadishu. She focused primarily on the treatment of women from non-urban areas.

Dr Hawa told the New York Times that her dream to become a doctor began when she was 12 after her mother died during childbirth.

She was also an author; her moving memoir,  Keeping Hope Alive: How One Somali Woman Changed 90,000 lives was published in 2013 and was well-reviewed.

Her unwavering commitment to the downtrodden has earned her recognition worldwide. She and her daughters whom Glamour Magazine named Women of the Year in 2010 and described as ‘Saints of Somalia’ have been running the clinic and Dr Hawa Abdi Foundation. She was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize in 2012. In that same year, she was honoured with the BET’s Social Humanitarian Award, Women of Impact Award from the WITW Foundation, and the John Jay Medal for Justice. In 2014, she received the Medal from Want award from the Roosevelt Foundation. She was awarded the 2013 Vital Voices’ Women of the Year Award. In 2015, she was the recipient of the Pilosio Building Peace Award. Most recently, she was honoured by Harvard University with an honorary Doctors of Law degree in May 2017.

source/content: hiraan.com (headline edited)

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A Family Affair: From left: Dr. Amina Mohamed, Dr. Hawa Abdi and Dr. Deqo Mohamed, photographed during a business trip to Geneva, Switzerland, on September 18, 2010. Hair and makeup: Mitzi for Visage Management

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SOMALIA

ABU DHABI, U.A.E. : Zayed National Museum recognised by TIME’s World’s Greatest Places for 2026

Abu Dhabi’s newest cultural landmark earns global recognition from TIME in 2026.

Abu Dhabi has added another standout to its cultural scene. The Zayed National Museum has been named one of TIME’s World’s Greatest Places for 2026, placing it among 100 destinations that offer something truly special for visitors.

Nestled within the growing Saadiyat Cultural District, the museum has quickly become a place people are curious about. It opened its doors in December 2025 and has since drawn attention for both its design and what it represents.

Rather than feeling like a traditional museum, it leans more towards a calm, reflective space where you can spend a few hours moving through stories of the UAE’s past.

Even before stepping inside, the building itself makes an impression. Designed by Norman Foster, the structure is inspired by the wings of a falcon in flight. The shape is striking but not over the top, and it ties back neatly to Emirati heritage.

Inside, the journey stretches back around 300,000 years, tracing human life in the region long before the country we know today. At the heart of it all is the story of Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, whose life and values shape much of what you see. The galleries are not overwhelming, which makes it easy to take your time and actually absorb what is on display.

Some pieces naturally draw more attention than others. The Abu Dhabi Pearl, believed to be one of the oldest natural pearls ever discovered, is one of those quiet highlights.

Another is the Blue Qur’an, known for its deep colour and fine detail, offering a glimpse into the artistic traditions of the Islamic world.

One of the more unexpected features is a full-scale reconstruction of an ancient Magan boat. It gives a sense of how people in this region once travelled and traded, long before modern borders existed. It is the kind of exhibit that makes history feel more real and less distant.

Places are selected through nominations from TIME’s international network of correspondents and contributors, as well as an open application process.

With several major institutions now based in the same district, it is becoming a place where visitors can easily spend a full day, or even more, exploring art, history and ideas.

For residents, it is another reason to take a closer look at what is on their doorstep. For travellers, it adds one more stop to an already evolving map of must see places in the region.

source/content: gulfnews.com (headline edited)

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Mohamed Somji

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ABU DHABI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES (U.A.E)