First Best Actor – Oscar Winner of Middle Eastern Descent – F Murray Abraham

Murray Abraham (aka) F Murray Abraham . Actor. Hollywood movies. Television. Theater and Stage Actor. Narrator.

F Murray Abraham. He later added an F to his stage name in honour of his father Fahrid ‘Fred’ Abraham.

Oscar Winner. Won an Oscar Award for his leading role as Antonio Salieri in the drama film ‘Amadeus’ (1984). He also won

Awards :

Theatre :-

  • Obie Award – Best Performance ‘Uncle Vanya ‘ 1984
  • Obie Award – Sustained Excellence of Performance ‘ The Merchant of Venice’ -2011

Film :

  • Academy Award – Best Actor – Amadeus (1985)
  • Golden Globe Award – Best Actor – Drama (1985)
  • LAFCA – Best Actor (1985)
  • Kansas City Film Critics Circle Award – Best Actor (1985)
  • Albert Schweitzer Award – Classic Film Acting (1985)
  • Georgia Film Critics Association – Best Ensemble (2015)
  • Southern Film Critics Association – Best Ensemble (2015)
  • Central Ohio Film Critics Association – Best Ensemble (2015)
  • Detroit Film Critics Society – Best Ensemble (2015)

Honours :

  • Awarded the “Premio per gli Italiani nel Mondo“. This is a prize distributed by the Marzio Tremaglia foundation and Italian government to Italian emigrants and their descendants who have distinguished themselves abroad (2014)
  • Recognized by the Alumni Association of the City College of New York with John H. Finley Award in recognition of exemplary dedicated service to the City of New York. (2009)
  • Recipient of The Gielgud Award (Theatre) (2010)

Hall of Fame:

Inductee to the American Theater Hall of Fame (2015)

Honorary Doctorate:

Honorary doctorate  from Rider University, Lawrenceville, New Jersey

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pix: observer.com

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AMERICAN /SYRIAN DESCENT

World Record Created for the ‘ Biggest Virtual Rock Concert in History’ by ‘Global Village’ – Dubai : 31st October, 2020

Global Village in Dubai, has created a world record for ‘ Most Videos in a Music Medley during ‘Global Gig’ the biggest rock concert in history.

Rockin’1000, said to be the ‘largest rock band on earth’ brought to-gether thousands of musicians from over 80 countries in the region and around the world.

Certified by Guinness World Records.

This World Record breaking event was in partnership with Arabian Radio Network (ARN), Emirates and the Jumeirah Beach Hotel.

Global Village is celebrating its Silver Jubilee this year. It has set out on a 25 World Records Bids Journey this year.

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Dubai Global Village broke a new Guinness World Records title for the “most videos in a music medley video” during Friday night’s ‘Global Gig. Image Credit: / gulfnews.com

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DUBAI , UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

Naama – Queen of Tunisian Pop Music

Naama (aka) Halima Echiekh , Queen of Tunisian Pop Music.

Titled as ‘Tunisia’s first Artist’ (1969). Has a legacy of over 360 songs

Named ‘Official Singer on National Radio’ (1958)

Best remembered for her songs ‘Ellila Eid’ /Eddounya Haniya / Lilah Ya Lil / Mahleha Kilma fi fommi / Chara’a el Hob etc.

Passed away: October 18th, 2020

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pix: twitter.com

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TUNISIA

World’s Largest Fountain – The Palm Fountain, Dubai (UAE) – October 23rd, 2020

The Palm Fountain at The Pointe, the Palm Jumeirah broke the record for the World’s largest fountain.

The Palm Fountain measures 7,327 sq. metres and spreads 14,000 sq. feet of sea water equipped with shooters capable of blasting water 105 metres into the air and features 3,000 LED lights in multiple colours.

Certified by Guinness World Records.

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pix: mediaoffice.ae

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DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES (UAE)

Yasmine Al Massri . Hollywood & International Actress.

Yasmine Al Massri. Actress. Dancer. Video Artist. Human Rights Activist.

Hollywood and International Actress.

Movies/ TV Series – etc:

-Caramel – directed by Nadine Labaki

-ABC drama series – Quantico

-American TV series : Crossbones

-Al-mor wa al rumman / Al Juma Al Akheira Miral

Awards:

-Best Actress Award for Caramel (2007), Abu Dhabi Film Festival

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pix: tvguide.com

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AMERICAN / FRENCH / PALESTINE / EGYPT

Wasini Al-A’raj . Novelist. Writer.

Dr.Wasini Al-Araj (aka) Waciny Laredj. Novelist. Short-story writer. Translator. Academic.

Awards/Honours:

  • 2007 Sheikh Zayed Book Award for Literature, winner for The Prince’s Book: The Paths of the Wooden Gates
  • 2011 International Prize for Arabic Fiction , longlisted for البيت الأندلسي (The Andalucian House)
  • 2014 International Prize for Arabic Fiction, longlisted for رماد الشرق (Ashes of the East)
  • 2015 Katara Prize for Arabic Novel , inaugural winner of the grand prize valued at $260,000 for Butterfly Kingdom

Selected Works: Published more than a dozen books. Available in Arabic and French.

  • al-Bawwaba al-Zarqa (The Blue Gate, 1980)
  • Waqa’i min Awja Rajulin Ghamara Sawb al-Bahr (Facts from the Sufferings of a Man Who Ventured Toward the Sea, 1981)
  • Waq al-Ahdhiya al-Khashina (The sound of the rough shoes, 1981)
  • Ma tabaqqa min Sirat Lakhdar Hamrush (What Remains from the Biography of Lakhdar Hamrush, 1982),
  • Nuwwar al-Lawz (Almond Blossoms, 1983)
  • Masra Ahlam Maryam al-Wadi’a (The Death of Tender Maryam’s Dreams, 1984)
  • Asmak al-Barr al-Mutawahhish (The fish of the wild land, 1986)
  • Damir al-Gha’ib (1990)
  • Faji’at al-Layla al-Sabi’a ba’d al-Alf, Raml al-Maya (The Disaster of the Seventh Night after the One Thousand Night, Raml al-Maya, 1993)
  • La Gardienne des ombres. Don Quichotte à Alger (Protector of the Shadows: Don Quixote in Algiers, 1996; Harisat al-Dhilal, Don Quishotte fi’l-Jaza’ir, 1999)
  • Les Miroirs de l’aveugle (The Mirrors of the Blind ManMaraya al-Darir, 1998)
  • al-Makhtuta al-Sharqiyya (The Eastern Manuscript, 2002)
  • Kitab al-Amir: masalik abwab al-hadid (The Prince’s Book: The Paths of the Wooden Gates, 2004)
  • Al-Bayt al-Andalusi (The Andalusian House, 2011)
  • Mamlakatu al farasha (The kingdom of the batterfly, 2013)
  • Nissaou Casanova (Casanova’s women, 2016)

Married to poet Zineb Laouedj and collaborated with her on an anthology of African literature in French titled ‘Anthologie de la nouvelle narration africane’.

Education:-

  • Ph.D – University of Damascus
  • M.A – University of Damascus
  • B.A.- Arabic Literature, University of Algeria

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pix: https://www.facebook.com/AC-Wasini-Al-Araj-147133115312279/photos/

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ALGERIA

World’s Largest Coffee Painting , by Saudi Female Artist Ohud Abdullah Almalki : October 2020

Ohud Abdullah Almalki . Jeddah based Artist.

Ohud Almalki is the first Saudi Woman Artist to single-handedly break a Guinness World Record for the Worlds Largest Coffee Painting.

She illustrated the founding fathers of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. The late King Abdulaziz bin Abdul Rahman and Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan.

The project was an uninterrupted 45 days of illustration and painting under continuous supervision.

The artwork was created on a canvas of 7 connected cloths called Naseej I (meaning woven to-gether) in 220 sq. meters, 15.84 m long and 13.95 m wide. She used 4 different shades of brown coffee, approximately 4.5 kg of expired coffee granules with water.

The edge was done in typical Bedouin decoration style known as Al-Sadu.

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The world’s largest coffee painting by Saudi artist Ohud Abdullah Almalki depicting founding fathers of Saudi Arabia and the UAE, the late King Abdulaziz bin Abdul Rahman (R) and the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, in Jeddah | AFP /GUINESS WORLD RECORDS / pix: theweek.in

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SAUDI ARABIA

Qatar Airways ‘Think Pink’ Flight’s All-Female Crew “Draws” – Ribbon in the Sky : October 2020

The Doha based Qatar Airways honoured Breast Cancer Awareness month in a special way by drawing the iconic ‘Ribbon’ in the skyy.

An all-female crew with female pilots, cabin crew, ATC controller, engineer, dispatches and passengers took off from Hamad International Airport, Doha.

They operated a 787-8 Boeing special flight over Qatar QR 9901, of over 1 hour 20 minutes with registration code A7-BCM.

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pix: thepeninsulaqatar.com

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QATAR

Fabio Abraham : Actor. Model.

Fabio Abraham . Actor. Model.

A new forthcoming role is underway where Fabio Abraham plays the role of former Egyptian President Gamal Abdul Nasser in a CNN docu-series ‘Jerusalem’ to be released in 2021.

Award Winning Actor:

Honorary Award ‘ Overall International Acting’ at Casablanca International Film festival 2018

-Actor of the Year – by JoeBol Exquisite magazine – UK – 2015

Starred in : a few:

  • British feature film ‘Afu’as Day – 2013
  • Operation Cobra – TV series – 2019
  • Luck

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pix: broadcastprome.com

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EGYPT – ITALY

World’s Largest Oasis ‘Al Ahsa Oasis’ : Saudi Arabia : October 2020

Al Ahsa Oasis in now certified by Guinness World Records as the Planet’s largest self-contained Oasis.

Al Ahsa Oasis has also the largest date-palm oasis surrounded by sand in the world.

It has also a UNESCO designated status as a World Heritage site. Over 6,000 years old. It has many National Heritage Sites, as well as Human Settlements dating back to thousands of years.

Al Ahsa Oasis stretches across 85.4 sq.km . Irrigated by more than 280 springs of hot, warm and cold water.

Annual Al Ahsa Date Festival conducted here. Well known for its ‘Khalsah Dates‘.

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It includes over 2.5 million date palms watered by a network of over 280 artesian springs / pix: gulfbusiness.com

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SAUDI ARABIA