French businessman, publisher and sports enthusiast.
Owner:
- Soleil Production – French Comic Publisher
- President – RC Toulonnous (2006-2009)
- Former – Toulon Rugby Club
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France / French -Tunisian
Category: RECORDS IN ME & AFRICA*
Ilhan Omar – First Somali-American Elected to U.S. Congress : November 2018
Ilhan Omar (aka) Ilhan Abdullahi Omar – American politician serving as U.S. Representative for Minnesota’s 5th Congressional district since 2019.
Minnesota Congresswoman Ilhan Omar
First/s:
- First Somali-American elected to U.S. Congress (November 06th, 2018)
- First of two Muslim women elected to U.S.Congress (November 06th, 2018). The other candidate being Rep. Rashida Tlaib
- First Woman of colour to hold elective office for Minnesota
Education:
- BA – North Dakota State University
Book:
Memoir : ‘This is what America looks like : My journey from Refugee to Congresswoman’
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American / Somali-American
Mohamed Alabbar – Middle East Personality of the Year : Dubai, UAE
Mohamed Alabbar (aka) Mohamed Ali Rashid Alabbar – Emirati businessman –
Organisations:
- Founder and Chairman – Emaar Properties ( incl. Burj Khalifa (world’s tallest building), Dubai Creek Tower, Dubai Opera (2000 seat), Dubai Marina, Emirates Hills
- Noon – a USD 1 billion start-up working in the entire Middle East region
- Chairman – Eagle Hills
- Chairman – Americana Group (includes KFC, Pizza Hut )..
- Chairman – Hamptons , MENA
- Chairman – Armani Hotels and Resorts
- etc…
Education:
- Graduate Degree – The Albers School of Business & Economics, Seattle University
- Ph.D – Honorary Doctorate (Humanities), Seattle University
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United Arab Emirates
Taleedah Tamer, Saudi Arabia’s First Couture Model
Taleeda Tamer, Jeddah based Kingdom’s first fashion model.
Made history in July 2018 as the first Saudi model to walk the Paris Haute Couture Fashion Week. Opened for the Italian designer Antonio Grimaldi couture show at ‘Salons France-Amerique’ in Paris.
First’s :
- First Saudi model to walk a couture runaway in Paris
- First Saudi model to be on the cover of an International magazine ‘ Harper’s Bazaar Arabia ( Jul/Aug 2018)
- Featured as one of two Saudi’s to be selected as one of the ‘100 New Wave Creatives’ by the British Fashion Council
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Saudi Arabia
Largest aluminum sculpture , Saudi Arabia : October 2017
Novartis Oncology , a medical company specializing in cancer patients, achieved the Guinness World Records of ” Largest Aluminium Sculpture ” on October 7, 2017.
The statue – 7.71 m tall, 5.03 m long, 3.95 m wide – was made in the shape of a jackhammer to represent “the powerful tool breaking through cancer,” and was presented at the Novartis Oncology Breast Cancer Summit, Sofitel Event Hall, Jeddah in Saudi Arabia.
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Saudi Arabia
World’s 4th Longest Bridge : Sheikh Jaber Causeway, Kuwait : May 2019
The Shieikh Jaber Causeway is the 4th longest bridge in the world.
Named after Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah who ruled during the Gulf war.
About 80 percent of the sea-bridge is over water and connects Kuwait City to Subiya where a USD 100 billion dollar mega-city is being built.
The drive around the bay usually takes over an hour, but with bridge’s construction completed, it shortens to less than 20 minutes.
The USD 2.6 billion causeway was designed by Paris based engineering and consulting group ‘Systra’. Lead by a consortium of South Korea’s ‘Hyundai Engineering & Construciton Co.’ and Kuwait’s ‘Combined Group Contracting Company’.
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Kuwait
World’s First Purpose Built Church – Aqaba Church, Jordan : 293 A.D.
Built around 293 A.D. in Jordan, the Aqaba Church is considered to be the world’s oldest-known purpose-built Christian church.
It was unearthed by archaeologists in 1998, and ever since then, it has been holding the world record.
Its first phase was dated between 293 and 303, which makes it older than the ‘ Church of the Holy Sepulchre’ in Jerusalem and the ‘Church of the Nativity’ in Bethlehem, both of which were built in the late 320s.
Notes:
- Cenacle, the site of the Last Supper in Jerusalem, was the ‘First Christian Church’ according to the Catholic Encyclopedia
- Dura Europos Church, Syria is the World’s Oldest surviving Church building
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Jordan
Siemens Gamesa – First Blade Manufacturing Plant In Africa & ME : November 2017
Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy (SGRE) established its rotor blade manufacturing plant mid- october in Tangiers Automotive City, a free-trade zone.
The plant offers wind turbine blades and is the first such facility in Africa and the Middle East.
The project allows the development of a good ecosystem in the ‘renewable energy industry’.
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Morocco
Tarek Kamel – Pioneer – Egypt’s First Connection to the Internet
Tarek Kamel established Egypt’s first connection to the Internet. FIRST national of a developing country to fill ICANN’s Senior Management position
Assignments:
- Minister of Communication & Information, Egypt
- Chairman – National Telecom Regulatory Authority
- Board Member – Telecom Egypt
- Board Member Egypt’s Private Public Technology Development Fund (TDF)
International:
- ICANN appointed as Senior Adviser to its President
- Senior Vice President of Global Government and IGO engagement. Thus making him the FIRST national of a developing country to fill ICANN’s Senior Management position
- ‘Top Minister in Africa with an ICT Profile’ – by South African Minstry of Communications (2015)
Education:
- Ph.D : Electrical Engineering & Info Technology – Technical University of Munich
- M.Sc : Electrical Engineering, Cairo University
- B.Sc : Electrical Engineering, Cairo University
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Egypt
World’s Largest Camel Replica – Saudi Arabia : September 2019
A towering illuminated sculpture of a camel in Saudi Arabia has snagged the Guinness World Record for being the largest ever made.
It was unveiled at the Kingdom’s second Crown Prince Camel Festival in Taif .
The 10-meter wide and 4.65-meter high replica stands on a steel base against corrosion, and it is lit up by 51,000 lights.
The camel replica, located at the Camel Village of the Crown Prince Camel Festival, was unveiled by the President of the Saudi Camel Federation, Prince Fahd bin Jalawi.
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Saudi Arabia