‘ Doves Ride ‘ Saudi Arabia’s First Professionally Trained Womens’ Cycling Club

Doves Ride is Saudi Arabia’s first licenced women’s cycling team. Based in Riyadh it is licenced both locally and internationally.

Shahd Alturki is the founder and professional cycling trainer.

Doves Ride organizes rides for all levels, from the gentle trails suitable for beginners to the more challenging routes for hardened cyclists. The group offers lessons that can help any beginner ride a bike safely.

Contacts are Twitter and Instagram @dovesride

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Doves Ride is Saudi Arabia’s first professional cycling team, licensed both locally and internationally. (Supplied) / pix: arabnews.com

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SAUDI ARABIA

Hotelier Awards 2020: The Middle East’s top hospitality professionals in 2020 across 18 separate categories

The Hotelier Awards 2020 recognised 18 of the region’s most talented hospitality professionals, with many more leaving Highly Commended or with a special mention.

Held at JW Marriott Marquis Dubai on Tuesday November 24, the gala event welcomed more than 200 people, who were kept safe from COVID-19 by the event team’s hygiene measures and partnership with Bee’ah.

Housekeeper of the Year
Winner – Asif Khatri, Executive Housekeeper, Hilton Dubai Jumeirah and Hilton Dubai The Walk
Highly Commended – Harsh Gaur, Executive Housekeeper, Taj Dubai

IT Person of the Year
Winner
 – Fritzi Lescano, IT Manager – Internal Communications, Accor Regional Office MEA
Highly Commended – Abdul Baseer Mohammed, Technology Manager, InterContinental Jeddah

Hotel Engineer of the Year
Winner
 – Gurpal Singh, Chief Engineer, InterContinental Hotels at Dubai Festival City
Highly Commended – Fernandez Nicholas, Director of Engineering, Mercure Dubai Barsha Heights – Hotel Suites & Apartments

Safety & Security Person of the Year
Winner
 – Muhammad Waqar Azeem Qamar, Risk Champion / Learning & Quality Manager, InterContinental Jeddah
Highly Commended – Onkar Sawant, Director of Security, Taj Dubai

HR & Training Person of the Year
Winner
 – Feryal Haddon, Cluster Director of Human Resources, Hilton Dubai Jumeirah, Hilton Dubai The Walk, Hilton Dubai Creek
Highly Commended – Yasmine Farouk, Director of Human Resources, Waldorf Astoria Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC)

Procurement Person of the Year
Winner
 – Alan Lewis, Purchasing Manager, Fairmont Dubai

Finance Person of the Year
Winner
 – Mazen Salha, Director of Finance, Swissotel Al Ghurair & Swissotel Living Al Ghurair
Highly Commended – Joanna Talegon, Assistant Credit Manager, TIME Oak Hotel & Suites

Concierge/Guest Services Person of the Year
Winner
 – Kamal Kariyawasam, Chief Concierge, InterContinental Hotels at Dubai Festival City
Highly Commended – Swapnil Patrikar, Complex Guest Services Manager, The Westin Mina Seyahi Beach Resort & Marina
Special Mention – Vinay Govande, Front Office Manager, Taj Dubai

Fitness/Spa Person of the Year
Winner
 – Rosemary Read-Larsen, Director, Wellness at Atlantis Dubai
Highly Commended – Majd Kassab, Recreation Supervisor, TIME Oak Hotel & Suites

Sales Person of the Year
Winner
 – Valentina Sobeshchuk, Director of Sales and Marketing, Rixos Bab Al Bahr and Regional Director of Sales, Rixos Hotels UAE
Highly Commended – Ileshaa Nijhawan, Multi-Property Senior Sales Groups & Events Manager, Le Méridien Dubai Hotel & Conference Centre and Le Méridien Fairway

Marketing & PR Person of the Year
Winner
 – Shamia Abdul Aziz, Assistant Director of Marketing and Communications, Sofitel Dubai The Palm
Highly Commended – Ahmad Jaber, Cluster Director of Marketing, Digital & Communications, InterContinental Hotels at Dubai Festival City
Special Mention – Richard Thorburn, PR & Marketing Manager, Six Senses Zighy Bay

Executive Chef of the Year
Winner
 – Jay Williams, Complex Director of Culinary, Le Meridien Mina Seyahi Beach Resort & Marina and The Westin Mina Seyahi Beach Resort & Marina
Highly Commended – Luigi Vespero, Executive Chef, Waldorf Astoria Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC)
Special Mention – Nasser Lamei Rayes Khalil, Executive Chef, Crowne Plaza Dubai-Deira

F&B Manager of the Year
Winner
 – Emad Ramzy, F&B Manager, Crowne Plaza Dubai-Deira
Highly Commended – Jodie O’Meara, Hotel F&B Operations Manager, Zabeel House by Jumeirah, The Greens

Young Hotelier of the Year
Winner
 – Bhavesh Tanwani, Assistant Front Office Manager, Bab al Qasr Abu Dhabi
Highly Commended – Tatiana Radchenko, Revenue Manager, W Abu Dhabi – Yas Island

Unsung Hero of the Year
Winner
 – Leonora T. Manuel, Senior Nurse, Raffles Dubai
Highly Commended – Simone Troxler, Sustainability Manager, Six Senses Zighy Bay
Special Mention – Myra Macalma, Hotel Nurse, Fairmont Dubai

General Manager of the Year
Winner
 – Christophe Schnyder, General Manager, Sofitel Dubai The Palm
Highly Commended – Luke James, General Manager, Zabeel House by Jumeirah, The Greens

Mid-Market Hotel Team of the Year
Winner
 – Zabeel House by Jumeirah, The Greens
Highly Commended – Radisson RED Dubai Silicon Oasis           

Hotel Team of the Year
Winner 
– Mandarin Oriental Jumeira, Dubai
Highly Commended – Al Baleed Resort Salalah By Anantara

source: hoteliermiddleeast.com

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Female Emirati Adventurer-Traveller Breaks World Record. ‘Around the World in 3 Days ‘ – Dr. Khawla Al Romaithi: 2020

Dr Khawla Al Romaithi travelled the world solo, across the 7 continents and broke the world record for ‘fastest time to travel all seven continents’ .

The whole trip took 3 days, 14 hours, 46 minutes and 48 seconds. Her epic travel journey ended in Sydney, Australia on February 13th, 2020.

The record was announced on the occasion of Guinness World Records Day. The journey was in sync with this years’ theme ‘Discover Your World’.

Dr. Khawla Al Romaithi’s record broke the previous record achieved by Kacey Stewart and Julie Berry (both of USA) on December 2017.

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pix: guinnessworldrecords.com

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Abu Dhabi, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES (U.A.E)

World’s 3rd Largest Mosque & World’s Tallest Minaret : Algeria – October 2020

Grand Mosque Algeria (aka) Djamma El Djzair (aka) Great Mosque of Algiers, with a hall capacity to serve a maximum of 120,000 worshippers.

  • 3rd Largest Mosque in the World after the holy mosques of Makkah (Mecca) and Madinah (Medina)
  • Largest Mosque in Africa
  • World’s Tallest Minaret at 267 metres . The minaret is fitted with elevators and viewing platforms which has 37 floors, overlooking the Capital and Bay of Algiers.
  • Designed by German Architects KSP Juergen Engel Architektes. Engineers Krebs und Kiefer International. Contractor : China State Construction Engineering Corporation.

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pix: see.news

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ALGERIA

World’s First Airbus A330-800 Delivered to Kuwait Airways on October 29th, 2020

Kuwait Airways, the national airline of Kuwait took delivery of the world’s first Airbus A330-800 aircraft on October 29th, 2020.

The two aircraft the airline received are the first of eight scheduled to join the Kuwait Airways fleet, which will position it as the world’s largest operator of the type.

The Kuwait Airways aircraft A330-800 will acommodate 235 passenger, featuring 32 fully flat beds in Business Class and 203 spacious seats in Economy with a large capacity cargo hold.

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Kuwait Airways A330-800 lifting off on its delivery flight. (Photo: Airbus) / airlinegeeks.com

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KUWAIT

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)

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

Kamal Oudrhiri – Multiple Award Winning Physicist, Scientist at NASA

Kamal Oudrhiri . Scientist. Physicist.

Kamal Oudrhiri led a successful discovery mission by the American Space Agency (NASA) achieving a breakthrough in the field of Quantum Physics.

The mission was achieved by the participation of two astronauts Christina Koch, Jessica Meir and three Nobel prize winners.

The achievement took place at eh ‘Cold Atom Lab’ on the International Space Station (ISS) which NASA had installed in 2018.

Kamal Oudrhiri has worked on missions related to Mars exploration vehicles including ‘Curiosity’, ‘Rovers’, ‘Spirit’, ‘Opportunity’ as well as ‘Cassini’ for Saturn, ‘Grail’ for the Moon and ‘Juno’ for Jupiter.

Assignments:

-Mission Manager – Cold Laboratory / -The Group Supervisor – Planetary Radar & Radio Sciences Group at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)

  • First Moroccan to work for NASA.

Honours:

  • NASA’s Exceptional Service Medal (November 2019)
  • NASA’s JPL Marine Awards – Three
  • NASA’s JPL Voyager Awards – Three
  • 39 NASA Group Achievement Awards
  • NASA People Leadership Award
  • King Mohammed VI ‘Royal Decoration’ Award for Scientific Achievement (2012)

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pix: northafricapost.com

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U.S.A / MOROCCO

Greatest Distance on a Motocross Bike in 24 Hours (1 day) : Ali Abdo Ali : June 2017

Ail Abdo Ali . Adventurer. Long Distance Motor Cycle Rider. Entrepreneur.

Ali Abdo Ali broke the previous world record for the greatest distance on a motocross bike in 24 hours (or 1 day), by an indivdual – by reaching 613.km (381.2 miles) mark.

Certified by Guinness World Records.

First Arab to achieve a world record on a motorcycle.

2nd Record held by him:

-Largest distance travelled in Egypt by motorcycle in 7 days – January 15th, 2016 , He travelled 5,864 km on his motorcycle across Egypt in 7 days.

Founder : Around Egypt on a motorcycle

Ambassador of ‘ No Place like Egypt’

www.aliabdo.net

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pix: cairoscene.com

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EGYPT

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