Saudi Physics Team Wins 5 Medals, Int’l Competition at Nordic-Baltic Physics Olympiad : May 2021

Five Saudi students scooped the awards at the 2021 Nordic-Baltic Physics Olympiad (NBPhO).

Ahmed Al-Muhanna secured the gold, Alqasem Senegali and Hassan Mohammed Al-Lail gained silvers, and Sadeq Al-Abbad and Adel Al-Shammasi both returned home with a bronze medal.

Eight students from the Kingdom participated in the Olympiad and won one gold, two silver, and two bronze medals taking the country’s record in international scientific competitions to 413 triumphs.

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The winning Saudi participants are, from left: Alqasem Senegali (silver), Hassan Mohammed Al-Lail (silver), Ahmed Al-Muhanna (gold), Sadeq Al-Abbad (bronze) and Adel Al-Shammasi (bronze). (Supplied) / pix: arabnews.com

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SAUDI ARABIA

Asil Attar – First Female CEO of MENA Fashion Industry Leaders

Asil Attar. Global Fashion and Retail Industry Leader.

First Female CEO of Damas Jewellery (estb. 1907). Damas has a portfolio of over 40 international luxury brands and in-house brands. With 230 stores spread across GCC, it has secured a global trademark.

Asil Attar has worked with some of the world’s leading Department stores and most coveted Brands and Retail groups such as Harrods, Giorgio Armani Group, Coach, Karen Millen, Jigsaw and Majid Al Futtaim etc..

Asil was the CEO of Majid Al Futtaim Fashion, the licensee for Juicy Couture in the Middle East.

This has won her a number of accolades and recognition for her outstanding achievements.

Honours:

  • Forbes ME has placed her as one of the top 100 most Influential Arab Women, 2018 and Top 200 most powerful Arab Women, 2014.
  • Arabian Business awarded her Top Female CEO Kuwait, 2018 and top 100 powerful women, 2012.

www.asilattar.com

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pix: asilattar.com

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UNITED KINGDOM / IRAQI-BRITISH / EUROPEAN ARAB

Waleed Al-Ibrahim, Awarded King Abdulaziz Order of Merit Medal : May 2021

Waleed Al-Ibrahim. Businessman. Media.

Founder and Chairman of MBC (Middle East Broadcasting Center).

He received the King Abdulaziz Order of Merit for his success in the media and broadcasting world.

The King Abdulaziz Order of Merit is a medal awarded to citizens of Saudi Arabia and foreigners for meritorious service to Saudi Arabia. It is considered the highest civilian honor in the Kingdom.

MBC is one of the biggest media broadcasting stations in the Arab world. It includes several movie, TV show, and children channels such as MBC 2, MBC 3, MBC 4 and MBC Action. Al Ibrahim launched Al Arabiya in 2003, a free-to-air television news channel based in Dubai.

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pix: arabnews.com

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SAUDI ARABIA

Dr. Farouk El Baz – Egyptian American Space Scientist and Geologist

Farouk El Baz Ph.D., Space Scientist. Geologist

  • Formerly – President Sadat’s Scientific Advisor (1978-1981)
  • Founder – Center for Earth and Planetary Studies, National Museum of Atmospheric and Space, at the Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC
  • Dr. El Baz played a pivotal role for the Apollo mission where he served as the secretary for the Apollo landing board on the moon, and was responsible for leading the astronaut training team in general science, particularly in moon imaging

So pivotal was he to Apollo that in Tom Hanks’ HBO TV-series, From the Earth to the Moon , El-Baz’s role as an Apollo scientist and astronaut trainer was featured in a segment entitled, “The Brain of Farouk El-Baz,” and a shuttle craft named El-Baz soared through the popular TV-series Star Trek : The Next Generation

Awards:

  •  He has won over 31 awards, including achievements in science, in NASA, incl:
  •  Golden Door Award of the International Institute of Boston
  • Nevada Medal of the Desert Research Institute
  • The Pioneer Award of the Arab Thought Foundation.
  • The Apollo Achievement Award

Honour:

  • Asteroid 7371 El-Baz, discovered by American astronomers Eleanor Helin and Schelte Bus at Palomar Observatory in 1978, was named in his honor.   The official naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 27 August 2019 ( M.P.C. 115893).

Book:

  • Deserts and Arid Lands , Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, ISBN 90-247-2850-9

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pix: scoopempire.com /egypttoday.com

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AMERICAN / EGYPTIAN-AMERICAN / ARAB AMERICAN

Global Village Dubai Breaks its 25th Guinness World Record – ‘Highest Altitude Fireworks’ : May 2021

Global Village teamed up with Skydive Dubai to break a new Guinness World Record title, with 20 skydivers jumping from an altitude of more than 4,570 metres, lighting the skies with 78 fireworks, representative of the 78 cultures that were present at Global Village during its 25th season.

 Visitors were treated to a rare and spectacular showcase, as the venue celebrated its silver jubilee season finale.

The initiative was in line with Global Village’s aim to break 25 Guinness World Records over the course of its 25th season, which ran from October 25 to May 2.

The stunt broke the Guinness World Record title for “highest altitude fireworks display”.

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pix: uaenews4u.com

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DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES (U.A.E.)

Lebanon’s Ray Bassil – World Class Medal Winning, Trap Shooter

Ray Bassil (aka) Ray Jacques Bassil.

Won her first title at age 15, Female Arab Championship, Algiers.

  •  First and only woman ever to represent the Arab countries in Trap Shooting at the Olympic Games in Rio 2016
  • First Arab Woman to compete in 2 Olympics games and win 3 consecutive world cup medals
  • Twice represented Lebanon at Olympic games (2012, 2016)

Other Honours:

  • UNDP – Youth and Gender Goodwill Ambassador

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pix: fondationsaradar.org

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LEBANON

Sarah Gamal: First Arab Woman Basketball Referee at Tokyo 2020 Olympics

Hijab-wearing referee to become first Arab and African woman to officiate 3×3 games at Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

Both the 32-year-old and 3×3 will make their debuts at the Olympic Games with Gamal becoming the first Arab and African woman to officiate a 3×3 basketball game at the Olympics.

The Egyptian proudly wears a black hijab and is the first hijab-wearing basketball referee for FIBA at an international level.

The headscarf worn by many Muslim women is allowed to be worn by players under certain conditions since FIBA changed its rules in 2017.

Gamal will follow in the footsteps of Moroccan referee Chahinaz Boussetta as a fellow Arab, who refereed five-on-five basketball at Rio 2016.

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Egyptian Basketball referee Sarah Gamal gestures while holding a ball during a match in the country’s northern city of Alexandria, on April 17, 2021. (AFP) / pix: thearabweekly.com

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EGYPT

Tunisia Launches First Satellite – ‘Challenge One’ – March 2021

Tunisia launches its first 100% Tunisian satellite.

The Tunisian telecommunication company Telnet Holding and the Russian space agency Roscosmos succeeded, on Monday, March 22, 2021 at 7:07 am, the launch of Challenger One, the first satellite of the country entirely manufactured locally.

Carried by a Russian Soyuz-2 launcher from the base of Baikonur (Kazakhstan).

According to the agreement, Challenge ONE is going to be a precursor for a constellation of 30 satellites to be launched by 2023. 

Part of the agreement also involved SPUTNIX, a Russian private company, manufacturing high-tech microsatellite components and technologies. SPUTNIX’s involvement was to facilitate the development of the satellites and the establishment of R & D services for satellite components.

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pix: carthagemagazine.com

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TUNISIA

‘Erg Chech 002’ – 4.6 Billion Years Old Meteorite Found in Algeria (older than Earth) : 2020

The rare meteorite, estimated to be 4.6 billion years old, was found by a team led by Jean-Alix Barrat of Université de Bretagne Occidentale. Results of the study have been published in PNAS.

Named Erg Chech 002 (EC 002), after the Algerian site where it was discovered, the rock is a rare artefact from a protoplanet — a large body of matter in orbit around the Sun or another star, and believed to be developing into a planet — that was likely forming when the solar system was a young 2 million years old.

The meteorite was part of a group that was recovered in May 2020 near Bir Ben Takoul, southern Algeria, within the Erg Chech sand sea. The stones are described as having a “coarse grained, tan and beige appearance” interspersed with crystals that are green, yellow-green, and yellow-brown.

The oldest volcanic rock we have ever discovered may help us understand the building blocks of planets. The meteorite, which was discovered in the Sahara desert in 2020, dates from just 2 million years after the formation of the solar system – making it more than a million years older than the previous record-holder.

Since no known asteroid resembles EC 002, the researchers suspect that no other remnants are left from these early times. 

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The oldest chunk of volcanic rock ever unearthed
©2021 Darryl Pitt / Christie’s / pix: newscientist.com

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ALGERIA

Bahrain’s Ali Monfaradi : International Jiu-Jitsu Champion

Ali Monfaradi (aka)  Ali Seena E. A. Monfaradi . Athlete. Jiu-Jitsu. Black Belt Holder.

Ali has 2 nicknames –  One is “The Beast From The Middle East” and the other one, which was ‘coined’ by his coach Michael Langhi is “Cadeira Elétrica” (Electric Chair).

Represented Bahrain in competitions regionally and globally.

Business:

Founder of ‘Elements BJJ’ – a sports business venture

Winner :

  • 1st Place IBJJF European Open NoGi (2019)
  • 1st Place IBJJF German Nationals (2017)
  • 1st Place IBJJF Berlin Open (2018)
  • 1st Place UAEJJF Czech Republic Pro (2019)
  • 1st Place JJIF World Ju-Jutsu Championship (2018)
  • 2nd Place IBJJF Berlin NoGi Open (2018)
  • 2nd Place IBJJF London Fall NoGi Open (2017 / 2018)
  • 2nd Place UAEJJF Abu Dhabi World Pro (2021)
  • 2nd Place UAEJJF Dubai National Pro (2018)
  • 3rd Place JJIF World Ju-Jutsu Championship (2018)
  • 3rd Place UAEJJF Abu Dhabi Pro (2019)
  • 3rd Place IBJJF London Fall Open (2017)
  • 3rd Place IBJJF Berlin Open (2018*)

Records of Achievements (Colored Belts):

  • 1st Place IBJJF World Championship (2012 blue)
  • 1st Place IBJJF Pans Championship (2012 blue)
  • 2nd Place IBJJF World Championship (2012* blue)
  • 3rd Place IBJJF European Open (2017 brown)
  • 3rd Place IBJJF Pans Championship (2012* blue, 2015 purple)
  • 3rd Place IBJJF World Championship (2011 blue, 2014 purple)

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pix: bjjheroes.com

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BAHRAIN