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

Djilali Mehri . Business Leader. Algeria

Djilali Mehri. Business Leader . Connoiseur of Arts. Philanthropy.

  • Pepsi Algeria – Chairman and CEO
  • SIEHA (Algerian Real Estate and Hotel Operation Company) a venture with Accor Hotels, Algeria (IBIS and NOVOTEL brands) – Chairman and CEO
  • GIMMO (Groupe d’Investisseurs du Maghreb et du Moyen-Orient) – Founder and CEO
  • Daouia Farms – Founder

Political:

  • Independent MP , Algerian Parliament (1997)

Arts:

  • Owns one of the most important collection of Orientalist works

www.groupe-mehri.com

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pix : mondafrique.com

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ALGERIA

Imaam Hammam – Opens the Moschino Pre-Fall Show 2020, by riding the NYC subway, New York

Imaam Hammam – Fashion Model.

Imaam opened and closed the Italian label ‘Moschino’ pre-fall show collection in New York. Moschino typically opens in Italy but made an exception this time.

Honors:

-Appeared on the Covers of Vogue magazine – a record 18 times (4 times Vogue US edition)

-Model of the Year competition – Couturesque magazine – (April 2016)

-Hammam has walked the runways for nearly every top brand including Burberry , Alexander McQueen ,Givenchy , Marc Jacobs, [Maison Margiela] , Prada , Michael Kors, Moschino, Chanel, DKNY , Jean Paul Gaultier , Hugo Boss, Nina Ricci , Jacquemus ,  Giambattista Valli , Isabel Marrant , Dsquared2 , Lanvin , Stella McCartney , Oscar de la Renta , Dolce & Gabbana , Alberta Ferretti , Derek Lam , Ralph Lauren, Carolina Herrera , Thierry Mugler, rag+bone , Emanuel Ungaro, Roberto Cavalli , Valentino , Balenciaga, Hermes, Tommy Hilfiger,  Diane Von Furstenberg, Anna Sui, Vera Wang, Versace, Fendi , Proenza Schouler, Anna Sui, Tom Ford , Dior , Sportmax , Philipp Plein ,  Brandon Maxwell and Victoria’s Secret.

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Imaan Hammam in the opening outfit of Moschino Pre-Fall Show 2020 in New York City. Source: Moschino

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NETHERLANDS (Holland) / MOROCCAN-EGYPTIAN

Rami Malek Wins ‘Best Actor’ OSCAR : February 24th, 2019

Rami Malek (aka) Rami Said Malek. Actor and Producer. Philanthropy.

Awards/ Honours:

  • Oscar for the Category ‘Actor in a Leading Role ‘ in Bohemian Rhapsody for his portrayal of the Queen Frontman – Freddie Mercury, at a ceremony at Dolby Theatre, Los Angeles (2019)
  • Academy Award / Golden Globe Award / Screen Actors Guild Award, British Academy Film Award (2018) – for Freddy Mercy the biopic ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’.
  • Prime time Emmy Award for ‘Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series’ – USA Network Television series ‘ Mr. Robot’ (2016)

-First Actor of Egyptian heritage to wn an ‘Academy Award’ for Best Actor.

-Named as ‘one of the 100 most influential people in the world TIME magazine (2019)

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pix : oscar.go.com

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AMERICAN / EGYPT