Arabs & Arabian Records Aggregator. Chronicler. Milestones of the 25 Countries of the Arabic Speaking World (official / co-official). AGCC. MENA. Global. Ist's to Top 10's. Records. Read & Enjoy./ www.arabianrecords.org
Women referees will officiate matches at the men’s World Cup for the first time in Qatar this year, the sport’s governing body FIFA announced on Thursday.
Three women referees and three women assistant referees will be part of the global showpiece event in Qatar, which will be held from Nov. 21 to Dec. 18.
Referees Stephanie Frappart from France, Salima Mukansanga from Rwanda and Japan’s Yoshimi Yamashita, as well as assistant referees Neuza Back from Brazil, Karen Diaz Medina from Mexico and American Kathryn Nesbitt have all been called up.
A total of 36 referees, 69 assistant referees and 24 video match officials have been chosen by FIFA for the tournament.
“This concludes a long process that began several years ago with the deployment of female referees at FIFA men’s junior and senior tournaments,” said Pierluigi Collina, FIFA Referees Committee chairman.
“They deserve to be at the FIFA World Cup because they constantly perform at a really high level, and that’s the important factor for us.
“As always, the criteria we have used is ‘quality first’ and the selected match officials represent the highest level of refereeing worldwide.”
Frappart became the first female official to be involved in European Championship matches after UEFA included her in the list of referees for the tournament last year.
Al Salam Veterinary Hospital’s main business will be breeding a new generation of humped superstars.
A version of this article was first published in September 2020
Saudi Arabia is already known as a destination for camel beauty pageants. Now, it wants to be known for camel healthcare, too.
The country opened the world’s largest camel hospital in July 2020 and photographs show what daily life is like inside.
At 70,000 square metres, Al Salam Veterinary Hospital is about the size of Buckingham Palace and a little smaller than the island of Alcatraz.
The centre cost more than Dh134 million but camel racing and pageantry are sports for princes and sheikhs in which a single camel can fetch Dh10 million at the height of pageantry season.
The hospital lies in the interior Qassim region between Madinah and Riyadh, at the site of one of the world’s largest camel markets, and will serve camel owners in Kuwait and northern Saudi Arabia.
video
The nearest comparable clinics are about 1,000 kilometres away in other Gulf states. Travelling hundreds of kilometres and crossing borders is part of the racing and pageantry lifestyle but the coronavirus pandemic has made this impossible, even as local competitions continue.
Al Salam Veterinary Hospital can treat 144 camels, has stables for 400 racing camels and will employ up to 300 staff ready to meet a camel’s every need, from surgery to accommodation and blood testing.
Camels can be treated for infectious disease, injuries and chronic illness at the hospital, but its main business will be fertilisation.
The hospital has already conducted more than 500 embryo transfers, resulting in 350 successful pregnancies.
Vets plan to transfer 2,500 embryos next season, an ambitious amount by camel-breeding standards.
Embryo transfer has led to some of the biggest names in the world of camel racing.
A camel pregnancy lasts two years, which previously meant female racers could produce a few offspring only after retiring from the racetrack.
The advancement of camel surrogacy has meant prized female racers can now pass winning genes on to dozens of calves in one year.
This has transformed the world of racing and made some she-camels as renowned as studs.
Al Samha, from Abu Dhabi, is one such cow known for her prolific progeny.
The best-known breeding centres, such as the Advanced Scientific Group in Abu Dhabi, attract pedigree champs from around the Gulf.
Scientific advances continue to be made in camel fertilisation and breeding programmes.
The camel’s adaptation to the desert has led to a unique set of challenges in artificial insemination .
The animal is so good at conserving water that it produces only 3ml to 8ml of gel-like semen, a fraction compared with that of similarly sized animals such as horses. It freezes poorly.
It was only in 2018 that the first calves were born to females fertilised by frozen semen at Dubai Camel Breeding Centre.
Similar scientific breakthroughs at the Saudi hospital could change the very shape and size of future camels.
Youssra Zekrani took home a silver medal after reaching the final stage of Africa’s Fencing Championship in Casablanca.
Zekrani reached the final stages of the continental tournament, before losing to Egyptian contestant Noura Mhamad, earning her the silver medal.
In the game against the Egyptian, Zekrani lost by nine points to 15.
Zekrani, who ranked as the 91st best player in the world, faced and eliminated Algeria’s Chaymae Nihar Kamar and Egypt’s Yara Charkaoui in the quarterfinals.
While facing Algeria’s Kamar, the Moroccan athlete won by an impressive margin of 15 to 10. She equally scored a no less impressive score against Egypt’s Charkaoui, winning with nine to 15.
This is not the first time Zekrani makes national headlines for winning a tournament. The Moroccan athlete brought home a bronze medal at the 2016 African Championships. She competed at the Olympic Games in Rio, Brazil.
More than two years later, Zekrani claimed another bronze medal at the African Games in 2019.
This year’s fencing tournament in Casablanca saw the participation of several other Moroccan female contestants, including Manal Kermaoui and Ilham Belefkih.
The Casablanca tournament took place on June 15-19, under the patronage of Morocco’s King Mohammed VI. It saw the participation of athletes from across the continent, with 233 registered participants.
The FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 LLC (Q22) – the operational arm of FIFA and the Host Country for the delivery of the tournament – has achieved ISO 20121 certification, the international standard that sets requirements for developing and implementing an effective management system to deliver a sustainable event.
The certification was granted after an extensive audit process that was initiated during the FIFA Arab Cup Qatar 2021 – which was held exactly a year before the first FIFA World Cup in the Middle East and Arab world.
Nasser Al Khater, CEO, Q22, said: “Sustainability has been at the heart of Qatar 2022 from the start, and the independent recognition of the delivery of best practices reflects our enduring commitment to it.
José Retana, Sustainability Senior Manager, Q22, said: “We are proud to become the first FIFA World Cup in history to obtain the ISO 20121 certification. This demonstrates that according to the evaluation by a third-party accredited entity, world-class management practices are being implemented to deliver an inclusive, green and legacy-oriented event.”
SGS carried out the extensive audit process. It is a world-leading testing, inspection and certification company that has a wealth of experience in certifying mega-sport event organisers against ISO 20121 requirements, including the Olympic and Paralympic Games, and the French Open tennis tournament.
Sustainability management mechanisms assessed during the FIFA Arab Cup™ audit included:
Accessibility infrastructure and services for disabled fans, including seating, mobility assistance and innovative features such as audio descriptive commentary
Waste minimisation and recycling, including staff training, segregation and awareness-raising activities carried out with the support of sustainability volunteers
Sustainable procurement of items required for the delivery of the tournament, including uniforms made from recycled plastics and the use of compostable food packaging
Social and environmental audits to ensure supplier compliance with the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ Sustainable Sourcing Code
Incident reporting and resolution during tournament time, including governance arrangements and gathering of lessons learned
Chris Meakin, General Manager of SGS Qatar, said: “The FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 has effectively applied and demonstrated best practices under the framework of the Event Sustainability Management System (ISO 20121) to manage the event successfully. They have met the set benchmarks for global sustainability development and to control the event’s social, economic and environmental impact.”
Tunisian start-up “Kumulus Water” has provided assistance to a school deprived of drinking water in Makhtar in the region of Siliana (north-west of Tunisia) through a technical solution “Kumulus 1”, designed to generate water from the ambient air.
It came to support its expertise in water technology, the efforts of the Tunisian NGO “WallahWeCan”, which campaigns for the improvement of living conditions of students in schools and educational environments in Tunisia, especially in disadvantaged areas.
Thanks to atmospheric water generators, each producing 20 to 30 litres of healthy drinking water per day, 570 students of the chosen school will now be able to benefit from a regular supply of drinking water.
Technically, the atmospheric water generator is a device designed to produce water from the ambient air. It sucks in the air and dusts it, then dehumidifies it by lowering its temperature to the dew point to create condensation. The condensed water in the machine then passes through four filters to remove impurities.
The smart machine can fit into a 1m3 cube and can be equipped with a solar pack, making it fully autonomous and independent, the startup says. “It offers mobile control options via a dashboard and an app designed by the six-person team at startup Kumulus Water. It also offers features that ensure water is delivered sustainably and economically,” its creators explain.
According to Kumulus Water, co-founded and led by Iheb Triki, there is 6 times more water in the air than in rivers. This water can be extracted by cooling the air below its dew point and exposing it to moisture absorbers or pressurizing it to make the water drinkable.
Kumulus was also installed at the Bayadha school (Delegation of Ghar Dimaou in the governorate of Jendouba).
According to Regional Commissioner of Education Rim Maaroufi, this is a project developed by a young Tunisian engineer and funded by the Orange Foundation in cooperation with the association “a child, smiles”.
In a statement to TAP, Maaroufi said that Bayadha School, where the Kumulus was installed, suffers from a lack of drinking water due to a lack of connection with the distribution network. Water tanks were installed in advance to provide drinking water to the students and teachers. The machine produces about 20 to 30 litres of drinking water per day.
In Tunisia as in many other countries in the world, access to drinking water is one of the most imminent threats facing humanity. According to the WHO, out of 7 billion people, 2.1 billion do not have satisfactory access to drinking water. The demand for water will increase further with the population growth and the increase in living standards.
In 2021, the co-founder of the Tunisian start-up Iheb Triki was selected by the prestigious Choiseul Institute as one of the 100 Young African Leaders.
Also, the start-up has been selected as the second-best impact investment opportunity in the prestigious competition (MBA Impact Investing Network & Training) “Turner MIINT 2022”.
The young Tunisian company managed to snatch second place among 40 start-ups from the best American business schools, having participated in the global competition Turner MIINT.
The translators of books about culture, physics and data mining are among the latest recipients of the prestigious King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz International Awards for Translation.
This year’s event, covering works published in 2021, marks the 10th anniversary of the awards. There were six categories and the winners, chosen by the event’s board of trustees, were announced on Monday.
Izz ddeen Khattabi Riffi’s translation from the original French of “Beyond Nature and Culture” by Philippe Descola took the award for works in the humanities category translated into Arabic. It was shared by Abdelnour Kharraki for his translation of “Data Mining for the Social Sciences: An Introduction” by Paul Attewell, David Monaghan and Darren Kwong, originally published in English.
The award for institutions went to the publishing and translation department of Obeikan Company, and to Al-Arabi Publishing & Distribution.
There were also two winners in category for works in the natural sciences translated into Arabic, both for books originally published in English: Dr. Sausan Hassan Al-Sawwaf and Dr. Laila Saleh Babsil for their translation of “Physics in Biology and Medicine” by Paul Davidovits; and Yahya Khlaif and Abdullatif Al-Shuhail for their translation of “Introduction to Carbon Capture and Sequestration” by Berend Smit, Jeffrey A Reimer and Curtis M. Oldenburg.
Three awards were presented in the category of Individual Efforts in Translation, to Hamza Qablan Al-Mozainy from Saudi Arabia, Murtazo Saydumarov from Uzbekistan, and Samir Mina Masoud Greeis, who is of Egyptian-German nationality.
The judges decided to withhold the awards in the two remaining categories, for books about the humanities and natural sciences translated from Arabic into other languages.
Egypt’s highest state awards in art, literature, and social sciences for 2022 were announced on 7 June, with writer Ibrahim Abdel-Meguied, director Dawood Abdel-Sayed, and late Iraq thinker Qais Azzawi winning the top honour, the Nile Award.
In a meeting chaired by Egypt’s Minister of Culture Ines Abdel-Dayem, members of Egypt’s Supreme Council for Culture (SCC) voted on the top awards.
The members voted on 53 prizes worth a total of EGP 7.5 million (around $374,632) divided into four sections:
Here is the full list of winners:
The Nile Award
The Nile Award is granted to three people in the fields of literature, arts, and social sciences. Each winner receives EGP 500,000 and a gold medal. A new award for the most creative Arab personality was added for the first time in 2018.
The Nile Award in Literature was given to writer Ibrahim Abdel-Meguied.
The Nile Award in Arts was handed to director Dawood Abdel-Sayed.
The Nile Award in Social Sciences went to the late lawyer and head of the lawyers syndicate Ragi Attia.
The Nile Award for the Most Creative Arab personality was awarded to late Iraqi thinker Qais Al-Azzawi, who died in 2022.
The Nile Award for a creative Arab personality was launched in 2018 in a bid to strengthen ties between Egypt and Arab creative minds.
Appreciation Awards
The award carries a prize of EGP 200,000 and a gold medal.
The Appreciation Award in Arts went to actor Rashwan Tawfik, architect Suhair Hawass and Ahmed Nabil Suleiman.
The Appreciation Award in Literature was awarded to writers Mohamed Abulfadl Badran, Youssef Hassan Nofal and Kamal Ruhayem.
The Appreciation Awards in Social Sciences were awarded to Said Ismail, Abdel-Salam Abu-Qahf and Moataz Sayed Abdallah.
Excellency Awards
The Excellency Award in Literature was granted to writer Reem Bassiouny and Amr Fouad Dawara.
The Excellency Award in Arts was handed to Gamal Yaqoot and Ahmed Abdel-Kareem.
The Excellency Award in Social Sciences was handed to late judge Tahany El-Gebaly, Iman Amer, and Ahmed Hassanien.
In addition to the previous awards, the SCC granted 32 encouragement awards, each one of them worth EGP 50,000.
Factbox
There are 52 prizes worth a total of EGP 7.5 million (around $374,632) divided into four sections.
Of the seven Excellency Awards, two are for the arts, two for literature, and three for social sciences. Political analyst Ammar Ali Hassan and economic expert Ahmed El-Naggar were among the winners of the prize last year.
Novelists Khairy Shalaby and Gamal El-Ghitani, poet Mohammed Afifi Mattar, and critic Gaber Asfour are among the past winners.
The Nile Award was originally named the Mubarak Award, but was changed in the aftermath of the 25 January 2011 Revolution that ousted president Hosni Mubarak from power.
Poet Abdel-Rahman El-Abnoudi, writers Bahaa Taher, Ibrahim Aslan, and Waheed Hamed, and cinema director Youssef Chahine are the most prominent figures to date who have won the Nile Award.
The State Awards were launched in 1958 and have only been cancelled once, in 1967, during the Six-Day War between Egypt and Israel.
source/content: english.ahram.org.eg (edited)
____________
Dawood Abdel-Sayed, Ibrahim Abdel-Meguied, and Iraqi Qais Azzawi
Tabuk Gov. Prince Fahd bin Sultan honored Itizaz Alnefaie, the primary school pupil from Tabuk International Schools who won second place in this year’s Worldwide Mental Arithmetic Competition, recently held in Egypt’s Sharm El-Sheikh.
Alnefaie broke the world record by solving 100 maths problems, testing herself against the clock.
He congratulated Alnefaie for this achievement, wishing her more success, noting the Saudi leadership’s support for outstanding students in all scientific fields.
“I’m pleased to meet you and everyone is proud of your achievement,” Prince Fahd said, praising the efforts made by Alnefaie’s parents and teachers, who created the environment for her to reach excellence, and who supported her talent. He also wished her and all of Tabuk’s students future success.
The prince then offered Alnefaie his personal pen as a gift. The head of Tabuk International Schools, Maram Al-Atwi, praised Prince Fahd for the achievement, which comes as a result of his great support for the education sector in Tabuk, noting that this success is an extension of the local and international achievements made by public school students from all Saudi regions.
Hundreds of talented pupils representing more than 25 countries, including Saudi Arabia, participated in this year’s competition.
Solving a math problem might take most people a few minutes. However, Alnefaie takes just a second or two.
source/content: arabnews.com (edited)
___________
Tabuk Gov. Prince Fahd bin Sultan honors Itizaz Alnefaie, the primary school pupil from Tabuk International Schools. (SPA)
Sunday marks 16th death anniversary of Egyptian film star Hoda Sultan (15 August 1925 – 5 June 2006).
One of the brightest stars of the 20th century, Sultan made a mark in Egyptian cinema history as an actress and singer in many musical films.
Born Gamalat Bahiga Abdel-Aal Al-Haww in Kafr Abu-Gendy in Gharbiya governorate on 15 August 1925 to a mother of Turkish descent and a father who married several times and had many children.
Sultan married at a young age and divorced after the birth of her first daughter.
She embarked on the cinematic career inspired by her brother, renowned singer Mohamed Fawzi, taking steps into Egyptian radio with her first song in 1949.
As Ashraf Gharib writes for Ahram Online: “She auditioned for a role that was announced by Nahas Studio, who was searching for a new face capable of singing to participate in Bella Donna (1950), directed by Niazi Mostafa, and landed it. Despite the fact that it was a small part, she emerged closer to the world of fame.”
She then began receiving numerous roles starting with El-Usta Hassan (Foreman Hassan, 1952), directed by Salah Abu-Seif, and Hokm El-‘Awy (The Rule of the Powerful, 1951) and Tager El-Fadayeh (The Scandalmonger, 1953), both directed by Hassan El-Imam.
She landed starring roles in many musical films such as Habib Albi (The Love of My Heart, 1952) by Helmy Rafla and Taxi El-Gharam (Love Taxi, 1954) by Niazi Mostafa.
In addition, Sultan also appeared in Hamido (1953) by Niazi Mostafa, Ga’alouni Mograman (They Made Me a Criminal, 1954) by Atef Salem, El-Mouhtal (The Swindler, 1954) by Helmy Rafla, Sawaq Nos El-Leil (Midnight Driver, 1958) by Niazi Mostafa, Abeed El-Gasad (Slaves of the Flesh, 1962) by Kamal Attiya, and two of her more important films with Hassan El-Imam: Zawga Min El-Sharea (A Wife From the Street) and Sai’dat El-Regal (Men’s Huntress) both in 1960.
“However, Hoda Sultan’s artistic and feminine climax represented itself best in Ezzeddine Zulfikar’s masterpiece Emra’ah Fi El-Tariq (A Woman on the Road, 1958) where she played the she-devil crossing your path and stinging you with her carnal desires,” writes Gharib.
“When Egyptian cinema turned towards duos, Hoda Sultan formed one with Farid Shawqi, her husband at the time. Between the pair, the remarkable duo made 19 films together, starting with Bella Donna and The Rule of the Powerful.”
Her artistic maturity became obvious in El-Sirk (The Circus, 1968) by Atef Salem, DalalEl-Masriya (Dalal the Egyptian, 1970) by Hassan El-Imam, El-Ikhtiyar (The Choice, 1971) by Youssef Chahine, and Shai’ Fi Qalbi (Something In My Heart, 1971) by Kamal El-Sheikh.
She then became the first-choice actress for the film and television roles which needed a maternal character. This landed her the role of Amina in Naguib Mahfouz’s famous trilogy adapted to TV and that of Tafida in Something in my Heart, adapted from Ihsan Abdel-Quddous’ novel.
Her important TV appearances included Layali El-Helmiya (El-Helmiya Nights, 1987), Arabesque (1994), El-Wattad (The Tent Pole, 1996), and Zizinia (1997).
Morocco exports 90% of its sardines to 100 countries.
With a 3,500-kilometer-long coastline, Morocco produces half of all canned sardines available in supermarkets worldwide.
Mehdi Dhaloomal, Executive Manager of Moroccan canned sardine producer MIDAV, recently reportedthat the North African country annually produces 1.4 million tonnes of seafood, with sardines making up 850,000 of the collected seafood.
The Moroccan businessman stressed that Morocco has “exclusive” access to the sardina pilchardus walbaum which is a type of sardine that is only available in Bretagne, France, and southern Morocco.
Morocco notably fishes 60% of the sardina pilchardus walbaum that is primarily directed to exports – 90% of local sardines are exported.
Earlier this year, the Moroccan Ministry of Fisheries stated that canned sardines represented 53% of total seafood exports in 2021.
Besides sardines, frozen octopus and squid, as well as fishmeal, represent most of the 778,000 tonnes of Moroccan exported seafood, valued at MAD 24.2 billion ($2.46 billion).
Yet canned sardines remain a major food export of Morocco and Dhaloomal considers the country to be a “leader in the valorization” of sardines.
He further noted that the canned food sector in Morocco consists of roughly 50 Moroccan and international companies that are based along the country’s coastline.
Currently, the industrial zone of Sali delivers 30% of Moroccan production of sardines that is primarily exported to 100 countries. Export destinations include European countries such as the United Kingdom market, where 60% of consumed canned sardines come from Morocco.
Dhaloomal shared the prior statements at the first edition of the Safi Investor Day. The May 25 event gathered Moroccan and foreign investors operating or interested in the Marrakech-Safi region with the objective of celebrating the region and its assets, as well as attracting additional Moroccan and foreign capital.
source/content: moroccoworldnews.com
___________
Morocco Produces Half of All Canned Sardines Worldwide
