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Egyptian actor Amir El-Masry was cast in the upcoming fifth season of Netflix’s historical drama The Crown, according to a PR representative on Wednesday.
El-Masry will portray the young Egyptian billionaire Mohamed Al-Fayed, Egyptian-born UK-based businessman, owner of Hôtel Ritz Paris and formerly Harrods department store and Fulham FC.
The cast of the fifth season also includes Egyptian-British actor Khalid Abdalla who has ben cast as Dodi Fayed , Mohamed Al-Fayed’s son and late Princess Diana’s boyfriend. Abdalla will play opposite Elizabeth Debicki as Diana.
Born in Cairo in 1990 and raised in London, El-Masry’s career kicked off with roles in Egyptian films, earning him Best Young Actor at the Egyptian Oscars in 2009.
Graduating from The London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art in 2013, Amir appeared in Jon Stewart’s debut feature Rosewater and various acclaimed TV series before his breakthrough role in The Night Manager (2016), followed by Lost in London (2017), The State (2017) and Age Before Beauty (2018).
Other notable credits include the critically acclaimed BAFTA nominated mini-series The State, a series regular role of Dante in the new BBC series Age Before Beauty and the lead in the first American-Saudi feature The Arabian Warrior.
Following the reign of Queen Elizabeth II, including political and romantic events that have shaped the twenty-first century, The Crown is considered one of the greatest series in the history of drama.
The series has won over 130 awards, including 21 Primetime Awards, of which seven were during the 73rd Primetime Emmy Awards in 2021, scooping awards of all categories.
The first season of The Crown was released in November 2016. Its fifth season is scheduled for release in November 2022.
Bahrain has won the chairmanship seat of the Committee on Safeguards, a subcommittee of the Council of Trade in Goods at the World Trade Organization (WTO).
Maryam Abdulaziz Al Doseri, Commercial Attaché of the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Tourism at Bahrain’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations and other organizations in Geneva, is now the Chairperson of the Committee on Safeguards.
On May 23, WTO members reached consensus on the names of the chairpersons for the 14 subsidiary bodies that report to the Council for Trade in Goods.
The Committee on Safeguards (the Safeguards Committee) was established to administer the Safeguards Agreement. It oversees the operation of the Agreement and is responsible for the surveillance of Members’ commitments.
Minister of Industry, Commerce and Tourism Zayed bin Rashid Al Zayani extended his heartfelt congratulations to His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa and to His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince and Prime Minister, on Bahrain’s achievement.
“The success of Bahrain in becoming the chair of the Committee on Safeguards is a source of immense pride as it affirms the unlimited support to the Kingdom of Bahrain,” the minister said.
“It reflects the ambitious and unprecedented visions to chart a strong trade based on justice, transparency, diversity and innovation under the generous support of HM King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa and the follow-up of HRH Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Crown Prince and Prime Minister. This success is a strong motivation for further achievements and accomplishments by the Kingdom of Bahrain.”
With more than 20,000 students, the Islamic University of Madinah has become a meeting place for the world’s diverse cultures.
The Islamic University of Madinah has entered the Guinness World Records for the second time for having more than 170 nationalities in its student body.
Talal Omar, the MENA director of the records reference book, handed the framed certificate bearing the new world record to the president of the university, Prince Dr. Mamdouh bin Saud bin Thunayan Al-Saud, in Madinah this week.
Opened by royal decree in 1961, the university first broke the record in 2016, but has overcome its own standard with another expansion in nationalities.
With more than 20,000 students studying in nine faculties, the Islamic university has become a meeting place for the world’s diverse cultures.
The Saudi government offers students from around the world full scholarships that cover the entire cost of education, accommodation and transportation.
Notable alumni include Sheikh Abdul Latif Derian, the grand mufti of Lebanon; Sheikh Khaled Hafiz, former advisor to the Muslim minority in New Zealand; Dr. Abdullah Hakim Quick, Canadian scholar and historian; Prince Saud bin Abdul Rahman bin Nasser, deputy governor of the Northern Borders region; Sheikh Mishary Al-Afasy, famous Qur’an reciter who is a specialist in the 10 readings; and Dr. Mohamed Jallow, a Senegalese Islamic preacher and author.
source/content: arabnews.com (headline edited)
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Prince Dr. Mamdouh bin Saud bin Thunayan Al-Saud (right), president of the Islamic University of Madinah, receiving the award from Talal Omar, MENA director of Guinness World Records. (Supplied)
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.
Cairo witnessed the seventh edition of the Cairo International Biennale of the Arabic Calligraphy Art under the auspices of Minister of Culture Ines Abdel-Dayem at the premises of Cairo Opera House.
Under the slogan ‘Pioneers and Renovators in 100 years (1922/2022)’, the biennale included a three-day seminar that ran from 6 to 9 June at El-Hanager Cinema that highlighted the most prominent figures of Arabic Calligraphy in Egypt and the Arab world as well as an art exhibition showcasing artistic gems of this Art from 125 countries represented by 15 artists at the Art Palace in the Cairo Opera House Complex that is running from 7 to 20 June.
Furthermore, the event established a new tradition of honouring artists and researchers for their achievements, and a side competition was held in the name of renowned Egyptian calligrapher Khedr El-Portsaidy — the founder of the Arabic Calligraphy Museum as well as the one who accredits and certifies Arabic calligraphers in Egypt.
In the opening session, Mohamed El-Baghdady — the general commissioner of the biennale — noted that this year marks the centenary jubilee of the establishment of Egypt’s first calligraphy school during the reign of king Fouad in 1922.
The session also included the presentation of a research paper written by Nahla Imam — country representative of Egypt at the 2003 Convention of Safeguarding the Intangible Heritage of UNESCO — who shared her experience in adding Arabic calligraphy knowledge, skills, and practice on UNESCO’s representative list of intangible cultural heritage in December 2021.
Mohamed Hassan Abu El-Khair — the first to innovate the ‘mashq’
The second day of sessions showcased the pioneers and renovators of such enchanting art.
The first paper was presented by researcher and calligrapher Mohamed El-Shafaai on passing down the practice of such art in Egypt, taking the family of Mohamed and Abdel-Aziz Abu El-Khair as an example, as the two are renowned Egyptian calligraphers that this year’s round was dedicated to.
He started off by revealing that the concept of passing down this form of art dates back to the pre-Islamic era, explaining that the initial idea behind Arabic calligraphy was transcription, and then the artistic element came later.
“During the pre-Islamic era, except for a small circle, very little knew how to write Arabic, and according to Abdalla Ibn Abbas, the first person to begin writing in Arabic in the tribe of Qureish was Harb Ibn Umaya — one of the masters of the tribe and the father of Sufian Ibn Harb.
The other key person in calligraphy art was El-Wazir Ibn Noqla, who was famous during the Abbasid Caliphate and inherited the art from his father El-Ali Ibn Hassan, explained El-Shafaai.
Mohamed Hassan Abu El-Khair was born in Cairo in 1921, he studied in Al-Azhar and then joined The School of Improving Calligraphy when he was only 17, where he was the top of his class and was taught by calligraphy masters such as Sheikh Fakhr El-Din, Sheikh Ali Badawi, and Mohamed Hosni El-Baba — the father of iconic Egyptian actress Soad Hosni to name but a few.
He excelled in El-Sulus and Reqaa calligraphy and soon became a professor of the art of calligraphy at Oum El-Qoura University in Mecca for 20 years.
“He was the first to innovate in the mashq (an educational manual technique) of the solos of Arabic calligraphy that are taught to fourth graders, where he started teaching students to write whole sentences from the beginning instead of focusing on letters with no context,” El-Shafaai added.
Abdel-Qader Al-Shihabi — the calligrapher of the Palestinian government
The second paper focused on Abdel-Qader Al-Shihabi — a Palestinian calligrapher — that was written by Farag Hussieny. Al-Shihabi is a renowned Palestinian calligrapher whose fame reached its peak during the first half of the 20th century and was known as the ‘calligrapher of the Palestinian government.’
“Born and raised in Jerusalem, Abdel-Qader Al-Shihabi comes from a long line of calligraphers that started off this art between the 12th and 14th year of the Hijri calendar, however, Al-Shihabi learned calligraphy in Istanbul at the hand of Mohamed Ezzat, the biggest artist. He was known for his suluth calligraphy, which decorates the walls of Al-Aqsa Mosque to date. He also spent all his life teaching calligraphy in Jerusalem and encouraging young artists to follow his passion,” explained Hussieny.
Abdalla Al Zohdi: the calligrapher of Al-Haramein Al-Sharifine
The third paper covered the ‘calligrapher of Al-Haramein Al-Sharifine(The Two Holy Mosques) Abdalla Al-Zohdi and was written by Sami Saleh Abdel-Malak.
“Born in Nablus, Abdalla Al-Zohdi was born around 1251. His family moved to Istanbul, where he studied and excelled in calligraphy at a very early age. His artistic fame made him the official calligrapher of the Prophet’s Mosque in Medina, where his calligraphy adorns the walls and ceilings of the mosque till now,” the paper explained,
“During the reign of khedive Ismail, he was commissioned to write the calligraphy of the Keswa of the Kaaba and Mahmal. His implacable calligraphy was quite visible and stood out in the design of the keswa from that day onwards. He was known by his highly complex and geometric Sulus calligraphy.”
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.
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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.
The UAE won the Grand Prix of the Canton of Aargau, Switzerland, yesterday June 10th.
The Emirati squad had strength in numbers in the final with Diego Ulissi and Matteo Trentin covering moves before Marc Hirschi infiltrated the winning break which slipped away at 7km to go.
The 23-year old hit out early from the four man group to open up the sprint at 250m to go to hold off Max Schachmann (Bora-Hansgrohe) and Andreas Kron (Lotto-Soudal) who finished on the podium.
“It was really very difficult”, said Marc Hirsch. “The final was very eventful, because a rider from AG2R Citroën has long been in the lead. In the last climb, it went very quickly behind him, but I was able to accompany in force. Then I was able to close the gap with three guys who had escaped. It was very hard”. In the end, it was a group of 7 which formed 6 terminals from the line, and the winner of the Fleche Wallonne 2020 maneuvered well to finish in the sprint.
In raising the trophy he becomes the first home winner of the race since 2013.
This result marks Hirschi’s second win of the season after storming to victory at the Per Sempre Alfredo classic in April.
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 United Nations General Assembly has elected Oman’s Permanent Representative to the world body as chairman of its Special Political and Decolonisation Committee.
In his speech to the 77th session of the General Assembly, H E Dr Mohammed bin Awadh al Hassan, the sultanate’s Permanent Representative, stated that Oman is keen to chair the Special Political and Decolonisation Committee, owing to its belief in the freedom of peoples and their independence, as well as the importance of ending colonisation in line with the UN’s related decisions.
The Special Political and Decolonization Committee also known as Fourth Committee considers a broad range of issues covering a cluster of five decolonization-related agenda items, the effects of atomic radiation, questions relating to information, a comprehensive review of the question of peacekeeping operations as well as a review of special political missions, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), Israeli Practices and settlement activities affecting the rights of the Palestinian people and other Arabs of the occupied territories, and International cooperation in the peaceful uses of outer space.
