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Drydocks World celebrated the official launch of work on the Norfolk Vanguard East and West Wind Energy platforms in the United Kingdom, where the Drydocks World arena in Dubai witnessed the project’s inauguration ceremony.
The project, according to a statement issued today by the company, includes two eastern and western switching platforms that will be implemented over the next five years, including offshore construction and sailing installations. In the first part of the project, the western Norfolk Vanguard platform will be used to efficiently transfer electrical energy from offshore wind turbines. to the mainland, and major manufacturing operations will also take place year-round at Drydocks World.
The West and East Norfolk Vanguard platform projects are located in the southern North Sea, between 50-80 kilometers from the coast of Norfolk in eastern England. The planned capacity of each of the two platforms reaches 1.4 gigawatts, and these two projects will contribute greatly to enhancing the production of renewable energy. in the UK.
Dr. Captain Rado Antolović, CEO of Drydocks World, said: “Thanks to our cooperation with Aker Solutions and Siemens Energy on these two projects, we will be able to benefit from our combined expertise in renewable energy projects, especially Drydocks World’s expertise in DC platforms.” High voltage and high voltage alternating current, which is an important new step that confirms our commitment to supporting the transition towards renewable energy.”
Drydocks International had concluded a pre-commitment agreement with Aker Solutions in November 2023, to deliver the eastern and western Norfolk Vanguard platforms in the United Kingdom, and during the months of February and March of this year, the two final agreements for the project were signed.
The scope of this strategic cooperation focused on engineering, procurement, construction and installation works for a marine substation for high-voltage direct current electricity. This cooperation also aims to raise the standards of solutions provided in the field of sustainable energy.
It is noteworthy that Drydocks World has successfully delivered two high-voltage direct current platforms and two high-voltage alternating current platforms in the North Sea, including the famous “Dolwyn 2”, “Burwen 3” and “Holland Kast Zuid Alpha and Beta” platform projects.
Jordanian Fashion Designer Kish Jeane, breaks Guinness World Records by making the longest cape in the world for Lebanese superstar, Najwa Karam.
The cape is 55.7m long, with 118m of fabric and 3m of gold reflective leather used to craft it.
Jeane, who is known for his use of reflective leather in his designs, designed the cape drawing from Greek mythology for inspiration . He also added the name of Najwa’s most recent album “Charisma” in Arabic calligraphy on the back of the cape.
Najwa Karam also wore a gold cage shoulder piece with a white jumpsuit, also designed by Jeane. She wore both outfits to her welcoming event in Jordan, celebrating her participation in the Jerash Festival .
Kish Jeane will also be the first Jordanian designer to participate in New York Fashion Week, as he will be presenting his Spring Summer 2024 Collection there.
Kingdom dazzles with record-breaking LED display and inspiring sustainability schemes.
The Saudi pavilion at the Doha Horticultural Expo 2023 won five awards, set world records and drew 1.8 million visitors to its expansive site spanning 5,000 sq. meters.
The pavilion’s lush green design drew inspiration from Mount Tuwaiq, the Saudi Press Agency reported on Saturday.
Saleh Bindakhil, the head director of the Saudi campaign, said that the pavilion provided a “groundbreaking digital experience” centered on agriculture and environmental sustainability.
It showcased more than 80 successful Saudi projects and initiatives in line with the exhibition’s objectives, he added.
The pavilion, which aimed to inspire the global community to combat desertification, secured five awards and set world records, Bindakhil said.
It broke the Guinness World Record for the largest display of exterior LED screens, with an impressive array of 435 external LED columns.
Additionally, the pavilion received a Gold Muse Award in the conceptual design and events category, and a Gold French Design Award in the interior design and architecture category.
It clinched the LIV Award in architectural and landscape design, along with a silver award from the Bureau International des Expositions in the self-built pavilions category.
The pavilion welcomed visitors from around the world, offering communications in seven languages: Arabic, English, French, Italian, Spanish, Japanese and Persian.
Its numerous sections showcased the diversity and richness of the Kingdom.
The pavilion also highlighted the pivotal role of agriculture and major sustainable projects in Saudi Arabia.
The Doha expo, which began in October last year and ended on March 28, aimed to promote environmental solutions to a global audience.
The event included four key pillars: Modern agriculture, technology and innovation, environmental awareness and sustainability.
source/content: arabnews.com (headline edited)
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The pavilion’s lush green design drew inspiration from Mount Tuwaiq, the Saudi Press Agency reported on Saturday. (SPA)
For the Palestinian-born Arab International Women’s Forum founder, the laws of economics mean each woman must be heard.
Haifa Al Kaylani moves through the Carlton Tower Jumeriah looking as effortlessly elegant as the recently renovated decor of the landmark hotel in the heart of Knightsbridge, London.
Her hair is coiffed, make-up flawless, and a string of pearls and turquoise brooch accessorise a classic cropped bouclé jacket from a Swiss fashion house.
But she walks straight past the diners socialising over salads or the afternoon tea being served all day in the lounge, and gets down to business at a table in a nearby meeting room.
“I’ve never been one of those ladies who lunch,” the development economist and president of the Arab International Women’s Forum (AIWF) tells The National.
As Al Kaylani talks about her remarkable career, in which she has hosted Queen Rania of Jordan and been honoured herself at a reception by Sarah Brown, wife of former UK prime minister Gordon Brown, at No 10 Downing Street, it’s hard to believe there has ever been time for a midday meal.
On the global stage, she is known as a “high-impact change agent” in every area, from leadership, youth empowerment and diversity to education, sustainability and the environment.
The AIWF was founded in 2001 on two key principles dear to her heart: that no economic, political or social development is possible anywhere without optimising the 50 per cent of the population who are female; and that women from the richly diverse 22 Arab countries need to establish bridges between each other and their counterparts everywhere.
“We broke ground wherever we went,” she says. “We were the first women’s organisation to be hosted by the League of Arab States, the first hosted at the European Parliament, the first invited by the World Bank, the first conference in Madrid between Arab, Spanish and Latin American women, [the then French Minister of the Economy] Madame Lagarde chaired the forum’s annual conference in 2009 in Paris, we were the first to host a conference for business women at the Dubai International Financial Centre.
“And we had key, succinct issues on the table. It was not just about the gatherings, though they were important. Breaking the stereotypes, building knowledge and understanding were very important but we also wanted to ensure we could empower and effect change on the ground … so we walk the walk.’’
In person, Al Kaylani is reserved but warm, overcoming a natural modesty to highlight various successes in the hope of giving them renewed impetus. A story of doing good, she insists, must be told.
Her own is certainly that – a peripatetic life, first as a Lebanese of Palestinian origin and then as the wife of a Jordanian diplomat, fuelled her desire to empower women as “engines of economic growth” to foster development and prosperity in Arab countries.
Both her father, Badr Said Fahoum, the district governor of Acre in Mandatory Palestine whom she credits for her business mind, and mother, Alia Zubi, came from prominent families in Nazareth.
Nakba toddler
They moved, as did hundreds of thousands of others, to Beirut in 1948 during the Nakba when Haifa was a toddler, initially intending to stay only until it was safe to return.
“Nobody knew that they were going to spend the rest of their lives there. They left everything behind.’’
Relatives and friends continued to trickle out of Palestine, some bringing objects from the Fahoum house while those who remained sent letters and news of the events unfolding.
The family was given Lebanese citizenship at the time. An estimated 210,000 Palestinians remain stateless in the country even today, yet Al Kaylani points to how much Beirut owes to these exiled families.
“They made it their home and contributed to the economy, society, culture,” she says.
Haifa’s mother, Alia, was highly educated but took on the responsibility of raising her five daughters. She fostered an appreciation of the siblings’ heritage through stories of their ancestral home before the partition of borders but was keen, too, to ensure that they made the most of life, friends and schooling in Beirut.
Mother’s learning
Apart from her love and devotion as a homemaker, Al Kaylani recalls Alia creating a cultural cocoon full of classical music and literature such as the Abbasid-era poetry of Al-Mutanabbi that she recited by heart.
“She was an avid reader. We would go to the mountains every summer, and before we packed our clothes, we used to pack boxes of books because the vacations were supposed to be spent reading and learning, and on sports and outdoor life.’’
After being a pupil at the British Lebanese Evangelical School for Girls in Beirut, fifteen-year-old Al Kaylani was sent to board at Sherborne School for Girls in Dorset to pursue her English education.
“I loved it,’’ she says, and quotes from her end-of-term reports as testament. “They would say: ‘Haifa’s settled in as if she’s one of us.’ I think this is one of my good traits. I’m adaptable and I’m flexible.’’
The timing of her arrival made it easier not to pine for home despite the pupils having to go out for runs in snow up to their waists. As she explains, the 1962-63 academic year was one “like no other’’, and the pupils eagerly kept up with events on the BBC’s weekly news programme Panorama.
“It was number one, the year of the Big Freeze, the Beatles [with their first hit single Love Me Do], James Bond [Dr No in Sean Connery’s MI6 cinematic debut], the Profumo Affair, the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Vatican Council. I learnt a lot and enjoyed it all,’’ she says.
Al Kaylani chose to study economics at her father’s alma mater, the American University of Beirut, which she calls “that beautiful campus by the sea”, before regrouping with Sherborne friends at Oxford to read the new diploma in development economics.
Next was 12 months as a junior economist at the United Nations Economic and Social Council in Beirut, which enabled her to meet the second of two non-negotiable conditions set for the girls by Badr and Alia.
“We weren’t to get married or focus on a family until first having at least a Bachelor of Arts, if not a Master’s, and we had to work for one year. When you think about it, they are golden rules. So I’m very glad.
“If we had been five boys, our parents would not have done more in terms of empowerment and providing opportunities. Tashji’ [encouragement] non-stop.’’
She set up home in Amman after marrying Wajih Al Kaylani, who used to regale her with vivid tales of walking all over Palestine’s mountains, down hills and into valleys as a boy scout. “This is how you see the place, and get an affinity with the people in the villages,’’ Al Kaylani says.
While giving birth in hospital to her son, Sirri, she heard an announcement on the radio that Wajih had been appointed ambassador to Tunisia by King Hussein of Jordan, “which was a great honour but we asked permission to stay a few more months to allow the baby to grow”.
They immersed themselves in their roles in Tunis and then Delhi where her husband was ambassador to India, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Thailand. “I found myself on another planet. Especially in the evenings, the sounds, the smells were different,” she says, recalling the aroma of firewood burning outside their diplomatic residence.
The couple visited every state in India at the invitation of the governors, and the deep insights gained from travelling as an Arab ambassador’s wife compelled her to take up an MPhil part-time at Jawaharlal Nehru University.
‘I wanted to read more, and Indian economists were the best in economic development at the time.’’
Al Kaylani left the country “with tears in my eyes’’ when Wajih retired from the diplomatic service in a return to the private sector, and London became their base.
After Sirri set off to board at Stowe School in Buckinghamshire, she turned to playing tennis, learning Spanish and Italian, enrolled at London Business School, and began volunteering for Arab and British women’s charitable organisations.
Help was needed for Palestinian refugees, and for Lebanon, which had entered a 15-year civil war. In the 1990s, she was part of a committee raising funds for Iraqi children and recalled the complexities of delivering aid in spite of the UN-led embargo after Saddam Hussein’s invasion of Kuwait. “It was very hard and serious work,” she says.
Among her biggest achievements was raising £250,000 ($318,050) for the Queen Alia Fund for Social Development, with Princess Basma as key speaker at an event in 1994.
Al Kaylani recalls a magical evening that transformed The Dorchester’s ballroom into a showcase of Jordanian culture through a fashion parade of “out of this world” Arab costumes, handicrafts and local produce on the tables, and floral arrangements of emblematic black irises and native herbs.
“It was something that London had not seen – neither before nor after,” she says.
“I’m a good fund-raiser. Why? Because I only commit my time and myself if I really believe in the cause, and believe that I can help the cause.
“I learnt a good lesson early in fund-raising, from an English friend. She told me: ‘You must be able to convince me why I should part with my funds for this cause rather than that one.’ So you need to prepare well.’’
Rebuilding the Balkans
She sat on the committee of a charity supporting Bosnian women during the war that was chaired by former UK Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher of whom she was a great admirer. “She revitalised the British economy and put it on track. She brought prosperity back.”
A few years later, Al Kaylani founded the AIWF with the aim of connecting Arab women from all walks of life as “part and parcel’’ of the international community politically, socially and economically.
As the forum has evolved from initially helping with the set-up of businesses to becoming much broader in scope, her intention has been to approach each project not as a feminist but as an economist first and foremost.
London Climate Week
In January 2017, Al Kaylani was chosen as one of 46 global leaders to become a Fellow of the Advanced Leadership Initiative at Harvard University. The key outcome of her fellowship has been an agriculture project being piloted in Jordan for which she secured World Bank funding.
“Following my pivotal year at Harvard, we have been pursuing a sustainability agenda,” she says.
Recently, the AIWF teamed up with Masdar’s global initiative Women in Sustainability, Environment and Renewable Energy, known as WiSER, to produce a report for Cop28 in Dubai, and will host the forum’s second conference on the same themes in June at London Climate Week.
Asked how she has maintained such motivation for so many decades, Al Kaylani says: “First, I enjoy what I do – otherwise I would not be doing it. This is the key because then it is from your heart, coming from inside, you’re committed. Most of my work is pro bonoand totally voluntary.
“Second, the energy … you need to read, to keep educating yourself. I’m a great believer in lifelong learning. That’s why I went to Harvard. I enjoy my own time like everybody but I love meeting people, and working, learning and connecting with others.”
Arguably the pinnacle of the numerous accolades garnered so far is being appointed an Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire in King Charles’s New Year’s 2024 Honours List in recognition of services to women, young people and cultural relations between the UK and the countries of the Middle East.
She is thrilled and humbled by the thought of next month’s investiture but says none of it would have been possible without her parents – “I have to pay tribute to them” – and husband Wajih, whose face would beam every time he saw her achieve another milestone.
“My late husband was the best partner in life I could ever have had. Encouraging, loving, empowering. Without him, I promise, I could neither have started nor given so much time to the AIWF to attain what it has and continues to attain now. He was with me every step of the way.”
Al Kaylani goes on to speak of the friends and members from the wider AIWF family, who have all provided invaluable contributions, but soon returns to the source of her own personal impetus.
“Your roots sustain and empower you, those who see you when you are up and down. You know,’’ she says with a small shrug, “all of us are human after all.”
Haifa Al Kaylani OBE, pictured at the Carlton Jumeirah London, is known as a change-maker in areas from leadership and youth empowerment to sustainability and the environment. Photo: Mark Chilvers
Saudi scientists’ use of a special DNA sequencing process to identify a new bacterial species could help in global efforts to combat resistance to antibiotics.
The discovery by experts at Riyadh’s King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center was expected to throw new light on bacterial-drug interactions, fostering innovative therapeutic approaches.
A technique known as whole-genome sequencing was used to spot the new species, stenotrophomonas riyadhensis.
According to the center, the findings will contribute significantly to global antibiotic resistance efforts, while throwing a spotlight on the center’s growing reputation for scientific research and patient care.
In a statement, the center said WGS underscored the “potential of genomic tests in diagnosing and treating bacterial infections, particularly in critical environments like intensive care units and among immunocompromised patients.”
It added that the discovery represented “substantial progress” in the fight to combat antibiotic resistance, the development of pharmaceuticals, and the prevention of disease spread.
The new species, discovered during a 2019 investigation into an outbreak at the center’s intensive care unit, was initially presumed to be a variant of pseudomonas aeruginosa, known for its antibiotic resistance.
However, further WGS analysis revealed that riyadhensis deviated from the pseudomonas genus, belonging instead to the stenotrophomonas family. It exhibited distinct genetic and morphological traits, setting it apart from any other scientifically recognized members.
Head of the center’s infectious disease and immunity department, Dr. Ahmad Al-Qahtani, said: “Traditional bacterial identification methods may lead to misidentification; in contrast, WGS analysis offers a precise and targeted approach that ensures accurate identification and provides detailed insights into resistance mechanisms, proving its significance in disease outbreak investigations and patient care improvements.”
Dr. Reem Almaghrabi, head of transplant infectious diseases at the center’s Organ Transplant Center of Excellence, highlighted the importance of the discovery in the use of advanced technologies, such as WGS, to develop faster and more accurate diagnostic methods.
She said the approach had established the groundwork for scientific collaboration at all levels, enhancing global efforts to combat antibiotic resistance.
Almaghrabi noted that understanding the nuances of new bacterial species, particularly their antibiotic resistance, was crucial in modern healthcare and was the primary means of combating bacterial infections.
“As these bacteria continuously evolve their resistance, they pose a significant and ongoing threat to human health,” she added.
source/content: arabnews.com (headline edited)
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A technique known as whole-genome sequencing was used to spot the new species, stenotrophomonas riyadhensis. (Supplied)
Who is Kaylia Nemour, the 17-year-old Algerian world champion gymnast?
Kaylia Nemour, the 17-year-old Algerian gymnast, won gold on the women’s uneven bars at the World Cup in Cottbus, Germany, marking a milestone in her career.
Evolving within the Avoine-Beaumont club, the Algerian gymnast has established herself as a promising star in the discipline and aims to maintain her status at the upcoming Paris 2024 Olympic Games. Nemour’s participation towards the Paris 2024 Olympics was secured on October 2, 2023, when she earned her place at the 2023 World Championships in Antwerp, Belgium, with a silver medal on the uneven bars.
Arriving at the World Cup Final in Germany 2024 as the favorite, Nemour lived up to expectations by scoring 15.433 on the uneven bars, mirroring her qualifying score. Her performance on Saturday not only secured her first place on the podium, but also highlighted her formidable competitiveness on her favorite apparatus.
“Qualifying was particularly successful. One of her best performances ever, a cut above the World or African Championships. She’s matured and grown, which makes the movement even prettier and more pleasing to watch,” explained her coach Marc Chirilcenco to La Nouvelle République.
More competitions to come
In addition to her uneven bars triumph, Nemour is also preparing for upcoming competitions, including the World Cup stops in Baku, Azerbaijan March 7-10, and Doha, Qatar, April 17-20, followed by the African Championships in Marrakech, Morocco April 30-May 7.
Saudi academic Ghadah Al-Harthi has been appointed ambassador of young patrons by the London-based Victoria and Albert Museum, one of the leading museums in the world.
Al-Harthi, who is based in the UK, is an associate professor at Central Saint Martins; a consultant at the London-based cultural consultancy Barker Langham; and an adviser at Chatham House, an international think tank.
Following her appointment, she said: “I am happy to be chosen as an ambassador by this prestigious museum that has a significant influence on the international cultural scene.”
She added: “My efforts will be focused on education and innovation to ensure the participation of the youth in cultural influence.
“My academic and consulting experience in innovation and culture with British universities and companies will allow me to support the museum’s senior management to develop global cultural communication methods and diversify cultural and art projects across the Middle East and Europe.”
The Young Patrons Group is an effective and important circle that supports the museum in achieving its goals. It includes leading patrons and donors supporting arts and culture at an international level.
The Victoria and Albert Museum, the world’s largest museum of applied arts and decorative arts, was founded in 1852 as a public institution, and is sponsored by the UK government’s Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport.
It contains a collection of 4.5 million varied items, including 20,000 of the most important Islamic pieces in the Middle East. At least 2 million people visit the museum annually.
source/content: arabnews.com (headline edited)
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She added: “My efforts will be focused on education and innovation to ensure the participation of the youth in cultural influence. (Supplied)
Algeria has finally inaugurated Africa’s largest mosque featuring world’s tallest minaret after years of delay.
The mosque with a minariet standing at 265 metres (869 feet) is being inaugurated ahead of the holy Muslim month of Ramadan.
Known as Djamaa El Djazair, the mosque reportedly cost close to $900m to build and was constructed by a Chinese firm.
The mosque is the the third largest in the world after the holiest sites in Makkah and Madinah and the largest in Africa.
It is located in the al-Mohammadiya area of Algiers and extends to an area of 200,000 square meters. The area of the prayer halls alone will be about 215,000 square feet.
The Great Mosque will also have a library, a conference center, a house of Quran, a museum and a research center.
Masters of relaxation: The record-breaking freedivers of Egypt.
When the countdown began, Khaled Elgammal took one final, deep breath before descending without any breathing equipment into the ocean. One minute and 29 seconds later, still holding his breath, the Egyptian athlete had free-fallen to 102 metres (335 feet) – a national record.
But for it to count, he had to reach the surface again. He turned at the bottom of the line and began his ascent – focusing on deep relaxation and the feelings of the surrounding water. In all, he had held his breath for two minutes and 50 seconds.
Elgammal is Egypt’s deepest freediver, and his remarkable achievement set a new national record at the Sharm el-Sheikh competition in October 2023.
“When I came to the surface, it was bliss. It felt amazing,” Elgammal recalls.
Freedivers like Elgammal rely solely on the ability to hold their breath while diving underwater. Through training, these divers master relaxation to slow down their heart rate, allowing them to stay beneath the surface without breathing equipment for minutes at a time. Very deep dives like the one he did recently usually require divers to hold their breath for around three minutes at a time.
The practice of freediving can be traced back to traditional fishing in communities like Asia’s Bajau people, where coastal groups have used freediving to hunt underwater for 200 years. As a sport, freediving is now undergoing record growth, attracting people looking to connect with the ocean and better understand their body’s abilities.
As for Elgammal, he says he was captivated by the unique sensations of diving with a single breath.
“I always say that scuba diving is everything in slow motion; you’re moving slow, breathing slow, and the sound of the bubbles is hypnotising, so everything is in slow motion. Freediving is like you’ve paused… and are the only thing moving down there. So you give yourself the chance to sink within.”
The sport is now growing in popularity around the world. According to AIDA International rankings, 2,889 freedivers registered to compete in competitions in 2023, more than twice the number a decade earlier.
The freediving organisation told Al Jazeera that around 20,000 people have become certified freedivers in recent years. Scuba Schools International (SSI) has similarly seen a steady 10 percent annual rise in the number of people earning their first freediving certification.
Many of these certifications are awarded in Dahab, a bohemian enclave on Egypt’s Red Sea coastline which has become home to numerous freediving schools and elite instructors. Dahab featured a shoreline of palm trees and traditional Bedouin homes just a few decades ago. While still considered a small town today, it boasts a thriving beachfront of Egyptian and international restaurants and attracts a growing crowd from Cairo, Europe and Asia. A handful of luxury hotels have emerged but Dahab still maintains an authentic charm – with herds of goats freely roaming the streets.
It’s also one of the world’s best-known freediving hotspots due to its year-round water conditions and proximity to Egypt’s Blue Hole. Just 20 minutes away by car, the Blue Hole is a famous reef-lined sinkhole accessible from the shore.
Here, divers can descend to around 90 metres (295 feet) – almost the height of the Statue of Liberty.
A heightened state of self-awareness
But what has contributed to the rise of freediving?
The sport is linked to several mental and therapeutic benefits. A 2013 study by academics at Atilim University in Turkey, found that freedivers tend to exhibit lower stress and anxiety levels than non-freedivers.
Carlos Diezel, the manager of Dahab Freedivers, a school that trains divers, explained that much of this is down to “breathwork”.
“The fact that we have to pay attention to our breath, our mind and relaxation when we go down teaches us awareness,” he says. “I believe that part of the problem, statistically speaking, for mental health issues is related to the lifestyle in modern society, that’s leading people to forget or block any kind of self-awareness.”
This heightened state of self-awareness is something that dedicated freedivers like Elgammal strive for. “I’m always aware now of what I’m feeling, what I’m sensing,” he says. “Freediving helped me to connect with myself.”
Freediving’s connection with nature and immersion in water may also contribute to its mental health benefits. Diezel says the most common reasons people sign up for freediving courses are a fascination with the ocean and learning more about themselves.
“They grasp this connection with themselves when you hold your breath and go deep,” he said, adding that students consider it “a ‘deep’ experience – sorry for the pun”.
Social media equally plays a role in bringing freediving to the forefront. Many freediving pictures allude to a sense of freedom, featuring divers among marine life and colourful reefs. The hashtag #freediving has amassed more than 3.5 million mentions on Instagram so far. “It’s getting a lot of attention as it’s quite photographic. Some videos are just mesmerising,” Diezel adds.
Diving safely
Within the existing freediving community, the sport’s surge in popularity brings added responsibility. Considered an “extreme sport”, freediving can be risky if safety protocols aren’t followed, or divers push themselves beyond their physical limits. They can experience oxygen deficiency symptoms like hypoxia and blackouts, as well as pressure-related risks like a ruptured eardrum, an example of a barotrauma.
Contrary to portrayals such as Netflix’s The Deepest Breath, divers losing consciousness – known as blackouts – are relatively uncommon, particularly in recreational diving at shallower depths.
Freedivers are also trained to rescue a fellow diver safely as part of their earliest training, learning to monitor each dive, spot signs of distress and how to react. Under the buddy system, which helps to ensure freedivers remain safe, divers never dive alone.
Tamsyn Signe is a professional freediver who champions safety whenever she enters the water. She has worked as a safety freediver in multiple competitions, and it’s her role to ensure the competing divers make it to the surface safely. Last year, she saved a diver’s life 30 metres (98 feet) underwater in a rare example of a deep rescue.
“As he got in front of me, the lights went out,” Signe recalls, describing the moment the ascending freediver just stopped moving after losing consciousness. At 30 metres below the surface, Signe was also holding her breath. However, she wasn’t thinking about the carbon dioxide building in her body – she had a job to do.
“Everything really slowed down,” she says. “I knew I was his best shot at being ok.” As she’s trained to do, Signe closed his airways with her hands and started finning (swimming up with flippers) with him toward the surface – a tricky job with the added weight of another diver. The competitor regained consciousness after reaching the surface, partly thanks to Signe’s quick thinking and supportive team. He would later reach out and thank her for saving his life.
Signe says the rescue changed her life too, making her more observant and prepared for unexpected risks, but it’s part of the job. Most freedivers believe that practising safety in freediving, such as never diving alone and being trained for rescue, is crucial to the sport’s survival.
But this is not just a tick-box exercise; safety also forges close bonds within the community. “When you go through an experience with people where you could potentially die, there’s some sort of connection that happens that is way deeper and intimate than normal. And those friendships do last a lifetime,” Signe adds.
Responsibilities beyond the breath-hold
Alongside valuing safety, Zahraa El-Husseiny, a freediving instructor and Egyptian national record holder, believes that protecting our oceans is also an important responsibility which comes with freediving. Many freedivers collect plastic they find floating in the water; others, like Diezel, stopped eating seafood after learning about the human impact of overfishing.
As Earth’s oceans face increasing pressures from pollution and global warming, those who rely on the sea will play a vital role in future conservation. First drawn to freediving because she was fascinated with marine life, El-Husseiny tries to teach others about respecting the ocean through her sport.
“We are very connected to the ocean, and we owe it to this to protect it. We know how essential it is to move freely underwater, so… we need to protect it,” she says.
For many, freediving offers a path for self-discovery and a deeper connection to the natural world. As a sport, it’s poised for continued growth in the future.
Freediving isn’t reserved for a select few either, and freediving communities are expanding in many coastal locations. “Everyone can learn how to hold their breath,” El-Husseiny adds.
“Everyone can learn how to enjoy the ocean and the peacefulness of diving. I would like people to know that this is something they can do, learn and progress in”, she says.
Passing on the love of this sport is something many freedivers take seriously. When Elgammal isn’t training for record-breaking dives, he’s working as an instructor and coach. He similarly urges those interested in the sport to “be curious”.
“Relax, enjoy, trust. Think about what you like and try to visualise that feeling.”
Transaction, first announced in September 2023, represents Aramco’s first downstream retail investment in South America.
Saudi Aramco successfully completed the acquisition of a 100 percent equity stake in Chile’s Esmax Distribucion, a leading diversified downstream fuels and lubricants retailer, it was announced on Friday.
Esmax has a national presence that includes retail fuel stations, airport operations, fuel distribution terminals and a lubricant blending plant.
The transaction, which was first announced in September 2023, represented Aramco’s first downstream retail investment in South America, illustrating the attractiveness of this market, and supports the Saudi company’s strategic goal to strengthen its downstream value chain.
“We are delighted to conclude the acquisition of Esmax and look forward to working with the outstanding team on the ground in Chile to achieve our shared ambitions,” Yasser Mufti, Aramco executive vice president of products & customers, said.
“Aramco aims to be a primary global retail player and this deal combines our high quality products and services, including Valvoline lubricants, with the experience and quality of an established operator in Chile.”
source/content: arabnews.com (headline edited)
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Pictured at the transaction closing are Southern Cross Group Partner Raul Sotomayor, front left, and Aramco Europe President & CEO Mazin Dabbagh, front right. Back row, from left, are Southern Cross Group Partner Jaime Besa, Aramco Vice-President of Retail and Esmax Chairman Ziyad Juraifani, and Aramco International Retail Director Nader Al Douhan. (Aramco)
