Greatest Distance on a Motocross Bike in 24 Hours (1 day) : Ali Abdo Ali : June 2017

Ail Abdo Ali . Adventurer. Long Distance Motor Cycle Rider. Entrepreneur.

Ali Abdo Ali broke the previous world record for the greatest distance on a motocross bike in 24 hours (or 1 day), by an indivdual – by reaching 613.km (381.2 miles) mark.

Certified by Guinness World Records.

First Arab to achieve a world record on a motorcycle.

2nd Record held by him:

-Largest distance travelled in Egypt by motorcycle in 7 days – January 15th, 2016 , He travelled 5,864 km on his motorcycle across Egypt in 7 days.

Founder : Around Egypt on a motorcycle

Ambassador of ‘ No Place like Egypt’

www.aliabdo.net

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pix: cairoscene.com

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EGYPT

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

Ahmad Abughaush Creates Jordanian History. Wins First Ever Olympic Medal (Gold) for Jordan . First Arab Athlete Olympian to Win Taekwondo : Rio Olympics 2016

Ahmad Abughaush. Taekwondo Athlete.

Jordan’s first-ever athlete to win the country’s first Olympic medal – a Gold medal. Ahmad Abughaush defeated 3-London Olympic 2012 Olympic medallists to win the gold at the Rio Olympics, Rio de Janeiro 2016.

First Taekwando athlete in the Arab world to win Gold in Taekwando.

Awards:

-2019 -World Championships, Manchester – Silver

– 2018 – Asian Games, Jakarta – Bronze

– 2017 -Universiade, Taipei – Bronze // Grand Prix, London – Gold // Grand Prix, Moscow – Bronze // World Championships, Muji – Bronze

– 2016 – Olympics, Rio de Janeiro – Gold

– 2012 – Best Jordanian Athlete Award – by Jordan Olympic Committee – Gold

– 2010 – Taekwondo World Championship for Juniors , Sharm-el-Sheik, Egypt – Gold

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Ahmad Abughaush by Salem Khames the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, in the men’s 68 kg / en.wikipedia.org

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JORDAN / PALESTINE

Hadi Souan , Athlete – Wins First ever Olympic Medal for Saudi Arabia : September 2000

Hadi Souan (aka) Hadi Soua’an Al-Somaily wins a Silver medal in 400m hurdles and brings Saudi Arabia’s First Olympic Medal Victory – 2000 Summer Olympics, Sydney, Australia.

He has won over 40 medals. Some of them are:

Records:

  • 2005 – Gold Medal – 400 m hurdles -Asian Championship, Incheon, South Korea
  • 2005 – Silver Medal – 400 m hurdles – Islamic Solidarity Games, Mecca, Saudi Arabia
  • 2005- Gold Medal – 4 x 400 m relay – Islamic Solidarity Games, Mecca, Saudi Arabia
  • 2004- Gold Medal – 400m hurdles – Pan Arab Games, Algiers, Algeria
  • 2004- Gold Medal – 4 x 400m relay – Pan Arab Games, Algiers, Algeria
  • 2002 – Gold Medal – 400m hurdles – West Asian Games, Kuwait
  • 2002 – Gold Medal – 400m hurdles – Asian Games, Busan, South Korea
  • 2002 -Gold Medal – 4 x 400m relay – Asian Games, Busan, South Korea
  • 2001 – Copper Medal – 400m hurdles – Goodwill Games, Brisbane, Australia
  • 2000 -Silver Medal – 400m hurdles – Summer Olympics, Sydney, Australia
  • 2000 – Gold Medal – 400m hurdles – Asian Championship, Jakarta, Indonesia
  • 2000- Copper Medal – 4 x 400m relay – Asian Championship, Jakarta, Indonesia
  • 1999- Gold Medal – 400m hurdles – Pan Arab Games, Amman, Jordan

Positions / Honours:

-Board member – Saudi Arabian Athletic Federation (SAAF) / -Board Member – Saudi Arabian Olympic Committee (SAOC) Assembly / -Member, Olympic Council of Asian Athletic Commission / -Member – Saudi Sports Arbitration Centre / – Member -International Relations Committee, Saudi Arabia Olympic Committee (SAOC) etc.

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Hadi Souan has Saudi national pride soaring high after winning the 400m hurdles silver medal at the Sydney Olympics. (Supplied) / arabnews.com

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SAUDI ARABIA

Waad Al-Kateab – Documentary Filmmaker. Award Winner.

Waad Al-Kateab. Journalist. Filmmaker. Activist

Named as one of the Top 100 Influential People in 2020 by TIME magazine (September 2020)

Award winning Syrian Director of the film ‘For Sama’ .

-The most nominated documentary in the history of the British Academy Film Awards (BAFTA)

-Golden Eye Award, Cannes Film Festival / Grand Jury Award, SXSW / Special Jury Prize, Canadian Hot Docs International Film Festival / Oeil d’Or Prize, Cannes Film Festival (May 25, 2019)

Other Awards:

-International Emmy for Reporting – for the covering the Siege of Aleppo . The First Syrian to win in this category.

Presently: Reporter for Channel 4 News, UK

Other Documentary:

  • The Second Castle at Aleppo

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pix: arabnews.com / tumblr.com

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UNITED KINGDOM / SYRIA

World’s Highest Suspended Hotel Suite in the Clouds – St. Regis – Abu Dhabi (UAE) : April 2016

St. Regis Hotel Abu Dhabi. The new iconic Nation Tower development in Abu Dhabi.

Highest suspended Presidential suite in the world. High up in the air at over 200 meters.

Housed in a sky bridge joining two towers. It is positioned between the National Towers’ 48th and 49th floor.

Guests can fly in their choppers, land on the helipad atop the National Tower and be whisked away directly to the Abu Dhabi suite by a private elevator.

The suite is over 1,120 square meters (11,600 sq. ft) of luxury. Features a 2-level luxury majlis, 3 beautiful bedrooms, luxurious Spa, movie theatre alongwith kitchen, dining rooms and a fully equipped gym.

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pix : thepinnaclelist.com

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Abu Dhabi, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES (U.A.E.)

World’s Furthest Leaning Man-Made Tower – ‘ Capital Gate ‘ Abu Dhabi (UAE) : 2011

Abu Dhabi’s Skyscraper ‘Capital Gate’ also known as the ‘Leaning Tower of Abu Dhabi. The building officially opened on December 21, 2011.

Capital Gate is 160 meters (520 feet tall) , 35 stories high and with 16,000 sq. meters (170,000 sq.ft) of built area. It is also one of the tallest buildings in the Capital city.

Due to its clever engineering and architectural design, the building leans 18 degrees to the west. It is 4 times more than the Leaning Tower of Suuvhusen. Capital Gate is one of the few diagrid buildings in the world.

Guinness World Records certified as the ‘World’s Farthest Man Made Leaning Building in the World’ in 2018.

Capital Gate is designed by the Architectural firm RMJM , Scotland / United Kingdom.

The building is owned and developed by Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Company (ADNEC).

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pix : wikipedia.org / FritzDaCat

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Abu Dhabi, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES (U.A.E.)

Saudi-backed LUCID MOTORS, USA, Launches First Electric Vehicle ‘AIR’: September 2020

Lucid Air (EV) was launched from its Headquarters based in Newark, California on September 10th, 2020

Lucid Air has ground breaking electric vehicle (EV) technology incorporation Lucid Motors’s proprietary Electric Drivetrain Technology.

Aimed at the luxury saloon segment dominated by German manufacturers. Branded as the world’s fastest charging EV and the most aerodynamic car in the world.

Lucid’s Atieva battery powers the Formula E vehicles that have been showcased at Saudi Arabian motorsports events.

Powering the Air is a dual-motor, all-wheel-drive setup with a combined output of up to 1,080 horsepower. The motor is fed charge through a 22 module, 5kWh battery pack with a total combined capacity of 113kWh

Lucid Motors is backed by Saudi Arabia’s Public Invest Fund who hold a majority stake.

www.lucidmotors.com

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pix: marco della cava / usatoday.com

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USA / SAUDI ARABIA

Two UAE Private Schools Make it to the ‘Top 100 in the World Rankings’ – September 2020

The two private schools that have been named to the world rankings of ‘Top 100 Private Schools ‘are: Cranleigh Abu Dhabi and Dubai College.

In yet another classification for the ‘Top 5 Private Schools in the Middle East Region’ , 3 more that are named in addition to the above two: Brummana High School (Lebanon), Doha College (Qatar) and King’s Academy (Jordan).

The rankings are based on a new league table ‘ Spear’s School Index 2020’.

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Cranleigh Abu Dhabi has been selected as one the world’s top 100 private schools. Courtesy: Cranleigh Abu Dhabi / pix: thenational.ae

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UNITED ARAB EMIRATES / LEBANON / QATAR / JORDAN

Nancy Ajram Breaks Records – ‘Most Listened To’ Female Arab Artist on Spotify : August 2020

Nancy Ajram (Nancy Nabil Ajram). Singer. Television Judge. Businesswoman. Philanthropy.

With this record Nancy Ajram has outperformed major singers Fairuz and the late Umm Kulthum.

Nancy came at the top of a list as the ‘Most Listened’ to female artist on the Spotify platform, after she achieved more than 100 million plays of her songs, followed by  Fairuz with 67 million plays, then Egyptian songstress Sherine Abdel Wahab with 26 million plays, then Iraqi artist Aseel Hamim with 22 million plays.

In addition, the list includes the following artists; Yara, Elissa, Najwa Karam, Assala Nasri, Haifa Wehbe, Carole Samaha, Samira Said, and finally the late Umm Kulthum known as “Kawkab Al Sharq” with 7.6 million.

Judge on MBC’s reality talent show ‘ Arab Idol’ (2003 onwards)

Records :

-Nancy Ajram has previously won many international awards, including World Music Award for the highest sales in the Middle East.

-Over 30 million records have been sold world wide, making her one of the best selling Middle Eastern music artists.

-First and only female spokesperson of Coca-Cola in the Arab World.

-UNICEF’s First Female Regional Ambassador for Middle East and North Africa (October 22nd, 2009)

-Listed on ‘One of the Most Powerful Arabs’ by Arabian Business (several times) / Listed on ‘Most Influential Arabs’ – by Newsweek

Awards:

  • More than 25 or so. Check wikipedia.com for the list

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pix : arabnews.com

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Lebanon