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The 7th El-Gouna Film Festival ended with the awards announced during the closing ceremony on 1 November.
El-Gouna Golden Star award went to Ghost Trail, a thriller about a Syrian refugee in France. Check all awards below.
International competition
El-Gouna Golden Star award for best narrative film Ghost Trail (France) by Jonathan Millet
The film follows Hamid, who “joins a secret group tracking Syrian regime leaders on the run. His mission takes him to France, pursuing his former torturer for a fateful confrontation,” reads the synopsis on IMDb.
El-Gouna Silver Star The Kingdom (France) by Julien Colonna
El-Gouna Bronze Star Girls Will be Girls (India) by Shuchi Talati won the Fipresci Award.
Best actor Adam Bessa for his performance in Ghost Trail (France) by Jonathan Millet
Best actress Laura Weissmahr for her performance in Salve Maria (Spain) by Mar Coll
Best Arab narrative feature – shared award – Thank You For Banking With Us! (Palestine) by Laila Abbas – Who Do I Belong To (Tunisia) by Meryam Joobeur
Jury special mention Actor Charles Peccia Galletto for his performance in My Everything by Anne-Sophie Bailly
Documentary competition
El-Gouna Golden Star We Are Inside (Lebanon) by Farah Kassem
El-Gouna Silver Star Soundtrack To A Coup d’Etat (Belgium) by Johan Grimonprez
El-Gouna Bronze Star A New Kind Of Wilderness (Norway) by Silje Evensmo Jacobsen
Best Arab documentary feature – shared award – The Brink Of Dreams (Egypt) by Nada Riyadh and Ayman El Amir – My Memory Is Full Of Ghosts (Syria) by Anas Zawahri
Other awards
Fipresci award Girls Will be Girls (India) by Shuchi Talati Cinema for Humanity award Disorder (Lebanon) by Lucien Bourjeily, Bane Fakih, Wissam Charaf, and Areej Mahmoud.
The NetPac award We Are Inside (Lebanon) by Farah Kassem
El Gouna Green Star award The Battle For Laikipia (Kenya) by Peter Murimi and Daphne Matziaraki
The UAE Girls Under-16 Team successfully defended their title at the 2024 Pan Arab Ladies and Youth Golf Championships, led by standout performer Anca Mateiu at The Residences Golf Course in Gammarth.
In addition to clinching the team gold, Mateiu, along with teammates Aasiya Saleem and Sara Abubaker, dominated the individual standings, winning Gold, Silver, and Bronze, respectively.
In the Ladies’ Division, Intissarr Rich was the pick of the bunch for Team UAE, securing Silver, while Jamie Camero took Bronze after a countback. These strong individual performances, combined with Faye Alblooshi’s fifth-place finish, helped the Ladies’ Team earn the Silver Medal, finishing just behind Morocco.
Both championships were contested over 54 holes, with the best two scores from each team counting towards the final result.
The Championships also included a Girls Under-13 Division, where Morocco claimed both the Gold and Bronze individual medals, while the hosts Tunisia secured Silver.
Attention now shifts to the Boys Under-18 and Boys Under-16 Divisions, which will take place over the next three days.
source/content: gulfnews.com (headline edited)
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The UAE delegation celebrate their success / Image Credit: Supplied
The 12th World Urban Forum (WUF), hosted in Cairo from November 4 to 8, achieved record-breaking levels of attendance and participation, as confirmed by UN Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director of UN-Habitat Ana Claudia Rusbach.
She extended her gratitude to Egypt for the forum’s unprecedented success, highlighting Cairo’s contributions to making this year’s forum the most well-attended in its history.
During the closing-day press conference, Rusbach underscored the significance of the turnout, affirming that this year’s forum exceeded all previous benchmarks. Joining her at the conference were prominent Egyptian officials, including Egypt’s Minister of Local Development Dr. Manal Awad, Minister of Housing Eng. Sherif El-Sherbini, and Cairo’s Governor Dr. Ibrahim Saber.
Rusbach highlighted the value of collaboration between governments and local communities, particularly in addressing critical housing and climate challenges. She emphasized that adequate housing is a fundamental human right and underlined the importance of collective action in managing climate change’s impacts.
The forum spotlighted housing and urban development challenges, with discussions focusing on sustainable solutions, affordable housing access, and resilience in the face of climate threats. The event underscored the role of cities in advancing human rights and fostering community-driven solutions through international cooperation.
Democrats Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar have won re-election and continue their position in American politics after being the first two Muslim women to serve in the United States Congress.
Their victories come amid the backdrop of Israel’s ongoing war in Gaza, which has killed more than 43,000 Palestinians with diplomatic and military support from Tel Aviv’s key ally, the United States.
Tlaib, who is also the only Palestinian-American woman in US Congress, defeated her Republican opponent on Tuesday for a fourth term as a representative for Michigan with support from the large Arab-American community in Dearborn.
The Associated Press called the race with just 18 percent of the votes counted. Tlaib secured 77 percent of the vote with her opponent receiving 19 percent.
In the days leading up to the election, Tlaib declined to endorse Vice President and Democratic candidate Kamala Harris for US President. She, however, urged Americans to go to the polls and vote.
Omar, a former refugee and Somali American, won for a third term in Minnesota. She faced Republican challenger Dalia al-Aqidi, an Iraqi-American journalist who describes herself as a “secular Muslim” and called Omar, who is a proponent of Palestinian rights, pro-Hamas.
The congresswoman won 76.4 percent of the vote compared to al-Aqidi’s 23.6 percent, according to the Associated Press, which called the race with 87 percent of the vote counted.
Both Tlaib and Omar have repeatedly spoken against Israel’s war on Gaza followed by the Oct. 7 Hamas attack, the ensuing humanitarian crisis and the Biden administration’s stance on the conflict. The two have faced a slew of attacks from pro-Israel groups as well as fellow lawmakers for their remarks.
Tlaib has been a leading voice against America’s military aid to Israel and for the Palestinian people in Gaza and the West Bank. She was censured by the House last year over rhetoric she used following the Hamas attack
Meanwhile, Omar is a part of an informal group of lawmakers known as the “Squad,” which is made up of progressive members of Congress including Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez, among others.
The Saudi initiative “Arab Week at UNESCO” has enabled 22 participating Arab countries to showcase their rich cultural heritage in a welcoming platform that fosters Arab and international cultural and civilizational work. The initiative contributes to the development of education, culture, and science at both regional and global levels.
For Arab Week, which was organized for the first time in the history of Arab countries’ cooperation with the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the Saudi National Commission for Education, Culture, and Science exerted significant efforts to support the participants’ presentations and highlight the harmony between the diverse cultures of the Arab world. The event marks a celebration of the Arab world’s rich cultural heritage through various literature and art.
The participating countries expressed their gratitude to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for providing a broad platform for intercultural dialogue, which promotes global dialogue and peace and encourages the exchange of knowledge and expertise in various fields.
The event included several seminars: the Arabic language, Arabic calligraphy, Arabic literature, artificial intelligence (AI), education, visual arts, intangible cultural heritage, and world heritage. The activities also included four exhibitions: Arab culture, Arabic calligraphy, photographs of heritage sites in the Arab World, and Arab cultural products.
The AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023 Local Organising Committee (LOC) has received several awards for a historic edition of the continental championship.
Both Qatar Tourism and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) recognised the achievements made by Qatar in hosting the tournament earlier this year.
The LOC received two Qatar Tourism Awards for Premier Sports Events of the Year and Accessibility Initiative of the Year.
The awards were presented to the LOC by Qatar Tourism and Visit Qatar Chairman Saad bin Ali al-Kharji, UN Tourism Executive Director Natalia Bayona, and Regional Director (Middle East) Basma al-Mayman.
At the AFC Annual Awards, the Qatar Football Association (QFA) received the AFC Asian Cup Host Appreciation Award for the tremendous role they played in delivering a memorable tournament.
The Award was presented by Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim al-Khalifah, AFC President, to Jassim Rashid al-Buenain, QFA President.
The AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023 was hosted by Qatar in the beginning of 2024, having previously organised the competition twice before, in 1988 and 2011. The tournament, which saw Qatar defend its title on home soil, broke records for overall attendance, digital engagement and press coverage.
A total of 86,492 spectators made their way to the iconic Lusail Stadium for the AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023 final.
With that, a record-breaking attendance of 1,509,496 fans was registered for the tournament, surpassing the previous attendance record of 1.04mn set during the 2004 edition hosted by China.
source/content: gulf-times.com (headline edited)
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The AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023 Local Organising Committee received two Qatar Tourism Awards for Premier Sports Events of the Year and Accessibility Initiative of the Year. The awards were presented to the LOC by Qatar Tourism and Visit Qatar Chairman Saad bin Ali al-Kharji.
The UAE has won membership in the Board of Directors of the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) for the period 2025-2027, after receiving the unanimous votes of member states during the General Assembly meeting held last week in Edinburgh, United Kingdom, in a new achievement added to the country’s record of distinguished international achievements.
Her Excellency Dr. Farah Al Zarouni, Assistant Undersecretary for the Standards and Legislation Sector at the Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology, was announced as a member of the Board of Directors.
The UAE’s winning of membership in the Board of Directors of the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) as the first Arab country to win this membership, with the unanimous votes of all countries, reflects the continuous efforts made by the Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology in the quality infrastructure system, and its various initiatives to develop standard specifications, conformity systems and programs. The UAE plays a vital role in supporting the work of the committee, which includes more than 170 countries under its umbrella, and provides a global and neutral standardization platform for more than 30,000 experts worldwide, in addition to spreading the best Emirati and Gulf practices in the field of standardization, and enhancing the competitiveness of Emirati products and the sustainability of supply chains at the regional and international levels.
His Excellency Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, stressed that winning membership in the Board of Directors of the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) is a distinguished achievement for the UAE as the first Arab country to win membership in the Board of Directors by unanimous vote of the participants, noting that all progress achieved by the UAE comes thanks to the vision of the leadership and its keenness to support building expertise, raising efficiency and improving performance in all sectors.
His Excellency explained that obtaining the unanimous vote comes as a result of the strategic partnership and cooperation approach between the UAE and various countries, pointing out that the new achievement confirms the country’s growing position in the quality infrastructure system, and the depth of global confidence in the efficiency and capacity of this system in the country, especially since it comes after the UAE won membership in the Board of Directors of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) last September.
He said: The quality infrastructure system represents one of the pillars and enablers of industrial growth in the UAE, supporting the objectives of the National Strategy for Industry and Advanced Technology (300 Billion Project) and the “Make in the Emirates” initiative, stressing that the country’s membership in the “IEC Board of Directors” enhances its role as a major partner in shaping the future of quality infrastructure at the international level and developing specifications, innovations and modern technology, such as artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things, and renewable energy.
Her Excellency Dr. Farah Al Zarouni, Assistant Undersecretary for the Standards and Legislation Sector at the Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology, headed the UAE delegation participating in the meetings of the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) in the United Kingdom, which included representatives from the Abu Dhabi Quality and Conformity Council, the Abu Dhabi Department of Energy, the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), the Dubai Electricity and Water Authority, Space42, Emirates Global Aluminium, and ABB.
Al Zarouni said that the ministry is working within integrated efforts with partners in local government agencies and the private sector to enhance the efficiency of production sectors with specifications and systems that are in line with the best international practices, and facilitate the access of Emirati products to new markets, noting that the UAE has more than 27,000 standard specifications and technical regulations that support the outputs of industrial sectors, innovation, sustainable manufacturing, energy efficiency programs, and others; She stressed that the UAE membership will enhance the efforts of Emirati and international integration to unify and harmonize new developments in the standardization system and reach leading positions that support Emirati competitiveness.
As part of the UAE’s participation in the annual meetings of the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), the country was keen to enhance its participation in the IEC Young Professionals Program to build national youth capacities and empower them in the field of standardization and conformity programs, as the country participates annually by nominating two young Emiratis in this program.
The programme was attended by Eng. Majid Bin Zobaa from ABB and Eng. Maha Al Shehhi from Dubai Electricity and Water Authority. The country’s candidate, Eng. Majid Bin Zobaa, was able to win the seat of Young Professional Leader for 2024 for the Asia and Middle East group.
Winning the seat of the organization’s Young Professional Leader is a distinguished achievement, as it is the country’s fourth consecutive win since 2021, and the fifth since participating in the program. It enhances the effective role played by the UAE at the international level, and reflects the efficiency and capabilities of young citizens to represent the country during participation in the activities of regional and international organizations in a way that serves the country’s interests and achieves its strategic goals.
The International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) is one of the largest international organizations leading in setting and developing standards for the electrical, electronics and related technologies sectors. It aims to facilitate international trade in products and services by setting international standards that ensure quality and safety, and conformity assessment programs, and allows manufacturers to produce products of advanced quality and performance. The specifications issued by it are considered one of the most important and reliable international standards in the electrical sector.
IEC specifications are widely used in the production of equipment used in power transmission and distribution devices for home appliances and office equipment, semiconductors, optical fibers, batteries, solar energy, nanotechnology, marine energy, electronics, electromagnetic compatibility, medical technology, safety and environment, and other fields.
Othman Al Omeir was awarded the Legacy of Change Medal by the Parliamentary Society for Arts
Celebrated journalist and editor Othman Al Omeir was awarded the Legacy of Change Medal by the Parliamentary Society for Arts last week.
The ceremony, held in Committee Room 14, an esteemed space within the House of Parliament usually reserved for significant political announcements, acknowledged Al Omeir’s contributions to media and advocacy.
The assembly was organized by Rebeca Riofrio, chairwoman of the Parliamentary Society for Arts, and brought together leaders from the creative industries.
Among the distinguished guests was Minister for Victims and Violence Against Women and Girls Alex Davies-Jones, who delivered an impassioned speech underscoring the UK government’s commitment to addressing the issue of violence in the arts. Her speech highlighted the importance of advocacy for all artists, echoing the assembly’s overarching theme of resilience and protection within the creative sectors.
Other notable figures such as Joshua Kane and Marine Tanguy were also honored for their impactful contributions to arts and culture.
Born in Saudi Arabia and a British citizen for the past 40 years, Al Omeir has spent decades shaping the Arab world’s media.
He has been closely connected with the Parliamentary Society for the past five years and has long championed initiatives to protect creatives and uphold the integrity of journalism. His presence, alongside influential figures such as Minister Davies-Jones, Princess Katarina of Yugoslavia, Dame Tessy Antony de Nassau, and Lady Paris Smith, underscored his dedication to advancing a free and supportive media landscape.
As the founder of Elaph, the first independent Arabic e-newspaper, Al Omeir sought to break free from censorship and provide a space for liberal perspectives, promoting open dialogue on issues affecting the Arab region and beyond.
Nowadays, he serves as one of the advisers for the Parliament News Magazine, a publication that has gained recognition for addressing critical social issues since 2019.
In his ongoing work, Al Omeir uses his platforms to encourage the industry to work collectively to safeguard its talent, highlighting the pervasive challenges that creatives can face, such as violence and substance abuse.
Reflecting on the award, Al Omeir stated: “To receive this recognition in such a revered space as Committee Room 14 is deeply meaningful. Media is not just about information; it’s a powerful force for justice and societal progress. We must use this influence to protect those who bring creativity and truth into our world, ensuring they can express themselves without fear.”
source/content: arabnews.com (headline edited)
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Born in Saudi Arabia and a British citizen for the past 40 years, Al Omeir has spent decades shaping the Arab world’s media. (Supplied)
Somalia receives a boost in fight against COVID-19 in the form of home-made mechanised respirators, created by 21-year-old Mogadishu-based mechanical engineer A 21-year-old mechanical engineer came up with the device in response to a national shortage.
A 21-year-old Somali mechanical engineer has invented a homemade respirator to try to help his country during the COVID-19 Pandemic.
The east African nation is suffering from a severe lack of respiratory equipment, which concerned Mogadishu–based Mohamad Adawe.
Previously, medical staff in Somalia have mainly had to assist patients’ breathing by manually pumping the equipment. This has also brought them into close contact with the infected people, heightening the risk of contagion.
“We don’t have economic might or a strong government in Somalia. To respond to this bad disease, I produced this device at a time when our people are suffering from a shortage of oxygen equipment.
Mohamed Adawe
Mogadishu-based mechanical engineer
Adawe says there was a real need for his invention:
“This device is used for patients in emergency situations, especially those who are having difficulty breathing. It is immediately useable for saving lives.
“We don’t have economic might or a strong government in Somalia. To respond to this bad disease, I produced this device at a time when our people are suffering from a shortage of oxygen equipment.
“So, my automated device can be attached to the patient’s face and moved away from them, as a social distancing measure.”
“With my device, we can fight against COVID-19 while our country is facing a shortage of oxygen devices – and while other countries of the world hold ventilators and other devices in their warehouses.”
Dr. Hussein Abdi-Aziz Abdulkadir, Director of the Somali Syrian Hospital in Mogadishu, hailed the significance of Adawe’s invention:
“In the past, you always had to use your hands to squeeze the airbag of the device, to clear the airway of the patient.
“But now Mohamed Adawe has automated the device to help patients clear their airway and help with breathing at a time when there is an urgent need for this.”
It’s hoped Mohamad Adawe’s innovation will help save lives: not just because it aids the patient in breathing, but also because it allows doctors to keep a safer distance from them, reducing the risk of contagion.
The Neom giga-project in Saudi Arabia is currently using one fifth of all the steel produced in the world, an official said on Monday.
The futuristic city will be the world’s largest customer for construction materials for several decades, said Manar Al Moneef, Neom’s chief investment officer.
She told the Global Logistics Forum in the King Abdullah Financial District in Riyadh that the $500 billion project would be one of the world’s leading drivers of the global logistics sector in coming years.
“Neom is going to be the largest customer over the next decade. If you look at our demand in logistics it’s 5 percent of the global logistics market,” she told the forum, in rare public comments.
Neom’s demand for steel meant “we are 20 percent of the global steel market. If you look at our demand in elevators, cement and so on … put simply, Neom is going to be the largest customer over the next few decades,” Al Moneef said.
Neom, located in the far northwest of Saudi Arabia, is the jewel in the crown of Saudi Arabia’s economic development projects, which have been valued at more than $1.25 trillion.
However, some projects have slowed down as Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) faces funding pressures caused by lower oil prices and pressure to funnel cash towards projects in Riyadh before the World Expo 2030 and the 2034 World Cup, both taking place in the Saudi capital.
The Neom projects include a horizontal city called The Line which is due for final completion at 170km long in 2045. A small central section just 5km long has a target date of 2030.
Dhiraj Joshi, a partner at the management consultancy Arthur D Little Middle East, said: “Projects like Neom, Oxagon, getting all the hotels ready in various parts, is a long-term investment strategy so there is no hurry [in] the next four or five years when we get done with Expo and World Cup.”
Neom would be prioritised again later, Joshi said.
source/content: agbi.com / Arabian Gulf Business Insight (headline edited)
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Neom could be the world’s largest customer for construction materials for several decades, according to an official / pic: Getty Images / UnSplash
