SOMALI BRITISH: Refugee to Referee to MBE: England Football’s Jawahir Roble plays by her own rules

As a child, she took part in the game she loves against a backdrop of civil war. Now, Britain’s first black female Muslim referee fights for the rights of others as a role model for inclusivity.

A cold, cloudy Sunday morning in West London and 22 grown men are on a football pitch playing in one of the capital’s minor leagues. The standard is not particularly good but nonetheless there is something remarkable about the fixture.

As the tackles fly in, a 1.6-metre-tall figure wearing match officials’ kit and a headscarf brandishes a yellow rectangular piece of plastic.

“My philosophy is that everyone deserves a chance,” Jawahir Roble, Britain’s first black female Muslim referee, tells The National. “But if they keep repeating fouls, I book them.

“I like to control the game first and then I’ll use my cards. The game is not about me. It’s about them having fun and making good memories.”

The contest finishes with a 3-1 home win but, for Roble, 29, the more important result is not the score at the final whistle — it’s that the players amble over to shake her hand and say thank you. Confirmation, she says, of a job well done.

Her extraordinary achievements have been recognised with an MBE in King Charles IIIs first New Year Honours List for services to the Football Association and volunteering work with the education and social inclusion charity Football Beyond Borders.

It is a feat perhaps rivalled only by the journey that has brought her to within tantalising distance of collecting the silver medal at a forthcoming investiture at Buckingham Palace.

Musing on how far she has come, Roble herself once said: “Who would ever think a black, Somali-born immigrant girl with eight siblings could ref a men’s game in England with a hijab on?”

Jawahir Jewels (JJ), as she is commonly known because of the Arabic meaning of her first name, was born in Mogadishu, where she could often be found barefoot in a four-a-side competition with her siblings, kicking scrunched up cloth wrapped in sticky tape around the courtyard of the family home.

Her parents, Mahdi, a grocer, and Safya, sometimes watched the rough and tumble from the sidelines with Jamila, the baby too small to take part, until the moments when the country’s civil war came perilously close. Then, play was suspended as everyone scarpered inside to relative safety.

“You did have to be careful,” Roble recalls. “You could hear gunfire, people screaming sometimes, loud bangs and explosions. I was scared. There were lots of kidnappings and crazy stories.

“But, as a child, it was also very carefree and fun and happy. We still had to get our school and mosque work done. We got told off so many times. But we learnt the system — do our chores and then we could go outside. We had to earn the right to play football.”

After Friday prayer, they would rendezvous with friends to play on a larger patch of muddy ground outside the house, or on the beach at Xeebta Liido by the Somali Sea a half-hour drive away.

The walls of the bedroom shared with her two younger sisters, Amina and Fatima, featured images of David Beckham and, intriguingly given Roble’s future career path, the controversial Italian defender Marco Materazzi, whose aggressive style amassed an inordinate number of bookings.

“With the obsession I have with football, you would think that someone encouraged me or a teacher influenced me. But, no, I just fell in love with it out of nowhere. At heart, I am a complete tomboy.”

As tensions heightened and the war escalated in the early 2000s, the siblings’ outside excursions were curtailed and Mahdi, who had applied for British visas and bought suitcases, put in motion a hitherto secret escape plan.

Ten-year-old JJ, forced to swelter in a coat in anticipation of the colder weather ahead, was taken in a packed eight-seater van to the airport for the 6,400km flight to London.

“We got told: ‘We have to move out.’ No time to tell anyone or sell the shop,” Roble says. “Dad gave it to a relative to look after.

“I remember thinking to myself, ‘We’re not coming back here for a long, long time’.”

Landing at Heathrow nine hours later was a shock. “Oh, my goodness, the place seemed massive. So many different people. Like there’s white people, there’s Chinese people. I’m only used to seeing black people. One of my siblings reached out to touch someone’s bright blonde hair.

“I thought: ‘Wow, this is the real world.’”

First stop was Sudbury in north-west London for a few weeks with a relative, then a temporary hotel stay in Kilburn before they were allocated a council house in the shadow of the largest football stadium in the UK.

“Can you imagine?” she asks with an infectious laugh. “Wembley! We could see the stadium — the home of football — from our house. Just amazing. Something I’ll never forget.”

Roble had thought that only players or special fans were allowed into the hallowed grounds but she has since been twice: on a Chalk Hill Primary School trip (“I couldn’t imagine someone like me could go … It was surreal); and last summer when England’s Lionesses beat Germany 2-1 in the European Championships final (“That was incredible”).

In their new garden, the serious rivalry resumed, one team captained by the oldest Roble sister, the other by the oldest brother, and a lemon or potato for a football.

But, after much pleading, her parents soon handed over £3 ($3.69) for a coveted purchase that enabled JJ, who at that time spoke no English, to overcome the language barrier and fit in more quickly at school.

“Because the kid that has the ball gets the friends,” she explains, smiling. “The first words I learnt I think were, ‘pass, pass’ and ‘shoot!’”

The restrictive uniform of long black skirt, white shirt, school shoes and hijab did little to stop Roble from playing every spare minute, skipping breakfast and lunch to take to the field before lessons, in break times and after the final bell.

“Sometimes kids at primary school teased me. Teachers asked how I could play dressed like that. I was like, ‘This is it, this is what Muslim people wear. You have to be covered up.’

“My religion was not an issue. As long as you’re just a nice person, they would accept you in the group. Being a Muslim is about being a good person, being modest and doing what makes you happy.”

When a supportive PE teacher spotted how well Roble was performing in sports, the first seeds of discord were sowed with her parents who expressed a strong preference for their children to excel instead at maths and English.

“My dad actually sat me down and said: ‘You came all the way from Somalia, all the way from the war just so you can play football? We want you to make use of this country’s opportunities. At least learn to be something that can help other people, like a doctor.’”

But, in Roble’s characteristically headstrong way, fulfilling her father’s ambitions was never a realistic outcome.

At 14, she thought the moment she had dreamt of had arrived. Players from Queens Park Rangers’ women’s team visited the secondary school for a coaching session and to seek out talent for the club’s academy.

Roble put in the work, showing off her pace and left-footed skills in the attacking and defensive duties of a centre midfielder.

“I was one of four or five girls who got a letter inviting me to trial. I was so excited. I’m on the bus and I’m reading this letter over and over again. All that letter needed was a parent’s name and a signature.”

When she arrived home, however, her mother tore up the invitation in an act that even now, 15 years later, causes Roble pain to recount.

Heart-broken at her life’s ambition being thwarted, the resigned teenager eventually left school early to begin a design technology course at college.

While there, she took the level one and two coaching badges with Middlesex Football Association before a referee shortage led to her being asked to step in at the last minute, with no experience, to take charge of an under-sevens girls’ match.

“The parents were very nice to me and the girls said how nice it was to have a female referee. So, from that, I continued volunteering as a referee for a whole year at junior level.”

That prompted the FA to fund her formal referee training. “I said to myself: ‘I have to continue, get braver, do different leagues, different age groups.’ Next thing you know I’m doing men’s and women’s. It happened so fast. Within four years, I was doing adult games.”

After joining the women’s pathway, Roble advanced to National League Level 3 and is now determined to progress to the Women’s Championship and Super League, and who knows where after that?

Along the way, she has garnered a clutch of accolades, including the FA Respect Match Official Award 2017 and being named on the BBC’s 100 Women 2019, as well as that MBE on the same honours list as the England head coach Sarina Wiegman, captain Leah Williamson, and players Lucy Bronze, Beth Mead and Ellen White.

When she’s not teaching at a special needs school in London, Roble dedicates herself to promoting inclusivity, defying stereotypes, demolishing barriers and clearing a path for future generations.

There are, she says, no limits to what can be achieved: “Only I can stop myself, and I’m not going to do that.”

Fitness is a priority, and she has also spent countless hours watching YouTube clips of professional referees such as the former Premier League’s Mark Clattenburg to study their positioning during play and how they control the game.

Further inspiration came last November when an all-female on-field refereeing team led by Stephanie Frappart took charge of a men’s World Cup game for the first time in the match between Germany and Costa Rica.

Even her parents are coming around to their daughter’s deep involvement with football, though Roble sounds as though she is meeting them halfway.

“I understand now that they wanted the best for me and to make sure I was protected and safe. They told me, ‘We don’t want any hatred towards you.’ I’ve told them it’s not like that.

“At the end of the day, I’m spreading positivity. I’m sharing my sports journey with young girls, you know, who like me are interested in football. Maybe if they hear my story, they can use it to inspire them and have a shortcut instead of what I did.”

What she did, ultimately, was find the courage to tackle the norms within the Somali community and succeed on her own terms.

“My faith encourages sports, my faith encourages a healthy lifestyle,” Roble says. “I feel like [the issue] was more to do with cultural concerns. Because our culture says girls should be at home, not getting involved in men’s sports. Girls should be shy, keep on the low, low. I’m sorry but that’s not me.

“I have challenged it. Now, in my Somali community, most of them are: ‘Oh, wow, you’re doing a great job.’ And I’m like, ‘So who was the problem? Do you have anything to say now?’”

It is the same toughness displayed when Roble encounters disbelieving looks from players and coaching staff as she walks to her happy place on the pitch or a decision is criticised.

As with all referees, she has received verbal abuse but says it’s nothing she can’t deal with. Despite her diminutive size, Roble’s big personality, confidence and forthright retorts make for a commanding presence — and there is always the “power” of the red and yellow cards in her pocket.

Her story might have had moments of isolation, sometimes in the family setting and at least initially in an unfamiliar country as a refugee, but she seems undaunted by the “loneliness” of the referee presiding over two teams.

“I have accepted that,” Roble says of the latter. “Once I get on the pitch, I feel like everyone is my team. I feel totally free, like nothing else matters. There is no stress, nothing.

“I wanted to be a footballer so, in a way, I am kind of living that dream. It is where I belong.”

source/content: thenationalnews.com/mena/arab-showcase (headline edited)

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When she’s not teaching at a special needs school in London, Jawahir Roble is dedicated to defying stereotypes, demolishing barriers and clearing a path for future generations. Photo: Shutterstock

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BRITISH / SOMALIA

MOROCCO Outperforms US to Become 4th Largest Blueberry Exporter Worldwide

Morocco’s berry production is one of the country’s key contributors to the agricultural sector.

Morocco has outperformed the US becoming the fourth largest blueberry exporter in the world.

Data from East Fruit said that Morocco exported 53,000 tonnes of blueberries in 2022. Peru was the largest exporter of fresh blueberries last year, with 277,000 tonnes, followed by Chile (105,000 tonnes) and Spain (87,000).

Despite Morocco’s leading position in blueberry exports, the Netherlands exported more blueberries than the North African country in  11 months of last year, the same source said.

“It should be noted that the exports from the Netherlands in 11 months of last year were higher than that of Morocco, having amounted to 104 000 tonnes,” East Fruit reported.

Elaborating on the data, the news outlet said: “However, if we take into account the volume of re-exports, the real result of the Netherlands will be much lower since it imported 130 000 tonnes of fresh blueberries during this period.”

East Fruit also recalled that Morocco ranked seventh place among the largest exporters of cultivated blueberries in 2017.

Berry production in Morocco has contributed to the country’s agricultural sector significantly.

Morocco’s revenues from strawberry exports to the international market are estimated between $40 and $70 million annually.

According to previous data from East Fruit strawberry products are one of the top 10 most exported goods from Morocco.

According to estimates,  Morocco exported 22,400 tonnes of fresh strawberries globally in 2022, representing an increase of 17% compared to a year earlier.

Countries like the UAE, Qatar were key buyers of Moroccan goods. In Europe, the US is one of Morocco’s strawberry importers. In 2022, the US imported almost half of Morocco’s strawberry export supply.

source/content: moroccoworldnews.com (headline edited)

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MOROCCO

DUBAI, EMIRATES:First 100% Plant-based Meat Factory in Middle East opens in Dubai

The IFFCO Group, one of the UAE’s largest producers of food products, has opened the first 100-percent plant-based meat factory in the region, in Dubai.

Located in the Dubai Industrial City, the THRYVE factory will catalyse the move towards a more sustainable and healthy food chain in the Middle East, actively supporting the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals and the UAE’s Vision 2051 initiative to bolster food security through diversity and innovation. The factory will provide nourishing, sustainable and healthy local plant-based meat products inspired by the unique flavours of Middle Eastern cuisine.

Mariam bint Mohammed Almheiri, Minister of Climate Change and the Environment, said, “The new 100-percent plant-based meat factory supports the UAE’s Food Security Strategy and our mandate to mitigate the impact of climate change. The opening of this innovative new facility also supports our efforts to protect the country’s ecosystems and enhance its food and water security and diversify our food sources. By fostering such robust research and development focused on producing innovative food products, we seek to raise the UAE’s ability to move up the global food industry value chain and achieve first place on the Global Food Security Index by 2051. The new factory represents a significant contribution to sustainability in the food supply chain.”

Hadi Badri, CEO of the Dubai Economic Development Corporation at Dubai’s Department of Economy and Tourism said, “The opening of this factory, which will pave the way for a dynamic new industry that will boost trade across the region, is a reflection of the UAE’s commitment to pioneer the use of innovative technologies to provide sustainable solutions to real world problems. It contributes to Dubai’s economic diversification journey in line with the goal of the Dubai Economic Agenda D33 to consolidate the emirate’s status as one of the top three global cities. The new facility is a testament to the pivotal role being played by Dubai in promoting the growth and evolution of environmentally sound practices that can alleviate the effects of climate change. By providing opportunities for private companies to invest in sustainable technologies, Dubai is accelerating the creation of a robust and resilient green economy.

“Such initiatives also reflect Dubai’s success in creating a fertile environment for new businesses and investors to thrive, and generating new job opportunities. Dubai and the UAE will continue to work with stakeholders and partners to remain at the forefront of innovation and economic sustainability, inspired by the ambition of our visionary leadership to create a better future for all.”

Saud Abu Alshawareb, Executive Vice President, Industrial Leasing, Dubai Industrial City, said, “DIC is an ideal location for initiatives like the IFFCO Group’s plant-based meat factory that underscore the importance of food security. The Dubai Industrial City is home to a growing number of Dubai-based food manufacturers who are leading the way in introducing innovative food products. This new enterprise adds value to the industry while strengthening our reputation as facilitators of a self-reliant food programme.”

The THRYVE plant-based venture, developed using cutting-edge food technology, contributes to at least three UN’s SDG’s: good health and well-being, responsible consumption and production, and climate action.

The only 100 percent plant-based meat factory in the Middle East, IFFCO’s THRYVE will leverage advanced food technologies to produce tasty, healthy, sustainable and culturally relevant food that meets the needs of the local consumer. In addition, IFFCO is working closely with the government to create regulatory standards for plant-based food products.

The global plant-based meat market was estimated to be worth US$7.9 billion in 2022, and is forecast to reach US$15.7 billion by 2027, according to a report from ResearchAndMarkets.com. The newly opened THRYVE factory will cater to 30 percent of the GCC population, stimulating the development of the market for local plant-based products. As per proprietary research, the GCC has the potential to be a future leader in developing food products for flexitarians, people whose diet is primarily vegetarian.

source/content: wam.ae/en (headline edited)

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DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES (U.A.E)

EGYPT: Anwar Ibrahim First Arab to Receive Dostoyevsky Medal

Russian ambassador to Egypt Georgiy Borisenko has awarded the Dostoyevsky Medal to Anwar Ibrahim – the under-secretary of the Ministry of Culture and former head of the ministry’s Foreign Cultural Relations Department – for his work in translating Russian literature into Arabic.

The honouring ceremony took place at the headquarters of the Russian Embassy in Cairo on 6 March. It was attended by a delegation from the Egyptian Association of Graduates of Russian and Soviet Universities headed by Sherif Gad.

Ambassador Borisenko expressed appreciation for Ibrahim’s efforts in translating classic and contemporary Russian literature into Arabic, thereby promoting Russian culture.

“The Arab reader is lucky when he reads translated Russian literature through creative translators like Anwar Ibrahim,” Borisenko said.

Borisenko wished Ibrahim continued success in his literary career, which he described as part of the soft power between Russia and the Arab peoples.

The Dostoyevsky Medal was established by the Russian Writers Union to be awarded to translators on the occasion of the 200th anniversary of the birth of the great Russian writer Fyodor Dostoyevsky, who is one of the most iconic writers of the Russian literary canon.

For his part, Ibrahim said that “this honour is a new birth for me, and I am extremely proud of receiving the Dostoyevsky Medal.”

Toghan, Secretary-General of the Association of Graduates, affirmed that the award for Ibrahim is a tribute to all graduates of the association, especially since Anwar is the first Arab to receive the prestigious medal.

Dostoyevsky, who was born in 1821 in Moscow and died in 1881 in St. Petersburg, gave up an engineering career early in order to write.

In 1849, he was arrested for belonging to a radical discussion group and was sentenced to be shot. He was reprieved at the last moment and sentenced to four years of hard labour in Siberia, where he developed epilepsy and experienced a deepening of his religious faith.

Dostoyevsky’s novels are especially concerned with faith, suffering, and the meaning of life; they are famous for their psychological depth and insight and their near-prophetic treatment of issues in philosophy and politics.

By the end of his life, he was acclaimed as one of his country’s greatest writers, and his works had a profound influence on 20th-century literature.

source/content: english.ahram.org.eg (headline edited)

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Marat Gatin, Sherif Gad, Professor Anwar Ibrahim receives his medal from Russian ambassador Georgiy Borisenko, Fathy Toghan

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EGYPT

SAUDI ARABIA: South Korea President joins Aramco CEO for $7bn Petrochemical Plant’s groundbreaking ceremony in Ulsa, South Korea, March 2023

Building work on Saudi Aramco’s new $7 billion Shaheen petrochemical project in Ulsa, South Korea has officially begun after a groundbreaking ceremony involving the energy giant’s CEO.

Amin Nasser attended the inauguration event alongside South Korea’s president Yoon Suk Yeol and senior officials from both countries.

The Shaheen project, announced in November 2022, is being built by South Korean refiner S-OIL Corp., of which Aramco owns a more than 63 percent stake.

“We are deeply honored by the presence of His Excellency President Yoon at this historic groundbreaking ceremony,” said Nasser – also the Aramco President.

“Shaheen is among Aramco’s biggest international downstream investments, representing a significant and sizeable step forward in our liquids-to-chemicals expansion and another major milestone in further strengthening our presence in Korea,” he continued. 

Shaheen is Saudi Aramco’s largest investment in South Korea and is expected to be among the biggest integrated steam crackers – a petrochemical process – in the world. 

It is also the first large-scale commercial use of Aramco’s thermal crude-to-chemicals technology, which was developed in partnership with Lummus Technology, a leading licensor of proprietary petrochemicals. 

The construction of the new plant will be completed by 2026 and will have a production capacity of up to 3.2 million tons per year, in addition to a facility for producing high-value polymers. 

Aramco has established a solid relationship with South Korea, and has recently agreed to a $6 billion framework deal with the country’s export-import bank.

According to the deal, Eximbank can lend Saudi Aramco up to $6 billion, which can be used to fund South Korean enterprises involved in projects with the global energy firm, whereas the bank indicated that $1 billion is set aside for hydrogen and renewable energy projects. 

Moreover, Aramco also inked a memorandum of understanding with South Korea’s Hoban Group last month to collaborate in building and manufacturing.

source/content: arabnews.com (headline edited)

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South Korea’s President Yoon (centre) with Aramco president Amin Nasser (Supplied)

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SAUDI ARABIA

WORLD ARAB RECORD: U.A.E : Longest Arab Space Mission in History Launched

Florida, March 02nd, 2023

The longest Arab space mission in history was launched today at 9:34 am (UAE time).

The 6-month mission is carried out by astronaut Sultan AlNeyadi aboard the International Space Station as part of Crew-6.

source/content: wam.ae (headline edited)

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UNITED ARAB EMIRATES (U.A.E)

SAUDI ARABIA : Recipes for Success: Saudi Chef Mona Mosly discusses her VOX cinemas collab, the importance of being yourself

Known for her creative take on classic favorites, Saudi chef Mona Mosly is one of the region’s most recognizable celebrity chefs, renowned for her creative takes on classic favorites.  

As well as being a judge on the Arabic-language version of talent show “Top Chef,” Mosly has extensive experience in culinary art, having trained professionally in Switzerland before attending the world-renowned Le Cordon Bleu in London and subsequently honing her craft at restaurants across the Middle East. 

In January, Mosly joined forces with VOX Cinemas in Riyadh and Jeddah to curate an expanded menu that features more than 20 dishes, including kibbeh nachos and BBQ chicken bao, Armenian tabbouleh, dukka madani chicken burger, halva cookies with Syrian ice cream, Thai curry salmon and more.  

“What I love about this is that (movies) bring people joy,” Mosly tells Arab News. “I believe that I can bring people joy with my food as well. And it’s all about happiness, right? So it’s a beautiful collaboration for me.” 

When VOX first reached out, Mosly says, her first thought was to create a menu of cinema food, “with an Arabic or Saudi twist.” 

She explains: “I believe that food has to be related to us. It could take us to a beautiful memory. It could remind us of flavors from our childhood and all that.”  

One of her favorite dishes on the menu is the kibbeh nachos. “It’s basically kibbeh, but it looks like nachos. Instead of cheddar sauce, I used mohamara sauce, so it gives the same feeling,” she says. “I also love the fish and chips, because it has a very nice story behind it. I like food that can gather different cultures together.” 

Here, Mosly takes a trip down memory lane to when she first started her career, and offers advice for amateur chefs.  

Q: When you started out as a professional, what was the most-common mistake you made when preparing a dish? 

 A: When I was working for Leylaty ballroom in Jeddah, I once burned 80 kilos of morels — one of the most expensive mushrooms. But after that, morel became my favorite ingredient. In kitchens — or any job where you work with your hands — if you don’t make mistakes, you’ll never learn. 

What’s your top tip for amateur chefs? 

Be yourself. Food is all about who you are. You translate what you have within you to people.  

What one ingredient can instantly improve any dish?  

Garlic. Or onion. They are the essence of food. 

When you go out to eat, do you find yourself critiquing the food?  

After six years of ‘Top Chef,’ believe me, I don’t want to critique anything. I’m done critiquing. I go out to have fun. I’ve reached a place where I don’t want to critique, I just want to enjoy. 

What’s the most-common mistake you find restaurants making? 

What annoys me the most is when food doesn’t have a taste because the cook didn’t respect the ingredients. I don’t understand how you can end up cooking a dish that doesn’t taste of anything.   

When you go out to eat, what’s your favorite cuisine? 

It depends. My cheat meal will always be a burger. But if I want to give myself a treat, I’ll go for sushi — or Japanese cuisine anyway. 

What customer behavior or request most annoys you? 

When people like something, they don’t try other stuff. I find that sad, rather than annoying. Why did you like the first thing that you tried? Because you tried it. That’s why you have to try other things too.  

What’s your favorite dish to cook and why? 

I do enjoy things like rolling warak enab (stuffed vine leaves) or stuff that takes time, because I’m a very fast person. I do everything very quickly. So, I like things that calm me down like baking. I like having to wait.  

As a head chef, what are you like in the kitchen? Are you laidback? Or a disciplinarian? 

I believe that when you are loved, appreciated and respected, you can do wonders. So, that’s what I try to give to the people I work with. Really, I like to dance, I like to sing, I like to enjoy being with my team. But when something goes wrong, something goes wrong. So, sometimes, I do have to shout. 

Chef Mona’s Calamari 

  • 1lb or 1/2kg squid rings and tentacles, thawed 
  • Buttermilk brine (300g cold buttermilk & 10g salt, stirred) 
  • 300g or 1 3/4c ap flour 
  • 100g or 3/4c cornstarch 
  • 6g or 2tsp baking powder 
  • 2-3g or 1ish tsp black pepper (finely ground) 
  • 2qt or 8c neutral oil (peanut, canola, etc) 
  • Few pinches of salt

Or 
100g flour 
100g semolina half soft half medium 

MARINARA / “RED SAUCE”

  • 800g or 1 28oz can crushed tomatoes 
  • 1/2g or 1tsp dried basil 
  • 1/2g or 1tsp dried oregano 
  • 1/2g or 1/2tsp dried chili flake 
  • 10g or 2 1/3tsp sugar 
  • 7g or 1 1/4tsp salt 
  • 50g or 3Tbsp tomato paste 
  • 25g or 2Tbsp (double glug) olive oil 
  • 15g or 2 cloves minced garlic 

CHIPOTLE RANCH SAUCE 

  • 125g or 1/2c mayo 
  • 1 large garlic clove, minced 
  • 5-10g or 1-2tsp hot sauce 
  • 1 chipotle chili in adobo 
  • 15g or 1Tbsp lemon juice 
  • 50g or 1/2c sour cream 

TARTARE SAUCE 

  • 250g mayo 
  • 25g capers 
  • 25g gherkins
  • 25g onion 
  • 3g parsley 
  • 2g chives

source/content: arabnews.com (headline edited)

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Chef Mona Mosly joined forces with VOX Cinemas in Riyadh and Jeddah to curate an expanded menu that features more than 20 dishes. (Supplied)

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SAUDI ARABIA

Three Arab Carbon Storage Facilities Capture 10% of Global CO2 Globally: Arab Monetary Fund 

Three carbon storage facilities in Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Qatar capture 10 percent of the world’s carbon dioxide annually, according to an Arab Monetary Fund official. 

Abdul Rahman Al-Hamidi, director general and chairman of the organization, revealed that the facilities captured around 40 million tons in 2020. 

The announcement was made during the conference on enhancing the transition to a circular carbon economy to support sustainable development currently taking place in Abu Dhabi.  

Al-Hamidi noted that the circular carbon economy approach can enable the reduction of greenhouse emissions, improve resource efficiency, and promote sustainable economic development in Arab countries. 

The circular carbon economy is a framework for managing and reducing carbon emissions through 4Rs — reduce, reuse, recycle, and remove.  

With numerous challenges of energy security, the circular carbon economy provides an opportunity not only to reduce carbon emissions, but also to drive economic growth and create new job opportunities, Al-Hamidi added.  

Carbon dioxide emissions that come from coal consumption surged to reach 15.3 gigatons in 2021. Coal alone represents 40 percent of the total growth in emissions at the global level. 

Al-Hamidi said: “With the expansion of the uses of energy sources and the fluctuation of their prices, attention is directed directly to fossil fuel sources, especially oil and gas, to classify them as primarily responsible for emissions of greenhouse gases harmful to the environment, especially carbon dioxide, in light of what the globe has been witnessing in recent years.”  

The Arab region has performed well in terms of energy efficiency through the provision of affordable energy, according to data revealed by the World Energy Council.  

As for energy security, it fell below expectations. The region contains nearly 50 percent of the world’s oil reserves, and around 40 percent of the world’s natural gas reserves. 

Al-Hamidi further noted that the Arab world has the resources and experience to transition into a circular carbon economy.  

“We have abundant natural resources, such as solar and wind energy, to create low-carbon energy systems, so we can develop innovative technologies and business models that support the transition to a circular economy and create new job opportunities in areas such as renewable energy, emissions management, and recycling,” added Al-Hamidi.  

Numerous Arab countries have set ambitious goals for renewable energies in the medium and long term, to be achieved in the horizons of 2030 and 2050 while also committing to reducing fossil energy sector emissions.  

source/content: arabnews.com (headline edited)

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Coal alone represents 40 percent of the total growth in emissions at the global level (Shutterstock)

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QATAR/ SAUDI ARABIA/ U.A.E.

SAUDI ARABIA: February 22nd. Founding Day 2023 in Saudi Arabia: What is it and how is it different from National Day?

The new annual celebration aims to celebrate the origins of Saudi Arabia.

Wednesday, February 22, marks Saudi Arabia’s Founding Day, a new annual holiday to commemorate the founding of the first Saudi state in Arabia.

The holiday was established with a royal decree issued by King Salman last year through the official Saudi Press Agency. It said the move is meant to commemorate the history of Saudi rule dating back hundreds of years.

It is a different event to Saudi National Day, which is marked on September 22.

What does Founding Day commemorate?

Saudi Arabia’s new annual holiday commemorates the ascendancy to power of Mohammed bin Saud, who founded the First Saudi State.

In February 1727, bin Saud inherited leadership over the central Arabian town of Diriyah, which had been established by his ancestors back in the 15th century.

He oversaw the expansion of Diriyah from a city-state to an emirate, conquering territories in central Arabia and uniting them under his family’s rule.

His dynasty became known as the Al Saud, named after his father, Saud bin Mohammed Al Muqrin, who had ruled Diriyah from 1720, the date often cited as the founding of the dynasty.

Founding Day commemorates these origins and aims to highlight the important part the Al Saud dynasty has played in the history of Arabia.

What was the First Saudi State?

Although Mohammed bin Saud came to power in Diriyah in 1727, the establishment of the First Saudi State is usually dated to 1744.

It was in this year that he allied with Mohammed bin Abdul Wahab, a religious scholar who led a movement that called for a return to the “true” version of Islam.

This alliance was at the heart of the First Saudi State, also known as the Emirate of Diriyah, the first of three Saudi states.

From Diriyah, the Al Saud dynasty quickly expanded to conquer much of the Arabian Peninsula, including the Hejaz region, home to the holy cities of Makkah and Madinah.

This expansion was seen as a threat by the Ottoman Empire, the region’s major power, which sought to restore its influence in Arabia.

After a seven-year war, Ottoman-allied forces led by Egypt’s Ibrahim Pasha defeated the Al Saud and destroyed Diriyah, bringing an end to the First Saudi State in 1818.

From the First Saudi State to the modern kingdom

The Al Saud re-established their state six years later with a new capital at Riyadh, close to Diriyah.

Throughout the 19th century, they competed with the rival Al Rashid dynasty for supremacy over central Arabia. Internal conflicts and military defeats eventually weakened the Al Saud position, leading to the capture of Riyadh by the Al Rashid in 1891 and the end of the Second Saudi State.

Imam Abdulrahman Al Saud, who led the Al Saud at the time, sought refuge with the local Bedouin in the deserts of the Empty Quarter before taking his family to Kuwait.

His son, Abdulaziz, recaptured Riyadh in 1902 in a raid, laying the foundations for the expansion of Saudi rule across Arabia. In 1932, Abdulaziz formalised his reign by establishing the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, with himself as its first king.

His sons, including the current King Salman, have ruled the kingdom since.

How is Saudi Arabia’s National Day different from its Founding Day?

Saudi National Day is celebrated annually on September 23. It marks the 1932 decree, issued by King Abdulaziz, which renamed the Kingdom of Najd and the Hejaz as the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

The unification of the kingdom took place on the 21st of Jumada Al Awwal in 1351 H — which corresponds to September 23, 1932.

Today, National Day is celebrated through fireworks displays, ceremonies and parades.

What will happen on Founding Day?
Events to show off traditional crafts, culture and heritage are planned across the kingdom.

Live music and dance performances are scheduled in cities including Riyadh, Jeddah and Dammam.

Festivities are expected to last several days, with students given a long weekend until February 27.

source/content: thenationalnews.com (headline edited)

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Founding Day commemorates when Imam Mohammed bin Saud established the first Saudi state in the Hijri year 1139, or February of 1727AD.

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SAUDI ARABIA

JORDANIAN BRITISH: The Accidental Pharmacist and Scientist: How the trail-blazing Dr Atheer Awad found her Calling in the Laboratory

Trailblazing Jordanian-British research fellow reveals that her prescription for success requires dispensing – but only with tradition.

Most Damascene moments are dramatic by definition but few occur, as Atheer Awad’s did, on an actual road that leads to the Syrian capital.

Her own turning point came when the vehicle she was travelling in with her family to register for university in Amman blew a tyre, hit an electricity pole and flipped several times.

The accident meant that Awad ended up in hospital and missed the window to sign up to study medicine. By the time she was discharged, the only degree option still open to her was pharmacy.

Though bitterly disappointed at the time, she has come to believe that there were greater forces at work on the day of the crash on Jordan Street.

“Let’s just say we put our car to the test,” Awad tells The National. “It was a complete wreck. We are lucky to be alive.

“But it wasn’t meant to be that I should study medicine. I took the car accident as a sign that the future held better things for me.”

As a result, she was steered into an unexpected career in which the eventual research fellow at University College London would amass numerous accolades: the Journal of Clinical Medicine‘s 2021 PhD Thesis award; an appearance on the Forbes 30 Under 30 list for Europe; reaching the finals in the Women of the Future awards 2022 in the science category; named as an International Pharmaceutical Federation FIPWise Rising Star for 2022 as well as one of the top 15 outstanding innovators under the age of 35 by the MIT Technology Review.

Her groundbreaking research is paving the way towards the creation of personalised medication that can be 3D-printed in patients’ homes via smartphone — a potentially transformative innovation for those who find it hard to gain access to health care or don’t suit a one-size-fits-all service.

Born in Abu Dhabi and raised in Dubai by Jordanian parents, her hand was always first in the air in class when volunteers were sought to dissect animals at Al Mawakeb School in Garhoud.

It was an early display of Awad’s enthusiasm for the sciences, particularly biology, and a prelude to her ambition of becoming a heart surgeon.

“I was so determined to make a difference and medicine is one of those industries that has a greater impact when it comes to changing people’s lives,” she says.

“There is never a boring day with science because every day is a new learning experience.

“You come across things that you haven’t discovered before or create new stuff by just playing around with things in the lab and mixing them together. It’s that sort of curiosity that motivates me.”

Back then, holidays were regularly spent visiting Jordan — trips that Awad still makes annually to catch up with extended family, go to weddings and indulge a soft spot for the local food.

“I love those traditional connections,” she says, “and still follow as many of these practices as I can, wherever I am.

“My faith helps a lot. But it isn’t easy trying to keep a balance between sticking to faith and being able to live in a foreign country.”

Moving to England wasn’t as daunting as it might have been without the unwavering support of her parents and four older siblings — a pharmacist, a consultant with whom she lived until recently, an IT specialist and a doctor.

“It is rare for all of us to be in the same country at the same time,” she says, laughing. “We travel between the three countries and there is always at least one of us living in each of the three. That makes it interesting for my parents, who get to travel everywhere.”

Awad herself, now 29, is a keen traveller and has put on her bucket list the wish to visit every country in Europe before turning her sights to other continents.

She fell in love with Turkey after a trip to Cappadocia, the semi-arid central region known for its “fairy chimney” rock formations, and particularly enjoys explorations on foot.

London, however, holds a special place in her heart, where there is, she points out, a big Jordanian community.

“I have a lot of friends I consider my second family. They’re a mixture of scientists, people outside work, and others with Jordanian or Arab heritage. That keeps me connected to my roots and it is one of the beauties of London — it’s international.”

But she calls Dubai home and makes many happy returns to Living Legends, a newly developed 14 million-square-foot community on the outskirts of the city where her parents still live.

Part of the appeal of the emirate, it should be said, is the chance to hit the luxury shops. Dior and Prada are favourites — her handbag collection alone extends to “about 40 or 50 … I’ve lost count” — and the Swarovski-encrusted mobile phone she takes everywhere is a particularly prized purchase.

Invariably, though, one of the first stops is to fill up on luqaimat, known as awama in the Levant. She has sampled the sugary doughnuts wherever she finds them but maintains that the ones whipped up for as long as Awad can remember by her mum, Hanan Swais, “are the best”.

They were an abiding taste of a childhood in which the extroverted Awad, left to explore her own interests by her father, Jamal, an electronics retailer, and Hanan, a homemaker, played the piano exuberantly if not with any notable proficiency and went on Scouting expeditions.

There was never an expectation that she would follow in the footsteps of any of her siblings but the desire to pursue medicine was strong nonetheless.

“It wasn’t until we were discharged from hospital [after the car accident] that I realised I had missed the deadline,” she says. “There was no going back in time. I just thought: ‘What’s the next best option?’

“That’s why I always say I did not choose pharmacy — it chose me.”

Despite a reluctant start, Awad’s enthusiasm grew throughout a five-year degree at the private Applied Science University in Amman as she gained insight into the extent of what pharmacists could actually do.

“I started looking at pharmacy as having a bigger impact than I had previously thought,” she says.

“People sometimes look at pharmacists as if they are beneath or less important than doctors when, in fact, they do most of the work behind the scenes.”

Little by little, with the consolidation of hours of satisfying sessions spent researching in laboratories or learning about the differences in the properties of various drugs, it dawned on Awad that she had stumbled across her calling.

Which is not to say that she appreciated being treated as little more than a saleswoman while doing work experience in a community pharmacy during the degree course.

“People assume that the pharmacist just takes the prescription and gets the medication without doing anything else,” she says. “There is a misconception.”

The experience hardened Awad’s resolve to focus on research rather than the direct, community-facing side of the profession.

After graduation in 2015, she embarked on a master’s in pharmaceutics and drug design at UCL, where she learnt about 3D printing during an end-of-year project with her professor, Abdul Basit.

She was inspired to keep working with the Basit Research Group within the School of Pharmacy to undertake a doctorate specialising in using the drug-delivery technology in the manufacture of medicines.

“I’ve always been interested in technology so it grabbed my interest immediately,” says Awad, who is still a research fellow with the group.

Weekends when she is not working are spent dining with friends, indulging her obsession for Harry Potter — “I’ve watched all the films multiple times” — and baking. Coffee cake is her speciality and made a well-received appearance at her professor’s 50th birthday.

“I do like experimenting with baking and cooking. I think there are similarities between baking and science.”

She doesn’t rule out applying to appear on The Great British Bake Off television show but, for now, Awad’s ambitions are confined to the lab.

“I want to make a change,” she says. “I don’t want 3D printing to stay a theory. I want to see it being implemented and taken up by healthcare agencies.”

Most recently, Awad has been printing tablets with Braille and moon patterns on their surfaces for visually impaired patients, or changing their shape, size and colour so that children or those with limited capacity find them easier to take. She has also been researching how to combine several medications into a single pill.

One of her team’s successes has been in creating tablets that can be swallowed without water. Manufactured in partnership with pharmaceutical 3D-printing specialist FabRx by melting powder particles with a laser beam and using heat, the porous product dissolves on the tongue.

She talks about how 3D printing allows alterations of a fraction of a milligram, making medication much more tailored and precise than the standard variety available off the shelf.

“Every person is different and our bodies do not react the same,” Awad says. “The requirements when it comes to medication differ, and sometimes they differ within the same person, depending on the disease progression.

“We can also take patients’ preferences into consideration. That’s important when it comes to children or elderly patients. Often children refuse to take medicine because they don’t like the taste, the shape isn’t appealing or the pill might be too big.”

While 3D printing for customised pharmaceuticals has yet to be introduced commercially in the UK, Awad’s UCL team has managed to convert a smartphone into an on-demand 3D drug printer with an app that could be used in remote GP surgeries and even at home.

“We’re not far from the industry adopting 3D printing, probably in the next two to five years,” she says. “Approval will have to be on a medication-by-medication basis because each medicine could behave differently to the same technology, depending on its properties, and the 3D-printing technologies themselves differ.”

Awad’s passion for her work is tangible. The British-American analytics company Clarivate clearly thought so when last month listing her on its influential Highly Cited 2022. It was a remarkable achievement for such a young scientist to appear among fewer than 0.1 per cent of the world’s researchers across 21 fields.

Such recognition is welcome but, she says, the many “titles are more of an assurance that I am on the right track and that my work is important”.

“That’s the driving force to keep me moving forward and become even more ambitious to try new things,” she says.

One of her guiding principles is that researchers should be brave and adopt different approaches because even the most “ridiculous” ideas can be turned into brilliant inventions or innovations.

As she has been known to opine, not all scientific breakthroughs happen through planned research: “Sometimes, you come across things by accident.”

Given the route into her career in pharmaceuticals, it could be said that Awad started very much as she meant to continue.

source/content: thenationalnews.com (headline edited)

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Dr Awad’s groundbreaking research is paving the way towards personalised medication being 3D-printed at home. Photo: Dr Atheer Awad

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BRITAIN / JORDAN