Dr. Farouk El Baz – Egyptian American Space Scientist and Geologist

Farouk El Baz Ph.D., Space Scientist. Geologist

  • Formerly – President Sadat’s Scientific Advisor (1978-1981)
  • Founder – Center for Earth and Planetary Studies, National Museum of Atmospheric and Space, at the Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC
  • Dr. El Baz played a pivotal role for the Apollo mission where he served as the secretary for the Apollo landing board on the moon, and was responsible for leading the astronaut training team in general science, particularly in moon imaging

So pivotal was he to Apollo that in Tom Hanks’ HBO TV-series, From the Earth to the Moon , El-Baz’s role as an Apollo scientist and astronaut trainer was featured in a segment entitled, “The Brain of Farouk El-Baz,” and a shuttle craft named El-Baz soared through the popular TV-series Star Trek : The Next Generation

Awards:

  •  He has won over 31 awards, including achievements in science, in NASA, incl:
  •  Golden Door Award of the International Institute of Boston
  • Nevada Medal of the Desert Research Institute
  • The Pioneer Award of the Arab Thought Foundation.
  • The Apollo Achievement Award

Honour:

  • Asteroid 7371 El-Baz, discovered by American astronomers Eleanor Helin and Schelte Bus at Palomar Observatory in 1978, was named in his honor.   The official naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 27 August 2019 ( M.P.C. 115893).

Book:

  • Deserts and Arid Lands , Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, ISBN 90-247-2850-9

__________

pix: scoopempire.com /egypttoday.com

_________________________________________________________

AMERICAN / EGYPTIAN-AMERICAN / ARAB AMERICAN

Farida Zahran: US based, Award-Winning Egyptian Filmmaker

Farida Zahran. Writer. Director

Festivals & Awards:

  • SXSW 2019 (World Premiere), Palm Springs ShortFest 2019, HollyShorts 2019, Hamptons 2019, Ajyal Film Festival 2019
  • Winner of Best Live-Action Short 15 Minutes and Under at Palm Springs International ShortFest (Oscar-qualifying), IFP Student Film Showcase
  • NYU 2021 Purple List for her screenplay The Leftover Ladies
  • Vimeo Staff Pick for Youth, she is no stranger to the film and TV industry.

Education:

  • Bachelors Degree – NorthWestern University, Doha, Qatar
  • MFA – Film. NYU Tisch School of Arts

www.faridazahran.com

____________

Zahran receives the 2019 Best Live-Action Short Award at the Palm Springs International ShortFest. / pix: egyptianstreets.com

______________________

EGYPT

Lebanon’s Ray Bassil – World Class Medal Winning, Trap Shooter

Ray Bassil (aka) Ray Jacques Bassil.

Won her first title at age 15, Female Arab Championship, Algiers.

  •  First and only woman ever to represent the Arab countries in Trap Shooting at the Olympic Games in Rio 2016
  • First Arab Woman to compete in 2 Olympics games and win 3 consecutive world cup medals
  • Twice represented Lebanon at Olympic games (2012, 2016)

Other Honours:

  • UNDP – Youth and Gender Goodwill Ambassador

__________

pix: fondationsaradar.org

____________

LEBANON

Sarah Gamal: First Arab Woman Basketball Referee at Tokyo 2020 Olympics

Hijab-wearing referee to become first Arab and African woman to officiate 3×3 games at Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

Both the 32-year-old and 3×3 will make their debuts at the Olympic Games with Gamal becoming the first Arab and African woman to officiate a 3×3 basketball game at the Olympics.

The Egyptian proudly wears a black hijab and is the first hijab-wearing basketball referee for FIBA at an international level.

The headscarf worn by many Muslim women is allowed to be worn by players under certain conditions since FIBA changed its rules in 2017.

Gamal will follow in the footsteps of Moroccan referee Chahinaz Boussetta as a fellow Arab, who refereed five-on-five basketball at Rio 2016.

________

Egyptian Basketball referee Sarah Gamal gestures while holding a ball during a match in the country’s northern city of Alexandria, on April 17, 2021. (AFP) / pix: thearabweekly.com

________

EGYPT

Bahrain’s Ali Monfaradi : International Jiu-Jitsu Champion

Ali Monfaradi (aka)  Ali Seena E. A. Monfaradi . Athlete. Jiu-Jitsu. Black Belt Holder.

Ali has 2 nicknames –  One is “The Beast From The Middle East” and the other one, which was ‘coined’ by his coach Michael Langhi is “Cadeira Elétrica” (Electric Chair).

Represented Bahrain in competitions regionally and globally.

Business:

Founder of ‘Elements BJJ’ – a sports business venture

Winner :

  • 1st Place IBJJF European Open NoGi (2019)
  • 1st Place IBJJF German Nationals (2017)
  • 1st Place IBJJF Berlin Open (2018)
  • 1st Place UAEJJF Czech Republic Pro (2019)
  • 1st Place JJIF World Ju-Jutsu Championship (2018)
  • 2nd Place IBJJF Berlin NoGi Open (2018)
  • 2nd Place IBJJF London Fall NoGi Open (2017 / 2018)
  • 2nd Place UAEJJF Abu Dhabi World Pro (2021)
  • 2nd Place UAEJJF Dubai National Pro (2018)
  • 3rd Place JJIF World Ju-Jutsu Championship (2018)
  • 3rd Place UAEJJF Abu Dhabi Pro (2019)
  • 3rd Place IBJJF London Fall Open (2017)
  • 3rd Place IBJJF Berlin Open (2018*)

Records of Achievements (Colored Belts):

  • 1st Place IBJJF World Championship (2012 blue)
  • 1st Place IBJJF Pans Championship (2012 blue)
  • 2nd Place IBJJF World Championship (2012* blue)
  • 3rd Place IBJJF European Open (2017 brown)
  • 3rd Place IBJJF Pans Championship (2012* blue, 2015 purple)
  • 3rd Place IBJJF World Championship (2011 blue, 2014 purple)

___________

pix: bjjheroes.com

___________

BAHRAIN

Saudi Students Win 4 Medals at ‘International Mendeleev Chemistry Olympiad’ (IMChO) 2021

Four Saudi students, represented by The King Abdul Aziz and His Companions Foundation for Giftedness and Creativity (Mawhiba) and the Education Ministry, won the prestigious International Mendeleev Chemistry Olympiad (IMChO) 2021.


The students, Mohammed Al-Hadlaq, Mohammed Al-Hudaithi, Abdulaziz Al-Juaid, and Saeed Baghdadi, won bronze medals. The number of awards won by Saudi Arabia at the IMChO has now reached 18 — three silver and 15 bronze medals.


IMChO is a major international competition for students in chemistry. It started in the then-USSR as the All-Union Olympiad in Chemistry in 1967.


Now more than 30 countries participate in IMChO and an international jury of leading chemical scientists around the world make up the tasks for the Olympiad.

source/content : arabnews.com

_____________

Saudi Arabia scoops 4 medals at chemistry olympiad. (Supplied) / pix: arabnews.com

_________________

SAUDI ARABIA

Dubai – Another Guinness World Records in Energy Sector : March 2021

Dubai project recognized as largest single-site natural gas power facility in the world.

Dubai has chalked up another Guinness World Records entry — and this time it’s for a gas project.

The Jebel Ali complex of the Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) has been recognized as the largest single-site natural gas power generation facility in the world, state news agency WAM reported.

The complex has an electricity generation capacity of 9,547 megawatts.

source/content: arabnews.com

____________

The Jebel Ali complex of the Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) has an electricity generation capacity of 9,547 megawatts. (File/AFP) / pix: arabnews.com

___________________________________________

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

Zeina Barhoum, Arab Soprano to perform at Palestine Museum US on March 21st, 2020

Zeina Barhoum – Arabic Soprana. Classically trained Soprano. Opera singer.

 Jordanian opera singer Zeina Barhoum is set to perform at the Palestine Museum US on March 21, organizers announced. The renowned singer will virtually perform in Arabic and other languages, including the songs “Sanarjeo Yawman,” “Jerusalem, Flower of Cities,” “O mio babbino caro” and several others according to reports in ArabNews.com

Founder :

  • Founder of Alcántara Music and Art series
  • Amman Opera Festival (AOF). First Opera Festival in the Arab World launched in 2017. Under the Royal Patronage of HRH Princess Muna Al Hussein, Jordanian soprano Zeina Barhoum launched the first opera festival in the Arab world, the Amman Opera Festival (AOF), with the full operatic production of Verdi’s La Traviata at the 2000-year old Roman Amphitheater in July 2017, alongside over 150 International musicians and dancers from more than 10 countries.

Awards / Honour:

  • Best Soloist Award, The Eisteddfod competition
  •  Award at the 2nd Taras Shevchenko International Singing Competition, where she sang Taras Shevchenko’s popular folk song The Mighty Dnieper Roars and Bellows in Arabic and Ukrainian for the first time
  • Appointed by the United Nations World Food Programmed (WFP) as its advocate and humanitarian voice (May 2020)

Education:

  • Bsc – Visual Communication, American University of Sharjah

website : www.zeinabarhoum.com

_________

pix: zeinabarhoum.com

__________

JORDAN

UAE Coach Houriya Al-Taheri – First Arab Female FIFA-Certified Coach

Houriya Al-Taheri. Female Emirati Footballer. UAE National Team Player. Coach.

Highlights:

  • Manager, UAE Women’s National Team
  • Former Captain, UAE Women’s National Team. Led the team to victory in 2010 and 2011 at the West Asian Football Federation (WAFF) Women Championship.
  • Led the UAE squad to victory over Iraq in 2017. The UAE’s first win on a World Cup qualifier
  • Former Goal Keeper – UAE Women’s National Team
  • Selected by FIFA as Women’s Football Regional Coach in Jordan

Author:

  • Book ‘Becoming a Legend ‘ by Houriya Al-Taheri and Hannah Bass

______________

pix: @ggwcup

___________________________________

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES (U.A.E)

Qatar to Remain World’s Largest LNG Exporter

Currently, Qatar is the largest LNG exporter, and it is working to increase its liquefaction capacity to 126 mtpa (million tonnes per annum) by 2027.

Post-2027, a further 55 mtpa of speculative LNG projects remain to be completed.

It is forecast that Qatar will maintain its position as the top LNG exporter in the world by 2050,” noted the 5th edition of ‘Global Gas Outlook 2050’ by GECF. 

Qatar along with Iran will contribute significantly in the growth of natural gas production in the Middle East, noted a report released by Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF) yesterday.  

source: www.thepeninsulaqatar.com

____________

pix: qatargas.com

_________

QATAR