Tag: Arabian World Records

June 22nd – World Camel Day. Inside the Saudi vet hospital the size of Buckingham Palace making it the World’s Largest Hospital for Camels

 Al Salam Veterinary Hospital’s main business will be breeding a new generation of humped superstars.

A version of this article was first published in September 2020

Saudi Arabia is already known as a destination for camel beauty pageants. Now, it wants to be known for camel healthcare, too.

The country opened the world’s largest camel hospital in July 2020 and photographs show what daily life is like inside.

At 70,000 square metres, Al Salam Veterinary Hospital is about the size of Buckingham Palace and a little smaller than the island of Alcatraz.

The centre cost more than Dh134 million but camel racing and pageantry are sports for princes and sheikhs in which a single camel can fetch Dh10 million at the height of pageantry season.

The hospital lies in the interior Qassim region between Madinah and Riyadh, at the site of one of the world’s largest camel markets, and will serve camel owners in Kuwait and northern Saudi Arabia.

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The nearest comparable clinics are about 1,000 kilometres away in other Gulf states. Travelling hundreds of kilometres and crossing borders is part of the racing and pageantry lifestyle but the coronavirus pandemic has made this impossible, even as local competitions continue.

Al Salam Veterinary Hospital can treat 144 camels, has stables for 400 racing camels and will employ up to 300 staff ready to meet a camel’s every need, from surgery to accommodation and blood testing.

Camels can be treated for infectious disease, injuries and chronic illness at the hospital, but its main business will be fertilisation.

The hospital has already conducted more than 500 embryo transfers, resulting in 350 successful pregnancies.

Vets plan to transfer 2,500 embryos next season, an ambitious amount by camel-breeding standards.

Embryo transfer has led to some of the biggest names in the world of camel racing.

A camel pregnancy lasts two years, which previously meant female racers could produce a few offspring only after retiring from the racetrack.

The advancement of camel surrogacy has meant prized female racers can now pass winning genes on to dozens of calves in one year.

This has transformed the world of racing and made some she-camels as renowned as studs.

Al Samha, from Abu Dhabi, is one such cow known for her prolific progeny.

The best-known breeding centres, such as the Advanced Scientific Group in Abu Dhabi, attract pedigree champs from around the Gulf.

Scientific advances continue to be made in camel fertilisation and breeding programmes.

The camel’s adaptation to the desert has led to a unique set of challenges in artificial insemination .

The animal is so good at conserving water that it produces only 3ml to 8ml of gel-like semen, a fraction compared with that of similarly sized animals such as horses. It freezes poorly.

It was only in 2018 that the first calves were born to females fertilised by frozen semen at Dubai Camel Breeding Centre.

Similar scientific breakthroughs at the Saudi hospital could change the very shape and size of future camels.

source/content: thenationalnews.com (headline edited)

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The new hospital has room for 4,000 camels.

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SAUDI ARABIA

UAE Cycling Team Win Grand Prix of Canton of Aargau, Switzerland

The UAE won the Grand Prix of the Canton of Aargau, Switzerland, yesterday June 10th.

The Emirati squad had strength in numbers in the final with Diego Ulissi and Matteo Trentin covering moves before Marc Hirschi infiltrated the winning break which slipped away at 7km to go.

The 23-year old hit out early from the four man group to open up the sprint at 250m to go to hold off Max Schachmann (Bora-Hansgrohe) and Andreas Kron (Lotto-Soudal) who finished on the podium.

“It was really very difficult”, said Marc Hirsch. “The final was very eventful, because a rider from AG2R Citroën has long been in the lead. In the last climb, it went very quickly behind him, but I was able to accompany in force. Then I was able to close the gap with three guys who had escaped. It was very hard”. In the end, it was a group of 7 which formed 6 terminals from the line, and the winner of the Fleche Wallonne 2020 maneuvered well to finish in the sprint.

In raising the trophy he becomes the first home winner of the race since 2013.

This result marks Hirschi’s second win of the season after storming to victory at the Per Sempre Alfredo classic in April.

source/content: wam.ae

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UNITED ARAB EMIRATES (U.A.E)

US-Iraqi TV Star Alia Shawkat Pushes for New Narratives

If you never realized that Alia Shawkat has Arab heritage, there’s a reason for that: The Iraqi-American actress — who has been stealing pretty much every scene she has appeared in since 1999, when she was 10 years old — rose to fame at a time when Hollywood was much less receptive to non-white identities.

Now, though, the 33-year-old star is entering the next phase of her career, one in which her heritage will be front and center.

“It’s interesting, because when I started acting, I always had to say I was half-whatever the role was. I would say I was half-Spanish, or half-French, just trying to blend in. I was always seen as ‘too ethnic’ when I was young,” Shawkat tells Arab News. “Now my ethnicity is a strength, because the conversation is shifting. It’s funny to watch actors actually talk about where they’re coming from, or playing roles that they’re actually connected to, when I grew up having to basically hide it.”

Not that it ever slowed Shawkat down. While she is perhaps still best-known for playing Maeby Fünke on the acclaimed cult comedy “Arrested Development,” which also reinvigorated or launched the careers of Jason Bateman, Will Arnett, Michael Cera and Tony Hale, she has been an inimitable presence across dozens of acclaimed independent films, before becoming the star and a key creative voice in the series “Search Party” (2016-2022), a pitch-black comedy and noir crime drama hybrid that defines Shawkat’s unique spirit better than anything has thus far.

She didn’t have to search too hard to find inspiration for the show. “My father is Middle Eastern, and he owns a club in Palm Springs. So that’s the show,” she deadpanned to the New Yorker last fall.

While “Desert People” will tackle that by putting Arab characters at its center, Shawkat took “The Old Man” in part because of the way that it, too, dives into righting some of the wrongs that were committed in the post-9/11 landscape.

source / content: arabnews.com (edited)

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Alia Shawkat in ‘The Old Man.’ (FX)

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AMERICAN / IRAQI

Qatar 2022 becomes First FIFA World Cup to Achieve International Sustainability Certification

The FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 LLC (Q22) – the operational arm of FIFA and the Host Country for the delivery of the tournament – has achieved ISO 20121 certification, the international standard that sets requirements for developing and implementing an effective management system to deliver a sustainable event.

The certification was granted after an extensive audit process that was initiated during the FIFA Arab Cup Qatar 2021 – which was held exactly a year before the first FIFA World Cup in the Middle East and Arab world.

Nasser Al Khater, CEO, Q22, said: “Sustainability has been at the heart of Qatar 2022 from the start, and the independent recognition of the delivery of best practices reflects our enduring commitment to it.

José Retana, Sustainability Senior Manager, Q22, said: “We are proud to become the first FIFA World Cup in history to obtain the ISO 20121 certification. This demonstrates that according to the evaluation by a third-party accredited entity, world-class management practices are being implemented to deliver an inclusive, green and legacy-oriented event.”

SGS carried out the extensive audit process. It is a world-leading testing, inspection and certification company that has a wealth of experience in certifying mega-sport event organisers against ISO 20121 requirements, including the Olympic and Paralympic Games, and the French Open tennis tournament.

Sustainability management mechanisms assessed during the FIFA Arab Cup™ audit included:

Accessibility infrastructure and services for disabled fans, including seating, mobility assistance and innovative features such as audio descriptive commentary

Waste minimisation and recycling, including staff training, segregation and awareness-raising activities carried out with the support of sustainability volunteers

Sustainable procurement of items required for the delivery of the tournament, including uniforms made from recycled plastics and the use of compostable food packaging

Social and environmental audits to ensure supplier compliance with the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ Sustainable Sourcing Code

Incident reporting and resolution during tournament time, including governance arrangements and gathering of lessons learned

Chris Meakin, General Manager of SGS Qatar, said: “The FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 has effectively applied and demonstrated best practices under the framework of the Event Sustainability Management System (ISO 20121) to manage the event successfully. They have met the set benchmarks for global sustainability development and to control the event’s social, economic and environmental impact.”

source/content: thepeninsulaqatar.com (edited)

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QATAR

Qatar’s Ashghal Wins Nine International Safety Awards by the British Safety Council (BSC) 

 For the third year in a row, the Public Works Authority (Ashghal), represented by the Roads Projects Department (RPD), won nine international safety awards from the British Safety Council (BSC) for the Local Areas Infrastructure Programme projects during 2021. 

The awards include the Roads and Infrastructure Project in Umm Slal (Package 1), Roads and Infrastructure in South of Al Meshaf (Package 3), Roads and Infrastructure in Al Ebb and Leabaib (Package 2), Roads and Infrastructure in Umm Ebairiya Village, South Umm Al Amad, and North Bu Fesseela (Package 1), Roads and Infrastructure in North and East Al-Kheesa (Package 2), Roads and Infrastructure in Al Kharaitiyat and Izghawa (Package 3), and Roads and Infrastructure in Al Wajba East (Packages 1 & 3) in addition to the Roads and Infrastructure Project in South Al-Meshaf (Package 7) and Roads and Infrastructure Project in North of Ain Khaled received International Safety Award. 

It is noteworthy that in 2021, RPD conducted 1440 focused worker welfare inspections, obtained licenses from the Ministry of Public Health for 14 worker clinics and managed to get around 26977 workers medically screened for chronic diseases. This keen attention to implement top operational Health and Safety standards led RPD to achieve an Accident Frequency Rate (AFR) of 0.10 for the 88.7 million-man hours worked in 2021. This reflects both the magnitude of work handled by the department and its commitment to health and safety and workers’ welfare on its project sites.

Eng. Saoud Al Tamimi, RPD Manager, said: “Winning nine international health and safety awards for the third year successively, after winning 4 awards in 2020, and 3 in 2019, which were presented to the new and existing subdivisions projects, reflects Ashghal’s commitment to maintain health and safety in its construction projects, and the leading position which the Authority plays in the Qatari construction industry in terms of spreading awareness and best Health and Safety practices.” 

Eng. Al Tamimi also pointed out that “having Ashghal’s projects continuously winning safety awards from international institutions is an acknowledgment of the high level of safety in the Public Works Authority’s projects and a proof of its keenness to safeguard the workers’ health and lives, as safety is an important pillar of Ashghal’s project implementation strategy, and a culture that Ashghal strives to spread and uphold.”

Now in their 64th year, the International Safety Awards recognize and celebrate organizations from around the world which have demonstrated to the satisfaction of the scheme’s independent judges their commitment to preventing workplace injuries and work-related ill health during the previous calendar year.

Mike Robinson, Chief Executive of the British Safety Council, congratulated Ashghal on their success in winning the awards, saying, “The British Safety Council applauds all winning projects on their achievement. The award is in recognition of their commitment and hard work to keep their employees and workplaces free of injury and ill health. The vision of British Safety Council is that no-one should be injured or made ill through their work – anywhere in the world. Achieving this requires more than complying with legislation; it means people committed not only to health and safety but also more and more to workplace wellbeing and impelling others to follow suit.”

source/content: thepeninsulaqatar.com (edited)

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Eng. Saoud Al Tamimi, Roads Projects Department Manager at Ashghal.

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QATAR

Saudi Arabia’s First All-Female Crew takes Flight making Saudi Aviation History

Flyadeal made Saudi aviation history in May 2022.

Saudi Arabia’s first flight with an all-female crew took off this weekend May 2022, completing a short domestic journey and passing a milestone for women’s empowerment, officials said.

The flight was operated by flyadeal, the budget subsidiary of flag carrier Saudia.

“For the first time in Saudi aviation history,” the airline wrote on Twitter on Friday, “#flyadeal operated the first flight with an all-female crew, the majority of which are Saudis, by the newest A320 aircraft. Flight 117, flew from #Riyadh to #Jeddah.”

Most of the seven-member crew hail from Saudi Arabia, according to spokesman Emad Iskandarani, including the first officer, Yara Jan, who is also reportedly the youngest Saudi female pilot.

The country’s civil aviation authority, which confirmed the announcement, has been working towards expanding roles for women in the sector for years.

In 2019, Yasmeen Al Maimani , then 29, became the first female first officer to fly a mainstream commercial plane in the kingdom.

The Saudi woman piloted Nesma Airlines flight ATR 72-600 from Hail to Al Qassim on June 9.

“I thought it was going to be hard, being a female pilot based in Hail but it hasn’t been,” she said at the time. “I feel so comfortable with everyone else here, and the way they treat me. It’s like they are all my brothers, it’s a good feeling.”

Last year, figures showed female participation in the kingdom’s workforce rose to 33 per cent at the end of 2020, from 19 per cent in 2016, according to data from the General Authority for Statistics.

Saudi Arabia aims to generate 356 billion riyals ($95bn) of investment into its aviation sector by 2030.

Its National Aviation Sector Strategy is working to increase connections from Saudi Arabia to 250 destinations, reaching 330 million passengers.

The kingdom also plans to launch another airline to complement its existing national carriers, including Saudia, and to build a major international airport in Riyadh, in addition to eight more regional airports.

source/content: thenationalnews.com

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SAUDI ARABIA

Tunisian Start-Up ‘Kumulus Water’ Innovates, Creating a Drinking Water-Technology from Air. Collaborates with the NGO ‘WallahWeCan’ to Provide 570 School Students with Drinking Water from Thin Air

Tunisian start-up “Kumulus Water” has provided assistance to a school deprived of drinking water in Makhtar in the region of Siliana (north-west of Tunisia) through a technical solution “Kumulus 1”, designed to generate water from the ambient air.

It came to support its expertise in water technology, the efforts of the Tunisian NGO “WallahWeCan”, which campaigns for the improvement of living conditions of students in schools and educational environments in Tunisia, especially in disadvantaged areas.

Thanks to atmospheric water generators, each producing 20 to 30 litres of healthy drinking water per day, 570 students of the chosen school will now be able to benefit from a regular supply of drinking water.

Technically, the atmospheric water generator is a device designed to produce water from the ambient air. It sucks in the air and dusts it, then dehumidifies it by lowering its temperature to the dew point to create condensation. The condensed water in the machine then passes through four filters to remove impurities.

The smart machine can fit into a 1m3 cube and can be equipped with a solar pack, making it fully autonomous and independent, the startup says. “It offers mobile control options via a dashboard and an app designed by the six-person team at startup Kumulus Water. It also offers features that ensure water is delivered sustainably and economically,” its creators explain.

According to Kumulus Water, co-founded and led by Iheb Triki, there is 6 times more water in the air than in rivers. This water can be extracted by cooling the air below its dew point and exposing it to moisture absorbers or pressurizing it to make the water drinkable.

Kumulus was also installed at the Bayadha school (Delegation of Ghar Dimaou in the governorate of Jendouba).

According to Regional Commissioner of Education Rim Maaroufi, this is a project developed by a young Tunisian engineer and funded by the Orange Foundation in cooperation with the association “a child, smiles”.

In a statement to TAP, Maaroufi said that Bayadha School, where the Kumulus was installed, suffers from a lack of drinking water due to a lack of connection with the distribution network. Water tanks were installed in advance to provide drinking water to the students and teachers. The machine produces about 20 to 30 litres of drinking water per day.

In Tunisia as in many other countries in the world, access to drinking water is one of the most imminent threats facing humanity. According to the WHO, out of 7 billion people, 2.1 billion do not have satisfactory access to drinking water. The demand for water will increase further with the population growth and the increase in living standards.

In 2021, the co-founder of the Tunisian start-up Iheb Triki was selected by the prestigious Choiseul Institute as one of the 100 Young African Leaders.

Also, the start-up has been selected as the second-best impact investment opportunity in the prestigious competition (MBA Impact Investing Network & Training) “Turner MIINT 2022”.

The young Tunisian company managed to snatch second place among 40 start-ups from the best American business schools, having participated in the global competition Turner MIINT.

TunisianMonitorOnline.com (NejiMed) (edited)

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TUNISIA

Winners of the ’10th King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz International Awards for Translation’ Announced

The translators of books about culture, physics and data mining are among the latest recipients of the prestigious King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz International Awards for Translation.

This year’s event, covering works published in 2021, marks the 10th anniversary of the awards. There were six categories and the winners, chosen by the event’s board of trustees, were announced on Monday.

Izz ddeen Khattabi Riffi’s translation from the original French of “Beyond Nature and Culture” by Philippe Descola took the award for works in the humanities category translated into Arabic. It was shared by Abdelnour Kharraki for his translation of “Data Mining for the Social Sciences: An Introduction” by Paul Attewell, David Monaghan and Darren Kwong, originally published in English.

The award for institutions went to the publishing and translation department of Obeikan Company, and to Al-Arabi Publishing & Distribution.

There were also two winners in category for works in the natural sciences translated into Arabic, both for books originally published in English: Dr. Sausan Hassan Al-Sawwaf and Dr. Laila Saleh Babsil for their translation of “Physics in Biology and Medicine” by Paul Davidovits; and Yahya Khlaif and Abdullatif Al-Shuhail for their translation of “Introduction to Carbon Capture and Sequestration” by Berend Smit, Jeffrey A Reimer and Curtis M. Oldenburg.

Three awards were presented in the category of Individual Efforts in Translation, to Hamza Qablan Al-Mozainy from Saudi Arabia, Murtazo Saydumarov from Uzbekistan, and Samir Mina Masoud Greeis, who is of Egyptian-German nationality.

The judges decided to withhold the awards in the two remaining categories, for books about the humanities and natural sciences translated from Arabic into other languages.

source/contents: arabnews.com (edited)

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EGYPTIAN / GERMAN / SAUDI ARABIA

Tanzania’s President Samia Suluhu Hassan amongst ‘Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People in the World, 2022’

Tanzania’s first female president, Samia Suluhu Hassan, has been named among the 100 most influential people in the world by Time magazine.

President Suluhu joins other prominent figures in the 2022 list, including US President Joe Biden, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and Apple CEO Tim Cook.

The Time 100 Most Influential People in the World list is divided into six categories: Pioneers, Icons, Artists, Titans, Leaders and Innovators. Samia is named under the Leaders category.

Although not new in Tanzania political scenes, she was sworn in as president on March 19, 2021 following the death of her predecessor John Pombe Magufuli.

In her one year as president, Samia has appointed more women to her cabinet to lead prominent ministries, including ministries of Health, Tourism and Security. She has also held talks with opposition leader Freeman Mbowe three times.

“Her leadership has been a tonic,” noted Time magazine.

“That year has made a big difference to Tanzania. A door has opened for dialogue between political rivals, steps have been taken to rebuild trust in the democratic system, efforts have been made to increase press freedom, and women and girls have a new role model.”

Born and raised in Zanzibar Island, President Samia began her political career in 2000 when she was elected as a special seat member to the Zanzibar House of Representatives.

Contrary to her predecessor, President Samia is a soft politician, who has recently insisted on peaceful, decent political campaigns.

source/content: theeastafrican.co.ke (headline edited)

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Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan / Photo|PSCU

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TANZANIA

United Nations Elects Oman’s Dr.Mohammed bin Awadh Al Hassan as Chairman of ‘ The Special Political and Decolonization Committee (Fourth Committee)’

The United Nations General Assembly has elected Oman’s Permanent Representative to the world body as chairman of its Special Political and Decolonisation Committee.

In his speech to the 77th session of the General Assembly, H E Dr Mohammed bin Awadh al Hassan, the sultanate’s Permanent Representative, stated that Oman is keen to chair the Special Political and Decolonisation Committee, owing to its belief in the freedom of peoples and their independence, as well as the importance of ending colonisation in line with the UN’s related decisions.

The Special Political and Decolonization Committee also known as Fourth Committee considers a broad range of issues covering a cluster of five decolonization-related agenda items, the effects of atomic radiation, questions relating to information, a comprehensive review of the question of peacekeeping operations as well as a review of special political missions, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), Israeli Practices and settlement activities affecting the rights of the Palestinian people and other Arabs of the occupied territories, and International cooperation in the peaceful uses of outer space.

source/content: muscatdaily.com (headline edited)

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OMAN