Gender Equality ‘Champion’ Jordanian Sima Bahous appointed as Executive Director to Head ‘UN Women’ : September 13th, 2021

Dr. Sima Sami Bahous (aka) Sima Bahous. Diplomat. Leader.

Sima Bahous is one of the highest highest ranking officials from the Arab world in the UN system.

Secretary-General António Guterres described Sima Sami Bahous of Jordan, as “a champion for women and girls”, announcing on Monday her appointment to lead the UN’s gender equality and empowerment entity, UN Women.

Ms. Bahous brings to the job more than 35 years of leadership experience at the grassroots, national, regional and international level. 

Most recently, Ms. Bahous served as Jordan’s UN ambassador in New York.   

Prior to that, she was the Assistant Administrator and Director of the Regional Bureau for Arab States at the UN Development Programme (UNDP) from 2012 to 2016 and Assistant Secretary-General and Head of the Social Development Sector at the League of Arab States, from 2008 to 2012. 

The new UN Women chief has also served in two ministerial posts in Jordan as President of the Higher Media Council from 2005 to 2008 and as Adviser to King Abdullah II from 2003 to 2005.   

She has also worked for UN Children’s Fund UNICEF, and with a number of UN and civil society organizations, as well as teaching development and communication studies at different universities in her native Jordan.  

She is fluent in Arabic and English, and proficient in French. 

source/content : www.news.un.org

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UN Photo/Manuel Elías
UN Secretary-General António Guterres today announced the appointment of Sima Sami Bahous of Jordan as Executive Director of UN-Women. / news.un.org

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JORDAN

Lina Ghotmeh – Awarded the ‘Tamayouz’ Prize, for ‘Excellence of Women Architects in the Middle East and North Africa’ : January 2021

Lina Ghotmeh. Humanist Architect . Founder of Lina Ghotmeh – Architecture, France

French-Lebanese architect Lina Ghotmeh recently received the “Tamayouz” prize, which rewards the excellence of women architects in the Middle East and North Africa.

An additional recognition for this architect, who has won several other international awards.

www.linaghotmeh.com

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© Hannah-Assouline-ok./ pix: linaghotmeh.com

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FRENCH / LEBANESE

Kuwaiti Brand ‘Marzook’ Fashion Accessories

Shouq Al-Marzooq and Fahad Al-Marzook. Co-Founders Brand ‘Marzook’. Luxury handbags and fashion accessories

Kuwaiti label and FTA Prize 2019 finalist Marzook is best-loved for its bags, with Amal Clooney, Kylie Jenner and Lupita Nyong’o all having been spotted carrying a Marzook bag.

A brand that draws its inspiration from surrealism, Marzook was founded by brother and sister duo Shouq and Fahad Al-Marzook.

The Beirut-based accessories brand was established in 2014. The brother sister duo started off in the fashion industry by designing pieces for their family and friends and quickly went on to garner worldwide attention and sign celebrity collaboration deals

www.marzook.co

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Fahad and Shouq Marzook, shot by Plastik Studios / pix: fashiontrustarabia.com

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KUWAIT / LEBANON

Team Abu Dhabi’s Rashed Al Qemzi Secures 3rd World Title ‘UIM F2 World Championship’, Grand Prix of Portugal : October 2021

Rashed Al Qemzi

It was Al Qemzi’s fourth successive Grand Prix win in Portugal

Team Abu Dhabi’s Rashed Al Qemzi secured his third UIM F2 world championship title on Sunday with an emphatic victory in the Grand Prix of Portugal.

Starting from pole position, the brilliant Emirati driver completely dominated the final round of the series at Vila Velha de Ródão, winning by the commanding margin of 8.686 seconds against Duarte Benavente, the defending world champion.

It was Al Qemzi’s fourth successive Grand Prix win in Portugal and his second taste of world title glory this season following July’s endurance championship success in Polamd.

Italian powerboat racing legend Guido Cappellini has now landed 13 world titles since taking charge as Team Abu Dhabi manager in February 2015.

source/content: khaleejtimes.com

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Team Abu Dhabi’s Rashed Al Qemzi. (Supplied photo) / khaleejtimes.com

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ABU DHABI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES (U.A.E)

Dana Ballout Emmy-Nominated Producer

Dana Ballout, the Lebanese-American Emmy-nominated producer of “Trafficked with Mariana Zeller,” knows the exact moment she started paying attention to what was going on in the world. It was February 14, 2005.

Ballout was a senior in high school in Beirut, and as she sat in class that Valentine’s Day morning, a bomb went off just down the block, sending the building’s shatter-proof windows into convulsions. Lebanon’s recently-resigned prime minster, Rafic Hariri, had been assassinated.

She spent years covering the war in Syria as a reporter for outlets including The Wall Street Journal, but it was in podcasts and documentaries that she fully found her voice, allowing her to journey in depth into people’s lives in a way she never could before.

Ballout is a storyteller, but the stories she chooses to tell are ones that few are brave enough to tell. Often they can be harrowing, including the latest documentary she co-produced, “Groomed,” which follows a woman returning to her hometown in search of answers about the man who abused her as a child.

In “Trafficked,” recently renewed for a third season at National Geographic, Ballout and company travel across the world to profile the global underworld, sitting down with the titans of illegal industries such as scamming, steroids, counterfeiting and poaching.

source/content : arabnews.com

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Ballout had grown up in a household with a newspaper on the table every morning. (Supplied) / arabnews.com

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AMERICAN / LEBANESE

Bodybuilding: Egyptian ‘Big Ramy’ claims ‘2021 Mr. Olympia’ Title held in Florida, for 2nd year in row: October 2021

Big Ramy (aka) Mamdouh Mohammed Hassan Elssbiay (aka) Mamdouh ‘Big Ramy’ Elssbiay

For the second year in row Egyptian bodybuilding star Ramy Elssbiay ‘Big Ramy’, has claimed the 2021 Mr. Olympia title that took place in the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida, United States.

The 37-year-old, Big Ramy defeated the 2019 Mr. Olympia champion Brandon Curry of America and Hadi Choopan of Iran to snatch the 2021 title.

Big Ramy made eight appearances in the Mr. Olympia competition as he finished in the runner-up place four years ago.

After winning last year’s title, the Egyptian bodybuilding star became the first non-American to win the title since British champion Dorian Yates in 1997 to prove himself as the best bodybuilder in the world.

The 2021 Mr. Olympia top five:

1. Big Ramy (Egypt) $400,000
2. Brandon Curry (USA) $150,000
3. Hadi Choopan (Iran) $10,000
4. Hunter Labrada (USA) $40,000
5. Nick Walker (USA) $35,000

source/content: english.ahram.org.eg

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pix: english.ahram.org.eg

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EGYPT

Emirati Engineer Mohammed Hassan Wins Seat in Int’l Electrotechnical Commission Young Professionals Programme (IEC YPP) : October 07th, 2021

Mohamed Hassan. Engieer.

 Mohamed Hassan, Physical Health Engineer at the Federal Authority for Nuclear Regulation, has won the Asia and the Middle East seat in the International Electrotechnical Commission’s Young Professionals Programme (IEC YPP).

The UAE nominated four candidates in security, services, nuclear energy, oil and gas, renewable energy, industry and telecommunications for the IEC YPP, which was an integral part of the 85th General Assembly of the IEC.

The event was hosted by the Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology and took place in Dubai between 3rd and 7th October, 2021.

The IEC provides a global institutional framework that encourages global cooperation between 172 countries (89 members and 83 affiliates) and more than 20,000 technical experts, who come together to discuss, shape and enhance the field of standards, specifications and certifications in electrical and electronic devices and systems.

source/content: wam.ae

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UNITED ARAB EMIRATES (U.A.E.)

Nobel Prize for Medicine Awarded to US scientists David Julius and Dr. Ardem Patapoutian : October 04th, 2021

Dr. Ardem Patapoutian. Lebanon born US Scientist.

Lebanese-Armenian scientist Ardem Patapoutian is one of the two winners of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for their discoveries of receptors for touch, heat and bodily movement

Two scientists who made landmark discoveries about human senses, have won the Nobel Prize for Medicine, beating vaccine pioneers to the prestigious award.

Announcing the winners after balloting behind closed doors on Monday, the Nobel jury said the US duo had broken open a “fundamental unsolved question” about human biology.

Dr Patapoutian, who was born in Lebanon in 1967 and moved to the US as a young man, works at Scripps Research in La Jolla, California. He identified genes that control sensitivity to touch.

The proteins he discovered also play a role in how people sense motion and how the body deals with blood pressure, respiration and bladder control.

He said his research had shone light on fundamental human behaviour which many people rarely question. “In science, many times, it’s the things that we take for granted that are of high interest,” he said

Nobel prize winner Ardem Patapoutian was also awarded Lebanese Order of Merit.

Dr. Patapoutian, who was born to an Armenian family in Beirut, Lebanon in 1967, came to the United States in 1986. “I fell in love with doing basic research. That changed the trajectory of my career,” he said in an interview with the New York Times. “In Lebanon, I didn’t even know about scientists as a career.”

source/content: thenationalnews.com

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pix: youtube.com / Scripps Research

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USA / LEBANON

Faisal Al Rahmani re-elected Chairman of International Federation of Arabian Horse Racing (IFAHR): October 05th, 2021

Faisal Al Rahmani was unanimously re-elected as the Chairman of the International Federation of Arabian Horse Racing (IFAHR), the global organization for the promotion of Arabian Horse Racing, during the meeting of its General Assembly held in Paris today.

The Emirati nominee received all 26 votes from member states of IFAHR’s Executive Office, winning a second four-year term from 2021 to 2025.

“My re-election for the chairmanship of IFAHR is the outcome of the support and directives of H.H. Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs , and his leading role in implementing development plans for activities involving Arabian Horses,” he said.

source/contents: wam.ae

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pix: wam.ae

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UNITED ARAB EMIRATES (U.A.E)

Morocco’s El Amin Chentouf Smashes Own Paralympic Record to Win T12 Marathon Gold : Tokyo 2020 : September, 2021

El Amin Chentouf. Athlete. Paralympic Athlete.

Veteran El Amin Chentouf of Morocco defended his title in the T12 marathon for visually impaired athletes, smashing his own Paralympic record by over three minutes to finish in 2:21:43.

The 40-year-old retains his title after finishing more than more than four minutes ahead of silver medallist Clifford.

Further back in the field, Tunisian’s Wajdi Boukhili had been well placed to take the bronze until the 40km mark, where both he and compatriot Hatem Nasrallah slowed up to finish sixth and fourth, respectively. The bronze medal went to Tadashi Horikoshi of Japan.

Chentouf’s gold was the fourth for Morocco during the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, all of which have been won in athletics. Abdeslam Hili and Ayoub Sadni won gold in the men’s 400m in the T12 and T47 classes, respectively, and Zakariae Derhem topped the podium in the men’s shot put F33 class.

source/content : thenationalnews.com

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pix: moroccolatestnews.com

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MOROCCO