Sheikh Dr Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Ruler of Sharjah, has inaugurated Portugal's first centre for Arabic studies, at the University of Coimbra.
The centre, within the university’s faculty of arts and humanities, operates under the supervision of the Sharjah Book Authority. It will begin offering courses this month, with structured programmes in Arabic language, grammar and calligraphy.
The centre will also organise conferences, open classes, workshops, exhibitions and performances focused Arab culture.
“This significant step confirms our shared determination to bring peoples closer together through language and culture,” Sheikh Dr Sultan said at the inauguration on campus.
“I believe that when knowledge springs from truth, it becomes a solid bridge for dialogue and a firm foundation for building relations between peoples.
“Culture may not change geography, but it changes the way we see it. It cannot erase borders, but it can transform them into living points of encounter. Culture also does not change history, but it changes the way we read it.”
Translation will be a central activity of the centre, aimed at expanding the availability of works between Arabic and European languages.
The centre in Coimbra, about 200km north of Lisbon, will be led by Prof Abdeljelil Larbi, a Tunisian academic specialising in Arabic language and comparative literary studies.
Friday’s inauguration builds on existing collaboration between Sharjah and the university. The Digital Joanina project, launched in February, is a joint project between the university and the Sharjah Book Authority to digitise the Joanina Library’s historic collections.
The library is a Baroque landmark built as part of the university between 1717 and 1728 under King Joao V and inscribed in 2013 on the Unesco World Heritage List. It has a limestone facade, ceilings emblazoned with paintings of literary and allegorical figures, as well as gilded wooden bookshelves holding thousands of historic volumes.
The project entered its pilot stage in 2024, during which 141 works were digitised as a proof of concept. The next stage will cover the main floor of the Joanina Library, which holds 30,000 works.
University of Coimbra rector Amilcar Falcao said that over the next six years, more than 20 million images will be catalogued. “It is a systematic effort to strengthen a unique collection, restoring copies when needed, and ensuring their survival for future generations,” he added.
“Our idea is to open the Joanina Library to the world. We have the Joanina Library, a treasure that contains another treasure. If the entire collection can be accessed from anywhere in the world, the whole world will be able to appreciate this timeless wealth – which is one of the reasons we were listed as a World Heritage Site.”
Francisco Veiga, Deputy Mayor of Coimbra, said the project reflects a broader vision of cultural co-operation, which included the university granting an honorary doctorate to Sheikh Dr Sultan in 2018. “This rapprochement was from the start based on the shared desire to build strong and lasting relations – relations that find in culture fertile ground for meeting, dialogue and the building of the future,” Mr Veiga said.
Prof Jose Pedro Paiva, dean of the faculty of arts and humanities, told The National the reopening of Arabic teaching in Coimbra is resonant.
“Since the 16th century, some Portuguese sailed across the Indian Ocean to the Gulf, where they encountered the peoples of what we now know as the emirate of Sharjah – sometimes leaving painful traces,” Prof Paiva said.
“We want people in Portugal to be more aware of the Arabic influences in our everyday life, from the architecture to the words we used. So this centre is very important in building those important bridges.”
Sheikh Dr Sultan also used the occasion to present the university with the original manuscript by Duarte Barbosa, the 16th-century Portuguese officer who documented the Gulf and Asia, along with his own book A Journey of Great Importance, which provides a commentary on Barbosa’s work with translations available in Portuguese and English.
“This writing carried the spirit of an honest researcher, who shared what he saw and lived while keeping distance from the ambitions of power,” Sheikh Dr Sultan said of Barbosa's work. “I present them to your institution so the origin of the story is returned to the people about whom it was written.”
In 2024, a similar Arabic Cultural Institute opened at Milan's Universita Cattolica del Sacro Cuore. It was also established through the Sharjah Book Authority, which runs programmes there ranging from Arabic language courses to the translation of Arabic texts into Italian.
MATCH INFO
Real Madrid 2 (Benzema 13', Kroos 28')
Barcelona 1 (Mingueza 60')
Red card: Casemiro (Real Madrid)
Points about the fast fashion industry Celine Hajjar wants everyone to know
- Fast fashion is responsible for up to 10 per cent of global carbon emissions
- Fast fashion is responsible for 24 per cent of the world's insecticides
- Synthetic fibres that make up the average garment can take hundreds of years to biodegrade
- Fast fashion labour workers make 80 per cent less than the required salary to live
- 27 million fast fashion workers worldwide suffer from work-related illnesses and diseases
- Hundreds of thousands of fast fashion labourers work without rights or protection and 80 per cent of them are women
The specs
Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
Power: 620hp from 5,750-7,500rpm
Torque: 760Nm from 3,000-5,750rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed dual-clutch auto
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh1.05 million ($286,000)
Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
Power: 254hp
Torque: 390Nm
Price: From Dh126,000
Available: Now
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
So what is Spicy Chickenjoy?
Just as McDonald’s has the Big Mac, Jollibee has Spicy Chickenjoy – a piece of fried chicken that’s crispy and spicy on the outside and comes with a side of spaghetti, all covered in tomato sauce and topped with sausage slices and ground beef. It sounds like a recipe that a child would come up with, but perhaps that’s the point – a flavourbomb combination of cheap comfort foods. Chickenjoy is Jollibee’s best-selling product in every country in which it has a presence.
Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh117,059
What should do investors do now?
What does the S&P 500's new all-time high mean for the average investor?
Should I be euphoric?
No. It's fine to be pleased about hearty returns on your investments. But it's not a good idea to tie your emotions closely to the ups and downs of the stock market. You'll get tired fast. This market moment comes on the heels of last year's nosedive. And it's not the first or last time the stock market will make a dramatic move.
So what happened?
It's more about what happened last year. Many of the concerns that triggered that plunge towards the end of last have largely been quelled. The US and China are slowly moving toward a trade agreement. The Federal Reserve has indicated it likely will not raise rates at all in 2019 after seven recent increases. And those changes, along with some strong earnings reports and broader healthy economic indicators, have fueled some optimism in stock markets.
"The panic in the fourth quarter was based mostly on fears," says Brent Schutte, chief investment strategist for Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Company. "The fundamentals have mostly held up, while the fears have gone away and the fears were based mostly on emotion."
Should I buy? Should I sell?
Maybe. It depends on what your long-term investment plan is. The best advice is usually the same no matter the day — determine your financial goals, make a plan to reach them and stick to it.
"I would encourage (investors) not to overreact to highs, just as I would encourage them not to overreact to the lows of December," Mr Schutte says.
All the same, there are some situations in which you should consider taking action. If you think you can't live through another low like last year, the time to get out is now. If the balance of assets in your portfolio is out of whack thanks to the rise of the stock market, make adjustments. And if you need your money in the next five to 10 years, it shouldn't be in stocks anyhow. But for most people, it's also a good time to just leave things be.
Resist the urge to abandon the diversification of your portfolio, Mr Schutte cautions. It may be tempting to shed other investments that aren't performing as well, such as some international stocks, but diversification is designed to help steady your performance over time.
Will the rally last?
No one knows for sure. But David Bailin, chief investment officer at Citi Private Bank, expects the US market could move up 5 per cent to 7 per cent more over the next nine to 12 months, provided the Fed doesn't raise rates and earnings growth exceeds current expectations. We are in a late cycle market, a period when US equities have historically done very well, but volatility also rises, he says.
"This phase can last six months to several years, but it's important clients remain invested and not try to prematurely position for a contraction of the market," Mr Bailin says. "Doing so would risk missing out on important portfolio returns."
Brief scores:
Toss: Kerala Knights, opted to fielf
Pakhtoons 109-5 (10 ov)
Fletcher 32; Lamichhane 3-17
Kerala Knights 110-2 (7.5 ov)
Morgan 46 not out, Stirling 40
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Results
5pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 (Turf) 1,200m. Winner: Majd Al Megirat, Sam Hitchcott (jockey), Ahmed Al Shehhi (trainer)
5.30pm: Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,600m. Winner: Dassan Da, Patrick Cosgrave, Helal Al Alawi
6pm: Abu Dhabi Fillies Classic Prestige (PA) Dh110,000 (T) 1,400m. Winner: Heba Al Wathba, Richard Mullen, Jean de Roualle
6.30pm: Abu Dhabi Colts Classic Prestige (PA) Dh110,000 (T) 1,400m. Winner: Hameem, Adrie de Vries, Abdallah Al Hammadi
7pm: Wathba Stallions Cup Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (T) 2,200m. Winner: Jawal Al Reef, Richard Mullen, Ahmed Al Mehairbi
Handicap (TB) Dh100,000 (T) 2,200m. Winner: Harbour Spirit, Adrie de Vries, Jaber Ramadhan.
MATCH INFO
UAE Division 1
Abu Dhabi Harlequins 12-24 Abu Dhabi Saracens
Brief scoreline:
Manchester United 0
Manchester City 2
Bernardo Silva 54', Sane 66'
Destroyer
Director: Karyn Kusama
Cast: Nicole Kidman, Toby Kebbell, Sebastian Stan
Rating: 3/5
UAE release: January 31
The specs
Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel
Power: 579hp
Torque: 859Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh825,900
On sale: Now
Medicus AI
Started: 2016
Founder(s): Dr Baher Al Hakim, Dr Nadine Nehme and Makram Saleh
Based: Vienna, Austria; started in Dubai
Sector: Health Tech
Staff: 119
Funding: €7.7 million (Dh31m)
MATCH INFO
What: 2006 World Cup quarter-final
When: July 1
Where: Gelsenkirchen Stadium, Gelsenkirchen, Germany
Result:
England 0 Portugal 0
(Portugal win 3-1 on penalties)
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