An image of Mohamed Ramadan was projected on to one of the world's most famous landmarks, Times Square in New York City, to promote his new song, Tik Tok, the same weekend the Egyptian megastar was sentenced to a year in prison.
Ramadan was sentenced to 12 months in jail by an Egyptian court for slander, after he posted a video inside the cockpit of a private plane, which caused pilot Ashraf Abou El Yousr to be fired and have his licence revoked.
The video, which went viral, showed Ramadan pretend to operate the plane and was confirmed by The Civil Aviation Authority to be authentic. According to reports, Yousr did not realise a video was being taken and did not give permission for it to be posted online.
The ruling came as a clip from the music video for Ramadan’s latest single, which features American Rapper and DJ Super Sako, was played in Times Square. The song has achieved huge success in the US and across the Arab world, thanks to its popularity on its namesake social media platform.
Over the weekend the song was given a further boost, thanks to a snippet from the recently released music video being projected on to one of Times Squares' famous video boards. The music video for Tik Tok was made as a collaboration between the TikTok app and Egyptian director Hossam El Hosseiny.
Ramadan has made a habit of releasing songs that capture what society is currently talking about, with Tik Tok following on from his single Coronavirus, which has been viewed millions of times on YouTube. On Instagram alone, it received more than three million views in less than 24 hours, while on Facebook it has had 6.5m views.
The song seems to send a message of encouragement to listeners, saying "we will find a solution".
Ramadan – who recently celebrated getting 12m followers on Instagram – is also known for his acting and is currently starring in the show Prince.
He recently met some criticism after he tore up an Egyptian passport in the show, while playing the lead character, Radhwan.
On April 27, Egyptian lawyer Ayman Mahfouz filed a legal complaint against Ramadan over the scene, but in the show, the character actually destroys his passport in a bid to demonstrate that his home is in Egypt.
Mahfouz reportedly accused the star of "working to insult all the symbols of the Egyptian state.”
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Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
A new relationship with the old country
Treaty of Friendship between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Arab Emirates
The United kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Arab Emirates; Considering that the United Arab Emirates has assumed full responsibility as a sovereign and independent State; Determined that the long-standing and traditional relations of close friendship and cooperation between their peoples shall continue; Desiring to give expression to this intention in the form of a Treaty Friendship; Have agreed as follows:
ARTICLE 1 The relations between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Arab Emirates shall be governed by a spirit of close friendship. In recognition of this, the Contracting Parties, conscious of their common interest in the peace and stability of the region, shall: (a) consult together on matters of mutual concern in time of need; (b) settle all their disputes by peaceful means in conformity with the provisions of the Charter of the United Nations.
ARTICLE 2 The Contracting Parties shall encourage education, scientific and cultural cooperation between the two States in accordance with arrangements to be agreed. Such arrangements shall cover among other things: (a) the promotion of mutual understanding of their respective cultures, civilisations and languages, the promotion of contacts among professional bodies, universities and cultural institutions; (c) the encouragement of technical, scientific and cultural exchanges.
ARTICLE 3 The Contracting Parties shall maintain the close relationship already existing between them in the field of trade and commerce. Representatives of the Contracting Parties shall meet from time to time to consider means by which such relations can be further developed and strengthened, including the possibility of concluding treaties or agreements on matters of mutual concern.
ARTICLE 4 This Treaty shall enter into force on today’s date and shall remain in force for a period of ten years. Unless twelve months before the expiry of the said period of ten years either Contracting Party shall have given notice to the other of its intention to terminate the Treaty, this Treaty shall remain in force thereafter until the expiry of twelve months from the date on which notice of such intention is given.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF the undersigned have signed this Treaty.
DONE in duplicate at Dubai the second day of December 1971AD, corresponding to the fifteenth day of Shawwal 1391H, in the English and Arabic languages, both texts being equally authoritative.
Signed
Geoffrey Arthur Sheikh Zayed
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
