Three Arab journalists have been recognised for their reporting on Syria and Gaza at the 20th edition of an EU-sponsored awards ceremony in honour of assassinated Lebanese journalist Samir Kassir.
The Samir Kassir Award for Freedom of the Press was held on Tuesday at Sursock Palace in Beirut. The annual event is organised by the Samir Kassir Foundation with EU financing.
Mr Kassir was killed on June 2, 2005 in the Lebanese capital. He was a vocal critic of Syria’s occupation of Lebanon which started in 1976 and ended in the year he died.
Gaza, devastated by almost 20 months of Israeli bombardment, was central to this year's event, along with Syria as the country emerges from decades of authoritarian rule after the fall of Bashar Al Assad.
Tuesday's ceremony carried extra poignancy, 20 years on from Mr Kassir’s assassination.
“It has very much to do with Samir’s own multiple identities – Lebanese, Syrian, Palestinian – and what is happening in these three countries defies all imagination and expectations,” said Ayman Mhanna, executive director of the Beirut-based foundation.
“Whether on the positive side or even on the tragic side”, the changes taking place in Lebanon and Gaza are “beyond anything we thought possible”, he told The National.
Raised in Beirut by a Lebanese-Palestinian father and Lebanese-Syrian mother, Mr Kassir went on to become a prominent intellectual and journalist. As well as criticising the Syrian occupation, he was a vocal opponent of Hezbollah, the powerful Lebanese armed group and political party.
His assassination was one of a series of killings that targeted critics of the Assad regime and its influence abroad. The perpetrators have never been held accountable.
Mr Kassir's death has been widely blamed on Hezbollah, which was a key ally of the Assad regime before the president was toppled last December.
For a second year, the awards ceremony was held without Gisele Khoury, the Lebanese journalist and widow of Mr Kassir, who died of cancer in October 2023. Ms Khoury founded the Samir Kassir Foundation.
A panel of seven judges from the Middle East and Europe selected the winners.
The prize for best opinion article was awarded to Palestinian journalist Badar Salem for her piece headlined The Normalisation of Resilience in Gaza. The best investigative story was Egyptian journalist Marina Milad's investigation into Syrian women imprisoned under the Assad regime.
The award for best video went to Syrian journalist Khalil Al Ashawi for his portrayal of a childhood lived “in an endless war” in Syria.
“It’s very important to receive a prize named after someone who was killed because of the Syrian regime, the same regime that forced us to flee,” Mr Al Ashawi told The National. “It shows that we’re back. I returned to my country for the first time in 14 years, and I did this report after the fall of the regime. I would never have dreamt of doing so before.”
The judges were The National’s Editor-in-Chief Mina Al-Oraibi, French writer Jean-Pierre Perrin, BBC Middle East correspondent Lina Sinjab, Antoine Haddad – vice-president of Saint George University of Beirut and the Samir Kassir Foundation’s representative, Paul Radu, co-founder of the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project, Spanish journalist and communications expert Natalia Sancha and Ali Amar, Editor-in-Chief of Moroccan news outlet Le Desk.
The jury paid tribute to Ms Khoury, and Lebanese journalists and intellectuals who had been killed, including Hezbollah critic Lokman Slim and Gebran Tueni, former editor of An-Nahar, a leading newspaper in Lebanon. The judges also paid tribute to the people of Gaza and Syria.
“We cannot talk about the Arab world today without pausing to acknowledge the brutal war on Gaza and the unjust occupation of Palestine,” Ms Al-Oraibi said in a speech. “And yet, amid all the challenges, we are witnessing a glimmer of hope, after a long and dark period. Hope shines through in beautiful Lebanon, in Syria and, God willing, in my beloved homeland, Iraq.”
Mr Mhanna said the ceremony was a message of defiance to anyone attempting to stifle freedom of expression in Lebanon.
“They are pathetic if they believe that a country capable of producing journalism of this calibre, like Samir Kassir did, and embracing the kind of work represented by this year’s nominees, actually cares about them,” he said. “Where else other than Lebanon can journalists banned from their own countries come to be recognised?”
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
How Voiss turns words to speech
The device has a screen reader or software that monitors what happens on the screen
The screen reader sends the text to the speech synthesiser
This converts to audio whatever it receives from screen reader, so the person can hear what is happening on the screen
A VOISS computer costs between $200 and $250 depending on memory card capacity that ranges from 32GB to 128GB
The speech synthesisers VOISS develops are free
Subsequent computer versions will include improvements such as wireless keyboards
Arabic voice in affordable talking computer to be added next year to English, Portuguese, and Spanish synthesiser
Partnerships planned during Expo 2020 Dubai to add more languages
At least 2.2 billion people globally have a vision impairment or blindness
More than 90 per cent live in developing countries
The Long-term aim of VOISS to reach the technology to people in poor countries with workshops that teach them to build their own device
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
Getting%20there%20and%20where%20to%20stay
%3Cp%3EFly%20with%20Etihad%20Airways%20from%20Abu%20Dhabi%20to%20New%20York%E2%80%99s%20JFK.%20There's%2011%20flights%20a%20week%20and%20economy%20fares%20start%20at%20around%20Dh5%2C000.%3Cbr%3EStay%20at%20The%20Mark%20Hotel%20on%20the%20city%E2%80%99s%20Upper%20East%20Side.%20Overnight%20stays%20start%20from%20%241395%20per%20night.%3Cbr%3EVisit%20NYC%20Go%2C%20the%20official%20destination%20resource%20for%20New%20York%20City%20for%20all%20the%20latest%20events%2C%20activites%20and%20openings.%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
No%20Windmills%20in%20Basra
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QUALIFYING RESULTS
1. Max Verstappen, Netherlands, Red Bull Racing Honda, 1 minute, 35.246 seconds.
2. Valtteri Bottas, Finland, Mercedes, 1:35.271.
3. Lewis Hamilton, Great Britain, Mercedes, 1:35.332.
4. Lando Norris, Great Britain, McLaren Renault, 1:35.497.
5. Alexander Albon, Thailand, Red Bull Racing Honda, 1:35.571.
6. Carlos Sainz Jr, Spain, McLaren Renault, 1:35.815.
7. Daniil Kvyat, Russia, Scuderia Toro Rosso Honda, 1:35.963.
8. Lance Stroll, Canada, Racing Point BWT Mercedes, 1:36.046.
9. Charles Leclerc, Monaco, Ferrari, 1:36.065.
10. Pierre Gasly, France, Scuderia Toro Rosso Honda, 1:36.242.
Eliminated after second session
11. Esteban Ocon, France, Renault, 1:36.359.
12. Daniel Ricciardo, Australia, Renault, 1:36.406.
13. Sebastian Vettel, Germany, Ferrari, 1:36.631.
14. Antonio Giovinazzi, Italy, Alfa Romeo Racing Ferrari, 1:38.248.
Eliminated after first session
15. Antonio Giovinazzi, Italy, Alfa Romeo Racing Ferrari, 1:37.075.
16. Kimi Raikkonen, Finland, Alfa Romeo Racing Ferrari, 1:37.555.
17. Kevin Magnussen, Denmark, Haas Ferrari, 1:37.863.
18. George Russell, Great Britain, Williams Mercedes, 1:38.045.
19. Pietro Fittipaldi, Brazil, Haas Ferrari, 1:38.173.
20. Nicholas Latifi, Canada, Williams Mercedes, 1:38.443.
Mica
Director: Ismael Ferroukhi
Stars: Zakaria Inan, Sabrina Ouazani
3 stars
ABU%20DHABI'S%20KEY%20TOURISM%20GOALS%3A%20BY%20THE%20NUMBERS
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RESULTS
Bantamweight: Victor Nunes (BRA) beat Azizbek Satibaldiev (KYG). Round 1 KO
Featherweight: Izzeddin Farhan (JOR) beat Ozodbek Azimov (UZB). Round 1 rear naked choke
Middleweight: Zaakir Badat (RSA) beat Ercin Sirin (TUR). Round 1 triangle choke
Featherweight: Ali Alqaisi (JOR) beat Furkatbek Yokubov (UZB). Round 1 TKO
Featherweight: Abu Muslim Alikhanov (RUS) beat Atabek Abdimitalipov (KYG). Unanimous decision
Catchweight 74kg: Mirafzal Akhtamov (UZB) beat Marcos Costa (BRA). Split decision
Welterweight: Andre Fialho (POR) beat Sang Hoon-yu (KOR). Round 1 TKO
Lightweight: John Mitchell (IRE) beat Arbi Emiev (RUS). Round 2 RSC (deep cuts)
Middleweight: Gianni Melillo (ITA) beat Mohammed Karaki (LEB)
Welterweight: Handesson Ferreira (BRA) beat Amiran Gogoladze (GEO). Unanimous decision
Flyweight (Female): Carolina Jimenez (VEN) beat Lucrezia Ria (ITA), Round 1 rear naked choke
Welterweight: Daniel Skibinski (POL) beat Acoidan Duque (ESP). Round 3 TKO
Lightweight: Martun Mezhlumyan (ARM) beat Attila Korkmaz (TUR). Unanimous decision
Bantamweight: Ray Borg (USA) beat Jesse Arnett (CAN). Unanimous decision
'Munich: The Edge of War'
Director: Christian Schwochow
Starring: George MacKay, Jannis Niewohner, Jeremy Irons
Rating: 3/5
Tottenham's 10 biggest transfers (according to transfermarkt.com):
1). Moussa Sissokho - Newcastle United - £30 million (Dh143m): Flop
2). Roberto Soldado - Valencia - £25m: Flop
3). Erik Lamela - Roma - £25m: Jury still out
4). Son Heung-min - Bayer Leverkusen - £25m: Success
5). Darren Bent - Charlton Athletic - £21m: Flop
6). Vincent Janssen - AZ Alkmaar - £18m: Flop
7). David Bentley - Blackburn Rovers - £18m: Flop
8). Luka Modric - Dynamo Zagreb - £17m: Success
9). Paulinho - Corinthians - £16m: Flop
10). Mousa Dembele - Fulham - £16m: Success
TECH%20SPECS%3A%20APPLE%20WATCH%20SERIES%208
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Company%20profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EName%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20WallyGPT%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2014%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESaeid%20and%20Sami%20Hejazi%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dubai%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFinTech%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20raised%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E%247.1%20million%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20staff%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2020%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EPre-seed%20round%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
UAE%20SQUAD
%3Cp%3EMuhammad%20Waseem%20(captain)%2C%20Aayan%20Khan%2C%20Aryan%20Lakra%2C%20Ashwanth%20Valthapa%2C%20Asif%20Khan%2C%20Aryansh%20Sharma%2C%20CP%20Rizwaan%2C%20Hazrat%20Billal%2C%20Junaid%20Siddique%2C%20Karthik%20Meiyappan%2C%20Rohan%20Mustafa%2C%20Vriitya%20Aravind%2C%20Zahoor%20Khan%20and%20Zawar%20Farid.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Company profile
Name: Thndr
Started: October 2020
Founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Based: Cairo, Egypt
Sector: FinTech
Initial investment: pre-seed of $800,000
Funding stage: series A; $20 million
Investors: Tiger Global, Beco Capital, Prosus Ventures, Y Combinator, Global Ventures, Abdul Latif Jameel, Endure Capital, 4DX Ventures, Plus VC, Rabacap and MSA Capital
Red Sparrow
Dir: Francis Lawrence
Starring: Jennifer Lawrence, Joel Egerton, Charlotte Rampling, Jeremy Irons
Three stars
Bio
Age: 25
Town: Al Diqdaqah – Ras Al Khaimah
Education: Bachelors degree in mechanical engineering
Favourite colour: White
Favourite place in the UAE: Downtown Dubai
Favourite book: A Life in Administration by Ghazi Al Gosaibi.
First owned baking book: How to Be a Domestic Goddess by Nigella Lawson.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Profile
Company name: Jaib
Started: January 2018
Co-founders: Fouad Jeryes and Sinan Taifour
Based: Jordan
Sector: FinTech
Total transactions: over $800,000 since January, 2018
Investors in Jaib's mother company Alpha Apps: Aramex and 500 Startups
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
