DUBAI: Acclaimed international journalist and broadcaster Baria Alamuddin was celebrated at the May Chidiac Foundation Media Awards for her valuable contributions to the Arab world’s media industry.

Alamuddin, an Arab News columnist, editor of the Media Services Syndicate and former foreign editor of Al-Hayat newspaper, accepted the Antoine Choueiri Special Tribute for Lifetime Achievement during Tuesday’s ceremony.

Presenting the accolade were Pierre Choueiri, CEO and chairman of the leading media representation group in the Middle East, Choueiri Group, and Lebanon’s ambassador to the UAE, Fouad Chehab Dandan.

The annual MCF Awards, hosted by Dubai for the second year in a row, recognized the contributions of several other prominent figures in the Arab media industry.

Awards were presented by MCF President May Chidiac and other notable media personalities, including Lebanese journalist and writer Samir Atallah, CEO of International Media Investments and former CNN Commercial Worldwide president Rani Raad, and Beirut Institute founder and executive chairman Raghida Dergham.

Mamdouh Al-Muhaini, general manager of Al Arabiya and Al Hadath, accepted the Excellence in the Media Industry Award.

The Excellence in Media Award went to Nadim Koteich, general manager of Sky News Arabia, International Media Investments, to recognize his commitment to excellence and his impact on the media landscape over the past two decades.

Palestinian journalist Heba Akila, best known for her coverage of the Israeli onslaught on the Gaza Strip, was recognized for her Courage in Journalism.

Anas Bukhash, entrepreneur and podcast presenter of ABTalks, accepted the Content Development Award from award-winning international journalist Hadley Gamble and Bahraini business pioneer Akram Miknas, who heads Promoseven Holdings.

Award-winning investigative journalist and television host at France 2, Elise Lucet, received the Engaged Journalist Award, presented by Nobel laureate Ouidad Bouchamaoui and Lebanese Member of Parliament Ghassan Hasbani.

The Outstanding Media Performance Award was presented to American journalist and war reporter Ben Wedeman, CNN’s Beirut-based senior international correspondent.

Founded by journalist and former Lebanese Minister for Administrative Development May Chidiac, the foundation is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to research and development in the fields of media, international affairs, women’s rights, democracy and social welfare, among others, with the aim of establishing Lebanon as a proactive player in the Middle East and global economy.

KUALA LUMPUR: Google will invest $2 billion in Malaysia to house the firm’s first data center in the country, the government said Thursday, making it the latest tech titan to pump cash into the region in search of growth opportunities.
The government said the cash would support 26,500 jobs across various sectors in Malaysia, including health care, education, and finance, and comes days after Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim targeted at least $107 billion in investments for the semiconductor industry.
Anwar said in April that he planned to build Southeast Asia’s largest integrated circuit design park, while offering incentives including tax breaks and subsidies to attract global tech companies and investors.
Ruth Porat, president and chief investment officer of Google and its parent firm Alphabet, said: “Google’s first data center and Google Cloud region is our largest planned investment so far in Malaysia — a place Google has been proud to call home for 13 years.
“This investment builds on our partnership with the Malaysian government to advance its ‘Cloud First Policy’, including best-in-class cybersecurity standards.”
Investment, Trade, and Industry Minister Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz said the cash “will significantly advance” Malaysia’s digital ambitions outlined in a 2030 masterplan.
He added that the data center and cloud region “will empower our manufacturing and service-based industries to leverage artificial intelligence (AI) and other advanced technologies to move up the global value chain.”
Earlier this month Microsoft said it would spend $2.2 billion on AI and cloud computing in Malaysia, with boss Satya Nadella pledging to invest billions in Thailand and Indonesia during a tour of the region.
And Amazon said it would spend $9 billion in Singapore over the next four years to expand its cloud computing capabilities in the city.
The facility announced on Thursday will be located at a business park west of the capital Kuala Lumpur and will power Google’s popular digital services such as Search, Maps, and Workspace.
“When operational, Malaysia will join the 11 countries where Google has built and currently operates data centers to serve users around the world,” the statement said.
The Google Cloud region “will deliver high-performance and low-latency cloud infrastructure, analytics, and AI services to large enterprises, startups, and public sector organizations,” it added.
A key player in the semiconductor industry for decades, Malaysia accounts for an estimated 13 percent of global back-end manufacturing, according to German tech giant Bosch.
Research by global consulting firm Kearney showed AI was poised to contribute $1 trillion to Southeast Asia’s gross domestic product by 2030, with Malaysia predicted to see more than a tenth of that.
“Now that many of these American tech giants are diversifying their investment risks away from China, Malaysia with its traditional involvement in high-tech industry is in a good position to welcome the relocation of their operations,” said Oh Ei Sun, an analyst with the Pacific Research Center of Malaysia.