DUBAI: Legendary Egyptian actor Ahmed Zaki was featured Wednesday in a Google Doodle, for what would have been his 71st birthday.
The actor, widely known as “Black Tiger” after his titular role in a 1984 boxing film, appeared in more than 60 films and two dozen plays throughout his three-decade career.
He was most noted for being one of the first dark-skinned actors to play leading roles in Egyptian films, which inspired a new face for the Arab film industry.
Born in 1949 in a city 50 miles north of Cairo, Zaki began his career acting in stage plays, including the famous comedy “Hello, Shalaby” and “Madrasat Al-Mushaghibin.” He studied dramatic arts and graduated in the early 70s.
Zaki also became famous for taking up roles in films that tackled socio-political issues, and was lauded in his portrayal of prominent Egyptian figures, including Presidents Gamal Abdel Nasser and Anwar Sadat.
The doodle, illustrated by Cairo-based artist Muhammad Mustafa, had references to Zaki’s most remarkable contributions to Egyptian cinema – boxing gloves for “Al-Nimr Al-Aswad” (The Black Tiger), a crab symbolizing “Kaboria” (The Crab), a camera for “Edhak El-Sora Tetlaa’ Helwa” (Smile, the Picture Will Come Out Fine), and the animals from “Arba’a Fi Muhimma Rasmiya” (Four on an Official Mission).
The actor died of lung cancer complications in 2005.
Google pays tribute to late Egyptian acting legend Ahmed Zaki
https://arab.news/52rc7
Google pays tribute to late Egyptian acting legend Ahmed Zaki
Foreign press group welcomes Israel court deadline on Gaza access
- Supreme Court set deadline for responding to petition filed by the Foreign Press Association to Jan. 4
- Since the start of the Gaza war in October 2023, Israeli authorities have prevented foreign journalists from independently entering the Strip
JERUSALEM: The Foreign Press Association in Jerusalem on Sunday welcomed the Israeli Supreme Court’s decision to set January 4 as the deadline for Israel to respond to its petition seeking media access to Gaza.
Since the start of the Gaza war in October 2023, sparked by Palestinian militant group Hamas’s attack on Israel, Israeli authorities have prevented foreign journalists from independently entering the devastated territory.
Israel has instead allowed, on a case-by-case basis, a handful of reporters to accompany its troops into the blockaded Palestinian territory.
The Foreign Press Association (FPA), which represents hundreds of foreign journalists in Israel and the Palestinian territories, filed a petition to the supreme court last year, seeking immediate access for international journalists to the Gaza Strip.
On October 23, the court held a first hearing on the case, and decided to give Israeli authorities one month to develop a plan for granting access.
Since then the court has given several extensions to the Israeli authorities to come up with their plan, but on Saturday it set January 4 as a final deadline.
“If the respondents (Israeli authorities) do not inform us of their position by that date, a decision on the request for a conditional order will be made on the basis of the material in the case file,” the court said.
The FPA welcomed the court’s latest directive.
“After two years of the state’s delay tactics, we are pleased that the court’s patience has finally run out,” the association said in a statement.
“We renew our call for the state of Israel to immediately grant journalists free and unfettered access to the Gaza Strip.
“And should the government continue to obstruct press freedoms, we hope that the supreme court will recognize and uphold those freedoms,” it added.
An AFP journalist sits on the board of the FPA.
