Tajikistan quake shakes north India, Pakistan, no major damage
The US Geological Survey put the quake's magnitude at 5.9
In Muzaffarabad, where a 2005 earthquake wreaked serious destruction, many people rushed out of their homes in fear
Updated 13 February 2021
Reuters
NEW DELHI: Strong tremors were felt in northern India and Pakistan on Friday as a result of an earthquake in Tajikistan, witnesses said. Many residents ran out of their homes, but no major damage was reported.
The US Geological Survey put the quake's magnitude at 5.9 and centered 35 km (55 miles) west of Murghob in Tajikistan, central Asia.
The Tajikistan Emergency Situations Ministry said the epicenter was 420 km (260 miles) east of the Tajik capital Dushanbe near the border with China.
Tremors were felt in Dushanbe but the epicenter was in a sparsely populated area.
Cracks were reported in some homes in northern Kashmir, the Indian Meteorological Department said. A witness also reported a wall collapse near the northern Indian city of Amritsar, but there were no reports of casualties.
A resident in Indian-administered Kashmir's Baramulla district said it felt like a strong wind had lashed his house. "My whole house shook and cracks appeared in a corner of one of the rooms," Firdous Ahmad Khan said.
Tremors were felt across Pakistan including the capital, Islamabad, and northwestern Peshawar, and even as far as the eastern city of Lahore, which borders India.
In Muzaffarabad, the capital of Pakistani Kashmir, where a 2005 earthquake wreaked serious destruction, there was panic, according to witnesses, and many people rushed out of their homes in fear.
"I thought it's the same like what had hit us in 2005. My children started crying," said Asif Maqbool, a resident in Madina Market, a neighborhood of Muzaffarabad that was almost flattened in the 2005 quake.
Saima Khalid, a resident of the Khawaja Muhalla district of Muzaffarabad, said everyone in the neighborhood came out onto the streets.
"They were crying, reciting verses from the Holy Quran," she said.
Moroccan director Asmae El-Moudir joins Cannes’ Un Certain Regard jury
Updated 7 min 52 sec ago
Arab News
DUBAI: The Cannes Film Festival announced on Thursday that Moroccan director, screenwriter and producer Asmae El-Moudir will be part of the Un Certain Regard jury at the 77th edition of the event, set to take place from May 14-25.
She will be joined by French Senegalese screenwriter and director Maïmouna Doucouré, German Luxembourg actress Vicky Krieps and American film critic, director, and writer Todd McCarthy.
Xavier Dolan will be the president of the Un Certain Regard jury.
The team will oversee the awarding of prizes for the Un Certain Regard section, which highlights art and discovery films by emerging auteurs, from a selection of 18 works, including eight debut films.
El-Moudir is the director of the critically acclaimed film “The Mother of All Lies.”
The movie took the honors in the Un Certain Regard section, as well as winning the prestigious L’oeil d’Or prize for best documentary at the festival in 2023. The film explores El-Moudir’s personal journey, unraveling the mysteries of her family’s history against the backdrop of the 1981 bread riots in Casablanca.
El-Moudir is not the only Arab joining the Cannes team.
Moroccan Belgian actress Lubna Azabal this week was appointed the president of the Short Film and La Cinef Jury of the festival. The La Cinef prizes are the festival’s selection dedicated to film schools.
Saudi Arabia, Japan officials discuss investment ties
Updated 2 min 40 sec ago
Arab News Japan
DUBAI: Saudi Arabia’s Ambassador to Japan Dr. Ghazi Binzagr met with Nobuyori Kodaira, chairman of the Japan Cooperation Center for the Middle East, on Thursday in Tokyo to discuss improving mutual investments.
The two officials highlighted the role that the JCCME plays in supporting Japan’s investments in Saudi Arabia, in sectors including healthcare, industry and entertainment.
The JCCME set up its regional headquarters in Riyadh in the 1990s. It now has an office in Dammam with an investment desk, while a water desk has been opened in Jeddah.
In 2018, the JCCME set up an investment-promotion scheme to fulfil the aims of the Saudi-Japan Vision 2030, within the framework of the Saudi Vision 2030 plan.
KARACHI: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday sought support from Pakistan’s business community to double export volume during the next five years of his government’s term.
Addressing business leaders in a ceremony held in the southern port city of Karachi, Sharif said the government, in consultation with the business community, would form a comprehensive policy framework to ensure export-led growth and resolve Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserve crisis.
Pakistan’s total exports during the current fiscal year, or July-March, stood at $22.93, which it wants to double through a focus on sectors like textiles, agriculture, mines and minerals and information technology.
“You are actually the backbone of the national economy as without your support, the government cannot bring the country out of economic crisis,” the prime minister told the business community, urging it to sit with his government to resolve issues and challenges.
“We should get together in the larger national interest. The brilliant minds should together find ways to overcome the challenges and problems hindering the country’s development and prosperity.”
Sharif’s meeting with the business leaders came as Pakistan is seeking a new long-term and larger IMF loan, with finance minister Muhammad Aurangzeb saying Islamabad could secure a staff-level agreement on the fresh program by early July.
The global lending agency has confirmed its executive board meeting for April 29 to discuss the approval of $1.1 billion funding for the South Asian state, the second and last tranche of a $3 billion standby arrangement with the IMF, which it secured last summer to avert a sovereign default and which runs out this month.
L’Oréal Middle East launches women upskilling project in Saudi Arabia
L’Oreal Middle East inks pact with Kingdom’s Himayah Organization
The initiative aims to help 600 women prepare for the workplace
Updated 5 min 12 sec ago
Zeina Zbibo
DUBAI: As it celebrates its 25th anniversary, L’Oreal Middle East has signed an agreement with the Himayah Organization in Saudi Arabia to support its “Safe Homes” initiative, which seeks to provide skills training for more than 600 women.
“The project aims to have a lasting long-term impact through psychological support and skill training,” said Laurent Duffier, CEO of L’Oreal Middle East, in an interview with Arab News en Francais.
Over the past 25 years, L’Oreal has assisted 25,000 women in the region.
L’Oreal launched its Hairdressing Academy in Riyadh and Dammam in 2023, to upskill and integrate women in the workforce, recording a 70 percent employment rate in this growing beauty segment in Saudi Arabia. The program is expected to create 15,000 jobs for Saudi women.
The flagship “L’Oreal for Women in Science” program invested over $925,000 in endowments to support 51 female Arab scientists over the past decade and advocate for gender equality in STEM, or science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
In addition, the firm’s “Stand Up Against Street Harassment” project trained more than 11,000 participants on countering gender-based violence.
Laurent Duffier, CEO of l'Oreal Middle East and Dr. Sameera Alghamdi, chairwomen of Himayah Organization announcing the MOU signature during the L'Oreal Middle East 25th anniversary event. (Supplied)
While the brand’s products have been distributed in the region since the 1960s, L’Oreal opened its first subsidiary in the Middle East in 1998, and currently serves 10 markets.
Today, the group is moving toward its 2030 sustainability, innovation and technology goals by engaging stakeholders across the supply chain, including consumers and startups, through strategic partnerships.
L’Oreal aims to foster innovation by investing in the startup ecosystem, the latest being the partnership with Astrolabs that launched the “L’Oreal Tech Quest Challenge” earlier in April 2024.
“The future is for beauty tech, tackling current industry challenges and augmenting the impact of L’Oreal’s solutions. ‘L’Oreal Tech Quest Challenge’ awarded a group of winners whose work will be incorporated in developing tools and best practices across the SAPMENA (South Asia Pacific - Middle East - North Africa) region,” said Duffier.
The region is home to a growing startup ecosystem. “LEAP in Saudi Arabia held in March reflects the growing entrepreneurial and creative energy in the Kingdom,” he added.
This is particularly important in the Middle East, where the beauty industry is recording one of the highest growth rates globally.
The GCC market ranks among the top 10 beauty markets worldwide, valued at $11.7 billion in 2024. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, the market has grown by 10 percent, fueled by underlying macroeconomic trends.
“Non-oil GDP in the GCC is growing at 4 to 5 percent while growing at less than 1 percent in Europe. The inflow of high-net-worth individuals had a positive impact on the luxury market in the UAE. While demand for beauty, particularly in Saudi Arabia, tripled during the last three years with the rise in women’s access to the workforce, and increase in disposable income,” said Duffier.
“The quality of retail execution, and the growth of new beauty concepts in the Kingdom, are factors boosting the market in the region, further enhanced by the growth in e-commerce,” he added.
According to a Boston Consulting Group report, in 2020 the Kingdom’s e-commerce share of total retail was 6 percent. This was far behind mature e-commerce markets and the worldwide average of 18 percent, but was 60 percent higher than the Kingdom’s 2019 share. It has been forecast that there will be double-digit growth post-COVID-19, with market value expected to exceed $13.3 billion by 2025.
“Saudi Arabia displays accelerated growth across segments. Efforts to diversify the economy are clear. It is the biggest economy in the region, with the highest potential, and it is a priority market for L’Oreal,” said Duffier.
This is particularly important in the Middle East, where the beauty industry is recording one of the highest growth rates globally. (Supplied)
The offer-driven beauty and personal care market is expected to continue to be led by product innovation and beauty technology, for better end-user results, he said.
“We are launching Melasyl, after 18 years of R&D. A breakthrough ingredient for skin care treatments, among other applications,” said Duffier.
With lipstick used 5,000 years ago in Mesopotamia, Duffier describes the Middle East as the “cradle of beauty and a region that defines beauty trends.” The region has a diverse customer base, covering the full spectrum of skin and hair colors, is shifting toward digital platforms, and more sustainable consumption.
“We are working with startups to offer sustainable innovative products, with 70 percent of consumers opting for sustainable products,” said Duffier.
“We are no longer a beauty company, but a beauty tech company. Anchored in innovation and sustainability, the objective remains beauty for all. The future of beauty will be increasingly personalized to create beauty that moves the world, and most importantly to create beauty that moves the Middle East,” he said.
The quest for sustainability is also a byproduct of the reconciliation between beauty and tech, developed and implemented across the various segments: hair care (Airlight pro), derma cosmetics, the latest being La Roche-Posay’s diagnostic virtual reality tools, and make-up applications in collaboration with Microsoft.
“By applying green science, 95 percent of products’ ingredients will be bio-based and traceable to natural green-science formulations by 2030,” he said.
Advancing toward its sustainability targets, the “L’Oreal for the Future” program aims to reduce carbon dioxide emissions at all sites, and move to renewables, waste management and water treatment by 2030.
L’Oreal Middle East expects a 50 percent reduction in distribution-related carbon dioxide emissions, and a 70 percent reduction in water consumption with the introduction of Gjosa shower heads in hair salons.
Set to launch in the region this year, the latter is expected to target 500 salons per year, for a total yearly saving of 35 million gallons of water.
This is in addition to the recycling of 340 tonnes of waste over the past two years in Saudi Arabia, which is a Garnier initiative in collaboration with Panda and Naqaa Solutions.
UAE jiu-jitsu team eye fourth consecutive Asia title
Eighth edition of the Jiu-Jitsu Asian Championships will run from May 3-8 at Mubadala Arena in Abu Dhabi
Updated 42 min 8 sec ago
Arab News
ABU DHABI: The adult UAE Jiu-Jitsu national teams are looking to claim a fourth consecutive title at the eighth Jiu-Jitsu Asian Championships set to take place at Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala Arena from May 3 to 8.
The championships will have more than 1,500 athletes competing from over 30 countries.
Competitions for adults will run from May 3 to 5, while the Asian Youth Championship — a new addition this year — will be held from May 6 to 8.
The UAE were crowned champions in the last edition held in Bangkok last year.
The youth team are eyeing the inaugural title, building on their success from last year at the 28th Jiu-Jitsu World Championship in Kazakhstan.
Mubarak Al-Menhali, director of the technical department at the UAE Jiu-Jitsu Federation, said: “We are providing the team with all the support they need as they prepare to defend the title. We have full faith in their capabilities to deliver valiant performances, as they have done in the past few years, positioning themselves as continental champions.”
“The skills and determination displayed by our heroes is a result of the limitless support of the wise leadership, the continuous efforts of the UAEJJF, their endless passion, and the continuous encouragement from Emirati fans.”
Ramon Lemos, head coach of the national team, said: “Our athletes have consistently been adhering to the technical team’s instructions and plans, translating them into results, bringing in medals and titles. They are fully committed, focused, and more determined than ever, and we are confident that they are capable of clinching the title again.”
Ibrahim Al-Hosani, coach of the youth team, said: “Many of the male and female athletes taking part in the competitions of the Asian Youth Championship are emerging stars who are well-prepared to win titles and take the UAE’s journey of success in jiu-jitsu forward. We have full confidence in their abilities to shine and make history by becoming the first to achieve the title of the Jiu-Jitsu Youth Asian Championship.”
Khaled Al-Baloushi, a member of the national team, said: “This time I am stepping onto the mats as a brown belt holder, which is the result of 13 years of hard work and continuous training. I am fully aware of the responsibility entrusted to me, and I am more determined than ever to perform well and make the nation proud.”
