Day: August 18, 2023

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Press Releases

OPPO Unveils Winners of imagine IF Photography Awards 2023, Inspiring Smartphone Users to Create Timeless Masterpieces

SHENZHEN, CHINA – Media OutReach – 18 August 2023 – OPPO today announced the winners of the imagine IF Photography Awards 2023. Fifteen photographers have been awarded Gold, Silver, and Bronze awards, and thirty-two inspiring entries spanning eight different categories were revealed to inspire the creativity of OPPO users worldwide.

Launched on April 17, the imaging IF Photography Awards has received more than 700,000 entries from 51 countries and regions. The competition aims to inspire OPPO users and mobile photographers to push beyond conventional boundaries associated with mobile photography and unleash their imagination to create memorable masterpieces.

Gold Award: “Daughters of the Moon” by Ahei Huan (China), Shot on OPPO Find X6 Pro

Celebrating the Fifteen Gold, Silver, and Bronze Award Winners

With exceptional skill and talent showcased throughout the competition, Ahei Huan emerged as the winner of the OPPO image IF Master of the Year (Gold Award). The artist’s winning series, “Daughters of the Moon”, was selected through a rigorous process overseen by a distinguished panel of internationally acclaimed judges.

“Daughters of the Moon” includes a series of portrait photos that capture the characteristics of Yi minorities, depicting the serenity and positivity of Yi women and their ethnic fashion and lifestyle.

“What first catches my eye about this work is its professionalism,” said Alec Soth, a renowned contemporary photographic artist and member of Magnum Photos. “These images are crafted with precision and great sensitivity.”

As the Gold Award winner, Ahei Huan will receive a prize of RMB 160,000,  a 2023 OPPO flagship product set featuring a smartphone, headset, watch, and tablet, and will be invited to participate in the Hasselblad Image Training Camp and signed as OPPO Photographer of the Year.

OPPO is committed to delivering innovations in smartphone imaging technology that empower everyone to create timeless masterpieces. Its latest flagship, OPPO Find X6 Pro, has garnered considerable acclaim among professional photographers and photography enthusiasts since its launch earlier this year. Notably, more than 80% of the award-winning entries were shot on this exceptional device.

Beyond Find X6 Pro, the precise reproduction of light and shadow on other OPPO smartphones give images a distinct, impactful look. The four Silver Award winners have expertly leveraged this capability to infuse artistry and imagination into their work. They will each receive a prize of RMB 60,000 and an OPPO Find X6 Pro in addition to opportunities for training and international exposure.

Sliver Award winners:
Left: “People around Tashilunpo Monastery” by Zhijie Yang (China), Shot on OPPO Find X6 Pro Upper-middle: “Dancing with the wind” by BeiShanHuangTu (China), Shot on OPPO Find N2Lower-middle: “Catch Fish In The Net” by DO ANH VU (Vietnam), Shot on OPPO Find X6 Pro
Right: “Harp Concerto” by Huo Qiu (China), Shot on OPPO Find X6 Pro

In addition, ten photographers from China and Bangladesh were honoured with OPPO Bronze Awards[1]. Their creative work includes portraits, architecture, landscape, magnificent nature and more, all showcasing inspiring colour contrast, strong colour composition, and unique expressions of emotion. Each Bronze Award winner will receive a prize of RMB 20,000 and an OPPO Find X6 Pro, as well as opportunities for training and exposure.

Beyond the Gold, Silver, and Bronze Awards, OPPO also unveiled a total of thirty-two creative works across eight entry categories, including The Distant View, Portrait, Night Scenery, Colors, Landscape, The Taste of Memories, Light & Shadow, and Chapters of a Life. To view all the inspiring works, please visit the official OPPO imagine IF Photography Awards website at https://imagine-if.oppo.com/en/.

As the Associate Partner of the largest international art fair, Paris Photo, OPPO will bring some of the winning photographic works from the OPPO imagine IF Photography Awards 2023 to the exhibition and celebrate them together with global audiences.

[1] Ten winners of OPPO Bronze Awards are Di Lu “Eye-shaped Storm”, Feng Zhu “Boy Playing in the Water”, Weikai Chen “Light Catcher”, Sheng Da “Portrait of A Young Man”, Jian Cui “Make a Summer Dream”, Shenlong Shi “Facing the Sun”, Fuxiaofu Zhong “Landing”, Shiguangzhuying “Time Tunnel”, Mithail Afrige Chowdhury “A Dangerous Journey”, and Tanvir Ahmed “The balloon seller is a small child”.

Categories
Health

Qatar Athletics Team Begin World Athletics Championships Challenge Saturday

The delegation of the Qatari athletics team have arrived in the Hungarian capital, Budapest, to participate in the nineteenth edition of the World Athletics Championships which will be held from August 19-27 with the participation of 2,000 male and female athletes representing all continents of the world.

The Qatari athletics team is participating in the championship with three of the most prominent athletes, the reigning world high jump champion Mutaz Essa Barshim in the high jump competition, runner Bassem Abdel Salam in the 400m hurdles, and the promising Moaaz Mohamed in the discus throw.

The reigning world high jump champion Mutaz Essa Barshim Olympic and world champion will defend his crowned title in 2022 Eugene World Championships for the third time in a row and will seek to immortalize his name as the best champion in the history of athletics for the high jump competition for the fourth time after becoming the first athlete to win the gold medal in the competition three times respectively and on three different continents.

International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) described the Qatari champion in a recording broadcast on its official accounts on social media platforms as the best in history in the high jump although he has the second best jump (2.43m) behind Cuban Javier Sotomayor who holds the record (2.45m).

Barshim has already posted the world’s leading mark this season, an impressive 2.36m at the Silesia Kamila Skolimowska Memorial Diamond League meet in Chorzow, Poland, last month.

He then recorded a 2.33m mark at the London Diamond League despite finishing second behind American JuVaughn Harrision. However, the reigning Olympic title-holder Barshim will not only set his eyes on winning an unprecedented fourth World gold in a row but also the world record in this pet event held by Cuban great Javier Sotomayor since 1993.

Barshim came close to beating Sotomayor’s 2.45m mark in Brussels in 2014, but got injured while attempting to clear the bar at 2.46m.

The winning height in the high jump at the last three worlds championships (Eugene, Tokyo and Doha) – has been 2.37m.

Barshim’s teammate, Bassem will also try to make his presence felt at the Worlds, competing in the one lap hurdles event in the absence of compatriot Abderrahman Samba who missed most part of the season due to an injury.

Bassem is a former Asian Athletics Championships gold winner, and has a personal best of 48.64 secs which places him in the top 30 in the world this season.

The third member of the Qatar team Mohamed is a former U-20 World and Asian champion with a personal best of 62.48m.

Source: Qatar News Agency

Categories
General

A police officer martyred by unknown gunmen in Deir Ezzor

A police officer in Al-Mayadeen area in the countryside of Deir Ezzor was martyred in a terrorist attack.

Interior Ministry said in statement that “ Lieutenant Muhammed Yassin al-Aoun was martyred by unknown gunmen in al-Mayadeen area Police station in Deir Ezzor governorate while he was performing his national duty”.

Source: Syrian Arab News Agency

Categories
General

Tourist group of different nationalities visits Bosra

A tourist group including British, Romanian, Japanese and Australian nationalities visited on Friday the ancient city of Bosra al-Sham in the eastern countryside of Daraa.

The tour group visited the ancient city and briefed on its ruins, its castle and the archaeological amphitheater.

One of the tourists spoke about the stability that Syria is witnessing, in contrast to the gloomy image promoted by the Western media outlets and brochures explaining the history of the city, its heritage, and the civilized face of Syria were provided.

Source: Syrian Arab News Agency

Categories
General

5 Israeli Gunboats Violate Lebanon’s Territorial Waters

The Lebanese army said that five Israeli gunboats have violated the Lebanese territorial waters off Ras Al Naqoura in southern Lebanon.

The Lebanese army said in a statement Thursday that a gunboats intruded into the territorial waters of Lebanon for a distance of 425 meters, as his members threw a flare bomb and directed a light detector for two minutes over the aforementioned marine spot, and left later.

The statement added that a similar gunboat intruded into the territorial waters of Lebanon for a distance of 260 meters off Ras Al Naqoura, while another gunboat also intruded the aforementioned sea spot for a distance of about 315 meters.

A similar gunboat also intruded the aforementioned sea spot for a distance of about 185 meters, and another boat intruded the aforementioned sea spot for a distance of about 185 meters.

Source: Qatar News Agency

Categories
Market

European Stocks Retreat at the Open

European stocks declined at the beginning of trading today and seem to be headed for a weekly decline, as stocks were hit by higher rates and prospects for lower growth.

The Euro Stoxx 600 fell by 0.5 percent. If it does close lower today, it will be the fourth consecutive session that the index has closed down. Shares of major luxury goods companies with strong exposure to China, such as LVMH, Kering and Hermes, fell by 0.6-1.2 percent, as investors digested the prospects of weak economic growth in China.

Source: Qatar News Agency

Categories
Market

Saudi Arabia, India Sign Cooperation Agreement on Digital Economy

Saudi Arabia and India signed today a cooperation agreement on digitization and electronic manufacturing.

The agreement was signed by Saudi Minister of Communications and Information Technology Eng. Abdullah Alswaha and Indian Minister for Railways, Communications, Electronics and Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw.

The agreement seeks to enhance Saudi-Indian cooperation in the fields of digital infrastructure, e-health, and e-learning, and to strengthen the two countries partnership in digital research and innovation and the use of emerging technologies.

It also aims at building robust strategic partnerships that promote innovation and the growth of the digital economy and support the Saudi Arabia aspirations in this regard.

Source: Qatar News Agency

Categories
Market

US Stocks Retreat at the Open

The three major American stock indexes retreated at the open today, led by declines in growth and technology stocks.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 106.47 points, or 0.31 percent, at the open, to 34,368.36 points. The SandP 500 index also opened, down 25.48 points, or 0.58 percent, to 4,344.88 points. The Nasdaq Composite Index fell 126.91 points, or 0.95 percent, to 13,190.02 points at the open.

Source: Qatar News Agency

Categories
Government

UAE President, Prime Minister of Ethiopia witness signing of bilateral MoUs, agreements

President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Dr. Abiy Ahmed, Prime Minister of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, today witnessed the signing of various memoranda of understanding and agreements between several entities in the UAE and Ethiopia.

The agreements are aimed at fostering cooperation, developing partnerships, and diversifying engagement in various fields to advance development and prosperity in both nations.

The memoranda and agreements signed at the Office of the Prime Minister in Addis Ababa by both sides included the following:

– Agreement on mutual assistance in customs matters signed by Ali bin Hammad Al Shamsi, Head of the Federal Authority for Identity, Citizenship, Customs and Ports Security, and from the Ethiopian side by Debele Kabeta, Commissioner of the Ethiopian Customs Commission.

– Memorandum of Understanding for Government Development and Modernisation Experience Exchange signed by Mohammad bin Abdullah Al Gergawi, Minister of Cabinet Affairs; and Alemtsehay Paulos, Ethiopian Minister of Cabinet Affairs.

– Memorandum of Understanding between Abu Dhabi Ports and Ethiopia Investment Holdings signed by Mohamed Jumaa Alshamsi, CEO of AD Ports Group; and Meleket Sahlu Denbu, Deputy Chief Executive Officer, Ethiopian Investment Holdings.

– Memorandum of Understanding between Oumlat Security Printing and Ethiopia National Bank signed by Faisal Abdulsamad Ahmed, Director of Operations at the UAE Central Bank; Mamo Mihretu, Governor of the National Bank of Ethiopia.

– Memorandum of Understanding in the Field of Industry and Advanced Technologies signed by Dr. Sultan bin Ahmed Al Jaber, Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology; and Melaku Alebel, Ethiopian Minister of Industry.

– Memorandum of Understanding between the Ethiopian Investment Commission and the Federation of Sharjah Chambers signed by Abdullah Sultan Al Owais, Chairman of the Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry; and Lelise Neme, Commissioner of the Ethiopian Investment Commission.

– Memorandum of Understanding between the Ethiopian Investment Commission and the Federation of Abu Dhabi Chambers of Commerce and Industry signed by Dr. Ali bin Harmal Al Dhaheri, First Vice Chairman of the Chamber; and Lelise Neme, Commissioner of the Ethiopian Investment Commission.

– Memorandum of Understanding between Etihad Credit Export Insurance and Ethiopian Insurance Corporation signed between Raja Al Mazrouei, CEO of Etihad Credit Insurance, and Meleket Sahlu Denbu, Deputy Chief Executive Officer, Ethiopian Investment Holdings.

– Memorandum of Understanding between Etihad Export Credit Insurance and the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia signed between Raja Al Mazrouei, CEO of Etihad Credit Insurance, and Ato Abie Sano, President of the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia and Ethiopian Investment Holdings.

– Memorandum of Understanding on UAE Standard for Good Delivery of Gold signed by Dr. Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, UAE Minister of State for Foreign Trade; and Mamo Mihretu, Governor of the National Bank of Ethiopia.

– Letter of Intent between the Ministry of Agriculture of Ethiopia and Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), signed by Dr. Sultan bin Ahmed Al Jaber, Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology; and Dr. Girma Amente, Ethiopian Minister of Agriculture.

– Memorandum of Understanding between Etihad Export Credit Insurance and the Development Bank of Ethiopia, signed by Raja Al Mazrouei, CEO of Etihad Credit Insurance; and Meleket Sahlu Denbu, Deputy Chief Executive Officer, Ethiopian Investment Holdings.

– Memorandum of Understanding between Al Dahra Group LLC and the Ethiopian Investment Commission signed by Hamdan Al Darei, CEO of Al Dahra Holding LLC, and Lelise Neme, Commissioner of the Ethiopian Investment Commission.

– Memorandum of Understanding between UAE’s TALC Investment and the Ministry of Agriculture of Ethiopia, signed by Mohammed Aldhaheri, Chairman of TALC Investment, and Dr. Girma Amente, Ethiopian Minister of Agriculture.

– Memorandum of Understanding between DP World FZE and the Ethiopian Ministry of Transport and Logistics, signed by Mohammed Al Muallem, DP World Executive Vice President; and Dr. Alemu Sime, Ethiopian Minister of Transport and Logistics.

– Joint Statement between the UAE and Ethiopia on Climate Action.

– Roadmap between Masdar and the Ministry of Finance of Ethiopia, signed by Dr. Sultan bin Ahmed Al Jaber, Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology; and Ahmed Shide, Ethiopian Minister of Finance.

– Memorandum of Understanding for cooperation in the field of combating terrorism, signed by Ali bin Hammad Al Shamsi, Secretary-General of the Supreme Council for National Security, and on the Ethiopian side by Temesgen Tiruneh, Director-General of the National Intelligence and Security Service..

Source: Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation

Categories
Market

IsDB Vice President, Bank Indonesia Deputy Governor Discuss Advancing Islamic Finance

Zamir Iqbal, the Vice President for Finance at the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB), met Thursday with Juda Agung, the Deputy Governor of Bank Indonesia, and his delegation to discuss enhancing cooperation between the two sides and advancing the Islamic finance industry.

During the meeting, which took place in IsDB headquarters, the two sides discussed the increase in Indonesia’s share of the IsDB’s capital, which was approved by the bank’s board of governors in its 48th annual meeting last May. This special capital increase has allowed Indonesia to get a permanent seat on the IsDB’s board of executive directors.

Iqbal highlighted the IsDB’s unwavering commitment to cooperate in enhancing Indonesia’s Awqaf (endowments) sector by financing the Waqf-based projects and leveraging the successful Waqf-linked cash sukuk issuances in Indonesia to promote them within the IsDB.

In this regard, the IsDB vice president also affirmed the bank’s support for technical assistance and advisory services in the Islamic finance sector.

The two sides also discussed supporting Indonesia’s development initiatives and steps through the contributions of the IsDB Group which amounted to about US$6.4 billion in various pivotal sectors of the Indonesian public and private economy.

Source: Saudi Press Agency