US pop star Pink will be honoured at the 2019 Brit Awards. REUTERS
US pop star Pink will be honoured at the 2019 Brit Awards. REUTERS
US pop star Pink will be honoured at the 2019 Brit Awards. REUTERS
US pop star Pink will be honoured at the 2019 Brit Awards. REUTERS

Brit Awards 2019: Pink is the first international artist to receive Outstanding Contribution to Music award


Saeed Saeed
  • English
  • Arabic

One thing about Pink fans is that they are loyal.

And many of the American pop singer's most fervent fans are in the United Kingdom, where she's had consistently sold-out tours over the past decade.

Now the artist, 39, whose real name is Alecia Moore, will be honoured for that feat at the Brit Awards on February 21 when she will receive the Outstanding Contribution to Music award.

It's the first time it's ever been given to an international artist, with previous winners including Blur, Paul McCartney, Spice Girls, Oasis and The Beatles. Pink will also be the first female solo artist to receive the accolade.

The significance of the occasion is not lost on the What About Us singer, who will travel to London to receive the award. She said in a statement: "Since the beginning of my career the British fans have been some of the fiercest and loyal in the world.

“I am humbled to receive this honour and be in the company of an illustrious group of British icons."

The decision taken by the committee aims to expand the award's reach and recognise artists who have had an enduring relationship with the UK.

The news comes just after Pink received her own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and her appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show on Wednesday to announce a new album, called Hurts To Be Human, is on its way.

epa07346553 US singer Pink poses for photos as she receives the 2,656th Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in Hollywood, California, USA, 05 February 2019. The star was dedicated in the Category of Recording. EPA/NINA PROMMER
epa07346553 US singer Pink poses for photos as she receives the 2,656th Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in Hollywood, California, USA, 05 February 2019. The star was dedicated in the Category of Recording. EPA/NINA PROMMER

The lead single Walk Me Home will be released on February 22 (we have no doubt that she will debut it at the Brit Awards the day before) with the rest of her eighth studio album to be released around April.

The album should be promoted through another lengthy world tour full of her rock theatrics and acrobatics – something the UAE experienced when she performed as part of the Abu Dhabi F1 After Race Concerts in 2017.

Her trip to the capital was also a family affair. The singer posted a picture of her and daughter enjoying the cool breeze of Saadiyat Beach. This, clearly, is a woman with good taste.

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Goalkeepers: Ali Khaseif, Fahad Al Dhanhani, Mohammed Al Shamsi, Adel Al Hosani

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Some of Darwish's last words

"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008

His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.

Conflict, drought, famine

Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.

Band Aid

Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.

The%20specs%3A%202024%20Mercedes%20E200
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Recycle Reuse Repurpose

New central waste facility on site at expo Dubai South area to  handle estimated 173 tonne of waste generated daily by millions of visitors

Recyclables such as plastic, paper, glass will be collected from bins on the expo site and taken to the new expo Central Waste Facility on site

Organic waste will be processed at the new onsite Central Waste Facility, treated and converted into compost to be re-used to green the expo area

Of 173 tonnes of waste daily, an estimated 39 per cent will be recyclables, 48 per cent  organic waste  and 13 per cent  general waste.

About 147 tonnes will be recycled and converted to new products at another existing facility in Ras Al Khor

Recycling at Ras Al Khor unit:

Plastic items to be converted to plastic bags and recycled

Paper pulp moulded products such as cup carriers, egg trays, seed pots, and food packaging trays

Glass waste into bowls, lights, candle holders, serving trays and coasters

Aim is for 85 per cent of waste from the site to be diverted from landfill 

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Major honours

ARSENAL

  • FA Cup - 2005

BARCELONA

  • La Liga - 2013
  • Copa del Rey - 2012
  • Fifa Club World Cup - 2011

CHELSEA

  • Premier League - 2015, 2017
  • FA Cup - 2018
  • League Cup - 2015

SPAIN

  • World Cup - 2010
  • European Championship - 2008, 2012

The Birkin bag is made by Hermès. 
It is named after actress and singer Jane Birkin
Noone from Hermès will go on record to say how much a new Birkin costs, how long one would have to wait to get one, and how many bags are actually made each year.

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Samar Honey

The Samar tree trunk, leaves and blossom contains Barm which is the secret of healing. You can enjoy the best types of honey from this tree every year in May and June. It is an historical witness to the life of the Emirati nation which represents the harsh desert and mountain environments

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Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UPI facts

More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions

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Results

Stage 7:

1. Caleb Ewan (AUS) Lotto Soudal - 3:18:29

2. Sam Bennett (IRL) Deceuninck-QuickStep - same time

3. Phil Bauhaus (GER) Bahrain Victorious

4. Michael Morkov (DEN) Deceuninck-QuickStep

5. Cees Bol (NED) Team DSM

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1. Tadej Pogacar (SLO) UAE Team Emirates - 24:00:28

2. Adam Yates (GBR) Ineos Grenadiers - 0:00:35

3. Joao Almeida (POR) Deceuninck-QuickStep - 0:01:02

4. Chris Harper (AUS) Jumbo-Visma - 0:01:42

5. Neilson Powless (USA) EF Education-Nippo - 0:01:45