RAK Ceramics, the world's biggest producer of ceramics and tiles, received Sharia-compliance certification for its shares, which will help widen its investor base.
Dar Al Sharia, an advisory body that works with government entities and private sector companies in the UAE and beyond, certified the company’s shares for the “purpose of trading and investment”, RAK Ceramics said in a statement to the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange, where its shares trade.
Following a quarterly review of the ceramics manufacturer in Ras Al Khaimah, the certification body said the company’s activities and its financial ratios are "within the acceptable limits" of Sharia standards.
Companies usually seek Sharia certification to broaden investor base, opening an avenue for those who primarily deal through brokerage arms of Islamic banks and invest in equities deemed as adhering to Islamic principles of investing. Such certifications also help improve liquidity and increase volumes of trading in a company's stock, which in turn attracts more institutional investors.
Adnoc Distribution, the UAE’s largest fuel and convenience retailer, was also granted Sharia-compliance certification for its shares last month.
RAK Ceramics, reported a 37 per cent rise in its second-quarter profit as cost of financing dropped. Net profit attributable to shareholders reached Dh61.2 million from the year earlier, the company said in a filing to ADX. Cost of financing during the reporting period declined to Dh23.9m from Dh32.3m reported at the end of the second quarter of 2018.
The company in May said it remains committed to investments in Saudi Arabia, the biggest GCC economy, and discussions on land and gas allocation are under way for the expansion of its production facilities. The first phase of expansion would add approximately 10 million square meters per year to the company’s tile production capacity in the kingdom.
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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.
Habib El Qalb
Assi Al Hallani
(Rotana)
Studying addiction
This month, Dubai Medical College launched the Middle East’s first master's programme in addiction science.
Together with the Erada Centre for Treatment and Rehabilitation, the college offers a two-year master’s course as well as a one-year diploma in the same subject.
The move was announced earlier this year and is part of a new drive to combat drug abuse and increase the region’s capacity for treating drug addiction.
Winners
Ballon d’Or (Men’s)
Ousmane Dembélé (Paris Saint-Germain / France)
Ballon d’Or Féminin (Women’s)
Aitana Bonmatí (Barcelona / Spain)
Kopa Trophy (Best player under 21 – Men’s)
Lamine Yamal (Barcelona / Spain)
Best Young Women’s Player
Vicky López (Barcelona / Spain)
Yashin Trophy (Best Goalkeeper – Men’s)
Gianluigi Donnarumma (Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City / Italy)
Best Women’s Goalkeeper
Hannah Hampton (England / Aston Villa and Chelsea)
Men’s Coach of the Year
Luis Enrique (Paris Saint-Germain)
Women’s Coach of the Year
Sarina Wiegman (England)
Ziina users can donate to relief efforts in Beirut
Ziina users will be able to use the app to help relief efforts in Beirut, which has been left reeling after an August blast caused an estimated $15 billion in damage and left thousands homeless. Ziina has partnered with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to raise money for the Lebanese capital, co-founder Faisal Toukan says. “As of October 1, the UNHCR has the first certified badge on Ziina and is automatically part of user's top friends' list during this campaign. Users can now donate any amount to the Beirut relief with two clicks. The money raised will go towards rebuilding houses for the families that were impacted by the explosion.”
