Lebanese superstar Maya Diab kicked off the 12th Arab Fashion Week last night.
Diab, who was named Fashion Icon of the Arab World by the event’s organiser, the Arab Fashion Council, delivered a live speech from Beirut.
Appearing on an empty catwalk in a feathered dress, she said: “I salute the council for keeping the event happening in these hard times that the world is passing through. Stay safe but stay trendy as well.”
The UAE's Amato Couture followed, continuing the event's star-studded streak with a short fashion film starring Bollywood actress Urvashi Rautela.
The former Miss Universe India helped showcase Amato’s Divine collection in the film, which was strong, tribal and overloaded with Amato Couture's signature embellishments, including earrings that dropped to midway down the chest, oversized necklaces fit for a Nubian queen and a playsuit that might double as a suit of armour.
"In my own fashion universe, there are no boundaries – everyone is created equal," says Furne One, founder and creative director of Amato Couture. "The film Divine Indwelling states the fact of this special presence without explaining how it takes place."
The film, One added, “ultimately reflected the Amato woman; bold, brave and beautiful, and the sort of activism for racial equality”.
Ezra Tuba, the brainchild of Turkish sisters Ezra Cetin and Tuba Cetin, also presented its latest collection. The duo is committed to melding fashion and technology, by using smart fabrics, sensors embedded in embroidery and microchips hidden in fabrics.
Fittingly, the brand unveiled its latest collection in the form of a short film starring robots, who warned of the environmental and humanitarian risk currently facing planet Earth.
Running until Saturday, October 24 and featuring more than 30 fashion designers from around the world, this is the second all-digital Arab Fashion Week, run in partnership with Microsoft and Facebook.
In line with the Arab Fashion Council’s adoption of the see-now; buy-now model, the runway collections are available for immediate purchase on bytribute.com and at the Arab Fashion Week pop-up at Galeries Lafayette in the Dubai Mall.
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Who was Alfred Nobel?
The Nobel Prize was created by wealthy Swedish chemist and entrepreneur Alfred Nobel.
- In his will he dictated that the bulk of his estate should be used to fund "prizes to those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind".
- Nobel is best known as the inventor of dynamite, but also wrote poetry and drama and could speak Russian, French, English and German by the age of 17. The five original prize categories reflect the interests closest to his heart.
- Nobel died in 1896 but it took until 1901, following a legal battle over his will, before the first prizes were awarded.
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2012-2015
The company offers payments/bribes to win key contracts in the Middle East
May 2017
The UK SFO officially opens investigation into Petrofac’s use of agents, corruption, and potential bribery to secure contracts
September 2021
Petrofac pleads guilty to seven counts of failing to prevent bribery under the UK Bribery Act
October 2021
Court fines Petrofac £77 million for bribery. Former executive receives a two-year suspended sentence
December 2024
Petrofac enters into comprehensive restructuring to strengthen the financial position of the group
May 2025
The High Court of England and Wales approves the company’s restructuring plan
July 2025
The Court of Appeal issues a judgment challenging parts of the restructuring plan
August 2025
Petrofac issues a business update to execute the restructuring and confirms it will appeal the Court of Appeal decision
October 2025
Petrofac loses a major TenneT offshore wind contract worth €13 billion. Holding company files for administration in the UK. Petrofac delisted from the London Stock Exchange
November 2025
180 Petrofac employees laid off in the UAE
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What is Reform?
Reform is a right-wing, populist party led by Nigel Farage, a former MEP who won a seat in the House of Commons last year at his eighth attempt and a prominent figure in the campaign for the UK to leave the European Union.
It was founded in 2018 and originally called the Brexit Party.
Many of its members previously belonged to UKIP or the mainstream Conservatives.
After Brexit took place, the party focused on the reformation of British democracy.
Former Tory deputy chairman Lee Anderson became its first MP after defecting in March 2024.
The party gained support from Elon Musk, and had hoped the tech billionaire would make a £100m donation. However, Mr Musk changed his mind and called for Mr Farage to step down as leader in a row involving the US tycoon's support for far-right figurehead Tommy Robinson who is in prison for contempt of court.
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