Ramallah rappers BLTNM in the Burberry X BLTNM collaboration. Courtesy BLTNM
Ramallah rappers BLTNM in the Burberry X BLTNM collaboration. Courtesy BLTNM
Ramallah rappers BLTNM in the Burberry X BLTNM collaboration. Courtesy BLTNM
Ramallah rappers BLTNM in the Burberry X BLTNM collaboration. Courtesy BLTNM

Palestinian rappers BLTNM appear in new collaboration with Burberry


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  • Arabic

The British fashion house Burberry has enlisted Palestinian rap collective BLTNM for its latest collaboration.

The trio from Ramallah star in a glossy video that is set in a beautiful Middle Eastern landscape and was created with Ma3azef, an online Arabic-language music magazine.

Clad head-to-toe in Burberry’s latest TB Monogram collection, rappers Shabmouri, Shabjdeed and Al Nather wear distinctive patterned T-shirts, shirts and silk scarves as they stand on top of a barren hill or are surrounded by palm trees and pools of water.

Shabmouri even directed the videos.

Released on social media under the tag Burberry X BLTNM, this tie-up is a first for the Palestinian rappers, and propels them to a new level of stardom. Already earning a name for their music, this release will put them on the world stage.

The trio, who formed their rap group in 2016, came up with their name – pronounced "blatinum" – in reference to Dubai's Platinum Records. They released their most recent EP earlier this year and are also founders of independent record label BLTNM.

For Burberry, this is the latest iteration of its endeavours to engage with a Middle Eastern audience. Creative director Riccardo Tisci is working hard to make the storied brand relevant to a new generation of Arab consumers.

In addition to calling on the rappers, the label recently commissioned Dubai artist Nathaniel Alapide to etch its logo into the Emirati sands. Barely a week later, it released images by Moroccan artist / photographer Mous Lamrabat as part of its Burberry Generation campaign.

Although Burberry has existed since 1856, the TB Monogram logo is relatively new, having been introduced in August 2018 by Tisci.

Created in collaboration with British art director Peter Saville, it is a reworking of the initials of the label's founder, Thomas Burberry.

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Read more:

Dubai artist Nathaniel Alapide turns the UAE desert into a giant Burberry monogram

'We must go on': Elie Saab shares message of hope from his devastated Beirut atelier

The BTS x Fila Voyager Collection is now exclusively at Dubai's Mall of the Emirates

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Results

2pm: Maiden (TB) Dh60,000 (Dirt) 1,200m, Winner: Mouheeb, Tom Marquand (jockey), Nicholas Bachalard (trainer)

2.30pm: Handicap (TB) Dh68,000 (D) 1,200m, Winner: Honourable Justice, Royston Ffrench, Salem bin Ghadayer

3pm: Handicap (TB) Dh84,000 (D) 1,200m, Winner: Dahawi, Antonio Fresu, Musabah Al Muhairi

3.30pm: Conditions (TB) Dh100,000 (D) 1,200m, Winner: Dark Silver, Fernando Jara, Ahmad bin Harmash

4pm: Maiden (TB) Dh60,000 (D) 1,600m, Winner: Dark Of Night. Antonio Fresu, Al Muhairi.

4.30pm: Handicap (TB) Dh68,000 (D) 1,600m, Winner: Habah, Pat Dobbs, Doug Watson

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Checks continue

A High Court judge issued an interim order on Friday suspending a decision by Agriculture Minister Edwin Poots to direct a stop to Brexit agri-food checks at Northern Ireland ports.

Mr Justice Colton said he was making the temporary direction until a judicial review of the minister's unilateral action this week to order a halt to port checks that are required under the Northern Ireland Protocol.

Civil servants have yet to implement the instruction, pending legal clarity on their obligations, and checks are continuing.

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.

MATCH INFO

Leeds United 0

Brighton 1 (Maupay 17')

Man of the match: Ben White (Brighton)

While you're here
THE CLOWN OF GAZA

Director: Abdulrahman Sabbah 

Starring: Alaa Meqdad

Rating: 4/5

Company Profile:

Name: The Protein Bakeshop

Date of start: 2013

Founders: Rashi Chowdhary and Saad Umerani

Based: Dubai

Size, number of employees: 12

Funding/investors:  $400,000 (2018) 

Tips to stay safe during hot weather
  • Stay hydrated: Drink plenty of fluids, especially water. Avoid alcohol and caffeine, which can increase dehydration.
  • Seek cool environments: Use air conditioning, fans, or visit community spaces with climate control.
  • Limit outdoor activities: Avoid strenuous activity during peak heat. If outside, seek shade and wear a wide-brimmed hat.
  • Dress appropriately: Wear lightweight, loose and light-coloured clothing to facilitate heat loss.
  • Check on vulnerable people: Regularly check in on elderly neighbours, young children and those with health conditions.
  • Home adaptations: Use blinds or curtains to block sunlight, avoid using ovens or stoves, and ventilate living spaces during cooler hours.
  • Recognise heat illness: Learn the signs of heat exhaustion and heat stroke (dizziness, confusion, rapid pulse, nausea), and seek medical attention if symptoms occur.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
'Munich: The Edge of War'

Director: Christian Schwochow

Starring: George MacKay, Jannis Niewohner, Jeremy Irons

Rating: 3/5

$1,000 award for 1,000 days on madrasa portal

Daily cash awards of $1,000 dollars will sweeten the Madrasa e-learning project by tempting more pupils to an education portal to deepen their understanding of math and sciences.

School children are required to watch an educational video each day and answer a question related to it. They then enter into a raffle draw for the $1,000 prize.

“We are targeting everyone who wants to learn. This will be $1,000 for 1,000 days so there will be a winner every day for 1,000 days,” said Sara Al Nuaimi, project manager of the Madrasa e-learning platform that was launched on Tuesday by the Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, to reach Arab pupils from kindergarten to grade 12 with educational videos.  

“The objective of the Madrasa is to become the number one reference for all Arab students in the world. The 5,000 videos we have online is just the beginning, we have big ambitions. Today in the Arab world there are 50 million students. We want to reach everyone who is willing to learn.”