An Iraq-born computer engineer has been knighted in the New Year Honours list, appearing alongside London mayor Sadiq Khan, senior Labour MP Emily Thornberry and actor and writer Stephen Fry.
Professor Sir Bashir Al-Hashimi was recognised for services to engineering and education.
Born in Baghdad in 1961, Sir Bashir played a prominent role in the development of battery-free computing, including the Internet of Things. He previously received a CBE in 2018 for his services to engineering and industry, calling the recognition at the time an honour and testament to the efforts of the “great many colleagues” he had worked with over the years in an interview with The Muslim News.
In May 2023, he became a fellow of the Royal Society and was elected to the fellowship of the European Academy of Science and Arts. He previously received the Faraday Medal from the UK Institution of Engineering and Technology, and recently completed a three-year term as a Royal Academy of Engineering Board Trustee.
He is currently Vice President for Research and Innovation at King’s College London.
More than 1,200 people from across the UK received honours in the latest list. Women make up 49 per cent of those honoured, with 12 per cent of recipients from ethnic minority backgrounds.
Sir Sadiq, 54, was honoured for political and public service, having been the capital's Labour mayor since 2016. Born in Tooting, he worked as a human rights lawyer before entering Parliament as MP for his hometown in 2005, serving as a junior minister under Gordon Brown and then as shadow justice secretary under Ed Miliband.
In 2016, he defeated Conservative Zac Goldsmith to succeed Boris Johnson as mayor of London, becoming the first Muslim mayor of a major western city and going on to win two further terms.
His tenure has at times proved controversial and a petition started by a Conservative councillor opposing his knighthood has had more than 200,000 signatures since December 5.
The London mayor has taken a firm stance on making London a greener and less polluted place to live, and his ultra low emission zone (Ulez) expansion has split opinion. He has also pledged to clean up the Thames, planning to make the river swimmable within 10 years.
Sir Sadiq has faced scrutiny over his record on law and order, having regularly clashed with the Conservative former government, criticising ministers over police funding and for failing to promptly ban zombie knives. However, he was accused of not taking knife crime “seriously” earlier this year by Kemi Badenoch, then a cabinet minister.
He has worked on improving London's transport, introducing names and colours for London Overground railway lines in November.
“I am truly humbled to have received a knighthood in the King's New Year Honours,” he said. “I couldn't have dreamt when growing up on a council estate in south London that I would one day be mayor of London.
“It's the honour of my life to serve the city I love and I will continue to build the fairer, safer, greener and more prosperous London that all of the capital's communities deserve.”
Foreign Secretary David Lammy congratulated Sir Sadiq, saying the mayor had “delivered free school meals for London's kids, cleaned up the city's polluted air and built record numbers of council homes”.
“I'm so proud that Britain is a place where you can go from being the son of a bus driver on a council estate to being the first Muslim in Cabinet, mayor of our great capital city and a knight of the realm,” Mr Lammy added.
Senior Labour MP Ms Thornberry has been made a dame. She has served as MP for Islington South since 2005 and, after her surprise exclusion from Keir Starmer's first cabinet after the election, now chairs the Commons Foreign Affairs Committee.
She said she was “both honoured and surprised” by her appointment. “I think of my grandmothers, neither of whom were even allowed to work as married women, and think how utterly delighted they'd be to see this,” she added.
Comedian, actor, writer and presenter Stephen Fry, 67, known for BBC comedy Blackadder and hosting quiz show QI, was recognised for services to mental health awareness, the environment and charity.
Since 2011, he has been president of mental health charity Mind and supported the conservation group Fauna and Flora International, of which the Prince of Wales is patron.
Sir Stephen said he felt “startled and enchanted” after receiving the letter informing him of the knighthood and that it was “wonderful” to see the charities get recognition.
“When you are recognised it does make you feel a bit 'crikey', but I think the most emotional thing is that when I think of my childhood, and my dreadful unhappiness and misery and stupidity, and everything that led to so many failures as a child,” he added.
“And for my parents, really, what a disaster. I mean every time the phone rang, they thought, 'Oh, God, what has Stephen done now.' It was a sort of joke in the family.”
GOODBYE%20JULIA
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How to apply for a drone permit
- Individuals must register on UAE Drone app or website using their UAE Pass
- Add all their personal details, including name, nationality, passport number, Emiratis ID, email and phone number
- Upload the training certificate from a centre accredited by the GCAA
- Submit their request
What are the regulations?
- Fly it within visual line of sight
- Never over populated areas
- Ensure maximum flying height of 400 feet (122 metres) above ground level is not crossed
- Users must avoid flying over restricted areas listed on the UAE Drone app
- Only fly the drone during the day, and never at night
- Should have a live feed of the drone flight
- Drones must weigh 5 kg or less
If you go
- The nearest international airport to the start of the Chuysky Trakt is in Novosibirsk. Emirates (www.emirates.com) offer codeshare flights with S7 Airlines (www.s7.ru) via Moscow for US$5,300 (Dh19,467) return including taxes. Cheaper flights are available on Flydubai and Air Astana or Aeroflot combination, flying via Astana in Kazakhstan or Moscow. Economy class tickets are available for US$650 (Dh2,400).
- The Double Tree by Hilton in Novosibirsk ( 7 383 2230100,) has double rooms from US$60 (Dh220). You can rent cabins at camp grounds or rooms in guesthouses in the towns for around US$25 (Dh90).
- The transport Minibuses run along the Chuysky Trakt but if you want to stop for sightseeing, hire a taxi from Gorno-Altaisk for about US$100 (Dh360) a day. Take a Russian phrasebook or download a translation app. Tour companies such as Altair-Tour ( 7 383 2125115 ) offer hiking and adventure packages.
More from Armen Sarkissian
EXPATS
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Trump v Khan
2016: Feud begins after Khan criticised Trump’s proposed Muslim travel ban to US
2017: Trump criticises Khan’s ‘no reason to be alarmed’ response to London Bridge terror attacks
2019: Trump calls Khan a “stone cold loser” before first state visit
2019: Trump tweets about “Khan’s Londonistan”, calling him “a national disgrace”
2022: Khan’s office attributes rise in Islamophobic abuse against the major to hostility stoked during Trump’s presidency
July 2025 During a golfing trip to Scotland, Trump calls Khan “a nasty person”
Sept 2025 Trump blames Khan for London’s “stabbings and the dirt and the filth”.
Dec 2025 Trump suggests migrants got Khan elected, calls him a “horrible, vicious, disgusting mayor”
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League quarter-final (first-leg score):
Juventus (1) v Ajax (1), Tuesday, 11pm UAE
Match will be shown on BeIN Sports
The biog
Name: Abeer Al Bah
Born: 1972
Husband: Emirati lawyer Salem Bin Sahoo, since 1992
Children: Soud, born 1993, lawyer; Obaid, born 1994, deceased; four other boys and one girl, three months old
Education: BA in Elementary Education, worked for five years in a Dubai school
Company%20profile
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The biog
Name: Fareed Lafta
Age: 40
From: Baghdad, Iraq
Mission: Promote world peace
Favourite poet: Al Mutanabbi
Role models: His parents
if you go
The flights
Flydubai offers three daily direct flights to Sarajevo and, from June, a daily flight from Thessaloniki from Dubai. A return flight costs from Dhs1,905 including taxes.
The trip
The Travel Scientists are the organisers of the Balkan Ride and several other rallies around the world. The 2018 running of this particular adventure will take place from August 3-11, once again starting in Sarajevo and ending a week later in Thessaloniki. If you’re driving your own vehicle, then entry start from €880 (Dhs 3,900) per person including all accommodation along the route. Contact the Travel Scientists if you wish to hire one of their vehicles.
UNpaid bills:
Countries with largest unpaid bill for UN budget in 2019
USA – $1.055 billion
Brazil – $143 million
Argentina – $52 million
Mexico – $36 million
Iran – $27 million
Israel – $18 million
Venezuela – $17 million
Korea – $10 million
Countries with largest unpaid bill for UN peacekeeping operations in 2019
USA – $2.38 billion
Brazil – $287 million
Spain – $110 million
France – $103 million
Ukraine – $100 million
The 12 Syrian entities delisted by UK
Ministry of Interior
Ministry of Defence
General Intelligence Directorate
Air Force Intelligence Agency
Political Security Directorate
Syrian National Security Bureau
Military Intelligence Directorate
Army Supply Bureau
General Organisation of Radio and TV
Al Watan newspaper
Cham Press TV
Sama TV
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.”
Company info
Company name: Entrupy
Co-founders: Vidyuth Srinivasan, co-founder/chief executive, Ashlesh Sharma, co-founder/chief technology officer, Lakshmi Subramanian, co-founder/chief scientist
Based: New York, New York
Sector/About: Entrupy is a hardware-enabled SaaS company whose mission is to protect businesses, borders and consumers from transactions involving counterfeit goods.
Initial investment/Investors: Entrupy secured a $2.6m Series A funding round in 2017. The round was led by Tokyo-based Digital Garage and Daiwa Securities Group's jointly established venture arm, DG Lab Fund I Investment Limited Partnership, along with Zach Coelius.
Total customers: Entrupy’s customers include hundreds of secondary resellers, marketplaces and other retail organisations around the world. They are also testing with shipping companies as well as customs agencies to stop fake items from reaching the market in the first place.
Apple product price list
iPad Pro
11" - $799 (64GB)
12.9" - $999 (64GB)
MacBook Air
$1,199
Mac Mini
$799
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GAC GS8 Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh149,900