A fifth-grader from Dubai has won the national round of the fourth international Arab Reading Challenge.
Mezna Najeeb, 10, from Al Ebdaa Model School, beat 455,000 other UAE students from 1,412 public and private schools.
The reading challenge was launched in 2015 by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai.
The aim was to encourage one million students from across the region to read 50 books in one academic year.
Writing on Twitter, Sheikh Mohammed congratulated Mezna, saying her talents were a cause for great optimism.
“Congratulations to Mezna Najeeb, my daughter, who won the UAE Arab Reading Challenge among 455,000 participants from more than 1,400 public and private schools in the country,” he said.
“With you, Mezna, and Arab pupils like you, we are optimistic that the future will be more beautiful.”
The annual competition is open to anyone in the Mena region, as well as Arabs living abroad, who are aged between 8 and 18. Pupils are tested on their understanding of the texts during the contest.
In its first year, 3.5 million people took part in the tournament, rising to more than 7.4 million pupils in 2016.
Last year, the event was opened up to Arab expatriates for the first time. This year, students from 49 countries took part. National winners of the competition will go head-to-head in a grand final.
“In our fast-paced world, today is different from yesterday, and we are aware that tomorrow brings new challenges,” said Jameela Al Muhairi, Minister of State for Public Education, during the awards ceremony.
“If we want to stay ahead in the rapidly-changing world we live in, we must read and continue reading.
“We read to develop our minds, to imagine and to gain new skills that can help us build a better future for the UAE."
Mezna's mother told The National that she was overjoyed by her daughter's success.
“I feel very proud of her, she made us all happy today,” said Brewin Mohammed. “Mezna started reading at the age of five.
“It’s a dream came true for her. It will encourage her to read more and develop her writing skills as she loves to write short stories.”
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Tearful appearance
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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.
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Dust storm
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Sole survivors
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2. Side hustle: At 16, I lived in a village and started teaching online, as well as doing work as a virtual assistant and marketer. There are six skills you can use online: translation; teaching; programming; digital marketing; design and writing. If you master two, you’ll always be able to make money.
3. Networking: Knowing how to make connections is extremely useful. Use LinkedIn to find people who have the job you want, connect and ask to meet for coffee. Ask how they did it and if they know anyone who can help you. I secured quite a few clients this way.
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13: The 25-year-old player was not a complete stranger to the Premier League when he arrived at Liverpool this summer. However, during his previous stint at Chelsea, he made just 13 Premier League appearances, seven of which were off the bench, and scored only twice.
57: It was in the 57th minute of his Liverpool bow when Salah opened his account for the Reds in the 3-3 draw with Watford back in August. The Egyptian prodded the ball over the line from close range after latching onto Roberto Firmino's attempted lob.
7: Salah's best scoring streak of the season occurred between an FA Cup tie against West Brom on January 27 and a Premier League win over Newcastle on March 3. He scored for seven games running in all competitions and struck twice against Tottenham.
3: This season Salah became the first player in Premier League history to win the player of the month award three times during a term. He was voted as the division's best player in November, February and March.
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8: As well as his fine form in England, Salah has also scored eight times in the tournament phase of this season's Champions League. Only Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo, with 15 to his credit, has found the net more often in the group stages and knockout rounds of Europe's premier club competition.
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-final, first leg
Bayern Munich v Real Madrid
When: April 25, 10.45pm kick-off (UAE)
Where: Allianz Arena, Munich
Live: BeIN Sports HD
Second leg: May 1, Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid
Tomorrow 2021
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MATCH SCHEDULE
Uefa Champions League semi-final, first leg
Tuesday, April 24 (10.45pm)
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Wednesday, April 25
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Marseille v Salzburg (11.05pm)
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EA Sports FC 25
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Consoles: Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4&5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S
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RESULT
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West Brom: Livermore (79'), Rondón (88' )
Liverpool: Ings (4'), Salah (72')
Richard Jewell
Director: Clint Eastwood
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Two-and-a-half out of five stars
How to watch Ireland v Pakistan in UAE
When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time.
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