Women from the Middle East and North Africa feature prominently on the BBC’s list of the 100 most influential women of 2020.
Among the women from the region celebrated for “leading change and making a difference” are British-Iraqi public health expert Dr Nisreen Alwan and Lebanese human rights activist Hayat Mirshad.
The head of the UAE's space programme, Sarah Al Amiri, is also on the list. You can read about her career and the programme here.
The BBC said the list was compiled with a focus on female scientists and healthcare workers who led the way during the coronavirus pandemic.
The broadcaster said the work of Dr Alwan, a public health consultant at the University of Southampton, was vital to understanding the effects of “long Covid”.
People with long Covid report ongoing symptoms such as fatigue, headache and shortness of breath after their bodies appear to have cleared the virus.
Dr Alwan said appearing on the list was a “huge honour”.
She spoke of how she approached a challenging year: “During 2020, I did three things more: speak my mind; do what I fear; and forgive myself. I also did three things less: care what others think of me; blame myself; and believe I’m less than others.”
The broadcaster also praised Ms Mirshad for being “unapologetic and uncompromising” in helping young women.
Ms Mirshad is the founder of feminist group Fe-Male, which aims to “eliminate injustice” by “campaigning together against discriminatory norms and policies”.
“Hayat’s mission is to ensure girls and women have access to justice, information, protection and human rights,” the BBC said.
“She continues to spread her message through various platforms by organising nationwide marches, and rallying the masses to challenge corrupt, patriarchal regimes and demand change.”
Two Syrian women made the list – the filmmaker Waad Al Kateab and plant virologist Safaa Kuman.
Others include the Egyptian Coptic nun Maggie Gobran and campaigner Nadeen Ashraf, also from Egypt.
Pardis Sabeti, from Iran, and Yemeni microgrid manager Iman Ghaleb Al Hamli made the list for their contributions to technology.
Moroccan rapper Housa Abouz is featured for using her “music as a tool for change” in a male-dominated industry.
Among the more well-known names on the list are Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin, actress Michelle Yeoh, the star of the new Avatar and Marvel films, and Briton Sarah Gilbert, who heads the University of Oxford’s research into a coronavirus vaccine, as well as climate activist and actress Jane Fonda.
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
Who's who in Yemen conflict
Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government
Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council
Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south
Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory
ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.
The tours
A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages.
Vaccine Progress in the Middle East
Non-oil%20trade
%3Cp%3ENon-oil%20trade%20between%20the%20UAE%20and%20Japan%20grew%20by%2034%20per%20cent%20over%20the%20past%20two%20years%2C%20according%20to%20data%20from%20the%20Federal%20Competitiveness%20and%20Statistics%20Centre.%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EIn%2010%20years%2C%20it%20has%20reached%20a%20total%20of%20Dh524.4%20billion.%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ECars%20topped%20the%20list%20of%20the%20top%20five%20commodities%20re-exported%20to%20Japan%20in%202022%2C%20with%20a%20value%20of%20Dh1.3%20billion.%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EJewellery%20and%20ornaments%20amounted%20to%20Dh150%20million%20while%20precious%20metal%20scraps%20amounted%20to%20Dh105%20million.%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ERaw%20aluminium%20was%20ranked%20first%20among%20the%20top%20five%20commodities%20exported%20to%20Japan.%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ETop%20of%20the%20list%20of%20commodities%20imported%20from%20Japan%20in%202022%20was%20cars%2C%20with%20a%20value%20of%20Dh20.08%20billion.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
