Latest news with #Khalfan
Biz Bahrain
28-05-2025
- Business
- Biz Bahrain
Amwaj Beachfront Appoints Ahmed Khalfan as New Chief Executive Officer
Amwaj Beachfront, an award-winning multi-use development project in Amwaj Island, announced the appointment of Ahmed Khalifa Khalfan as its new Chief Executive Officer. The developments components include luxury residential apartments, beachfront townhouses, and retail units across 33,391 sqm of waterfront space. The project boasts 400 meters of pristine beach space with state of the art amenities. Located at the forefront of Amwaj Island, The luxury development will provide residents with a prime location connected directly to the new Muharraq ring road, positioning it minutes away from the Kingdoms' key landmarks. Its close proximity to entertainment, shopping outlets, hotels, and marinas makes it a key residential address. Khalfan joins Amwaj Beachfront bringing with him 25 years of extensive experience in real estate sales, marketing and business development, drawing on his background as a Fulbright Scholar, with an MBA in Marketing and an ACIM qualification from the Chartered Institute of Marketing. 'We are thrilled to welcome Ahmed Khalfan as the new CEO of Amwaj Beachfront,' said Majed Al Khan, Chairman of Amwaj Beachfront. 'This strategic direction reflects our commitment to transforming this project into a vibrant, world-class hub that enhances everyday living. By using our expertise and relationships with esteemed international brands and operators we are focused on delivering an elevated product and premier lifestyle destination, expanding our portfolio and reinforcing our position as a leading developer of transformative destinations.' 'I am honored to join the exceptional team at Amwaj Beachfront,' states Khalfan. 'Our aim is to create an upscale community that not only offers an unparalleled living experience but adds value while driving sustainable growth and value for our stakeholders. With the support of our expert team, I am confident in delivering a world class destination, and highly anticipate working with our partners to realise this vision.'
Kuwait Times
03-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Kuwait Times
Why women's stories matter
Writer Hawraa Khalfan partner speaks about creativity, resilience and her upcoming novel 'Still Born a Woman' Hawraa Khalfan, 34, is a writer, mother and partner at ARTSCENE KW, with a lifelong passion for language and storytelling. Her work centers on women's experiences, driven by the belief that if women are not safe to create, humanity itself suffers. Through her writing, Khalfan gives voice to the silent battles and hidden strengths of women, weaving stories that challenge expectations and inspire change. Her upcoming novel, 'Still Born a Woman', continues this mission, shedding light on the realities girls and women face when love and freedom are conditional. Kuwait Times: Being a mother, a writer and a partner at ARTSCENE KW sounds like a lot to juggle. How do you manage to balance all these roles? Hawraa Khalfan: Motherhood reminds me how much there is to explore as a creative. ARTSCENE KW is how I give back to my creative community and make sure nobody has to find their creative self the hard way. Through my writing, I make sense of the world. It's when I feel most alive. Balance comes out of necessity. These parts make up my identity, so they must take up space. Balancing multiple things may look hard, but when they are part of who you are and who you want to be, everything falls into place. KT: Your passion for writing women's stories is inspiring. What inspired you to focus on this point of view, and how do you think your writing reflects the struggles and triumphs of women? Why is it important for women's stories to be told? Khalfan: Stories are the most efficient way for the world to comprehend what it is to be a woman. Our brains absorb stories because they help us merge all versions of ourselves into the one who can survive. Stories allow us to connect our realities as women. I write stories because highlighting the inner and outer realities society pushes onto us is how we come together. If women are not safe, they do not create. If women do not create, humanity stumbles. Teaching girls to submit and then expecting them to grow into strong women doesn't make sense. We can't expect women to raise healthy children, run households, aspire to be CEOs and stay youthful without building that strength first. Normalizing conversations about how hard it is to fulfill these roles is how we grow that strength. KT: What does writing mean to you personally? How does it shape your identity, and what role does it play in how you express yourself and connect with others? Khalfan: My passion for writing grew from being a quiet child. Through writing, I communicated with myself. Even when I'm not writing poetry or novels — I'm currently working on three books — my journal is my shield, my therapist and my memory. KT: You're currently working on a book that has yet to be published. Can you share a little about it and what themes or messages you hope to convey? Khalfan: 'Still Born a Woman' is a dystopian young adult novel set in a fictional country where sex at birth and a lineage-based legal system determine the law. It follows the story of Zainab, who loses her best friends, driving her to plan her escape. Through the novel, I aim to comment on love — and how unconditional love doesn't exist for girls and women today. If we don't submit to the status quo, we are discarded or worse, killed. KT: For aspiring women writers who might be balancing similar responsibilities, what advice would you give them to stay motivated and find time for their craft? Khalfan: Ask yourself, can you help yourself? I can't. I know what happens when I don't write. I begin to resemble the women of my mother's generation—women with long lists of regrets for the goals they set aside to cook meals, support husbands, and raise children. I'd rather be a cycle breaker. I'd rather be the mother who models for her children that following your passion is never wrong. It sounds like a cliché, I'm aware. But if you can't sit at a desk for hours, write what you can. Writing is a skill — like muscle memory. The more you do it, the easier it gets. Build a writing habit, even if it's just 20 minutes a day. If it gets hard, ask for help. DM me — I'd be more than happy to help you write more.
Observer
10-03-2025
- Observer
Is your mobile phone listening to your conversations?
During a drive back from school, Balqees, a mother and her son, Abdullah, were planning to go to a restaurant. The two were speaking and wondering what should they eat and where should they go for lunch. Upon parking at a gas station at Shatti Al Qurum, Balqees picked up her phone only to see a variety of food options including the locations pop up as an advert on the screen of her mobile phone. Interesting but spooky isn't it? Similarly, Khalfan was searching for places to travel during Eid and was speaking to a travel agent for some vacation ideas in Thailand. Within a few hours, Khalfan opened his mobile phone and saw an ad customised with flights, accommodations and activities to do in Phuket, Thailand. Surprising but scary isn't it? Both Balqees and Khalfan spoke to me separately about their different incidents but had the same exact question, 'Are mobile phones listening to our conversations? 'I am sure this has happened to many of you, or at least with your loved ones. My article this week will try and shed some light on this growing concern. First things first — the mobile technology heavy weights companies, Apple for iPhone and Google for Android, have openly denied using their microphones to listen onto their customer conversations. Furthermore, both have strict privacy policies that prevent applications from accessing camera, microphone, location, photos and videos from gallery etc without explicit permission. You may notice this whenever you try downloading and installing applications via their respective app market (eg playstore for Google's Android platform, AppStore for Apple's platform iPhone/iPad). On the other hand, however, both of Apple and Google's Artificial Intelligence (AI) voice assistants apps (eg Siri and Google Assistant) would respond to you and offer services by simply starting by requesting for one using designated key words such as 'Hey Siri' for Apple, and 'Hey Google' for Android. I am pretty sure many of you have noticed this lately especially with the latest developments in AI space. Nashat, my wife, is fond of calling home using the words 'Hey Siri' and then 'Call home' while driving our car. Hmmm, the technology heavy weights both claim that they don't listen into our conversations, but they both technically have access to our microphone via the embedded stock AI voice assistance apps in our mobile phones. I have personally experienced the same with customised Ads I get via different apps I use. The customised ads are the result of websites I visit and searches I do, using the mobile phone. So what can we do to protect ourselves? Almost nothing or probably is a big challenge if one wants to continue living in a connected world and have access to information and services easily, conveniently and rapidly. Virtually everyday a new creative app, driven by some new form of technology (present heavily is AI), using your information, pops up and becomes popular and mainstream in a few span of hours. What fuels these apps is unfortunately your data (ie voice via microphone, video via camera, pictures via your gallery apps). About 6 years ago, during one of my cybersecurity sessions at one of the local banks here in Oman, I vividly stated that the word 'privacy' may no longer be valid at some stage of our lives. I see this pretty much a reality today. Scary, yes I agree. I will try and share some basic steps next week on some ways that can help with protecting oneself privacy. To conclude, is there someone listening to our conversations? There is no solid evidence or proof yet the technology is there and it is very possible as I had shared on my article today. I also recommend complementing this knowledge by reading my past article on Oman Observer on whether modern cars can spy on us. You will get additional insights on the same for your kind perusal. Until we catch up again, be positive and try to stay safe.
Rudaw Net
07-03-2025
- Politics
- Rudaw Net
No federalism for Syria, says constitution committee member
Also in Syria EU urges peaceful solution to unrest in Syria SDF rules out military solution to resolve Syrian crisis: statement Iraq says borders with Syria protected Kurdish student killed in west Syria clashes A+ A- ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - A member of the committee drafting Syria's constitutional declaration said that a federal system is not being considered. "The Syrian state is a unified, independent state with full sovereignty over its territories' and 'federalism is not proposed as a system for the state," Ismail al-Khalfan told Rudaw on Friday. 'Until now, we are in favor of maintaining a centralized system and keeping Syria unified,' he added. The constitutional declaration will dictate Syria's transitional phase after decades of control by the Assad family and the Baath party. Many Syrians and foreign powers are worried that the Islamist Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which led the offensive that toppled the regime, may impose strict religious rule and threaten minority groups such as Kurds, Druze, Christians, and Alawites. Kurds in the northeast and Druze in the south have advocated for the adoption of a decentralized and secular system. Khalfan said that only 'administrative decentralization' will be possible, but that equality among all Syrians will be guaranteed. 'We will work to ensure rights for all Syrians, and as you mentioned, the Kurds are an essential component of the Syrian people,' he said. After a coalition led by HTS overthrew Bashar al-Assad's regime, they formed a transitional government headed by Ahmad al-Sharaa (formerly known as Abu Mohammed al-Jolani) who has repeatedly stated that the rights of all Syria's components will be protected under the new government. The following is the full text of the interview with Khalfan: Rudaw: Based on the outcomes of the Syrian National Dialogue Conference, the constitutional declaration committee was formed, which will take on the task of drafting the constitutional declaration that will inform the transitional phase. To discuss the work of this committee, we have with us from Aleppo governorate Dr. Ismail al-Khalfan, member of the constitutional declaration drafting committee. Doctor, welcome as a guest to Rudaw. How far has the work of the committee, the constitutional declaration drafting committee, progressed? Ismail al-Khalfan: The committee is still in the stage of discussions among its members regarding the provisions of this constitutional declaration and has made good progress because there have been intensive discussions among committee members since the first day of its formation. So now it has made good progress in these discussions and is continuing its work. Of course, the discussions are primarily among committee members, and committee members also listen to consultations from their acquaintances, other experts, and specialists in legal and constitutional matters. On which article? How many articles have you discussed so far? We have discussed many articles. We cannot reveal their number, but it is a good number of articles. What are the foundations of this committee's work? This committee, of course, derives its legitimacy from the decision issued by the head of state to form it. And it is based on, that is, it has reviewed previous constitutions, as all its members are experts in law. It has reviewed previous constitutions that were applied in Syria, in addition to experiences of constitutional declarations that occurred in other countries. It examines these various constitutional experiences to try to reach the best possible formula for the constitutional declaration that suits the aspirations of the Syrian people. So what exactly is the task of this committee? The committee's task is to draft the constitutional declaration for the transitional phase in Syria. When this committee completes its work, it will submit this draft to the president of the republic to issue the constitutional declaration. The committee has guarantees that the powers of its members are absolute powers without interference in their work. They discuss among themselves, consult, differ, and then agree on the best possible wording for the articles. When the committee completes its work, it will submit what it has prepared to the president, who will issue it. The draft will be ratified by the president? Yes, exactly. And when will this draft be announced? In fact, we cannot give a specific time, but I do not imagine that this matter will take long, since committee members have entered into discussions from the first day and spent a long time in deliberations among themselves regarding the articles of this declaration. As I told you, they have made significant progress. I imagine in a few days they may initially complete their work, after which they will return to discuss it point by point due to the sensitivity and importance of this topic in the new phase in Syria, after that they will submit it to the president of the republic for approval and issuance. I don't imagine it will take long, but previously I said one week in another interview, but it seems to take longer than that. It won't be a long time, but I can't give a specific period. Approximately a week, ten days from now. What will this constitutional declaration be like? Will it be like a temporary constitution? Yes, this constitutional declaration is like a temporary constitution for Syria during the transitional period. And will you specify the duration of the transitional period in this draft? Yes, the duration of the transitional period will be specified in this draft because it is not appropriate to leave it unspecified. And how long will it be? What are the discussions revolving around in this regard? Honestly, discussions revolve around three to five years, but we prefer to specify the duration so that the transitional period is not left undefined. Are all the members of your committee from the Arab component? Among the committee members, as far as I know, there is one member from the Kurdish component, which is. Dr. Bahia Mardini. How do you define the state system in this declaration? The state system in this declaration will not deviate from what was previously established. The Syrian state is a unified, independent state with full sovereignty over its territories. Is federalism proposed as a system for the state? Honestly, until now, no, it is not proposed. Are you in favor of maintaining a centralized system in Syria? Perhaps you mean a presidential system? A centralized system as a form of state, yes. Until now, we are in favor of maintaining a centralized system and keeping Syria unified. Are all committee members in agreement among themselves about the centralized system? Yes, on this point, there is consensus among the committee members. As you know, Dr. Ismail, Kurds are the second largest ethnic group in Syria and have lived on their land for hundreds of years. How will you deal with the national and administrative rights of the Kurds? We will work to ensure rights for all Syrians, and as you mentioned, the Kurds are an essential component of the Syrian people. We will work in this constitutional declaration, not theoretically as the former regime did, but theoretically and practically to ensure equality among all Syrians in their rights and in their duties without discrimination between Arab and Kurd or between one group and another. Equality will be absolute among Syrians without any discrimination, not on the basis of ethnicity, nor on the basis of sect, nor on the basis of religion. This matter is our concern and interest, and we promise it to Syrians, God willing. But how, Dr. Ismail? How? We will enshrine this provision, and after that, there will be mechanisms to monitor its application, and there are guarantees provided by the country's leadership that everything written in this constitutional declaration will be implemented and will be subject to follow-up and application. And how will you deal with the Druze, Alawites, Christians, and Yezidi Kurds in Syria in the new constitution or constitutional declaration? As you know, Syria is indeed a diverse country with different sects, different ethnicities, and different religions. As I mentioned to you, a single article when applied will guarantee the rights of all Syrians, and that is to call them by the term citizen. All citizens are equal in rights without any discrimination between them. When we apply this text, we will not allow any discrimination, not on an ethnic basis, not on a religious basis, nor on a sectarian basis. We do not prefer to refer to them by their names because I believe that referring to them by their names involves a kind of discrimination. Rather, I say Syrians or Syrian citizens without any discrimination between them, so they are all equal in rights. But the United Nations and European countries also constantly ask the new authority in Syria to preserve the national and administrative rights of the Kurdish people. Doesn't this point require care from your committee so that your work also gains the support of the international community? In fact, we are making the constitution for Syrians as a whole, and we consider the Kurds as an essential component of the Syrian people. Perhaps the United Nations has justifications when it requests this matter, but we do not find a justification to definitely focus on a special text for the Kurdish component. Rather, we emphasize that Kurds are Syrian citizens who have their rights and duties, just like Arabs and the rest of Syria's components. And what about their national, administrative, and cultural rights? They have their own language, their own culture? truth, this matter is still under discussion, but we are also working on preserving the cultural components of the Syrian people in all their diversity. As you know, the issue of the Arab belt in the Jazira region of northeast Syria (Rojava), will the damages and effects of the Arab belt and the process of Arabization of Rojava be reversed through your constitutional draft or constitutional declaration? This topic has not been addressed at all until now. And what about citizenship? Is there a clear mechanism in the draft constitutional declaration to ensure the restoration of citizenship to Kurds who were stripped of it during the era of the former regime? In fact, when the former regime stripped Kurds of their citizenship, it stripped them based on laws. This matter is not the task of the constitution. The constitution guarantees that all Syrian citizens obtain Syrian citizenship, and this matter is explained in laws and is a top priority later because we know that there is a number, I'm not sure of it, there are about 300,000 Kurds in the Jazira region who were deprived of citizenship by the former regime. These people will regain their right, but according to laws later based on the constitutional declaration. You said in one of your statements that you would look at some experiences in countries that faced similar circumstances, including Iraq as well. What will you take from Iraq's experience? In truth, we cannot elaborate on this detail. We have looked at the Iraqi experience, we looked at the Egyptian experience, we looked at the Tunisian experience, meaning different countries where the form of the political system changed as a result of revolutions or as a result of wars. And we have taken from them what suits the situation in Syria and what suits the diversity present in the Syrian people. But we cannot say that we will take articles verbatim as they are. But certainly the constitutional experience in Iraq has benefited us, as did the Tunisian experience and the Egyptian experience. Will you take the example of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq from a constitutional perspective to deal with the Kurds in Syria? The matter is not currently proposed because the experience of the Kurdistan Region in Iraq leads to the transition in the state to decentralization. But in Syria, until now, we are within the framework of political centralization. There may be administrative decentralization, but the state will remain a unified state, and there will be political centralization. You mean the option of administrative decentralization is proposed? Administrative decentralization is proposed, yes, but political decentralization is not. How will you deal with women's rights in the draft constitutional declaration? Of course, the constitutional declaration will work to preserve women's rights, and there will be specific articles to guarantee women's rights and ensure at least their role as appropriate and their required social status within Syrian society. We note this matter with interest. about the right to education, the right to work? These basic rights are all protected? All are protected. There will be a special section on rights and freedoms, and all of these will be addressed. And the right to political and governmental representation? There will be a general discussion about the issue of elections because this matter is detailed in the election law that will be issued later, a different law from the previous one. As you know, the constitutional declaration generally refers to rights and freedoms, and laws take care of detailing them. Thank you very much. Thanks to Dr. Ismail al-Khalfan, member of the Syrian constitutional declaration drafting committee. You were our guest from Aleppo. Thank you very much. You're welcome, and thank you very much for your interest and for giving me the opportunity to participate. Welcome to you, thank you.
Observer
15-02-2025
- Science
- Observer
Omani scientist makes historic space discovery
MUSCAT, FEB 15 In a groundbreaking achievement, Omani astro scientist Khalfan bin Hamad al Malki has become the first member of the Oman Astronomical and Space Society to make a preliminary detection of a near-Earth object (P226gRJ). His discovery has been officially recorded by Nasa, granting him the unique honour of naming the celestial body. This recognition highlights Oman's growing presence in global space research, thanks to the continuous efforts of the Oman Astronomical and Space Society. The discovery comes as part of Nasa's ongoing mission to identify near-Earth asteroids — small, irregular, rocky objects left over from the formation of the solar system. As a reward for his contribution, Khalfan and other participants in the project will receive an official certificate from Nasa. The discovery was made through the International Astronomical Search Collaboration (IASC), a citizen science programme that distributes time-lapse images of the sky to researchers worldwide. These images allow scientists to identify and track main belt asteroids, near-Earth objects and trans-Neptunian objects. Speaking to Observer, Dr Al Malki expressed his excitement over the achievement. 'The feeling is indescribable. Discovering a celestial body and being able to name it is an extraordinary moment. I am grateful to the Oman Astronomical and Space Society for this opportunity. Oman, God willing, will continue making significant contributions to space science.' The IASC's Asteroid Search Campaigns enable global citizen scientists to make original astronomical discoveries. Each campaign runs for a month, during which participants analyse data and search for new asteroids. With this latest achievement, Oman continues to carve a name for itself in the realm of space exploration, paving the way for future discoveries in astronomy and space sciences.
