Latest news with #Rashad
LeMonde
2 days ago
- Politics
- LeMonde
Many dead and wounded after gunfire near Gaza aid distribution point
For the past 20 days, Ahmed Rashad has been out of canned goods. The former private sector employee has struggled to buy enough food to ease the hunger pangs of his five children and family. Their home in Rafah was destroyed and now lies inside a zone made inaccessible by the Israeli military. All 15 of them are living in a tent in the so-called humanitarian area of Al-Mawasi, a patch of sand in southwestern Gaza that lacks everything. On Saturday night, Rashad followed a few neighbors toward Tell es-Sultan in Rafah, heading for a distribution point run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), an NGO that Israel and the United States want to establish as the sole humanitarian operator in the enclave. There had been no official announcement, but everyone was hoping there would be a distribution. Speaking to Le Monde by phone, the 40-year-old Palestinian father said the shooting began around 3:30 am. (Israel has banned international journalists from the Gaza Strip for over a year and a half.) Those who came via the beach found themselves under fire from "Israeli cruisers at sea," he said, and he saw "seven or eight martyrs lying on the ground." At 4:30 am, he claimed, Israeli quadcopter drones began firing into the crowd. "A woman and her daughter collapsed in front of me. I thought she was exhausted because we walk enormous distances on foot. In fact, she had been shot in the knee," he recounted.
Chicago Tribune
03-05-2025
- General
- Chicago Tribune
Volunteers fan out for neighborhood cleanup up during Englewood unity day
Unoka Obanner said she came to Unity Day events in Englewood for the first time Saturday to pass on the spirit of service to her 13-year-old twin sons. Obanner, a mother of four who lives in Auburn Gresham and works with Englewood-based nonprofit Think Outside Da Block, said she was interested in 'doing whatever I can to give back to communities.' 'Change is what I'm about, and I think the first step is showing up and participating,' Obanner said. She and her sons were among the 200 people who spread out in blocks around South Honore and West 64th streets in Englewood to clean up and beautify the neighborhood on a sunny yet slightly chilly early May morning. The effort was part of the 12th annual Greater Englewood Unity Day hosted by Imagine Englewood If along with some community partners. Michelle Rashad, executive director of Imagine Englewood If, said the event was about bringing people from all walks of life to do 'at least one good thing together and make our community a cleaner, more beautiful space.' Imagine Englewood If is a nonprofit youth and family service organization that offers resources to the community, including life skills workshops, a pantry with food and supplies and case management. Much of the work takes place on the 'peace campus,' made up of some 18 properties around South Honore and West 64th streets. People began gathering to check in around 9 a.m. and after a quick breakfast of doughnuts began separating into groups to work on different projects around the neighborhood, from painting murals on fences to fixing up a children's play area or picking up litter. 'It's so amazing,' Rashad said. 'I think one of the beautiful things about volunteering is you don't need a fancy degree or work experience. You don't have to be a certain age, like literally anybody can come and roll up their sleeves and serve on this day.' Rashad said that despite challenges the neighborhood, city and country may be facing, Unity Day is an opportunity to 'take action together,' no matter a person's age, race or gender. Paris Jackson, who lives in Auburn Gresham and went to high school in Englewood, said he is in his seventh year volunteering with Imagine Englewood If. His group at Unity Day was working on the children's play area, 'fixing it up and making it safe for the kids to play in this summer,' he said. Jackson said he enjoys the spirit of Unity Day because the effort 'shows the community that we care.' 'We come every year and take part in this community clean-up because we care about the neighborhood and the people who live here,' Jackson said. 'We want to make this community vibrant and to make it feel like even more of a home, one of the best places to be in the city with amazing people.' After a couple of hours of work, the groups planned to meet up to celebrate and enjoy more food, some games and 'vibing out,' Rashad said. Imagine Englewood If and some of its community partners are based on a peace campus, which has resources including a computer lab and a community garden. There's also a court where people can play basketball and that the nonprofit uses for various other events. 'The point is to have this activated safe space that serves as a resource hub for anyone who needs some help,' Rashad said. 'We wanted to make it easy for people where they can come to this community campus and get almost anything they need.' Rashad said the peace campus would continue to expand with more properties in the area that will be transformed to serve a purpose. Organizers, for example, hope to open a multimedia gaming center for young people, she said. 'We are consistently trying to come up with solutions and be imaginative in how we can help people,' Rashad said. 'That's what it's about, being consistent, and that's who we are.'
Tahawul Tech
30-04-2025
- Business
- Tahawul Tech
Cisco 360 provides a new way to measure partner value
Rashad Baradi, Country Distribution Manager, Cisco – KSA, and Sherif Azzam, Business Unit Manager, Comstor – KSA, elaborate on the ways that the Cisco 360 program is the next step in the evolution of the Cisco Partner Program. What makes Cisco 360 different from other programs launched by Cisco during the past 3 decades of its existence? Rashad: Cisco 360 program has been built with input from over 1,000 hours of feedback from partners, customers, and industry analysts. It builds on our rich hardware and networking legacy while evolving with today's shift to software, subscriptions, and services. The program supports all types of partner models, focusing on what matters most—driving value through go-to-market strategies, building capabilities, and engaging deeply with customers. Its portfolio-based framework ensures partners grow with us as we innovate. The Cisco 360 Partner Program reflects global impact, agility, and simplicity—and most importantly, it represents Cisco's commitment to working together and winning as one ecosystem. Unlike the programs of the past three decades, Cisco 360 has been designed to attract more MSPs and MSSPs with its focus on the value partners bring as opposed to the large transactions they capture. A key focus of the program is to vastly simplify Cisco's complicated program structure that included several different incentives and rebate programs, such as VIP and Perform Plus. What are the goals Cisco is trying to achieve through the rollout of the program? Rashad: The goals of the new program are for Cisco to drive double-digit growth in the markets it serves while boosting the profitability of partners, through which Cisco does 90 percent of its business. As Cisco's business has evolved over the years, it wants to ensure that partners also experience similar growth. Cisco has about 10,000 transaction partners today and the goal is to also open the door for new partners that perhaps haven't done—or have done very little—business with Cisco, including MSSPs. Can you explain how Cisco 360 offers a new way to measure partner value? Rashad: The Cisco 360 Partner Program introduces the Partner Value Index, a new framework for measuring your contribution across four dimensions: • Foundational: The maturity of your lifecycle or managed services practices. • Capabilities: Your investment in technical and other skills. Performance: How you land, retain, and renew customer value. • Engagement: How you connect with customers throughout their journey. This approach ensures that your unique strengths—whether in Security, Networking, Collaboration, Cloud & AI, Services and Observability, and/or across multiple portfolios—are recognised and rewarded. What are the new designations that will be followed under the program and how do they help in amplifying a partner's value to the customers? Rashad: Cisco aims to highlight the investments and capabilities that set partners apart. That is why two new designations have been introduced under the new program: Cisco Partner and Cisco Preferred Partner. With the introduction of these designations, the existing Gold, Premier and Select levels will be discontinued. These new designations reflect partners' strengths and commitment to excellence. These new designations will also enable customers to choose their preferred partner(s). Also, as we transition to the Cisco 360 Partner Program, the shift from traditional Architecture Specialisations to Solution-based Specialisations will continue. Cisco is developing next gen Specialisations that will allow partners to differentiate their technical expertise either more deeply into one specific portfolio or across portfolios; going forward, these specialisations will be available to Cisco Preferred Partners. What is Comstor doing to help partners with a smooth transition to Cisco 360 program? Sherif: Cisco 360 is the most significant evolution of Cisco's Partner program in 25 years, designed from the ground up to help Partners build their workforce, enable outcomes, and lead the way for our industry. As Comstor, we are fully focused on ensuring that our partners take full advantage of the program. We have been creating awareness about the program and its benefits through training, webinars and dedicated sessions during our channel events. Our sales and business development teams are engaged with our partners to ensure a smooth transition to the new program. Also, our teams are fully aligned with Cisco to be able to answer any queries that partners might have. Image Credit: Cisco & Comstor
Broadcast Pro
02-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Broadcast Pro
Egyptian thriller ‘The Settlement' nabs award at MiWorld Young Film Festival
The social thriller is Mohamed Rashad's first narrative feature, following his 2016 documentary 'Little Eagles'. Egyptian filmmaker Mohamed Rashad's workplace thriller, The Settlement, has won the Audience Award at the MiWorld Young Film Festival, an event dedicated to showcasing cinema from Africa, Asia and Latin America in schools to foster intercultural dialogue and global awareness through film. Inspired by true events, The Settlement tells the story of two brothers—23-year-old Hossam and his 12-year-old sibling Maro—who, after their father's fatal workplace accident, are offered jobs at the local factory in lieu of their family seeking legal recourse. As they integrate into their new environment, unsettling questions arise about the true nature of their father's death. Rashad, a native of Alexandria whose father worked in textile factories for over four decades, was moved by a real-life account of a law graduate whose family was pressured into waiving their legal rights following a similar tragedy. Seeing a powerful opportunity to explore workplace safety violations and exploitative labour practices, Rashad transformed this story into a tense and thought-provoking cinematic experience. The Settlement features Adham Shukr, Ziad Islam, Hajar Omar, Mohamed Abdel Hady and Emad Ghoneim. The film's visuals are crafted by cinematographer Mahmoud Lotfi, while editor Heba Othman—known for her work on the acclaimed Sudanese film Goodbye Julia—brings the story to life through editing. Produced through an international collaboration spanning Egypt, France, Germany, Qatar and Saudi Arabia, The Settlement is led by producer Hala Lotfy of Hassala Films (Cairo) alongside co-producers Etienne de Ricaud of Caractères Productions (Paris), Kesmat Elsayed of Seera Films GmbH (Berlin) and ART (Jeddah). The film's worldwide sales are managed by MAD World, with MAD Distribution handling its release in the Arab world. During its development, The Settlement garnered support from numerous international funding bodies, including the Berlinale World Cinema Fund, IFFR's Hubert Bals Fund Script and Development Initiative, Hubert Bals Plus Co-Production Minority Support, Doha Film Institute, Arab Fund for Arts and Culture, Red Sea Development Fund, Fonds Image De La Francophonie, and El Gouna Film Festival's CineGouna Platform.
Broadcast Pro
28-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Broadcast Pro
Egyptian thriller ‘The Settlement' to compete at Bolzano Film Festival Bozen
The social thriller is Mohamed Rashad's first narrative feature, following his 2016 documentary 'Little Eagles'. Director Mohamed Rashad's Egyptian workplace thriller The Settlement will compete at the 38th edition of Bolzano Film Festival Bozen, which will be held from April 4 to 13, 2025 During the festival, The Settlement will have two screenings: on April 7 at 18:15 at Filmclub and on April 8 at 20:45 at Filmclub. Inspired by true events, The Settlement tells the story of two brothers—23-year-old Hossam and his 12-year-old sibling Maro—who, after their father's fatal workplace accident, are offered jobs at the local factory in lieu of their family seeking legal recourse. As they integrate into their new environment, unsettling questions arise about the true nature of their father's death. Rashad, a native of Alexandria whose father worked in textile factories for over four decades, was moved by a real-life account of a law graduate whose family was pressured into waiving their legal rights following a similar tragedy. Seeing a powerful opportunity to explore workplace safety violations and exploitative labour practices, Rashad transformed this story into a tense and thought-provoking cinematic experience. The Settlement features Adham Shukr, Ziad Islam, Hajar Omar, Mohamed Abdel Hady and Emad Ghoneim. The film's visuals are crafted by cinematographer Mahmoud Lotfi, while editor Heba Othman—known for her work on the acclaimed Sudanese film Goodbye Julia—brings the story to life through editing. Produced through an international collaboration spanning Egypt, France, Germany, Qatar and Saudi Arabia, The Settlement is led by producer Hala Lotfy of Hassala Films (Cairo) alongside co-producers Etienne de Ricaud of Caractères Productions (Paris), Kesmat Elsayed of Seera Films GmbH (Berlin) and ART (Jeddah). The film's worldwide sales are managed by MAD World, with MAD Distribution handling its release in the Arab world. During its development, The Settlement garnered support from numerous international funding bodies, including the Berlinale World Cinema Fund, IFFR's Hubert Bals Fund Script and Development Initiative, Hubert Bals Plus Co-Production Minority Support, Doha Film Institute, Arab Fund for Arts and Culture, Red Sea Development Fund, Fonds Image De La Francophonie, and El Gouna Film Festival's CineGouna Platform.
