James K Polk’s Parents were Samuel Polk and Jane Knox. They had 10 children of which the future President was the eldest. He was named after his grandfather James Knox.
Samuel Polk died in 1827 when James Polk was already a congressman for Tennessee.
Who was Dimitrios Drivas? Not a lot is known about him except that he competed in the 1896 Olympic Games.
Drivas came last in his event but because there were only 3 competitors he still won a bronze medal!
The event was the Men’s sailors 100 metre freestyle and this is the one and only time this has been an Olympic event.
Did James Buchanan do anything good? It’s a great question.
James Buchanan was the 15th President of the United States. He served from 1857 to 1861.
Formerly a member of congress, minister to Russia, a senator, Secretary of State and Minister to the United Kingdom, he defeated John Fremont to win the election.
Buchanan didn’t contest the election of 1860 which was won by Abraham Lincoln.
Did he do anything good while in office? This depends who you ask. Most lists rank Buchanan as one of the worst Presidents the United States has had.
Who was Rabbi Simeon Ben Zoma? Not much is known about him, but we do have some details about the life of the 1st and 2nd century Tanna.
We know some of his well known quotes such as:
Who is wise?
Who is strong?
Who is rich?
Who is honored?
There is a Ben Zoma Street in Tel Aviv, Bnei Brak and Ashkelon.
A partnership agreement was signed by the Oman Oil Company (OOC) with the Information Technology Authority (ITA) under the auspices of the Arab Regional Cyber security Center of ITU at an event hosted by the OOC.
The agreement enables the OOC and its group of companies to utilize the services of the ITA and its regional center for cyber security.
The partnership provides customized cyber security, including training in information security for the OOC and its own subsidiaries. The training includes internationally recognized standards in risk assessment and detection of weaknesses. The aim is to better protect organizations from attacks, reduce risks, and assess them.
The importance of this agreement is reflected in the statement made by Bader Ali Al Salehi, head of the Arab regional cyber security center and the DG of Oman National CERT at ITA:
“Signing this partnership agreement is part of the initiatives adopted by the center to promote cooperation with the private sector, particularly to enhance cyber security within the critical national infrastructure industry (CNIs). The partnership agreement aims to enable CNIs to benefit from the cyber security services offered by the regional center to enhance cyber security readiness at CNIs, as well as engage Omani companies to contribute to the delivery of cyber security services.”
“The partnership takes place at this critical period where CNIs, especially the oil and gas industry, have always been targeted by cyber security threats regionally and internationally. Thus, the partnership includes specialized cyber security training and awareness programmes, cyber threat and notification services, security assessment services and the opportunity for OCC and its subsidiaries to participate in regional center events,” he further added.
Amryt Pharma, based in Ireland, has signed an agreement with Pharaon Healthcare-Droguerie Mercury to distribute Lojuxta (lomitapide) in Jordan, Syria and Lebanon.
Amryt specializes in finding drugs to treat rare diseases, while Pharaon is one of the middle east’s key full-service distributors of pharmaceuticals.
Lojuxta is used to treat a rare illness called Homozygous Familial Hypercholesterolaemia (“HoFH”). This illness is inherited and begins affecting its victims even before birth. HoFH reduces the body’s ability to remove bad cholesterol from the blood, leading to aggressive and early narrowing and blocking of blood vessels, resulting in early death.
“This is Amryt’s fifth new distribution agreement for Lojuxta in approximately three months, and we are delighted to be partnering with Pharaon Healthcare in Lebanon, Jordan and Syria,” said CEO of Amryt, Dr. Joe Wiley.
“Pharaon Healthcare has an excellent footprint and many decades of experience in these markets, and this new agreement should help to ensure we can respond effectively to physicians’ requests regarding their patients suffering with HoFH.”
It is believed by Amryt that there are about 40 people in Jordan, Lebanon and Syria suffering from HoFH, with Lebanon having the most due to what is called the “founder effect.” The founder effect is an idea in population genetics which explains a loss of genetic variety as a result of a new population established by a very small group of individuals that broke off from a larger population.
The Q4 2017was the best so far in the history of the mobile on-line travel company Cleartrip Middle East. The great performance can be attributed to the overall growth by 59% for the year in bookings in the MENA region.
“We marked a strong finish to 2017 with the best quarterly performance in Cleartrip Middle East’s history. In markets like UAE, we were able to outperform the industry showcasing a multifold expansion. We are particularly delighted to see that our investments toward the adoption of new technologies have started to yield positive results,” said Stuart Crighton, founder and CEO of Cleartrip.
Cleartrip’s growth surpassed that of the air industry, which grew by 13% in the UAE, by a factor of four during Q4. In Saudi Arabia growth was 236% for Cleartrip, caused by several factors including the company’s introduction of an Arabic language website and a strong company focus on product innovation.
The most popular route for Cleartrip in the UAE and Saudi Arabia is to India, with domestic travel in the kindgom on the rise, with 25% expansion in Q4. The UAE saw a sharp climb in travel to the Philippines, Saudi Arabia and Egypt. Saudi Arabia also saw growth in travel to Egypt, the UAE, Pakistan, the Philippines and Turkey.
“We are optimistic that 2018 will be another strong growth year, and we will continue to drive innovation and leverage technology to diversify and enhance our offerings. With our strong presence in the region and our solid financial credentials, we couldn’t be in a better position to further scale our operations and expand our market footprint. Closely aligned with our long-term growth strategy, we have laid out plans to further deepen our presence in the region, starting with our launch in Egypt later this year,” said Sameer Bagul, execuitve vice president and managing director, Cleartrip.
Chef’s Gourmet Food
Beginning this month Chef Middle East, a regional food supply company, will be teaming up with the Lactalis Group in the hopes of cooking up something that will grow both companies.
Food service sales manager for the UAE at Lactalis, Olivia Hingray explained why her company is partnering with Chef Middle East:
“Being in the Middle East region for over twenty years, Chef Middle East has acquired a tremendous experience and knowledge of the market, and is recognized by its peers as a well-established and trusted company. Chef Middle East’s expertise and broad client portfolio within the hotel and dining industries will be a strong driver for Lactalis in terms of exposure, resulting in higher sales performances.”
Chef Middle East CEO Steve Pyle said that:
“Lactalis has an extensive dairy range with exceptional and globally recognized brands like Président and Galbani, and as such we believe we will leverage on each other’s strengths in the markets we operate in.”
Pyle added:
“The Lactalis range will strengthen our existing dairy portfolio and will increase the credibility of our dairy proposition with both existing and prospective customers. This new range addition will also position our Pastry & Bakery range as ‘the’ one stop solution for Pastry professionals with the French Président cream and butter range while complementing our strong and developing Italian range with Galbani cheeses.”
Neither the constantly changing tastes and needs of consumers nor the rising cost of food, both serious challenges for companies working in food service, have dampened the companies’ optimism that their new partnership will end in success for both parties.
One regional food service technico-commercial manager, Fadi Selwan, said:
“Our objective is to translate our high end raw materials product functionalities into client’s benefits and cost savings in all culinary operations.”
Dubai and Saudi Arabia are adding a VAT.
The UAE and Saudi Arabia will both be implementing a value added tax as of January 1, 2018, In anticipation of that event DLA Piper, a global law firm, appointed a new Middle East head of tax in the company’s branch in Dubai.
Ton Van Doremalen began in his new position on December 3. He has more than 16 years of experience in international tax structuring in a number of countries, including the Netherlands, Luxembourg, UK, the UAE, the GCC and Egypt.
Roderik Bouwman, global co-chair at DLA Piper, said, “We are delighted to have Ton on board as the founder of DLA Piper’s Middle Eastern Tax practice, at a time of highly anticipated tax changes and regulation in the Middle East. Ton is widely respected within the industry and brings energy, business acumen and an entrepreneurial spirit to the role.”
DLA Piper is an award-winning law firm, having been recognized as the “International Law Firm of the Year” at last year’s Middle East Legal Awards.
Regional managing partner Peter Somekh said that, “last year has seen us further consolidate our already strong presence in the Middle East. We see the creation of a dedicated Tax practice as invaluable as the region continues to develop as a major international business hub, with Ton’s arrival further reinforcing our ongoing commitment to delivering clients a full-service local offering.”
Dubai, UAE
The World Bank recognized the United Arab Emirates as the best place in the Middle East to do business. Among the cities of the world it was ranked 21st.
The ranking is based on a study conducted by the World Bank. According to the study the rise to first place of the UAE was due to its economic policy reforms enacted over the past year which reduced bureaucratic hurdles for business. Four significant reforms were undertaken, including improved construction quality control and shortening the time to get building permits.
The World Bank added that during the course of the 15 years in which it has ranked cities for their business friendliness, the UAE has made the largest number of changes to its business structures in the region, with a total of 33.
Other countries in the Gulf ranked as follows:
• Bahrain-66th
• Oman-71st
• Qatar-83rd
• Saudi Arabia-92nd
• Kuwait-96th
