A window on Scotland’s musical diversity
Scotland’s musical diversity is to be showcased in a London concert 18 December 2018 by an international ensemble that draws on the exemplary talents of artists from Scotland, Poland and Armenia. The group’s performance features Paul Livingston on viola, Ani Batikian on violin and Paulina Mikolajczky on cello. The one-hour concert takes place at the South Kensington centre’s familiar and famous marble fountain...
Berlin mourns activist Asma Jahangir
Germany paid tribute to Pakistani human rights activist and campaigner Asma Jahangir, who died in Lahore on 11 February 2018. Federal Government Human Rights Commissioner Bärbel Kofler said in a statement 12 February: “We mourn the loss of Asma Jahangir. The lawyer born in 1952 was Pakistan’s most prominent human rights activist. Since the 1980s, she had worked tirelessly to promote democracy and human rights in her country,...
Bello Lawal Danbatta named new IFSB head
Dr Bello Lawal Danbatta is the new secretary-general of Islamic Financial Services Board (IFSB), a regulatory and supervisory global body for this growing sector of alternative finance in Europe and elsewhere. The appointment of Dr Danbatta was approved by the IFSB council at its 31st meeting on 11 December 2017 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and was announced on 26 January 2018. He assumed his office on 29 January. Malaysia is a major...
Art by the fountain: The Yaz Fentazi music group
The widely acclaimed Yaz Fentazi musical group made a brief appearance in London as part of the Music@One series of lunchtime encounters between a diverse walk-in urban audience and a dynamic virtual procession of known or newly discovered musical talent from near and far, especially from the Caucasus, Central Asia and the Middle East. As the promoters point out, Yaz Fentazi and Robyn Hemmings and their companions, when in...
European business looks to Saudi fiscal fix
European business leaders are looking keenly at economic and fiscal reforms announced by Saudi Arabia because of their large stakes in maintaining a steady flow of trade and investment in the region. A report by Arabia Monitor consultancy, Saudi Arabia: Fiscal restructuring forges ahead, presented an upbeat outlook for the kingdom as well as neighbouring countries that are part of the Gulf Cooperation Council political and economic...