News

Bahraini Artist Hala Al-Abbasi Creates Ramadan Stickers For Instagram

To celebrate Ramadan, Hala Al-Abbasi was approached by Instagram and asked to create a series of new stickers inspired by her favorite aspects of the holy month.

Published

5 years ago

April 21, 2021

Joanna Melki

Hala Al-Abbasi

For many artists, being approached by a major social media network to create a piece of art for all hundreds of millions of users to enjoy is a dream come true. For Bahraini artist Hala Al-Abbasi, it’s reality.

To celebrate Ramadan, Al-Abbasi was approached by Instagram and asked to create a series of new stickers inspired by her favorite aspects of the holy month. She chose to reflect on the moments people celebrating Ramadan share together, creating three unique stickers, each as dazzling as the next one.

“I am very grateful and so happy to be chosen by the Instagram team. I really loved and enjoyed working with them and am so proud to be the first in the region to work on the stickers and share them with the world,” Al-Abbasi said in an interview with Emirates Woman. “This amazing opportunity has a very special place in my heart, the love that I have put into my work has been everything to me to share and spread that with the people around the world.”

Also Read: 12 Arab Women Dominating Instagram In 2023

The collaboration between Hala Al-Abbasi and Instagram has proven successful as millions of users around the world have used her stickers in their stories.

The first of the three stickers shows a colorful mosque against a starry sky.

Instagram @Haluulie

The second one is a visual of a crescent and stars.

Instagram @Haluulie

The last one is an illustration of tea and dates.

Instagram @Haluulie

Using the three stickers is easy: simply open the Instagram Story tray and add your favorite Ramadan sticker.

“Hala hopes that her stickers will be used throughout Ramadan to mark moments of celebration, from greetings to special suhoors and iftars, all the way to celebrating Eid,” shared Instagram on its design account. Considering how well-received the stickers have been, we think it’s safe to say that Al-Abbasi’s wish will come true.

News

Microsoft Plans $10 Billion-Plus Gulf Expansion Despite Iran Conflict

Security is shaping Microsoft’s approach, from resilience work with governments to what it will say about how the money splits by country.

Published

4 days ago

September 24, 2026

Nour Nasir

Microsoft

Microsoft is planning more than $10 billion of investment across the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Kuwait through 2030, Vice Chair and President Brad Smith told Reuters, calling the spending schedule aggressive. The Iranian conflict that began on February 28 has not persuaded the company to scale back.

“We’re sustaining all the investments we planned to make before this conflict started, and we are in fact adding to them,” Smith said. The $10 billion-plus total does not, however, show how large those additions are.

The investment, which Smith described as part of Microsoft’s continued infrastructure expansion, is aimed at cloud and AI infrastructure and at the company’s growing regional operations. Microsoft also intends to put more than $400 million into subsea and terrestrial connectivity across the Middle East by 2030.

The spending fits the region’s own ambitions too. Gulf governments have been investing heavily in AI infrastructure as part of a push to diversify their economies beyond oil and gas and turn themselves into global technology hubs. Major cloud and AI providers have been drawn in part by the land and relatively low-cost energy on offer.

Microsoft is widening its partnerships with regional AI companies, though not on identical terms. In 2024, it invested $1.5 billion in Abu Dhabi-based G42 for a minority stake, and Smith currently sits on G42’s board. Saudi Arabia’s Humain and Qatar’s Qai are working with Microsoft on selected priority areas, but Smith said the company does not plan to make capital investments in either.

Also Read: Egypt’s Mobile Wallets Are Booming, But Cash Still Has Power

The conflict has added another strand to Microsoft’s work in the region. Since it began, Smith said, the company has supported regional partners with digital resilience assessments, and it is now working with Gulf countries through a digital resilience initiative focused on preparedness and the protection of critical data.

So far, the company has given no country-by-country breakdown of the investment, citing security among other factors. So while the headline figure is public, how Microsoft divides the spending among the four countries is not.