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London's Big Ben will show fresh look to ring in New Year

The US News reported according to Reuters, Big Ben's dials will emerge from a shroud of scaffolding in time for the world famous clock to perform its most important annual role - ringing in the New Year for thousands on the streets of London and millions more watching on television.
The clock tower of Britain's Houses of Parliament has been hidden for three-and-a-half years while hundreds of craftspeople repaired masonry, replaced metalwork and repainted and regilded in the biggest restoration since it was built in 1859.
Nick Sturge, project manager for Sir Robert McAlpine's special projects, said removing the scaffolding was a "massive milestone" in the 79.7 million pound ($107 million) project.
"By New Year people will start to see a big difference; they'll start to get their tower back," he said. "The roofs will be fully visible along with the four clock faces."

Big Ben, the largest and most accurate four-faced chiming clock when it was built, is a symbol of London and Britain's parliamentary democracy around the world, as well as being one of the most photographed sites in the city.
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The restoration includes replacing all of the panels on the clock faces using and-blown glass, Sturge said. The dials' hands, numerals and other details have been repainted bright blue rather than the black long familiar to Londoners.
BLUE COLOUR SCHEME
Sturge said an early watercolour showed a blue colour scheme, which was confirmed by paint analysis that discovered the first coat was Prussian blue.
"It's really striking," he said. "When you stand on the street it's a really nice nod to the past."
The floral emblems of the four parts of the United Kingdom - the thistle, shamrock, leek and rose - have been repainted in the colours of Charles Barry's original design for the tower, which was renamed after Queen Elizabeth in 2012.
The 12 bongs from the Great Bell - the origin of the name Big Ben - that will mark the turning of the year will be powered by an electric motor. The original Victorian clock mechanism will take over again when the bells resume their familiar pattern of chiming every quarter and striking every hour in the spring.
Alex Jeffrey, one of three clockmakers at the Palace of Westminster, the parliament building's official name, said the clock had been transported to Cumbria, in northwestern England, to be disassembled and rebuilt.
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"Everything has been restored to its original spec," he said. "It's a lot of kit - 11-and-a-half tonnes. To give you an example, one of the hands weighs about 305 kilogrammes (672 lbs) and the minute hand is 14 feet long (4.3 metres)."
The one dial showing the time when the scaffolding comes down is electric-driven, but all four dials will be run by the original gravity powered clock again in the spring.
"It is famously accurate," he said. "The Great Clock is designed extremely well and it's accurate to one second to the first strike of each hour."
Source: usnews
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BENEFIT Sponsors BuildHer...
- April 23, 2025
BENEFIT, the Kingdom’s innovator and leading company in Fintech and electronic financial transactions service, has sponsored the BuildHer CityHack 2025 Hackathon, a two-day event spearheaded by the College of Engineering and Technology at the Royal University for Women (RUW).
Aimed at secondary school students, the event brought together a distinguished group of academic professionals and technology experts to mentor and inspire young participants.
More than 100 high school students from across the Kingdom of Bahrain took part in the hackathon, which featured an intensive programme of training workshops and hands-on sessions. These activities were tailored to enhance participants’ critical thinking, collaborative problem-solving, and team-building capabilities, while also encouraging the development of practical and sustainable solutions to contemporary challenges using modern technological tools.
BENEFIT’s Chief Executive Mr. Abdulwahed AlJanahi, commented: “Our support for this educational hackathon reflects our long-term strategic vision to nurture the talents of emerging national youth and empower the next generation of accomplished female leaders in technology. By fostering creativity and innovation, we aim to contribute meaningfully to Bahrain’s comprehensive development goals and align with the aspirations outlined in the Kingdom’s Vision 2030—an ambition in which BENEFIT plays a central role.”
Professor Riyadh Yousif Hamzah, President of the Royal University for Women, commented: “This initiative reflects our commitment to advancing women in STEM fields. We're cultivating a generation of creative, solution-driven female leaders who will drive national development. Our partnership with BENEFIT exemplifies the powerful synergy between academia and private sector in supporting educational innovation.”
Hanan Abdulla Hasan, Senior Manager, PR & Communication at BENEFIT, said: “We are honoured to collaborate with RUW in supporting this remarkable technology-focused event. It highlights our commitment to social responsibility, and our ongoing efforts to enhance the digital and innovation capabilities of young Bahraini women and foster their ability to harness technological tools in the service of a smarter, more sustainable future.”
For his part, Dr. Humam ElAgha, Acting Dean of the College of Engineering and Technology at the University, said: “BuildHer CityHack 2025 embodies our hands-on approach to education. By tackling real-world problems through creative thinking and sustainable solutions, we're preparing women to thrive in the knowledge economy – a cornerstone of the University's vision.”
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