Day: August 10, 2021

Posted on

Syrian student with special talent wins first place at International Festival and Competition of Inclusive Creativity, Petersburg

Damascus, Syrian student , Michel Hannoush, from Solhi al-Wadi Institute came first in the International Festival and Competition of Inclusive Creativity (Soulful Petersburg), in the Russian city of Petersburg.

The winning of the 14-years- old child holds a taste of challenge and determination mixed with extraordinary talent along with a special health condition raising the name of his country high and confirming to the whole world that there are ,in Syria, unique talents supported by professional professors and institutes that offer the most significant sciences.

Michel’s participation was through playing on the violin remotely due to the current circumstances imposed by coronavirus, competing with a large number of participants in a variety of arts around the world.

He is a fourth year student in violin section as a second specialization ,and at the same time a sixth year student majored at opera singing.

Speaking to SANA, Michel said that the musical instrument he participated through at the festival was the same one through which he previously had won the first place at Solhi al-Wadi Institute, adding that it requires a great training.

Source: Syrian Arab News Agency

Posted on

Health Ministry Reports 864 New Confirmed COVID-19 Cases, 451 Recoveries in Saudi Arabia

Riyadh, The Ministry of Health announced today, in a statement, that 864 new confirmed cases of the novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) have been reported in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, bringing the total number to 535,176, including 10,829 active cases.

Of these, there are 1,396 critical cases, while the health condition of the rest is stable, the statement said.

It added that 12 new deaths have been reported, putting the tally of fatalities at 8,357.

Meanwhile, as many as 451 cases have recovered, raising recoveries toll to 515,990.

Source: Saudi Press Agency

Posted on

Record-Breaking Quarter for Issuance of Foreign Investor Licenses in Saudi Arabia As Investment Recovery Accelerates

Riyadh, The Ministry of Investment of Saudi Arabia (MISA) reported today that more foreign investor licenses were issued during Q1 2021 than during any previous quarter since Saudi records began in 2005, as the Kingdom’s investment recovery accelerates.

The issuance of 478 new licenses breaks the previous record, set as recently as Q4 2020, and marks a 2.6% quarterly increase. The first quarter of 2021 also recorded the fourth consecutive increase in the number of new foreign investment projects since the peak of the pandemic in Q2 2020, indicating a continued rebound in FDI (Foreign Direct Investment. (

As the G20 nation seeks to diversify its economy, the latest figures also show that 114 new licenses issued in Q1 2021 were for the manufacturing sector. Data from the Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources show that $4.7bn worth of industrial investments were made in the first quarter of 2021, more than four times higher than the same quarter in 2020.

The retail and ecommerce (78 licenses), construction (78 licenses), professional and scientific (62 licenses) and ICT (41 licenses) sectors also accounted for a significant proportion of growth.

Following a 2018 reform in the Kingdom that allowed for a first time the 100% foreign ownership of companies, 59% of new investment projects in Q1 2021 were full foreign ownership, with the remainder being joint ventures with local investors.

The figures were revealed in MISA’s Spring 2021 Investment Highlights report, which outlines the developments and pro-business reforms ongoing across the Saudi investment environment. Reforms profiled include “Shareek”, part of a $7.2 trillion investment program designed to provide solid support for the Saudi economy via financial, monetary, and regulatory means, as well as through asset investment over the next 10 years. As well as the “Made in Saudi” program to strengthen the private sector’s resilience and contribution to GDP, and the Private Sector Participation Law to accelerate private sector participation in infrastructure projects and the privatization of public sector assets.

Eng. Khalid Al-Falih, Minister of Investment of Saudi Arabia, said: “These latest figures show that, despite the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the global economy, foreign investors continue to have great confidence in Saudi Arabia’s historic transformation journey under the guidance of Vision 2030.

“Despite common global challenges, more and more investors are starting businesses in the Kingdom, FDI inflow into Saudi Arabia is at its highest level since 2016 when Vision 2030 was launched, and global interest in Saudi financial assets traded on our Tadawul stock exchange continues to grow.

“Our goals are ambitious, but we are making progress at an accelerated pace to make it easier and quicker for international businesses of all sizes to access opportunities, opening up a wide and diverse range of economic sectors. So I am particularly delighted to see such a big increase in manufacturing, evidence that investors are looking beyond oil to other Saudi sectors like construction, retail & e-commerce, professional & scientific services, and ICT.”

The report’s findings correspond with trends indicated by UNCTAD’s World Investment Report 2021, published in June, which noted that FDI in Saudi Arabia remained robust, with inflows increasing to $5.5 billion and investments concentrating in financial services, retail, e-commerce and ICT.

The report also details recent progress made by Saudi Arabia to ensure that investors in its health sector are supported by appropriate regulatory frameworks for sustainable growth, digitization, and increased efficiency. A growing, wealthy population and major government investment has led to growing demand for healthcare services and the Kingdom is aiming to grow the private sector’s contribution to the healthcare market from 25% to 35% by 2030.

The Ministry of Health has already launched a project for the private sector to build and operate the 244-bed capacity Al-Ansar Hospital in Madinah with a an initial investment of approximately $187 million, and a comprehensive privatization plan for the next five years will soon present investors with more detailed opportunities.

Source: Saudi Press Agency

Posted on

SAMA Launches Islamic Finance Research Translation Program

Riyadh, The Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) announced the launching of the Islamic Finance Research Translation Program to support, advance and benefit from scientific research in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and abroad.

SAMA has emphasized that the program will enhance the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s leading role in the Islamic finance sector globally and will confirm SAMA’s continuous effort and determination to achieve integration in the research system as part of its social responsibility obligations and pivotal role in the field.

Additionally, the program will contribute to fulfilling the objectives of the Saudi Vision 2030, which will improve the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s knowledge position.

The program covers a number of research areas, including: Islamic finance, Islamic banking, Islamic insurance, banking risk management, financial technologies (FinTech) in Islamic finance sector, Sharia governance, and other areas related to Islamic finance sector.

After translating the research papers selected, cash prizes will be awarded to the top 20 winning papers by decision of the Review Committee. The top 10 papers will win a cash prize of SAR 10,000 each, and the other 10 will win a cash prize of SAR 5,000 each.

Source: Saudi Press Agency

Posted on

24 KSrelief Trucks Cross Al-Wadiah Crossing Point to Several Yemeni Governorates

Al-Wadiah Crossing Point, As many as 24 relief trucks of King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSrelief) crossed Al-Wadiah Crossing Point, during the period from 7 to 8 August, 2021, carrying 532 tons and 800 kilograms of food baskets for Hajjah, Marib, Hadramout and Aden Governorates, Yemen.

This comes within the relief and humanitarian efforts being provided by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, represented by the KSrelief, to all Yemeni Governorates.

Source: Saudi Press Agency

Posted on

Fire severity index to continue in forests north west Syria from Wednesday tomorrow until next Friday

Damascus, Forestry and Fire Monitoring Platform of the General Authority for Remote Sensing in Syria said on Tuesday that index of the danger of fire spread indicate that most of the forest areas in the north west Syria will continue to be affected by high levels of the fire risk index from tomorrow, Wednesday, until next Friday.

In a statement to SANA reporter, chairperson of the platform, Dr. Roza Garmouka, said that the fire indicator will gradually increase on 11th until 13th of August , as the area of lands affected by the high risk indicator will increases where the fire can easily spread especially on slopes or dense weed.

She noted that the platform warned against danger of fires, as we are still within the Mediterranean forest fire season and the intensification of wind speeds with the dryness of the vegetation cover, which contributes to an uncalculated spread of fires.

Source: Syrian Arab News Agency

Posted on

Syria, UNICEF discuss importance of expanding humanitarian activity

Damascus, Foreign and Expatriates Minister, Faysal Mikdad discussed on Tuesday with Omar Ubdi, Deputy Executive Director of United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and an accompanying delegation, aspects of cooperation between the organization and the Syrian government.

The two sides stressed the importance of the projects that UNICEF is implementing with support and facilitation of the Syrian government, underlining the need to increase the volume of these projects to suit the actual needs of Syrian children, especially in the fields of education, health and water.

Mikdad called on all international organizations working in the humanitarian affairs in Syria to abide by the criterion of humanitarian work, pointing out to the importance of expanding humanitarian activity to include development assistance.

The Minister briefed the visiting delegation on the suffering of the Syrians in Hasaka province in light of the continuing crisis of cutting off water as a result of stopping the operation of the Allouk water station.

He added that about one million citizens of Hasaka province are still without water, condemning the crimes of the Turkish regime and appreciating the efforts exerted by UNICEF and the Syrian Arab Red Crescent in the field of providing water for the region.

In this context, Mikdad also reviewed impacts and repercussions of the unilateral coercive economic measures imposed on the Syrian people, which do not discriminate between a child, a woman and an old man.

In turn, Ubdi briefed Mikdad on the domains of UNICEF work in the education and stressed that UNICEF is trying to do everything possible to provide support to Syrian children wherever they are and to alleviate their suffering, noting that children right to get health, water and education is one of the basic things that UNICEF seeks to secure.

Source: Syrian Arab News Agency

Posted on

The Grayzone: A network of UK intelligence -linked operatives helped fabrication chemical plays in Syria

Washington, A network of UK intelligence -linked operatives , including a group of figures who played major roles in fabricating plays about the alleged chemical attacks in Syria and creating an international media coverage for these fabrications with a clear goal of mobilizing Western support for intervention in Syria to destabilize it.

The “Grayzone” news website published a report in which it highlighted that Hamish de Bretton-Gordon, a British spy, previously Commanding Officer of the UK CBRN Regiment to later self-proclaimed expert in chemical weapons providing alleged evidences that the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons(OPCW) used them as a main source for its politicized reports that distorted the facts about the alleged chemical attacks in Syria.

Gordon’s Twitter profile identified him as a member of the 77th Brigade in the British Army, a military squad, which maintains huge numbers of real, fake and automated social media accounts that it deploys to disseminate propaganda in support of UK Foreign Office objectives, and discredit its critics.

But later this description was removed from Gordon’s account, especially after he began his suspicious activities in Syria, through which he established an organization in the places where terrorist organizations were deployed in Aleppo previously to collect samples and alleged evidence about the fabricated chemical attacks to encourage the American intervention, and that was confirmed by a high-ranking Western official, whose name was not revealed by the site.

The website denounced the fact that international bodies such as the (OPCW) has allowed an individual like Gordon or even his suspicious organization to play a role in several investigations in regard with alleged chemical weapons attacks in Syria, despite that this organization has provided false evidence earlier.

The website was also surprised from the transformation of the videos filmed by people who have been called in the Western and the US media as “activists” and who were recruited by the American and British intelligence to be as evidences which the (OPCW) has depended on them to prepare its reports.

Source: Syrian Arab News Agency

Posted on

Russia: US military presence in Syria illegal

Washington, Russia has reiterated that the US military presence in Syria is illegal, adding that Washington’s interpretation of resolution No. 2254 is “ridiculous and ironic”.

Earlier, Wayne Maroto, Spokesman for the illegitimate so-called “International Coalition” which is led by the US under the pretext of fighting terrorism, claimed in a tweet that “the US forces are deployed in Syria under the international law and the Security Council’s resolution No. /2254/ which was issued in November 2015.”

TASS News Agency quoted the Russian Embassy in Washington as saying, in a tweet commenting on these allegations, “The truth is that the US troops did not have any legal authorization to stay in Syria, and your interpretation of the Security Council’s resolution No. 2254 is ridiculous. Please read the document carefully.”

last June, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova affirmed the illegitimacy of the US military presence in Syria, noting that “the Americans always cling to unrealistic things, and they radically change their approach after changing their administration.”

Source: Syrian Arab News Agency