Day: February 8, 2023

Lebanese national Bassel Habqouq has been pulled alive from under the rubble after the hotel he was staying in collapsed in an earthquake that rocked Turkey earlier this week.

Meanwhile, efforts to rescue another Lebanese national identified as Elias Haddad continue.

Source: National News Agency

The American University of Beirut (AUB) has become the first institution outside of the United States to be part of the Cosmos network, the largest integrated database of clinical information in the US.

Built on a data platform that answers queries in minutes, Cosmos has an extensive representative sample of patients across all population metrics. Its vital database is collected from laboratories, medications, and patient-generated health data. The Cosmos data set is unlike any other used in health research today. It combines billions of clinical data points in a way that forms a high quality, representative, and integrated data set that can be used to change the health and lives of people everywhere.

This makes Cosmos the ultimate data source for clinicians delivering individualized patient care and for academic researchers in the field of healthcare.

Cosmos has data from over 176 million patient records from over 6.3 billion encounters. It is built on a data platform optimized to answer clinical questions over time in minutes. Clinicians and other scholarly explorers can ask questions on-demand without needing to put a request in for data.

Cosmos will provide AUB researchers, faculty, and students with access to the most up-to-date clinical data and provide physicians with info at their point-of-care. It also reduces the time it takes researchers to access millions of medical data records from months down to minutes.

This is a huge leap, giving physicians and researchers tremendous insights and helping them prescribe better treatment plans tailor-made to the specific cases they are working on.

Dr. Yousif Asfour, chief innovation and transformation officer commented: “This adds another achievement to our institution’s roster and helps keep us at the forefront of innovation. It is the fruit of our AUB’s hard work, credibility, and resilience. I am really excited to see what we are able to do with this data and the findings it will generate. The future of healthcare is right at our fingertips.”

“Being the first medical center outside the United States to be part of the Cosmos network has opened several opportunities for our clinicians and researchers,” said Dr. Raymond Sawaya, Raja N. Khuri Dean of the Faculty of Medicine and vice president for medical affairs at AUB. “I am excited about all the possibilities this brings to our community and very proud of our center and our IT team for having succeeded in gaining access to this gold mine of data and information.”

The Cosmos network comprises 176 million patients, 8.8 million cancer patients, 6.3 billion encounters, 22.5 thousand clinics, 1118 hospitals, 215 thousand beds, and 266 thousand physicians.

Source: National News Agency

Riyadh– Human Rights Commission (HRC) President and President of the National Committee to Combat Human Trafficking, Dr. Hala Al-Tuwaijri, underlined that the Kingdom, under the leadership of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Crown Prince and Prime Minister, has paid special attention to combating human trafficking and has also improved its legislative and institutional systems.

Al-Tuwaijri’s remarks came during a meeting today at the commission’s headquarters in Riyadh with ambassadors and representatives of countries who export laborers to the Kingdom, discussing several topics related to combating human trafficking and bilateral cooperation.

Al-Tuwaijri said, “The Kingdom has enhanced its efforts in the fight against human trafficking and has strengthened punitive measures against such crimes in addition to establishing specialized prosecution offices to investigate and follow up on such offenses.”

She underlined that the Kingdom, under the directives of its leadership, places human dignity at the heart of its approach to handling human trafficking issues.

The meeting was attended by ambassadors and representatives of Ethiopia, Indonesia, Pakistan, Vietnam, Sri Lanka, Burundi, Nepal, Bangladesh, Ghana, Kenya, the Philippines, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime Regional Representative for Gulf Cooperation Council, Dr. Hatem Aly, and Chief of Mission of the International Organization of Migration in Bahrain, Mohamed Zarkani.

Source: Saudi Press Agency

Riyadh– During the second edition of the LEAP23 conference held in Riyadh from February 6 to 9, 2023, under the title “Into New Worlds”, the unicorn companies program announced that 35 rapidly growing technology companies joined the first batch of the national program.

The accession of rapidly growing technology companies to the first batch of the unicorn companies program comes in light of the agreement signed during the Misk Global Forum 2022, between the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, Mohammed bin Salman, Foundation “Misk” and the National Technology Development Program (NTDP).

Source: Saudi Press Agency

Baghdad Parliament Speaker Muhammad al-Halbousi discussed with the Patriarch of the Syriac Catholics of Antioch, His Beatitude Mar Ignatius Youssef III Younan, the conditions of the Christian component, support for stability in the regions of the Nineveh Plain, and the preservation of their property, rights and entitlements that are guaranteed by the constitution, like all the people.

Al-Halbousi confirmed, according to a statement by his office, that the House of Representatives supports all efforts that contribute to preserving the right of the Christian component, and ways to sponsor the various Iraqi components.

For his part, His Beatitude Patriarch Mor Ignatius Youssef III expressed his thanks to Al-Halbousi for his support for everything that contributes to spreading love, brotherhood, social peace, and preserving the rights and existence of the Christian component.

Source: National Iraqi News Agency

Baghdad The exchange rate of the dollar continued to rise in the local markets, despite the decision to reduce the official exchange rate.

The sale of $100 recorded 148,000 dinars, and the purchase record amounted to 147,000 dinars.

The Council of Ministers approved yesterday, Tuesday, a decision to amend the exchange rate of the dollar, equivalent to 1,300 dinars.

Source: National Iraqi News Agency

Al-Amarah Member of the Parliamentary Legal Committee, Independent MP Raed Al-Maliki, revealed that the Governor of the Central Bank, Ali Al-Alaq, responded to a parliamentary question he submitted, regarding the legal basis for continuing to deposit the proceeds of the sale of Iraqi oil with the Federal Reserve Bank, and the justifications for that, and the reasons for increasing investment in treasury bonds.

Al-Maliki said: “Al-Alaq answered that the legal basis for depositing oil revenues in an account with the US Federal Reserve Bank is a memorandum of understanding between the Iraqi Ministry of Finance and the Central Bank of Iraq, according to which an alternative Iraq 2 account was established for the account of the Development Fund for Iraq.”

He added: “Al-Alaq justified the filing by the expiration of the extension of the order to grant immunity to Iraqi funds issued by the US President, as well as the end of the United Nations’ protection of Iraq’s funds, which was imposed by Security Council Resolution No. 1483 of 2003.”

He continued, “? Oil revenue money is transferred to the central bank’s account with the Federal Reserve within 24 hours to ensure that it is not exposed to creditors’ claims. This account enjoys immunity for all the money deposited in it based on «The United Nations Convention on Judicial Immunities of States and Their Property, and the United States Code of Laws issued in 1976».

Al-Alaq indicated in his response that closing the Iraq account with the Federal Reserve Bank could expose Iraq to the risk of international claims, in addition to the inability to settle payments in US dollars without having this account or an account with another US bank.

He explained: “The governor explained that the Central Bank of Iraq is working to diversify investment in foreign reserves, and is not limited to buying US Treasury bonds and the reason for increasing investment and buying US Treasury bonds is the result of the high balances of the Ministry of Finance and the Central Bank with the Federal Reserve,” stressing: “The answer of the Governor of the Central Bank will be subject to scrutiny to ensure the accuracy of what is contained in it.”

Source: National Iraqi News Agency

Beirut, 30 December 2022–According to the latest version of the “Survey of Economic and Social Developments in the Arab Region”, released today by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA), the region’s economy is expected to grow by 4.5% in 2023 and 3.4% in 2024, despite the disruption of the global economy’s recovery from the repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic by the war in Ukraine.

According to the Survey, inflation rates increased to 14% in 2022, but will likely drop to 8 and 4.5% in the next two years, respectively. Poverty, measured against national poverty lines, also increased to affect 130 million people in Arab countries, i.e., more than one third of the region’s population excluding Gulf Cooperation Council countries and Libya. The Survey expects a further rise in poverty levels in the next two years, reaching 36% of the population in 2024.

Moreover, the Arab region registered the world’s highest unemployment rate in 2022, at 12%. There may be a very slight decrease in 2023 to 11.7%, owing to post-COVID-19 economic recovery efforts.

According to Ahmed Moummi, Lead Author of the Survey, despite the region’s positive growth outlook, there are significant discrepancies among countries, which were exacerbated by the war in Ukraine. Indeed, the repercussions of that war are not the same for all Arab countries: Gulf Cooperation Council countries and other oil-exporting ones will continue to benefit from higher energy prices, while oil-importing countries will suffer from several socioeconomic challenges, including rising energy costs, food supply shortages, and drops in both tourism and international aid inflows.

“The current situation presents an opportunity for oil-exporting Arab countries to diversify their economies away from the energy sector by accumulating reserves and investing in projects that generate inclusive growth and sustainable development,” underlined Moummi.

Through its annual Survey, ESCWA provides an analysis of the latest social and economic trends in the region, to support member States’ efforts in developing and implementing evidence-based policies, and improving economic planning processes to achieve sustainable and inclusive development.

Source: UN Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia