Category: General

Manama, The Supreme Council for Environment (SCE) has affirmed that immediate measures have been taken in cooperation with the Civil Defence and Bapco Energies to determine the cause of an odour detected in several regions in the kingdom.

The SCE assured the public that initial results have shown that the odour spreading in the atmosphere must not raise concern as it is the result of normal operational emissions within the normal limits.

The SCE asserted that the competent authorities are taking all necessary measures, and that specialised teams are carrying out the routine environmental measurements in accordance with public safety protocols, calling for obtaining information from their official sources.

Source: Bahrain News Agency

A Diwaniyah Governorate police force arrested an accused of raping his sisters by force and coercion.

A source in the governorate police media said, ‘The accused confessed to raping his sisters, and he is a drug addict and has a criminal record. He had previously been sentenced and his statements were judicially certified in preparation for his referral to the competent courts.

Source: National Iraqi News Agency

Riyadh, Saudi Venture Capital Company (SVC) released today its “Impact Report,” which revealed its contribution to achieving record growth rates. The report highlighted SVC’s impact on the private capital ecosystem (Venture Capital (VC), Private Equity (PE), Venture Debt, and Private Debt) in the Kingdom since the company’s establishment in 2018.

It revealed that SVC’s total committed investments since its inception have amounted to $0.7 billion, while the total investments, including partners, are estimated at $3.6 billion.

SVC invested in 40 funds that have subsequently invested in 700+ startups and SMEs so far, including several vital sectors such as e-commerce, fintech, healthcare, education technologies, transport, and logistics.

The report revealed that SVC’s strategy contributed to the Kingdom’s achievement of first rank across MENA for the first time in terms of the amount of VC funding in 2023. This achievement reflects the development Saudi Arabia is witnessing in various economic and financial s
ectors in light of the Saudi Vision 2030 and its goals to strengthen the national economy.

The report also revealed that VC funding deployed into Saudi Arabian startups grew 21 times to a record high of $1.4 billion in 2023, compared to $65 million in 2018.

Furthermore, the impact report showed that SVC’s strategy contributed over the past five years to increasing the number of investors in Saudi startups and SMEs, encouraging existing and new financial companies to establish VC and PE funds, and motivating regional and global funds to invest in Saudi startups and SMEs.

SVC CEO and Board Member Dr. Nabeel Koshak commented on the report, saying: “We, at SVC, have no doubt that this is only the beginning and are committed to further stimulate the private capital ecosystem in Saudi Arabia by launching required investment programs and products that are based on the analysis of ecosystem’s needs and following regional and global working models. This will stimulate private investors to provide support in turn fo
r startups and SMEs to be capable of fast and high growth, which leads to diversifying the national economy and achieving the goals of the Saudi Vision 2030”.

Source: Saudi Press Agency

Madinah, The General Authority for the Care of the Affairs of the Grand Mosque and the Prophet’s Mosque said that the Prophet’s Mosque received 5,548,288 worshipers last week, amid integrated and high-quality services, allowing crowds to perform their prayers smoothly and efficiently.

The authority-issued statistics showed that 677,687 visited the Prophet Mohammed’s tomb, and 259,944 visitors performed prayers at Al-Rawdah Al-Sharifa, as per organizational procedures that control the movement of the crowds and schedule times for optional prayers for men and women.

It also reported that 9,172 older people and people with disabilities benefited from the services granted to them last week. Visitors who benefited from the guidance services reached 8,196, translation services 106,477, while 1,787 sought information at the Prophet’s Mosque’s library.

There were 213,187 gifts presented to visitors, and 45,146 benefited from transportation services.

Some 180,880 bottles of Zamzam water and 52,808 Iftar meals were
distributed in corridors of the mosque designated for people who had been fasting.

Source: Saudi Press Agency

Ramallah – Together – Representatives of Palestinian websites met and agreed to form a founding body for the Palestinian Publishers Association, under the auspices of the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate.

The meeting was attended by representatives of eleven websites, news agencies, and independent newspapers from the West Bank, including occupied Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip, in the presence of the head of the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate, Nasser Abu Bakr, and they agreed to establish a founding body for the association.

From the West Bank, the founding body included: Sada News, Ma’an Agency, Palestine News Network, Doz website, Watan News, in addition to Al-Quds newspaper.

The founding body from the Gaza Strip also included: Sawa News, Al-Bawaba 24, Dunya Al-Watan, and Quds Net, in addition to Sports Online.

The participants in the meeting agreed to commit to completing licensing procedures, opening membership, in accordance with the system and law, to all websites, newspapers and independent new
s agencies, and establishing the general structure of the association as soon as possible, including including all publishers under the body of the association, in accordance with the established bylaws, and holding elections. The administrative body will be appointed before the end of this year, according to the prepared system, provided that the association’s headquarters will be in the city of Ramallah.

During the meeting, the positions of the association’s founding body were distributed as follows:

Mr. Raed Othman, Chairman.

Ms. Omnia Abu Al-Khair, Vice President.

Mr. Sami Issa, Secretary.

Mrs. Jalaa Abu Arab, Treasurer.

Mr. Musab Jaber, and Mr. Munjid Jado, for the Foreign and Internal Relations Committees.

And the membership of the rest of the founding body members.

Source: Maan News Agency

A security source reported that a citizen working in a barber shop in the Minawi Basha area was killed due to a tribal dispute.

He said that the victim, born in 1994, from the people of Al-Zubair, was hit by gunfire from unknown assailants while he was at his shop (barber shop) in central Basra. An anti-crime force was formed with detachments from the tactical unit to pursue the accused for the purpose of arresting them.

Source: National Iraqi News Agency

Manama, His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince and Prime Minister, today sent a cable of congratulations to the President of the Syrian Arab Republic, His Excellency Dr. Bashar Al Assad, on the occasion of Syria’s Evacuation Day.

HRH the Crown Prince and Prime Minister sent a similar cable to the Prime Minister of Syria, His Excellency Hussein Arnous.

Source: Bahrain News Agency

Ramallah – Ma’an – This Thursday morning, unknown persons managed to rob a bank in Beit Ur al-Tahta, west of Ramallah, steal a sum of money and escape.

Police spokesman Colonel Louay Irziqat said that the police and security services immediately began search, investigation and prosecution procedures for the perpetrators.

Source: Maan News Agency

The Minister of Water Resources, Aoun Dhiab Abdullah, announced today, Thursday: ‘Iraq will lose more than 10 billion cubic meters of its water resources by the year 2035 as a result of the increased demand for water,’ stressing: ‘The federal government is working to reduce this.’

He said during his hosting of a seminar on the sidelines of the eighth Sulaymaniyah Forum: ‘There are climatic changes that are putting pressure on the water resource, and there is an increase in demand, while the availability is limited, in addition to the possibility of a decrease in the amount of water in the future as a result of these changes due to the increase in population and demand.’

He added: ‘We conducted a study under the name (the strategic study of lands and waters in Iraq) in the year 2015, and we updated it by contracting with an Italian company,’ indicating: ‘That study led to a somewhat painful fact that there is a shortage by the year 2035 of more than 10 billion cubic meters in water resources.

He explained:
“There is a large gap between supply and demand for water resources, and we are working to reduce this gap, not only by the Ministry of Water Resources, but also by the Iraqi government in general.”

Regarding the water problem with neighboring countries, the minister said: ‘No solutions have been found in order to activate the agreement to divide water between Iraq, Syria and Turkey, and we are working in this direction and we discussed this issue in several meetings.

Source: National Iraqi News Agency

Jeddah, The Jeddah Historic District Program released the results of the archaeological excavations in Historic Jeddah as part of the first phase of the Archaeology Project. In a recent archaeological discovery, remains of a centuries-old defensive moat and fortification wall, which once encircled the city, were found in the northern part of Historic Jeddah near Allegiance Square and east of Al-Kidwah Square.

According to historical sources, Jeddah was a fortified city as early as the late 10th – early 11th century AD. However, laboratory analysis indicates that the mentioned discoveries belong to a later phase of the fortification system, as they were likely constructed around the 18th-19th century AD.

By the middle of the 19th century AD, the moat had fallen out of use and was soon filled with sand. However, the fortification wall survived until 1947. Some parts of the moat’s retaining wall have remained intact up to three meters in height.

Archaeological excavations also unearthed 19th-century AD Europe
an imported ceramics, demonstrating Jeddah’s far-reaching trade connections. Moreover, a fragment of 9th-century AD pottery was discovered at Al-Qidwah Square.

Source: Saudi Press Agency

Riyadh, Minister of Foreign Affairs Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah received Foreign Minister of Montenegro Dr. Filip Ivanovic at the ministry’s headquarters in Riyadh today.

The meeting focused on strengthening cooperation between the two countries in various areas. Additionally, they discussed the latest regional and international developments and relevant diplomatic efforts.

The Director of the Southeast Europe Department, Yasser AlGhanim, attended the meeting.

Source: Saudi Press Agency

Ramallah – Ma’an – Minister of Women’s Affairs, Mona Al-Khalili, stressed the Ministry’s keenness to embody an effective partnership with civil society institutions, in a way that serves Palestinian women’s issues and advances their role.

This came at the opening of the dialogue meeting organized by the Ministry with a wide range of civil society institutions, especially women’s institutions, which was held at the Ministry’s headquarters this morning.

Minister Al-Khalili pointed out that the genocidal war our people are facing in the Gaza Strip and a dangerous escalation in the West Bank deepens the suffering of Palestinian women who are exposed to complex and serious violations. Al-Khalili stressed that this reality requires more cooperation, coordination and partnership from all of us, especially in the field of agreement on national priorities related to the status of Palestinian women at all levels.

The ministry stressed that talking about the reality of Palestinian women cannot take place in isolation
from the difficult circumstances that Palestinian women suffer in light of the ongoing Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip, and the violations to which women in the Gaza Strip and in the West Bank and Jerusalem are exposed, especially the grave violations against Palestinian female prisoners. She stressed that confronting this reality requires more coordination and cooperation with civil society institutions to provide protection for women, expose the practices of the occupation, and hold it accountable through available international mechanisms.

Minister Al-Khalili stressed that the nineteenth Palestinian government possesses the political will to deal with women’s issues and rights as national priorities. She indicated that the Ministry, in partnership with civil society institutions, will present its work priorities to the government in a way that contributes to bridging the gaps and achieving the desired progress that Palestinian women aspire to, whether in the field of the legislative environment, poli
tical and economic participation, or the fields of health, employment, education, social protection, and others.

In turn, the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Women’s Affairs, Daoud Al-Deek, confirmed that the Ministry is open to partnerships with civil society institutions, and is open to the participation of women themselves in issues related to their rights and future.

The agent stressed that the official Palestinian and civil discourse with international institutions must be more consistent and clear in their bearing of their responsibilities towards the rights of Palestinian women and against the violations of the occupying state, especially in the midst of the war of genocide against our people in the Gaza Strip, and condemning the grave violations against Palestinian women in a clearer language. And away from equivocation and double standards.

In their interventions, feminist organizations pointed out the importance of focusing on the priorities, needs and suffering of women in the Gaza Strip, and
activating the National Observatory to monitor and document all of these violations on the way to holding the occupation accountable for its crimes. They stressed the importance of institutionalizing partnership and activating the various national committees to ensure tangible progress in the status of Palestinian women in various legislative, political, economic and social fields. This requires coordination and sustainable strategic partnership in discussing and setting priorities for action.

The feminist organizations also stressed their keenness to develop the relationship and partnership with the Ministry of Women’s Affairs, and the necessity of formulating a unified Palestinian feminist position and discourse regarding the occupation’s violations against women, whether in the Gaza Strip or in the West Bank.

At the end of the meeting, Minister Al-Khalili stressed the continuation of meetings to discuss the most important files and issues, and agree on a joint road map.

She indicated the Ministry’s read
iness to develop partnerships with civil society institutions in everything related to women’s issues, international reports, and national committees.

Source: Maan News Agency