Category: General

New York– The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia participated today in the ministerial session of the Seventh United Nations Multi-Stakeholder Forum on Science, Technology and Innovation for Sustainable Development Goals (STI Forum) being held in New York, which aims to innovate technical solutions to address the effects of the coronavirus pandemic and promote sustainable development.

The Kingdom was represented in the forum by the President of King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST), who supervised the founding team of the Research, Development and Innovation Authority, Dr. Munir bin Mahmoud El-Desouki.

Dr. El-Desouki stressed that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has taken great steps to harness science, technology and innovation and achieve sustainable development goals and sustainable recovery from the Coronavirus epidemic through its contribution of half a billion dollars to support efforts to combat the epidemic globally, as well as its development and dissemination of effective digital tools and platforms that ensure the continuation of business and government operations during and after the pandemic.

KACST President indicated that the Kingdom has established a higher committee and an authority specialized in the development of research, development and innovation to accelerate the Kingdom’s transformation towards an economy based on innovation and to enhance the role of the private sector in solving development challenges.

He explained that the Kingdom has launched many important initiatives to support research, development and innovation in the areas of the digital economy, circular carbon, and health. It also launched “The Line” city project in NEOM as a modern model for future cities that relies on modern technologies, with zero carbon emissions by 100%. The city will include interconnected cognitive communities enhanced by artificial intelligence, stretching over 170 km, within an environment without noise or pollution, and free of vehicles and congestion.

Dr. El-Desouki referred to the Kingdom’s launch of the Green Saudi Initiative and the Green Middle East Initiative, which will chart the direction of the Kingdom and the region in protecting the land and nature and put it in a road map with clear and ambitious landmarks and will contribute strongly to achieving global goals by planting more than 50 billion trees to displace 130 million tons of carbon emissions.

Source: Saudi Press Agency

Riyadh– The National Center of Meteorology (NCM) has issued its daily forecast report for the weather in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

The report said that duty surface winds will continue in some parts of Hail, Northern Borders, Al-Jouf, Riyadh, and Eastern regions, extending to parts of Makkah and Medina regions. The report added that the chance of thunderstorms is high in the heights of Jazzan, Assir, and Al-Baha.

The report showed that the surface wind movement in the Red Sea will be northerly to northwesterly at a speed of 15-45 km/h, while the surface wind movement in the Arabian Gulf will be northeasterly to easterly at a speed of 15-40 km/h.

Source: Saudi Press Agency

Madinah– The architecture of the Prophet’s Mosque, which spanned for more than 1,400 years, is a witness to the beauty and accuracy of Islamic architecture with its engineering designs and exquisite urban decorations, in addition to the historic heritage and precious possessions that the Prophet’s Mosque contains, amid the great services being provided by the Kingdom’s leadership.

Therefore, the Agency for the Affairs of the Prophet’s Mosque worked for taking care of the exhibition of the architecture of the Prophet’s Mosque from the first building block until its opening by Prince Faisal bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Governor of Madinah region to be an important tributary to the exhibitions and museums in the Agency as well as to enrich the visitor’s experience and contribute to highlighting the care, attention and presentation exhibition enjoys of the best services for its visitors.

The exhibition is located south of the Prophet’s Mosque on an area of 2200 square meters, and reviews the history of the architecture of the Prophet’s Mosque since its first construction by the Prophet (peace be upon him) – and his companions – may Allah Almighty be pleased with them – through the first expansion that was in the 7th year of Hijrah, and the subsequent historical expansions in the era of the Rightly Guided Caliphs – may Allah Almighty be pleased with them – and then the successive states after them until the historic expansions of the first, second and third Saudi states.

The exhibition focuses largely on the Saudi expansion from the era of late King Abdulaziz and his righteous sons after him, late Saud, Faisal, Khalid, Fahd and Abdullah until the prosperous and auspicious era of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and what the Prophet’s Mosque witnesses right now of great care with great integrated services being provided to visitors and worshipers..

The exhibition includes a number of modern technologies and interactive screens with visitors, which talk about architecture and information related to the Prophet’s Mosque, in addition to TV films and a cinema hall.

It also contains a special hall for valuables, which includes a number of the rarest and most valuable possessions of the Two Holy Mosques and ancient artifacts preserved through the ages.

The exhibition aims to enrich the experience of its visitors by talking about the features of the Prophet’s Mosque, such as the pulpit, mihrab, domes and canopies, doors, Adhan, muezzins, minarets, beacons, squares and a number of other services being offered to visitors to the Prophet’s Mosque.

In addition to the interest in the architecture of the Prophet’s Mosque, the exhibition doesn’t neglect the aspects of glorification of the Two Holy Mosques, as it directed its visitors to the importance of venerating the Two Holy Mosques, preserving their sanctity, glorifying their position and investing their presence in the holy sites, by reciting a lot of remembrance, prayer and reading the Holy Qur’an, while the visitors of the exhibition will watch before leaving a (movie) honoring the Two Holy Mosques in the cinema hall.

The exhibition also presents its content in several languages through wall panels and interactive screens, and is keen to serve all visitors in various languages.

It is worth mentioning that all exhibition outputs are in Arabic and English languages, while its content has been translated into 12 languages, with audio translation through the latest technologies that enable the visitor to listen to all content through the devices designated for this.

Source: Saudi Press Agency

New York– The Sultanate of Oman has officially assumed the presidency of the Asia-Pacific Group at the United Nations in a ceremony organized in New York.

The Sultanate of Oman’s permanent representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Dr. Muhammad bin Awadh Al-Hassan, expressed his country’s welcome and readiness to lead the Asia-Pacific group of countries at the United Nations, which includes 55 member states, stressing the Sultanate’s endeavor to preserve and defend the interests of Asian and Pacific countries in the organization and international forums.

Source: Saudi Press Agency

Tashkent– Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al-Faisal, the Saudi Minister of Sport, President of the Saudi Olympic and Paralympic Committee (SOPC), and Vice President of the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA), today concluded his official visit to Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan to attend the 77th meeting of OCA Executive Board, which was chaired by India’s Raja Randhir Singh and attended by Prince Fahd bin Jalawi, Vice President of SOPC, member of Executive Board and President of the Education Committee at OCA.

The meeting adopted a decision to postpone Hangzhou 2022 Asian Games, which was scheduled to be held in China in next September to next year due to the developments related to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, which might impede the participation of several athletes.

The meeting also agreed to cancel this year’s version of the Asian Youth Games 2021, which were scheduled to be organized in Shantou, China.

On the sidelines of his visit to Tashkent, the Saudi Minister of Sport signed a memorandum of understanding between SOPC and its Uzbek Olympic and Paralympic counterparts in a bid to enhance cooperation and coordination between the two sides in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Uzbekistan.

He also joined the official celebrations of the Uzbek Olympic community that was held by the Uzbek Olympic Committee in the honor of OCA guests on the occasion of the its 30th anniversary of establishment in the presence of several official and sport Uzbek figures.

Source: Saudi Press Agency

Jeddah– Activities of Jeddah Season 2022 witnessed a remarkable presence and interaction from visitors of different nationalities, to enjoy the various offers and events being offered by the season, which suit different ages and meet all desires.

Jeddah Art’s restaurants and cafes, in addition to the daily international circus shows, were very popular with residents and tourists, who found the opportunity to spend the most beautiful times with their children and families, documenting the moments of happiness that the various events drew on their faces, and enjoy the events and live shows they offer.

Nevin Hassan, from Egypt, expressed her great happiness with the activities she saw in Jeddah Art and the diversity of the shows presented, which added an atmosphere of joy and happiness to everyone.

She confirmed that the season’s activities are suitable for all family members, highlighting her personal admiration for the fireworks displays that are launched on a daily basis in the evening and throughout the season, explaining that they attracted children and fascinated them with their beauty and wonderful colors.

Rima Khalid said, the shows being presented by Jeddah Season formed a beautiful painting of joy for youngsters, whose fireworks were a point of attraction and suspense for them that they were keen to watch, in addition to other games and shows.

For his part, Rayan praised the presence of a large number of restaurants in the event zones, and their diversity to suit all tastes, and reduce crowding, pointing to the beauty of the interactive displays along Jeddah Art zone, which attracted many visitors from inside and outside the Kingdom.

Source: Saudi Press Agency

Jeddah– The shows of the interactive show teams at the Jeddah Art Promenade zone have formed a carnival of joy and excitement for visitors of the Jeddah Season, making children and parents happy.

The passages and yards of the Jeddah Art Promenade zone changed into a big theater of exciting shows for show teams, which everyday offer joyful art events, amazing experiences and new ideas for visitors of the Jeddah Season, such as: water and fire shows, aerial shows, illuminated wheel, and the flying helium ball that carries an artist performing shows in the air.

Source: Saudi Press Agency

New York– The United Nations Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Tor Wennesland called on the Israeli occupation to stop the demolitions and evictions in the occupied Palestinian territory.

For her part, the United Nations Resident Coordinator for the Occupied Palestinian Territory Lynne Hastings warned – in a separate press release – that the Israeli occupation’s refusal of petitions against such eviction orders resulting in displacement could amount to forcible transfer, in contravention of UN Security Council resolutions and international law.

She said that since all local legal solutions had been exhausted, the community was now unprotected and at risk of imminent displacement.

She also renewed the call of the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, which he addressed to the ruthless Israeli occupation to stop the demolitions and evictions in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, in line with its obligations under international law.

Source: Saudi Press Agency

Riyadh– The Saudi team for science and engineering left Riyadh today to the United States of America (USA) to compete for awards in the Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF 2022), which will be held in Atlanta, Georgia between May 7 and 23, 2022.

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia will be represented in the fair by King Abdullah and His Companions Foundation for Giftedness and Creativity (Mawhiba) and the Ministry of Education, where the Saudi team comprises 35 students from 11 educational administrations that are participating with qualitative projects in promising fields, such as: artificial intelligence, renewable energy, pharmaceuticals, and environment, where they were chosen from 49 winners of the grand prizes at the National Olympiad for Scientific Creativity “Ibdaa 2022”, which is considered one of 19 various programs that Mawhiba offers annually for talented students who are discovered every year in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Source: Saudi Press Agency

Riyadh– Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources Bandar bin Ibrahim Al-Khorayef stressed that the ministry seeks to attract investments worth USD32 billion in the mining and mineral sector through nine new projects aiming to support the export of mineral products to local and international markets, where the ministry is currently studying 145 applications to receive exploration licenses by foreign companies.

He noted that the projects that are currently being implemented, as part of the targeted investments, include a factory for steel plates with an investment exceeding USD4 billion, which aims to provide factories for building ships at King Salman Global Maritime Industries Complex in Ras Al-Khair; and a factory for inputs of electric vehicle batteries with a value of USD2 billion; in addition to other projects to produce minerals, such as aluminum and steel plates, and a refinery for copper and zinc, which is expected to witness an increasing demand locally thanks to manufacturing trends in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Al-Khorayef pointed out that these investments are part of the Kingdom Vision 2030 in cooperation with the Ministry of Investment and the Ministry of Energy that seeks to make the mining sector the third pillar for the national industry as per the targets of the National Industrial Development and Logistics Program (NIDLP), noting that these schemes will provide more than 14,500 job opportunities.

Source: Saudi Press Agency

Al-Muhrah– Generously supported by King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre (KSrelief), Kidney dialysis center in Al-Ghidhah District in Al-Muhrah Governorate, Yemen, continued offering medical services to beneficiaries.

The Kidney dialysis center in last March received 110 patients, including 45 who received 402 sessions of kidney dialysis, 398 of which were scheduled sessions and four emergency sessions, while 65 patients received inspection and medical tests services in the kidney diseases clinic, where 73% of the beneficiaries were males and 27% females. Of the total beneficiaries, 89% were residents, 9% were displaced people and 2% were refugees.

This is part of humanitarian projects offered by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, represented by the KSrelief, to increase the capacity of the medical sector and alleviate the suffering of the brotherly Yemeni people.

Source: Saudi Press Agency

Riyadh– Secretary-General of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) for Arab States Dr. Naif Falah Mubarak Al-Hajraf condemned in the strongest terms the Israeli occupation authority’s permission for extremists to storm Al-Aqsa Mosque under the protection of the occupation forces, which is a flagrant violation of the rules of international law and the Geneva Conventions in this regard.

He also stressed the need for Israel to respect the historic and legal status quo in the occupied Al-Quds (Jerusalem) and its sanctities and to stop all illegal measures, calling on the international community to assume its responsibilities to preserve the safety of Al-Aqsa Mosque and worshipers, and the need for Israel to abide by its obligations as an occupying power in accordance with international humanitarian law.

Source: Saudi Press Agency