Category: Sports

Cairo,The Arab League has issued a statement calling on the international community to act against the illegal Israeli policies and measures in occupied Jerusalem.

This came in a statement issued during an emergency meeting of the Arab Ministerial Committee in charge, which was held last Thursday in Amman, sending a message of protest to the international community and an awakening of the human conscience.

The Assistant Secretary-General and Head of the Media and Communications Sector of the League of Arab States, Ambassador Ahmed Rashid Khattabi, said yesterday that the Israeli escalation in occupied Jerusalem threatens to plunge the region into a cycle of violence, calling on the Security Council to assume its responsibilities in face of the reckless Israeli actions against the freedom to practice religious rites, which is guaranteed by international conventions as a fundamental human right.

Source: Saudi Press Agency

Jeddah, Located along the Red Sea coast, around 100 km north of Jeddah, King Abdullah Port has been classified as the second-fastest-growing port in the world, according to Alphaliner’s classification, a global leader in analyzing maritime transport data, port capabilities and the future of ship development and shipping lines, increasing its production capacity significantly to occupy the second place after the Mexican Port of Lázaro Cárdenas, as it handled 2.81 million TEUs in 2022, with a growth rate of 30.6%, compared to 2.15 million TEUs in 2020, it was reported here today.

The port also advanced ten places to the 73rd rank in Alphaliner’s list of the 100 largest container ports in the world in 2021, compared to 87th the previous year.

Alphaliner’s classification comes after King Abdullah Port recently won the Best Container Terminal, Bulk Cargo, and General Cargo terminal award at the 2021 International Finance Transportation Awards, and the “Outstanding Performance” award in December 2021 during the 18th Seatrade Maritime Awards Middle East, Indian Subcontinent & Africa 2021. This recognition reflects the Port’s outstanding performance in 2021, which saw a 31% increase in container handling and a 15% increase in the handling of bulk and general cargo.

Source: Saudi Press Agency

Riyadh– The Saudi Physics Team won 3 medals, one silver and two bronze, in the Nordic-Baltic Physics Olympiad, which was hosted by Estonia from 22 to 24 April, 2022.

This achievement comes the efforts and relationship between King Abdulaziz and his Companions Foundation for Giftedness and Creativity “Mawhiba”, and the Ministry of Education as well as their strategic partners.

Source: Saudi Press Agency

Riyadh, HRH Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al-Faisal, President of the Saudi Olympic and Paralympic Committee, and President of the Global Association of International Sports Federations (GAISF) Ivo Ferriani has co-signed an agreement under which Riyadh will host the 2023 World Combat Games (WCG), it was reported today.

The signing ceremony, which took place yesterday, was attended by Prince Fahd bin Jalawi bin Abdulaziz bin Musaed, Vice President of the Saudi Olympic and Paralympic Games Committee, and GAISF Vice President Stephan Fox, at the Prince Faisal bin Fahd Olympic Complex in Riyadh.

Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al-Faisal expressed sincere appreciation of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and HRH the Crown Prince for the unlimited support they lend for the sports sector, resulting in the Kingdom’s hosting of various events at the regional and global levels, demonstrating the Kingdom’s organizational and professional potentials in attracting sporting events and the diversity of games.

He pointed out that this event is an extension of the global hosting that made the Kingdom a global hub for major sporting events, in reflection of the objectives of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030, and thus promote a vibrant society with a diversified and prosperous economy, adding that the Kingdom is also well equipped with an advanced infrastructure ready to organize this event, which includes 15 martial arts games.

For his part, Ferriani said that the event is part of a memorandum of understanding between the two sides, adding that the Kingdom will not only organize a sporting event but will also organize a cultural event, as the history of combat martial arts games extends for thousands of years.

“The Kingdom is an ideal option for hosting the event, especially after the global pandemic. There will be workshops presented by martial arts masters, educational conferences, and the first global martial arts gala to honor the legends of the 15 martial arts games during the event,” said Ferriani.

Source: Saudi Press Agency

Riyadh– The Chairman of the Board of Directors of the General Entertainment Authority, Turki Al Al-Sheikh, honored the winners of the international competition of the Holy Quran and call to prayer Otr Elkalam (Scent of Speech) and presented them with the valuable prizes allocated to the most beautiful voices in the Holy Quran recitation and the call to prayer. The total value of the prizes is SAR12 million ($3.2 million).

This came in the final episode of Otr Elkalam TV show, in which Turki Al-Sheikh thanked the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz and His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Crown Prince, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Defense, for their unlimited support of everything that is beneficial to the Kingdom, including the entertainment sector.

In the last episode of Otr Elkalam, which was distinguished by the ethnic diversity of the contestants, the Moroccan contestant Younes Mustafa Gharbi won the first place in the Holy Quran recitation category, with a financial prize of SAR5 million ($1,333,300), while the British contestant Mohammed Ayoub Asif received SAR2 million ($530,500) for winning second place. The Bahraini contestant Mohammad Mujahid won SAR1 million ($266,600) for achieving third place. The Iranian contestant Seyed Jassem Mousavi won fourth place and received SAR500,000 ($133,300).

In the call to prayer category, the two Turkish contestants, Muhsin Kara and Albijan Celik came first and second. Kara won first place and received SAR2 million ($533,200), while Celik won second place and received SAR1 million ($266,600). The third place went to the Saudi contestant Abdul Rahman bin Adel, who received SAR500,000 ($133,300), while the other Saudi contestant, Anas Al-Rahili, won the fourth place and received SAR250,000 (66,650).

During the award ceremony, Al-Sheikh announced the continuation of the competition next year, with different numbers of contestants from different countries around the world, from which the current competition was attended by talented participants in reciting the Holy Quran and delivering the call to prayer.

The Holy Quran recitation and call to prayer competition, distinguished by its challenging criteria, is one of the international initiatives of the General Entertainment Authority. It allows the participation of Muslims from different countries of the world through simple steps, facilitating participation for those wishing to join the competition qualifiers from anywhere.

The competition qualifiers began in 2019. More than 40,000 contestants from 80 countries around the world participated before reaching the final qualifiers, in which 36 contestants competed in the Holy Quran recitation and call to prayer categories through Otr Elkalam TV show.

This is one of the most important competitions launched by the General Entertainment Authority during Ramadan, with its content that suits the spirituality of the month, as well as its standards and provisions that enhance competitiveness, through stages and classifications through which qualifying procedures are carried out to ensure that the best-qualified talents reach the final stages.

The competition jury consisted of 13 members specialized in judging Quranic competitions. It also includes experts in international Quranic competitions, in addition to imams and muezzins from the Two Holy Mosques and senior world Holy Quran reciters, who enrich viewers with knowledge by evaluating the contestants and offering observations and notes about their performance to benefit viewers and educate them about the sciences of the Holy Quran and ways of reciting it.

The competition began broadcast on TV on the first day of Ramadan at 5 pm on the Saudia channel and Shahid platform. It is one of the most prominent Ramadan religious TV shows, which attracted the most attention and was one of the most viewed shows.

The exciting competition received the support of reciters and muezzins from all over the world, as it is one of the most challenging and largest competitions in the world, especially because it hosts a group of the most famous judges of international Quranic competitions.

Source: Saudi Press Agency

Riyadh– The King Abdulaziz and His Companions Foundation for Giftedness and Creativity (Mawhiba) has won the golden medal of the Middle East and North Africa Stevie Awards in the category of responding to COVID-19, which is the category allocated for honoring institutions and companies that dealt positively and effectively with the pandemic and offered their services to the society.

Mawhiba Secretary General Dr. Saud bin Said Al-Mathami extended congratulations to Custodian of the Two Holy Mosque King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, for their generous support Mawhiba receives, which allowed it to be an institution with the most comprehensive approach in exploring, caring, educating and empowering talented people around the world, which resulted in receiving this award that embodies the status of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia as an important figure on the knowledge world map and in the field of talent and creativity and to act as a minaret for those seeking excellence.

Mawhiba applied for the awards with a file showing its efforts to ensure the sustainability of its services to the talented students and practicing educational personnel during the pandemic.

Mawhiba secretary general stated: “The COVID-19 pandemic made Mawhiba look for opportunities created by the crisis and work to change them into a leap to the future, especially that what has been implemented in Mawhiba during the pandemic reflects its development and its endeavors to keep pace with the latest developments in technology.

Source: Saudi Press Agency

Riyadh– The Riyadh Chamber today signed a cooperation agreement with the China Foreign Trade Center (Canton Fair) to enhance and expand commercial, industrial and investment relations through encouraging cooperation among businesspeople and facilitating the realization of mutual interests in a way that benefits both sides.

Vice Chairman of Riyadh Chamber Naif bin Abdullah Al-Rajhi and Deputy Director General of China Foreign Trade Centre and Spokesperson of the Canton Fair Xu Bing signed the agreement on behalf of respective institutions.

The agreement aims at enhancing relations and boosting commercial and economic cooperation among businesspeople in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and China, including the exchange of information, organizing delegations participating in the fair or other fairs that are organized by the center of its affiliate companies, offering assistance to center delegations that visit the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, offering assistance in organizing events and completing procedures related to government, industrial and commercial institutions, and enhancing cooperation between the two sides to conduct surveys and evaluations on the Canton Fair and other fairs organized by the center and promoting the fair on the chamber’s websites.

Source: Saudi Press Agency

Riyadh– Head of the Saudi Team to the Donor Group to support United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and Assistant Supervisor General of King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre (KSrelief) for Planning and Development Dr. Aqeel bin Jamaan Al-Ghamdi has stressed the importance of increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of the humanitarian response, and improving the mechanism of delivering humanitarian aid to the most affected and neediest categories.

The remarks were made by Dr. Al-Ghamdi during a speech held yesterday for the OCHA Donor Support Group, under the presidency of the Netherlands, where the discussions during the meeting went over aspects of the new strategic plan for OCHA over the period spanning between 2023 and 2026.

Dr. Al-Ghamdi called on OCHA to enhance and boost the mechanism and tools of humanitarian coordination for their positive impacts on the strategic outcomes, stressing the importance of adopting a flexible mechanism to identify priorities for humanitarian needs, responding to them in a better way, and enhancing the mechanism to guarantee the delivery of humanitarian assistance to beneficiaries.

He noted that the increasing humanitarian needs will require additional financial resources, yet, the Central Emergency Response Fund and joint country funds should be used in a more strategic, more stimulating and more incubating way so as to reach the neediest people, and increase the efficacy and effectiveness of the humanitarian response, adding that all the proposed empowering elements are important and should be focused on, stressing the significance of data and technology in assessing needs and preparing for response.

The meeting went over issues related to the OCHA strategic plan and the humanitarian issue over 2023-2026, including the financial gap that increases with the increase of the global humanitarian need, the difficulty of delivering assistance to beneficiaries in conflict zones, and the pre-emptive work in the humanitarian work.

Source: Saudi Press Agency

Riyadh — The 37th meeting of the Union of Arab National Olympic Committees (UANOC) Executive Office – which was held virtually today under the chairmanship of Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al-Faisal, Minister of Sports, and the presence of the members of the office – approved the formation of a working group headed by Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al-Faisal to work on formalizing the Union’s strategy, which includes developing its identity and defining new roles for the auxiliary committees and the Union’s various departments, its programs and activities.

The Executive Office also agreed to postpone the Sixth Arab Club Games for Women to 2024 instead of 2023.

The 37th meeting of the Executive Office is the first to be held under the new board of directors headed by Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al-Faisal, who was elected by acclamation during the twentieth General Assembly of the Union, which was hosted in Riyadh, on December 8, 2021.

Source: Saudi Press Agency

Jeddah– Al-Gharrafa football club of Qatar beat Ahal of Turkmenistan two love in a match held at Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Stadium in this Saudi Arabian city of Jeddah within group 3 of Asia Champion League 2022.

Accordingly, Al-Gharrafa raises its standing to 4 points, topping the group, while its rival remains at one point.

Saudi Arabia hosts group 3 matchs following the Asian Soccer Federation’s decision to hold all matchs of groups according to gathering system.

Source: Saudi Press Agency

Buraidah, Saudi Arabia– Al-Ta’awon football club of Saudi Arabia lost one love before Bakhtakor of Uzbekistan in a match held at King Abdullah Sports City in this Saudi Arabian city of Buraidah within group 4 of Asia Champion League 2022.

Accordingly, Al-Ta’awon remains at 3 points while its rival gained its first new 3 points.

Saudi Arabia hosts group 4 matchs following the Asian Soccer Federation’s decision to hold all matchs of groups according to gathering system.

Source: Saudi Press Agency

Cairo– The Secretary General of the Arab League Ahmed Aboul Gheit has welcomed the issuance of Yemeni President Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi’s decision to form the Presidential Leadership Council, and transfer all his powers to it, in accordance with the constitution, the Gulf initiative and its executive mechanism.

In a statement today, Aboul Gheit affirmed his support for the new leadership council, as an embodiment of Yemeni legitimacy, expressing his hope that this council will lead the country towards achieving peace.

The Secretary General called on the various Yemeni parties to maintain the current truce, in preparation for entering into serious negotiations to end the suffering of the Yemeni people, restore stability and security in the country, and ensure that Yemen does not pose a threat to any of its neighbors.

Source: Saudi Press Agency