Saudi students who took part in the Gulf Mathematics Olympiad in Qatar have bagged two golds and four silvers, it was announced yesterday. Education Minister Prince Faisal bin Abdullah congratulated the winners.
Samih Taha Zawawi of Ibn Khaldoun Secondary School in Yanbu and Mahdi Abdul Mohsen Al-Sheikh of Madinah School in Al-Ahsa took the gold medals in the event that took place on April 1-4.
Zubair Muhammad Habibullah of Imam Nafi Intermediate School in Yanbu, Ibrahim Khan and Salman Saleh of Ibn Khaldoun School and Abdullah Al-Nashwan of King Faisal Schools in Riyadh won the silver medals.
Abdul Aziz Al-Harthi, supervisor of International Olympiads at Mawhiba, said Saudi students who took part in the event had undergone 100 hours of intensive training by experts. Students from GCC countries and Yemen (as observer) took part in the competitions.
Prince Faisal called upon Saudi students to work hard for achieving greater successes at international events.
“These achievements show that our gifted students are capable of overcoming difficulties to achieve successes,” the minister said while praising the efforts made by the students’ parents and supervisors.
Saudi talent + Mathematics Olympiad = 2 golds, 4 silvers
Saudi talent + Mathematics Olympiad = 2 golds, 4 silvers
Saudi Arabia’s NIDLP surpasses half of Vision 2030 targets shead of schedule
RIYADH:Saudi Arabia’s National Industrial Development and Logistics Program has already achieved more than half of its targets well in advance of the Vision 2030 deadline, according to Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman.
Speaking at the NIDLP Annual Ceremony 2024, the minister said that 13 out of the program’s 23 targets have been successfully met, with the remaining goals on track for completion.
Prince Abdulaziz attributed the program’s success to a robust action plan and effective collaboration between the Ministry of Energy and NIDLP.
“The mechanisms adopted by NIDLP are closely aligned with those of the Ministry of Energy, allowing for strong, collaborative outcomes,” he explained.
The minister also underscored that the program's achievements extend beyond the energy sector, positively impacting multiple other sectors involved in the initiative.
He highlighted the critical role played by human talent within NIDLP and the energy system, which has been essential in supporting energy security, enhancing supply chain resilience, and driving sustainability.
These efforts are key to realizing Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030, which aims to position the Kingdom as a global leader in industrial development and logistics.
During his speech, Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources Bandar Alkhorayef, who also chairs the NIDLP Program Committee, shared further program highlights.
He noted that the sectors targeted by the initiative contributed SR433 billion ($115.3 billion) to the Kingdom’s gross domestic product by the third quarter of 2024, reflecting a 2.4 percent growth compared to the previous year.
Exports from these sectors also saw a significant increase, rising by 11.1 percent from third quarter of 2023 to the same period in 2024.
Alkhorayef also highlighted the program’s impact on employment, revealing that total employment across its sectors reached 2.1 million by the third quarter of 2024. Of these, 660,000 were Saudi nationals, with women accounting for approximately 200,000 of the workforce.
Saudi Arabia strongly condemns Israeli settlers for storming courtyards of Al-Aqsa Mosque
- Kingdom’s Foreign Ministry also renewed its denunciation of continued Israeli violations of international law and repeated attacks on the sanctity of Al-Aqsa Mosque
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia strongly condemned on Sunday Israeli settlers for storming the courtyards of Al-Aqsa Mosque under the protection of Israel’s security forces.
The Kingdom’s Foreign Ministry also renewed its denunciation of continued Israeli violations of international law and repeated attacks on the sanctity of Al-Aqsa Mosque.
The Kingdom affirmed its categorical rejection of anything that affects the historical and legal status of Jerusalem and its holy sites.
It also called on the international community to hold Israeli authorities accountable for their serious and ongoing violations against Islamic holy sites and innocent civilians in Palestine.
Lebanon arrests late Muslim Brotherhood leader’s son wanted by Egypt, says judicial official
- Qaradawi was detained on Saturday as he arrived from Syria at the Masnaa border crossing
BEIRUT: Lebanese authorities have arrested Abdul Rahman Al-Qaradawi, an Egyptian opposition activist wanted by Cairo and son of the late spiritual leader of the Muslim Brotherhood, a Lebanese judicial official told AFP on Sunday.
Qaradawi, also a poet, was detained on Saturday as he arrived from Syria at the Masnaa border crossing due to an Egyptian arrest warrant, the official said.
The warrant was “based on an Egyptian judiciary ruling” sentencing Qaradawi in absentia to five years’ jail on charges of “opposing the state and inciting terrorism,” the official added.
His father was prominent Sunni scholar Yusuf Al-Qaradawi, the spiritual leader of the Muslim Brotherhood which is outlawed in Egypt.
The late scholar was imprisoned several times in Egypt over his links to the Muslim Brotherhood. He died in 2022 after decades in exile in Qatar.
Lebanese authorities “will ask the Egyptian authorities” to transfer Al-Qaradawi’s file for examination, the judicial official said, requesting anonymity as they were not authorized to speak to the media.
The judiciary will make a recommendation on whether “the conditions are met for him to be extradited” and the matter will be referred to the Lebanese government, which must make the final decision, the official added.
Qaradawi was a political organizer against the government of longtime Egyptian leader Hosni Mubarak, who was toppled in 2011 in the Arab Spring uprising.
He later became a vocal opponent of current Egyptian leader Abdel Fattah El-Sisi.
A family friend told AFP that Qaradawi holds Turkish citizenship and was returning from a visit to Syria, where militants led by Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham toppled longtime Syrian ruler Bashar Assad on December 8.
Assad’s ousting came more than 13 years after war broke out in Syria with the brutal repression of anti-government protests in 2011.
Qaradawi had posted a video online taken at Damascus’s Umayyad mosque, celebrating Assad’s fall.
The video has circulated widely including on Egyptian media, where local outlets have described it as “insulting.”
Some commentators close to El-Sisi’s government have demanded Qaradawi be handed over to Egyptian authorities.
Cairo blacklisted the Muslim Brotherhood as a “terrorist” organization in 2013, and has since jailed thousands of its members and supporters and executed dozens.
Yusuf Al-Qaradawi’s daughter Ola was detained in Egypt for four and a half years over her links to the organization. She was released in 2021.
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Gulf Cup final rescheduled, competition organizers announce
- Committee did not give reason for change of date
- First semifinal sees Saudi Arabia face Oman
KUWAIT CITY: The final match of the 26th Arabian Gulf Cup will now be played on Saturday, Jan. 4, the Competitions Committee of the Gulf Football Federation announced on Sunday.
Originally scheduled for Jan. 3, the championship match will now take place a day later at the Jaber Al-Ahmad International Stadium in Kuwait City.
Khaled Al-Muqrin, head of the committee, said that the decision to reschedule the final had been reached during a committee meeting on Sunday and followed consultations with Gulf football federations, all of which unanimously approved the change.
The committee did not give a reason for the change of date.
While the final has been moved, the semifinal matches will proceed as planned.
The first semifinal sees Saudi Arabia face Oman on Tuesday afternoon. Later that evening, Bahrain will take on hosts Kuwait.
The Green Falcons reached the last four after a convincing 3-1 win over Group B rivals Iraq on Saturday and will hope to reach their fifth final since 2009 and secure a first Gulf Cup title since 2004.
Manchester City stop the rot with victory at Leicester
- Savinho and Erling Haaland struck either side of half-time
- City ended a run of eight away games without a win
LEICESTER: Manchester City provided Pep Guardiola some relief with a 2-0 victory at Leicester to secure just a second win in 14 games for the crisis-hit English champions on Sunday.
Savinho and Erling Haaland struck either side of half-time as City ended a run of eight away games without a win.
The performance was still far from the standards that Guardiola’s side have set in winning an unprecedented four consecutive English top-flight titles.
But the effusive celebrations of Haaland’s header 16 minutes from time showed that three points was all that mattered for the visitors to at least temporarily halt their remarkable slump.
Victory lifts City up to fifth but they are still 11 points behind leaders Liverpool, who have two games in hand.
Defeat leaves Leicester still rooted in the bottom three.
Guardiola made just one change from the 1-1 Boxing Day draw against Everton as Kevin De Bruyne replaced his Belgian international colleague Jeremy Doku.
De Bruyne’s fitness struggles have played a part in City’s slump and he immediately showed what Guardiola’s men have been missing for most of the season.
Rico Lewis picked out De Bruyne, who cushioned a cross into the path of Haaland but his low effort was well saved by Leicester’s stand-in goalkeeper Jakub Stolarczyk.
Leicester have now lost their last four games after a bright start to Ruud van Nistelrooy’s reign.
The Foxes were left to rue not taking their chances to inflict more misery on a City side still showing a clear lack of confidence.
Any time the home side crossed into City territory in the first half they appeared a major threat.
Jamie Vardy would surely have won a penalty had he not strayed offside before being brought down by Stefan Ortega, while James Justin’s header hit the post after a goalmouth scramble.
City, though, got the crucial opening goal on 21 minutes.
Stolarczyk should have done better than to parry Phil Foden’s long-range effort into the path of Savinho, who swept the rebound into the roof of the net for his first City goal.
Chances continued to come and go for Leicester early in the second half.
Justin should have levelled but his mishit finish from close range allowed Manuel Akanji to clear off the line.
Vardy then had the biggest chance to level when he prodded over Stephy Mavididi’s brilliant in-swinging cross.
However, they were hit by a City sucker punch to end the defending champions’ miserable run on the road.
Savinho was the creator this time as his cross perfectly picked out Haaland, who powered home his 19th of the season ending his four-game goal drought.
