Worldwide demonstrations have been held in support of Iranians protesting the government.
Images: AFP, AP, Reuters
Qassim governor praises green initiative’s success
- The Green Qassim Land Initiative has completed planting 5 million trees as part of the broader Saudi Green Initiative
RIYADH: Qassim Gov. Prince Faisal bin Mishaal commended the success of the Green Qassim Land Initiative in planting 5 million trees as part of the broader Saudi Green Initiative.
In a meeting on Wednesday, he praised government and private sector efforts, particularly the contributions of the Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture and the National Center for Vegetation Cover Development and Combating Desertification.
The governor also lauded the ministry’s and center’s innovative approach to repurposing materials confiscated from environmental regulation violators for sustainable reforestation, notably in Qassim National Park.
Prince Faisal reaffirmed the region’s commitment to expanding vegetation cover and strengthening environmental protection, the Saudi Press Agency reported.
The ministry’s Qassim branch director general, Salman Al-Suwainea, said that the initiative has progressed through various stages of collaboration with governmental and nonprofit organizations, playing a key role in advancing the Saudi Green Initiative’s objectives.
King Faisal Prize announces winners for Service to Islam
- The prize was awarded jointly to the Mushaf Tibyan Project for the Deaf, and Sami Abdullah Almaghlouth, consultant at the General Authority for Survey and Geospatial Information
RIYADH: The 2025 King Faisal Prize for Service to Islam has been awarded jointly to the Mushaf Tibyan Project for the Deaf, and Sami Abdullah Almaghlouth, consultant at the General Authority for Survey and Geospatial Information.
Mushaf Tibyan Project for the Deaf is a Saudi initiative by the Liajlehum Association, which serves people with disabilities.
Prince Turki Al-Faisal announced the laureates for the Service to Islam category at a ceremony in Riyadh on Wednesday.
Mushaf Tibyan Project for the Deaf has been awarded the prize for its provision of a complete Qur’anic interpretation in sign language, and for providing an interactive Qur’an for those with hearing disabilities.
It offers an innovative approach to Qur’anic interpretation, using techniques that enable the deaf to reflect on and understand the meaning of the Holy Qur’an.
Sami Abdullah Almaghlouth has been awarded the prize for his outstanding efforts in documenting Islamic history, his achievements in the field of historical and geographical atlases, and his accomplishments in both the diversity and comprehensiveness of the topics covered, which include most aspects of Islamic history, its figures, monuments and stages.
The Saudi national’s work includes atlases on the life of Prophet Muhammad, the history of the prophets and messengers, the Rashidun caliphs, atlases on religions, places in the Holy Qur’an, Islamic sects and schools of thought, Hadith scholars, and Holy Qur’an interpreters.
His work has been translated into several languages.
Earlier, on Jan. 8, the KFP, awarded in five categories, was announced, except for the Service to Islam prize. Announcing the winners then, Dr. Abdulaziz Alsebail, KFP secretary-general, said: “The selection committees, after meticulous deliberations, have reached decisions for ... Islamic studies, Arabic language and literature, medicine, and science. ”
The coveted prize for Islamic studies for 2025 was awarded jointly to Professor Saad Abdulaziz Alrashid and Professor Said Faiz Alsaid. Both are Saudi nationals and professors at King Saud University.
The prize for Arabic language and literature was withheld due to the nominated works not reaching the set criteria.
The prize for medicine was awarded to Michel Sadelain (Canada), and the prize for science awarded in physics to Sumio Iijima, a professor at Meijo University, Japan.
The KFP was established in 1977, and given for the first time in 1979 in three categories — Service to Islam, Islamic studies, and Arabic language and literature. Two additional categories were introduced in 1981 — medicine and science. The first medicine prize was awarded in 1982, and in science two years later.
Each prize laureate is endowed with $200,000, a 24-carat gold medal weighing 200 grams, and a certificate inscribed with the laureate’s name and a summary of the work that qualified them for the prize.
Jordan hospital offers injured Gazans hope for recovery
- Israel’s 15-month offensive in Gaza left the coastal enclave a wasteland of rubble that will take years to rebuild
AMMAN: Karam Nawjaa, 17, was so badly injured when an Israeli strike hit his home in Gaza nearly a year ago that his own cousin, pulling him from the rubble, did not recognize him.
After rushing Karam to hospital he returned to continue searching for his cousin all night in the rubble.
In that strike on Feb. 14, 2024, Karam lost his mother, a sister and two brothers. As well as receiving serious burns to his face and body, he lost the ability to use his arms and hands.
Now, the burns are largely healed and he is slowly regaining the use of his limbs after months of treatment at a hospital run by Doctors Without Borders in the Jordanian capital Amman which operates a program of reconstructive surgery.
“I only remember that on that day, Feb. 14, there was a knock on our door ... I opened it, my brother came in, and after that ... (I remember) nothing,” he said.
“Before the war I was studying, and thank God, I was an outstanding student,” Karam said, adding that his dream had been to become a dentist. Now he does not think about the future.
“What happened, happened ... you feel that all your ambitions have been shattered, that what happened to you has destroyed you.”
Karam is one of many patients from Gaza being treated at Amman’s Specialized Hospital for Reconstructive Surgery, Al-Mowasah Hospital. He shares a room there with his younger sister and their father.
“All these patients are war victims ... with complex injuries, complex burns ... They need very long rehabilitation services, both surgical but also physical and mental,” said Moeen Mahmood Shaief, head of the MSF mission in Jordan.
“The stories around those patients are heartbreaking, a lot of them have lost their families” and require huge support to be reintegrated into normal life, he added.
Israel’s 15-month offensive in Gaza left the coastal enclave a wasteland of rubble that will take years to rebuild.
Displaced Palestinians have been returning to their mostly destroyed homes after a ceasefire came into effect on Jan. 19.
What We Are Reading Today: ‘Machine Learning for Physics and Astronomy’ by Viviana Acquaviva
As the size and complexity of data continue to grow exponentially across the physical sciences, machine learning is helping scientists to sift through and analyze this information while driving breathtaking advances in quantum physics, astronomy, cosmology, and beyond.
This incisive textbook covers the basics of building, diagnosing, optimizing, and deploying machine learning methods to solve research problems in physics and astronomy, with an emphasis on critical thinking and the scientific method.
Syria’s leader Sharaa named president for transitional period, state news agency says
- The news cited commander Hassan Abdel Ghani
CAIRO: Syria’s de facto leader Ahmed Al-Sharaa was named as the country’s president for the transitional period, the Syrian state news agency reported on Wednesday, citing commander Hassan Abdel Ghani.
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