Saudi Red Crescent records spike in ‘physical confrontations’ during Ramadan

While Ramadan is supposed to be a time of spiritual renewal and contemplation, the authorities have noted a dramatic spike in the number of fights, traffic accidents and road-rage incidents in Jeddah alone. (AN file photo)
Updated 03 June 2018
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Saudi Red Crescent records spike in ‘physical confrontations’ during Ramadan

  • In the first two weeks of the holy month alone, there had been 282 collisions on the city’s roads and at least 70 people had needed emergency treatment after being run over by motorists.
  • All these accidents took place an hour or two before iftar, or the breaking of the fast, says the Saudi Red Crescent Authority.

JEDDAH: Ramadan is supposed to be a time of spiritual renewal and contemplation — but in Jeddah, at least, it’s a different story as authorities struggle to deal with a dramatic spike in the number of fights, traffic accidents and road-rage incidents. 

According to the Saudi Red Crescent Authority (SRCA), the city has witnessed 178 “physical confrontations” since the beginning of Ramadan.

An SRCA spokesman, Abdullah Abu Zaid, told Arab News that in the first two weeks of the holy month alone, there had been 282 collisions on the city’s roads and at least 70 people had needed emergency treatment after being run over by motorists.

Meanwhile, emergency departments at 13 hospitals in Jeddah have handled more 16,650 different cases, according to the Health Ministry.

What do many of these incidents have in common? They all took place an hour or two before iftar.

Now experts are blaming the aggressive, pre-iftar behavior on the Ramadan fast and its effects on the human body. 

“All shoppers are in a hurry to get back to their homes before the call for the maghrib prayer so that they are not late to break their fast,” Khalid Al-Salem, a psychologist, told Arab News.

Studies have shown that the lack of water in the body “disturbs the cells of the brain, leading to stress and edgy behavior before iftar,” he said.

“The human brain depends mainly on glucose in its energy. When the quantity of that component decreases in the blood, due to abstaining from liquids during daytime, this can affect the brain and lead to the feeling of unease,” he said.

Bad habits, such as smoking, can also cause nervous tension during the fasting period. “Aggressive behaviors can occur with people who have recently quit a bad habit like smoking,” Al-Salem said.

He advised following fasting instructions recommended by physicians to avoid “unwanted consequences.”

Buthainah Ba-Abbad, a consultant to the King Abdul Aziz Center for National Dialogue, had another explanation for the tense behavior that many people display when fasting, especially before nightfall when Muslims break their fast.

“In their lives, people always adapt themselves to either positive or negative attitudes. It is a belief in our culture that Ramadan is a month of tough times that we experience every year,” she said. Based on this outlook, our bodies respond accordingly.

Muslims’ work productivity is low during Ramadan because of “negative feelings” concerning the month.

Ba-Abbad recommends familiarizing our bodies with fasting several days before Ramadan to lower the effects. 

The consultant agreed that low glucose levels and dehydration could have dramatic effects on behavior.

“With low glucose, the human brain will not be as efficient sending its neural signals to different body parts. In this case, people feel nervous, worried and experience rapid heart rate,” Ba-Abbad said.

Ramadan is supposed to be a time of spiritual renewal and contemplation — but in Jeddah, at least, it’s a different story as authorities struggle to deal with a dramatic spike in the number of fights, traffic accidents and road-rage incidents. 

According to the Saudi Red Crescent Authority (SRCA), the city has witnessed 178 “physical confrontations” since the beginning of Ramadan.

An SRCA spokesman, Abdullah Abu Zaid, told Arab News that in the first two weeks of the holy month alone, there had been 282 collisions on the city’s roads and at least 70 people had needed emergency treatment after being run over by motorists.

Meanwhile, emergency departments at 13 hospitals in Jeddah have handled more 16,650 different cases, according to the Health Ministry.

What do many of these incidents have in common? They all took place an hour or two before iftar.

Now experts are blaming the aggressive, pre-iftar behavior on the Ramadan fast and its effects on the human body. 

“All shoppers are in a hurry to get back to their homes before the call for the maghrib prayer so that they are not late to break their fast,” Khalid Al-Salem, a psychologist, told Arab News.

Studies have shown that the lack of water in the body “disturbs the cells of the brain, leading to stress and edgy behavior before iftar,” he said.

“The human brain depends mainly on glucose in its energy. When the quantity of that component decreases in the blood, due to abstaining from liquids during daytime, this can affect the brain and lead to the feeling of unease,” he said.

Bad habits, such as smoking, can also cause nervous tension during the fasting period. “Aggressive behaviors can occur with people who have recently quit a bad habit like smoking,” Al-Salem said.

He advised following fasting instructions recommended by physicians to avoid “unwanted consequences.”

Buthainah Ba-Abbad, a consultant to the King Abdul Aziz Center for National Dialogue, had another explanation for the tense behavior that many people display when fasting, especially before nightfall when Muslims break their fast.

“In their lives, people always adapt themselves to either positive or negative attitudes. It is a belief in our culture that Ramadan is a month of tough times that we experience every year,” she said. Based on this outlook, our bodies respond accordingly.

Muslims’ work productivity is low during Ramadan because of “negative feelings” concerning the month.

Ba-Abbad recommends familiarizing our bodies with fasting several days before Ramadan to lower the effects. 

The consultant agreed that low glucose levels and dehydration could have dramatic effects on behavior.

“With low glucose, the human brain will not be as efficient sending its neural signals to different body parts. In this case, people feel nervous, worried and experience rapid heart rate,” Ba-Abbad said.


KSrelief delivers winter aid and dates to Yemen’s vulnerable

These packages form part of the emergency shelter project in Yemen. (SPA)
Updated 08 November 2024
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KSrelief delivers winter aid and dates to Yemen’s vulnerable

RIYADH: The Kingdom’s aid agency KSrelief has delivered dates and winter shelter to vulnerable people in Yemen, the Saudi Press Agency reported late Thursday.

KSrelief’s volunteers distributed 100 winter bags in Thamud district, Hadhramaut governorate, for 600 individuals from 100 vulnerable families.

These packages form part of the emergency shelter project in Yemen. (SPA)

The aid is a part of the agency’s emergency shelter project in the country.

Meanwhile, 2,459 cartons of dates were delivered in Al-Wadi district, Marib governorate, for the benefit of 14,754 people.


KSrelief continues international relief efforts in Chad, Pakistan

Updated 08 November 2024
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KSrelief continues international relief efforts in Chad, Pakistan

RIYADH: Saudi aid agency KSrelief has delivered aid to people most in need in Chad and Pakistan, reported the Saudi Press Agency.

Some 201 food parcels, benefiting 1,206 people, were distributed in the village of Sharkaya, in Hajar Lamis province, as part of the 2024 Food Security Support Project in the Republic of Chad.

Aid has also been given to 10,500 vulnerable people in flood-affected areas of Pakistan as part of the fourth phase of KSrelief’s initiative to provide shelter materials and winter bags to the country.


Saudi agency KSrelief delivers food, hygiene kits in Syria

The aid is a part of KSrelief’s projects to support earthquake-affected people in northern Syria. (SPA)
Updated 08 November 2024
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Saudi agency KSrelief delivers food, hygiene kits in Syria

  • The aid is a part of KSrelief’s projects to support earthquake-affected people in northern Syria

RIYADH: The Kingdom’s aid agency KSrelief has distributed food and hygiene kits to thousands of vulnerable people across Syria, the Saudi Press Agency reported late Thursday.

The agency’s volunteers delivered 750 food parcels and 750 hygiene kits in Al-Hasakah, Syria, benefiting 4,500 people.

The aid is a part of KSrelief’s projects to support earthquake-affected people in northern Syria. (SPA)

Meanwhile 745 Syrian families, comprising 2,652 people, in Al-Dana, Idlib governorate, received food and hygiene kits.

The aid is a part of KSrelief’s projects to support earthquake-affected people in northern Syria.


How Google aims to bridge the AI skills gap in Saudi Arabia and the wider region

Updated 08 November 2024
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How Google aims to bridge the AI skills gap in Saudi Arabia and the wider region

  • Backed by local partners, Google will boost AI upskilling for women, youth, migrants, and rural communities
  • The AI Opportunity Initiative aims to equip half a million people across the MENA region with AI skills

DUBAI: As artificial intelligence rapidly reshapes industries, job roles and skill requirements, the Middle East and North Africa region is actively embracing advanced technologies and collaborating with tech giants to bridge the skills gap in an evolving labor market.

One such collaboration is with Google’s newly launched AI Opportunity Initiative, which offers training and education opportunities to make AI technologies more accessible and inclusive across the region.

By collaborating with local organizations, the AI Opportunity Initiative seeks to “train half a million people in the next two years,” Anthony Nakache, managing director of Google MENA, told an audience at the recent AI Connect MENA event at Dubai’s Etihad Museum.

To achieve this, Google “will give a grant of $15 million to fund local organizations,” Nakache said.

Najeeb Jarrar, regional director of marketing at Google MENA, told Arab News: “We are very excited about this AI Opportunity Initiative, especially since we are seeing the Saudi community is fully embracing AI both on the consumer side and on the developer and resource side.

“This is an initiative that we have launched globally and we now are bringing to the region. One of the aims of this initiative is how we are leveling the playing field for AI and AI education and skilling across the entire region,” he added, noting that students will learn to use AI more productively, including skills such as prompt engineering.

To bridge the digital divide in the labor market, Google’s AI Opportunity Initiative aims to upskill underserved workers in AI by offering tailored training materials in Arabic, in partnership with the non-profit Manarat, online course provider Coursera, and other organizations.

Google’s largest AI project in the region, the AI Opportunity Initiative will focus on four key areas: AI skills development, research, products, and infrastructure.

DID YOUKNOW?

• The new AI Opportunity Initiative is Google’s largest AI project in the region.

• It aims to equip 500,000 people in the MENA region with AI skills within two years.

• Google is granting $15 million to local organizations between 2024 and 2027.

• The Saudi government is reportedly creating a $40 billion fund to invest in AI.

“We also worked with local NGOs and local players in the market to ensure that we are also reaching out to different partners,” Jarrar said.

Google.org, Google’s philanthropic arm, has announced plans to contribute $15 million between this year and the end of 2027, providing funding to organizations across the region to ensure accessibility to AI opportunities.

The AI Opportunity Initiative also aims to equip 500,000 people in the MENA region with AI skills in the first two years. This includes students, academics, developers, entrepreneurs and underrepresented groups.

Speaking about the issue of accessibility, Jarrar said: “We wanted to ensure first that this local initiative does not feel like an initiative that is hard to get for the average user.”

Google’s largest AI project in the region, the AI Opportunity Initiative will focus on AI skills development, research, products, and infrastructure. (Supplied)

He pointed out that both language and local partners, such as Injaz and Raspberry Pi Foundation, play a major role in improving accessibility.

“The content is all in Arabic, we have local examples that we are actually able to showcase,” he said. “We are partnering with local partners that know the market and the community very well and are able to reach more people that are beyond what we can initially reach to.”

The AI Opportunity Initiative enables Google to expand the Maharat min Google program, which targets high school and university students, by introducing a new AI curriculum in Arabic.

As part of its mission to support underserved communities, Google.org is funding Village Capital, a non-profit that supports entrepreneurs tackling environmental, social and economic challenges.

Village Capital will equip business support organizations to offer AI upskilling opportunities to underserved workers. 

The program targets women, youth, migrants and rural communities across Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Jordan, Palestine, Egypt, Tunisia, Morocco, Lebanon, Bahrain and Iraq. 

The Raspberry Pi Foundation will use grant funding from Google.org to train teachers in AI literacy, equipping students aged 11-14 in the region with AI safety skills to better understand and navigate the challenges of AI technologies.

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Speaking at the Google AI Connect Event, Ruth Porat, president and chief investment officer for Alphabet and Google, said: “AI is estimated to contribute $320 billion in economic growth for the Middle East by 2030.

“Google is working to ensure that people and communities throughout the region have the skills needed to capture the upside of this emerging technology.” 

She added: “Our local non-profit and university partners will help bring this program to people and communities throughout the region, ensuring that everyone can benefit from the opportunities that AI can deliver.”

 Ruth Porat, president and chief investment officer for Alphabet and Google, speaking at the Google AI Connect event. (Photo courtesy of Google)

Since 2005, Google has invested more than $400 million in academic research globally.

The tech giant also announced during its Dubai event the launch of new Arabic AI products, including Gemini Live in Arabic, Gemini for Teens, Imagen3, and Gems on Gemini in Arabic. 

“For the previous year, we have worked hard with partners, with experts globally and from the region, to understand what are the constraints that we need to implement to make this product safer for teens, teens aged 13 to 18,” Jarrar said.

“We worked tirelessly to make sure we have the right guardrails to ensure that we had the right controls and the proper Q and A and testing, and today we are happy to say that Gemini for Teens is available for users and teens here in the region.”

These efforts are expected to support Saudi Arabia’s ambition to become an AI leader, ensuring its population stays aligned with the latest developments in the labor market.

A September report by the Saudi Authority for Data and Artificial Intelligence showed that 75 percent of the Saudi population is familiar with the concept of AI, and 64 percent are aware of its applications.
 

 


Saudi Arabia’s recreational spaces ready for holiday season

Updated 08 November 2024
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Saudi Arabia’s recreational spaces ready for holiday season

AL-BAHA: Saudi authorities have announced extensive preparations of public recreational facilities ahead of the school holiday season.

The Al-Baha municipality has readied 142 parks and recreational areas, along with municipal squares, public spaces and streets, to welcome visitors and tourists.

According to regional secretary, Ali bin Mohammed Al-Sawat, these facilities span more than 4,188,559.98 million square meters and feature amenities including children’s playgrounds, green spaces, shade structures, lighting, sidewalks, seating areas and parking, and facilities for activities such as walking and cycling.

The Al-Barouqi Tourist Farm in Al-Baha region features agricultural terraces, famous trees and old wells. (SPA)

Meanwhile, the Eastern Region Municipality has completed the preparation of 979 parks and public squares, 18 public recreational parks, 14 waterfront areas and 213 walking tracks.

The facilities are timely as moderate weather conditions and school breaks attract more outdoor activity.

The municipality emphasized its commitment to regular maintenance of these facilities, considering them vital breathing spaces for citizens and residents.
 

Al-Nakheel Park Tabuk region's Haql governorate is more than just a recreational destination. It is a place where residents and visitors can uncover stories of the past, shared by their ancestors. (SPA)