Equestrian Dalma Malhas was recently appointed chairperson of the newly founded athletes’ advisory committee at the Saudi Arabian Olympic Committee.
She was the first female athlete to represent Saudi Arabia at the inaugural Youth Olympic Games in 2010 in Singapore. Malhas won a bronze medal, becoming the third Saudi athlete to snag an Olympic medal.
She is also the first female athlete to have represented Saudi Arabia at the World Equestrian Games at Tyron, in North Carolina in the US in 2018.
Malhas’ appointment to the SAOC committee follows Saudi Arabia’s formal bid to host the 21st Asian Games in 2030 in Riyadh.
The Saudi horsewoman, who speaks Arabic, English, French, Italian, and Spanish, was born in Ohio in 1992. Her mother, Arwa Mutabagani, is also a prominent equestrian and has been a board member at the Saudi Equestrian Federation since 2008.
At 12, Malhas moved with her mother from Saudi Arabia to Rome. In Italy, she received training from Italy’s former showjumping national coach, Duccio Bartalucci. She spent a decade under his tutelage.
After spending a few years in Rome and obtaining her International Baccalaureate, she moved to undertake a two-year professional training program at the Fursan Equestrian Center in Chantilly, France. She has been training with Olympic champion Roger Yves Bost since 2016.
Malhas has participated in many international horseback riding events. However, when the experienced horsewoman took part in the 2019 Diriyah Equestrian Festival for the first time, she said it was a rendezvous she had been dreaming of for a very long time.
She told Arab News that she was honored to be part of the Saudi national team after “years of work and dedication.”
Malhas has won several awards to date, including Dubai’s Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum Creative Sports Award.
She has also attended several regional and international conferences on sports as a speaker.
Dalma Malhas, chairperson of the athletes’ advisory committee
https://arab.news/m2ec7
Dalma Malhas, chairperson of the athletes’ advisory committee
KSrelief launches date distribution project in Sudan
Riyadh: Saudi aid agency KSrelief has launched a date distribution project in Port Sudan, the Saudi Press Agency reported on Tuesday.
The event was attended by Saudi Ambassador to Sudan Ali bin Hassan Jafar, Sudanese Minister of Agriculture and Forestry Abu Bakr Omar Al-Bushra, and Acting Humanitarian Aid Commissioner Ahmed Mohamed Othman.
The project will distribute 441 tonnes of dates to the neediest families across Kassala, Gedaref, Red Sea, River Nile, Blue Nile, White Nile, Sennar, and Gezira states, benefiting 441,250 individuals.
Jafar reaffirmed Saudi Arabia’s commitment to providing food aid and praised the collaboration between the Sudanese government and KSrelief in ensuring the aid reaches those in need.
Al-Bushra expressed gratitude for Saudi Arabia’s support during challenging times.
Othman emphasized KSrelief’s vital role in addressing food security challenges during the ongoing humanitarian crisis.
Meanwhile, KSrelief distributed 1,100 food baskets and 1,100 health kits in Tal Abyad, in the Raqqa governorate of Syria, benefiting 6,600 individuals as part of the earthquake relief project.
Saudi Arabia hosts international conference to mark 3 decades of conjoined twins program
- Families of separated twins will also attend the event
- An exhibition will also be organized to showcase the program’s achievements
Riyadh: Saudi aid agency KSrelief will host an international conference in Riyadh on Nov. 24-25 marking three decades of the Saudi Conjoined Twins Separation Program.
It will bring together the Saudi ministries of health, national guard, defense, foreign affairs, education and media, and representatives from international humanitarian and health organizations, institutions, specialists and researchers from various countries.
Families of separated twins will also attend the event.
The conference will witness humanitarian and scientific sessions where experts will discuss advances in conjoined twin separation and related humanitarian efforts.
An exhibition will also be organized to showcase the program’s achievements as well as the Kingdom’s leadership in humanitarian and medical fields, especially excellence through the conjoined twins program.
“This comes in order to achieve the goals of the Saudi Vision 2030 aimed at developing the health and humanitarian sector in the Kingdom and raising its quality and efficiency,” said KSrelief in a statement to Arab News.
On the sidelines of the conference, a number of agreements will be signed with international and UN organizations concerned with children around the world as part of the humanitarian efforts of Saudi Arabia to care for the most vulnerable groups, namely children, as well as reviewing the Kingdom’s distinguished experience in this field, as it has the most experience in twins separation in the world.
The conference at the culmination will issue important recommendations that will enrich medical and humanitarian libraries and be a reference for specialists and those interested in the field of separating conjoined twins and the humanitarian field.
The pioneering initiative makes the Kingdom a world leader in one of the most complex surgical procedures in modern medicine. Since its launch in 1990, the conjoined twins program has treated about 139 cases from countries around the world. Dr. Abdullah Al-Rabeeah, who heads the medical team, has conducted 61 operations on conjoined twins born to poor families from 26 countries.
Conjoined twins Khadijah and Hawaa were airlifted from Burkina Faso to Riyadh in July this year by the Defense Ministry’s medevac, following the directives of King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, and underwent the operation.
In June, the Saudi team led by Al-Rabeeah, separated Filipino conjoined twins Akiza and Aisha in at King Abdullah Specialist Children’s Hospital, which plays a crucial role in the program.
Equipped with state-of-the-art medical facilities and advanced technology, the hospital is staffed by a highly skilled team specializing in complex pediatric care. Operations carried out under the program are fully sponsored by the Saudi government.
KSrelief provides shelter, winter clothing in Lebanon, Somalia
RIYADH: Saudi aid agency KSrelief has distributed shelter and winter clothing to displaced people in Lebanon and Somalia, reported the Saudi Press Agency.
Orphans and those with special needs in Lebanon’s Akkar Governorate received vouchers to purchase winter clothes from approved stores.
The beneficiaries also included Syrian refugees and vulnerable members of the host community.
In Somalia, 920 shelter kits, 80 tents and 1,000 clothing kits benefited 6,000 displaced people in several camps in the Banaadir region as part of a project aiming to provide 7,600 shelter and clothing kits and 215 tents in the area.
Both initiatives are part of the ongoing humanitarian assistance provided by KSrelief to countries and people in need around the world.
Saudi foreign minister meets with US Secretary of State at Brazil G20
RIO DE JANEIRO: Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan met with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
During the meeting, they discussed bilateral relations, developments in the Middle East, and the efforts being made in these regards.
The meeting was attended by the Director-General of the Office of the Foreign Minister Abdulrahman Aldawood.
Saudi Arabia FM calls for peace, addresses global challenges at G20 Summit opening
- Prince Faisal bin Farhan leads Kingdom’s delegation on behalf of crown prince
RIO DE JANEIRO: Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan led the Kingdom’s delegation at the first session of the G20 Summit in Rio de Janeiro, which opened on Monday.
Prince Faisal, who is leading the delegation on behalf of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, spoke at the summit’s opening session which was called “Social Inclusion and Combating Hunger and Poverty.”
Prince Faisal highlighted pressing global challenges, noting that increasing tensions, military conflicts, and humanitarian crises were significant obstacles to achieving the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals for 2030, adding: “Development and prosperity cannot be achieved on the ruins of death and destruction.”
Moving on to the ongoing crises in the Middle East, Prince Faisal pointed to Israeli military actions in Gaza and Lebanon, describing them as sources of severe human suffering and catalysts which were pushing the region toward broader conflict.
He said: “The ongoing Israeli aggression in Gaza and Lebanon has caused unprecedented levels of human suffering; is pushing the region to the brink of a wider war … and is undermining the credibility of international law and institutions.”
Prince Faisal reiterated Saudi Arabia’s commitment to peace, stating the Kingdom’s unwavering stance on the need for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza; unrestricted access to humanitarian assistance; the release of hostages; and a serious commitment to lasting peace based on the two-state solution according to the 1967 borders, the Saudi Press Agency reported.
The minister also addressed the situation in Sudan, expressing concern over the severe human toll due to the conflict, and obstacles preventing the delivery of humanitarian aid to affected communities.
In addition to political challenges, Prince Faisal commended Brazil’s initiative in launching the International Alliance Against Hunger and Poverty, which aligns with Saudi Arabia’s development and humanitarian objectives. He announced the Kingdom’s participation in the alliance, which resonates with its long-standing global efforts.
He said: “The Kingdom is pleased to be part of this alliance that is in line with its development goals and its global role in this regard, which is expressed by the programs of the King Salman Center for Relief and Humanitarian Aid (and) the Saudi Fund for Development, in addition to its global contributions to the programs of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank to support developing countries.”
The Kingdom’s delegation included Minister of Finance Mohammed Al-Jadaan, Deputy Minister of Finance (Saudi Sherpa for the G20) Abdul Mohsen bin Saad Al-Khalaf, and Ambassador to Brazil Faisal bin Ibrahim Ghulam.
The G20 Summit in Brazil serves as a platform for the world’s leading economies to address global challenges and promote collective solutions aimed at fostering sustainable development and social equity.
On the sidelines of the summit, Prince Faisal met with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken. During their meeting they discussed US-Saudi relations, as well as regional developments and the efforts made in this regard.
