The total number of recoveries in the Kingdom has increased to 355,382
A total of 6,286 people have succumbed to the virus in the Kingdom so far
Updated 09 January 2021
Arab News
LONDON: Saudi Arabia announced 4 deaths from COVID-19 and 110 new infections on Saturday.
Of the new cases, 40 were recorded in Riyadh, 31 in Makkah, 12 in the Eastern Province, 12 in Madinah, 3 in Asir, 3 in Jazan and 2 in Najran.
The total number of recoveries in the Kingdom increased to 355,382 after 174 more patients recovered from the virus.
A total of 6,286 people have succumbed to the virus in the Kingdom so far.
Team Vitality top leaderboard of Esports World Cup’s Club Championship in Riyadh
Gen.G Esports, Team Falcons, AG.AL trail in rankings
Second week of tournament in Saudi capital featured dramatic comebacks, dominant performances
Updated 21 July 2025
Arab News
RIYADH: The 2025 Esports World Cup has concluded its second week of competitive gaming, with teams contending for a share of the historic prize pool and the ultimate prize: the Club Championship crown.
The event is being held in the Boulevard City entertainment hub in Riyadh, where thousands of the world’s top players are to compete in another five weeks of matches.
The tournament’s second week featured dramatic comebacks and dominant performances. Four new champions emerged, and the Club Championship leaderboard saw significant changes as teams earned points in multiple games.
South Korea’s Gen.G Esports won their second international title in just over a week, defeating Chinese team AG.AL by 3-2 in a thrilling League of Legends grand final.
Gen.G’s undefeated run in the Esports World Cup has extended their winning streak to 26 matches. They have also become the fastest team to secure back-to-back League of Legends championship titles.
Team Spirit, the Russian esports team, became champions of the Dota 2 tournament, losing only one game throughout the event. In the grand final they defeated Team Falcons by 3-0.
Their captain Yaroslav “Miposhka” Naidenov said: “There is not really much emotion as the grand final was not that hard.”
French esports organization Team Vitality achieved a perfect 4-0 victory over the Canadian team Gaimin Gladiators in the Mobile Legends: Bang Bang Women’s Invitational (MWI), reclaiming their title after falling short last year. The Indonesian sisters Chell and Cinny, part of Team Vitality, won their first EWC title after finishing as runners-up in 2024.
Indonesia’s EVOS Esports dominated the Free Fire tournament, reaching match point by Game 6 of the finals and winning the championship after a dramatic final against Team Vitality. Rasyah Rasyid, 15, became the youngest most valuable player in EWC history, earning the Sony MVP Award and the $10,000 prize.
Team Vitality stood at the top of the Club Championship standings on Monday, followed by Gen.G Esports, Team Falcons, and AG.AL.
AlUla’s fruitful summer harvest marks community celebration
Annual Khayrat AlUla festival to showcase centuries-old agricultural heritage
Updated 21 July 2025
Arab News
RIYADH: The Royal Commission of AlUla on Monday announced the start of the much-anticipated Summer Fruits of AlUla Season.
The first event in the annual Khayrat AlUla harvest celebrations runs from July 22 to 28 at Al-Manshiyah Farmers Market.
Khayrat AlUla celebrates the region’s agricultural heritage. (SPA)
It highlights the produce of local farmers and productive families, and includes events for the display of dates, citrus, pomegranates and honey.
The initiative supports the commission’s goals of driving economic growth through community engagement and development projects tied to AlUla’s harvest cycles.
NUMBER
125k
AlUla’s mango farms cover 125,000 hectares and yield over 1,125 tonnes, including the sanarah and zubda varieties.
AlUla is home to more than 5,000 farms and more than 50,000 trees. Its mango farms cover 125,000 hectares and yield over 1,125 tonnes, including the sanarah and zubda varieties.
The region also produces over 3,141 tonnes of figs, grapes, and pomegranates across more than 348 hectares.
Khayrat AlUla is held annually to celebrate the region’s centuries-old agricultural heritage, known for its high quality, distinctive produce.
The event reflects a deep-rooted culture of farming, passed down through generations, balanced with modern sustainability practices that safeguard natural resources.
The commission places strong emphasis on agriculture as a pillar of local economic development, which includes a boost for the tourism industry.
Commission showcased its mission to preserve cultural identity and nurture the next generation of designers
Burak Cakmak: Bringing Saudi creativity to the forefront fosters meaningful exchange
Updated 21 July 2025
Arab News
RIYADH: The Fashion Commission has made a strong impression at Expo 2025 Osaka in Japan with programming blending education, heritage and design, the Saudi Press Agency reported.
Through a panel discussion and exhibition at the Saudi pavilion, the commission showcased its mission to preserve cultural identity and nurture the next generation of designers.
The discussion focused on the manner in which culture shapes creative expression and how designers can balance tradition with innovation, the SPA added.
Burak Cakmak, the commission’s CEO, said: “Bringing Saudi creativity to the forefront fosters meaningful exchange.
“Our designers share stories rooted in heritage while engaging a global audience seeking innovation, authenticity, and cultural relevance. This interplay bridges tradition and the future.”
The pavilion also highlighted cultural exchange with a curated exhibition of 10 pieces from two of the commission’s signature initiatives.
One was the "Saudi Heritage Revival" competition, held with Swarovski, challenging 26 designers to interpret this theme through sustainable fashion using the company’s crystals.
The winner earned a residency at the Saudi Arabia design house Dar Al-Hanouf, and the top five joined an international academic competition.
Another, the “Traditional Handcrafts Revival in Saudi Fashion” program, gathered 25 participants in early 2025 for workshops on the country’s architecture, crafts, and garments.
Designers created contemporary pieces inspired by local heritage, first shown at the Saudi Cup and now at Osaka.
Both initiatives are a part of the commission’s Education and Talent Development track, which builds local expertise, preserves traditional crafts, and creates sustainable careers for Saudi designers.
At the pavilion, guests viewed the designs and spoke with commission members.
The commission’s presence at the expo underscores its commitment to advancing the creative industries as a part of Vision 2030. It aims to foster a fashion ecosystem that is proudly Saudi, globally relevant, and sustainable.
Saudi conjoined twins’ health stable days after separation surgery, chief program doctor confirms
Dr. Abdullah Al-Rabeeah noted that the surgical wounds are healing well and expressed hope that artificial respiration could be discontinued within the next 4 days
Yara and Lara were born on Nov. 5, 2024, weighing a total of 10 kg, with independent upper and lower limbs, but were conjoined at the lower abdomen and pelvis
Updated 21 July 2025
Arab News
RIYADH: Eight-month-old Saudi conjoined twins who were separated last week by Saudi surgeons from the Saudi Conjoined Twins Program remain in stable condition, Dr. Abdullah Al-Rabeeah confirmed on Monday.
Al-Rabeeah, who heads the program’s medical and surgical team and serves as the supervisor general of KSrelief, said that conjoined twins Yara and Lara are showing positive signs of healing after undergoing surgery last week at King Abdullah Specialist Children’s Hospital in King Abdulaziz Medical City in Riyadh.
“All the twins’ vital signs have returned to normal, and they remain on artificial respiration in the intensive care unit,” he said.
“Their intestinal functions have begun to resume, and nutrition will gradually be introduced through a nasogastric feeding tube. The twins are under close observation and are receiving antibiotics to prevent infection,” he added.
Al-Rabeeah noted that the surgical wounds are healing well and expressed hope that artificial respiration could be discontinued within the next four days, the Saudi Press Agency reported.
Yara and Lara were conjoined at the lower abdomen and pelvis, sharing parts of the small intestine, colon, urinary, and reproductive systems, as well as a pelvic bone. They were born on Nov. 5, 2024, weighing a total of 10 kg, with independent upper and lower limbs.
The surgery on July 17 lasted 12.5 hours over nine stages. It involved a team of 38 specialists, including pediatric surgeons, anesthesiologists, urologists, plastic surgeons, orthopedists and other support staff.
The Saudi Conjoined Twins Program has assessed 150 cases from 27 countries over 35 years, separating 65 of those cases. Yara and Lara are the 16th successful separation of Saudi twins among 45 nationals that the program has examined, the SPA added.
KAUST develops new tool to advance study of human embryos
Scientists explain how tool analyzes pictures 1,000 times faster than human experts
Mo Li: With deepBlastoid we can scale up blastoid research to study embryo development
Updated 21 July 2025
Arab News
RIYADH: King Abdullah University of Science and Technology has developed a new tool to study models of human embryos grown under artificial laboratory conditions.
Scientists at the university have explained how the tool — deepBlastoid — is capable of analyzing pictures of the models with results of equal quality to human experts — but 1,000 times faster.
“Little is known about the very early stages of embryo development. With deepBlastoid we can scale up blastoid research to study embryo development and the effects of chemicals on the embryo and pregnancy,” said Mo Li, an associate professor at KAUST and an expert in stem cell biology.
The laboratory at which Li works pioneered the embryo models known as human blastoids.
The understanding of the human embryo in its early stages is significantly important for scientists in order to study fertility and detect pregnancy complications as well as developmental disorders.
Due to ethical considerations, this type of research on human embryos has been limited.
In this study, researchers at KAUST developed and trained their new tool using more than 2,000 microscopic images of blastoids.
They also used the tool to analyze the impact of various chemicals on blastoid development, examining an additional 10,000 images.
The insights gained from the KAUST research are of significance for women who are taking prescription medication or other drugs while planning for pregnancy, as they shed light on how such substances might interfere with early embryonic development.
Peter Wonka, professor and member of the Center of Excellence for Generative AI at KAUST, said that “deepBlastoid not only matches human performance in accuracy, it delivers an unparalleled increase in throughput. This efficiency allows scientists to analyze vast amounts of data in a short time, enabling experiments that were previously unfeasible.”
