Saudi doctor says yoga may be prescription for better health

Shaikhah Alorf began practicing yoga during the coronavirus pandemic. She ranked sixth in the 3rd Online International Yoga championship, which had 170 participants from all over the world. (Supplied)
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Updated 18 August 2022
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Saudi doctor says yoga may be prescription for better health

  • Shaikhah Alorf said that as a preventive physician and yoga instructor, she appreciates the power of lifestyle, movement and mind-body practices

JEDDAH: Yoga is gaining popularity as a fitness trend in Saudi Arabia, and a doctor specializing in preventive medicine and public health believes it is as important as any medication to improve the quality of our lives.

Shaikhah Alorf said that as a preventive physician and yoga instructor, she appreciates the power of lifestyle, movement and mind-body practices, such as yoga, which “bring greater balance into our lives and improve our health.”

Alorf began practicing yoga during the coronavirus pandemic. “During quarantine I was struggling with all what was happening in the world, and I found peace in yoga,” she said.

“I was in my second year of the Saudi Board of Preventive Medicine, preparing for an important exam and working through the pandemic. This created a lot of anxiety and stress, and affected my mental and physical health. I used to do sport, but I noticed that it was another source of stress for me in that period. So, when I started yoga, it felt good, my sleeping started to get better, I started to feel relaxed more and I never stopped until today.”

Alorf said that her love of yoga comes from being a doctor, which prompted her to explore scientific research on the practice.

“I always say that yoga changes the way you deal with every negative thing that happens during your day. We can’t control the bad thing that happens to us, but we can control how we react to it,” she said.

Alorf’s love for yoga is obvious, from encouraging people to opt for a healthy lifestyle to posting yoga tips on her social media account. “I often make sure to spread motivational messages to practice yoga as a sport, and I always say to those around me: Give it 10 minutes a day and you will notice a psychological and physical difference.”

Aside from the physical improvements, one of the greatest benefits of yoga is how it helps people manage stress and anxiety, she said.

Alorf was recently ranked sixth in the the 3rd Online International Yoga championship, which had 170 participants from all over the world. “I feel so happy and blessed. I hope to achieve success in the upcoming international competitions, and this is what I am working on through extensive training.”

She said that people in Saudi Arabia are turning to yoga. “The Saudi Yoga Committee has been playing a major role in promoting yoga. It’s a new sport here, but it’s rising. I can see awareness about yoga is increasing. Taking care of your body and mind is becoming a priority in Saudi Arabia,” she said.

Asked how she focuses on both as a preventive physician and a yoga instructor, she said: “Time is my secret weapon, I love my job and I love yoga, and I find myself in all of them, therefore I am working on improving in both fields. During the day I focus on medical work, and at night I focus on studying and understanding yoga.”


Jordan closes airspace, says it won’t be battleground for any conflict

Updated 8 min 17 sec ago
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Jordan closes airspace, says it won’t be battleground for any conflict

DUBAI: Jordan has not and will not allow any violation of its airspace, nor will it be a battleground for any conflict, a senior minister said in a statement on Friday.

“Jordan’s national security is a red line, and the Kingdom will not allow any attempt to threaten its security and the safety of its citizens,” Mohammad Momani, Minister of Government Communication and Government Spokesperson added.

Momani also urged the international community to exercise pressure in order to restore calm and prevent further escalation in the region.

Jordan’s aviation authority closed the country’s airspace and grounded all flights after Israel attacked Iran.

“The Kingdom’s airspace is temporarily closed, and air traffic suspended for all aircraft – incoming, outgoing and in transit, as a precaution against any risks resulting from the regional escalation,” the authority said in a statement.

The country’s armed forces were also placed on high alert in response to growing regional tensions, a military source said, in a report from state news agency Petra.

The General Command was closely monitoring developments in the region and that the armed forces were at the highest levels of operational and logistical readiness to respond any potential emergencies, the Petra report noted.


Pakistan’s Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces to present budgets 2025-26 today

Updated 16 min 39 sec ago
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Pakistan’s Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces to present budgets 2025-26 today

  • Pakistan’s federal government announced its budget 2025-26, with total outlay of $62 billion, on Tuesday
  • Sindh CM Murad Ali Shah, who also holds finance portfolio, will present budget at 3:00 pm, says state media

KARACHI: Pakistan’s Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) provinces will present their annual budgets for the fiscal year 2025-26 today, Friday, in their respective assemblies, state-run media reported.

The development will take place a few days after Pakistan’s central government announced the federal budget for the fiscal year 2025-26 with a total outlay of Rs7.57 trillion ($62 billion). Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb presented the budget in parliament on Tuesday, which allocates Rs2.55 trillion ($9 billion) for defense spending in FY26, compared to Rs2.12 trillion in the fiscal year ending this month.

Pakistan’s provincial governments announce their annual budgets typically a few days after the federal government. KP Minister for Finance Aftab Alam Afridi will present the budget in the KP Assembly at 3:00 pm, state broadcaster Radio Pakistan reported.

“In Sindh, Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah, who also holds the portfolio of finance will present the budget in Sindh assembly in Karachi at three in the afternoon,” the report said.

The state media said Pakistan’s most populous Punjab province will announce its budget on Monday.

The federal government announced a significant income tax relief for the salaried class in its budget earlier this week, aiming to ease the burden on people amid high inflation and economic uncertainty. The income tax rate for individuals earning between Rs600,000 and Rs1.2 million ($2,128–$4,255) annually would be cut from 5 percent to 2.5 percent.

“For those earning up to Rs22,000,000 [$7,788], the tax rate has been proposed at 11 percent instead of 15 percent. Similarly, those who earn a higher salary, there is a proposition of tax reduction,” Aurangzeb said.

“For those who are earning between Rs22,000,000 [$7,788] up to Rs32,000,000 [$11,328], the tax rate has been proposed to be reduced from 25 percent to 23 percent,” he added.

For high-income earners making over Rs10 million ($35,460) annually, a 1 percent reduction in the additional surcharge has been recommended to help curb the ongoing brain drain, the minister said.

BUDGET 2025-26 HIGHLIGHTS:

GDP/DEFICIT

* GDP growth projected to be 4.2 percent

* Nominal GDP seen at 129.57 trillion rupees

* Fiscal deficit expected to be 3.9 percent of GDP

* Targets primary surplus of 2.4 percent of GDP

INFLATION

* Targets inflation at 7.5 percent

EXPENDITURE

* Total spending seen at 17.57 trillion rupees

* Defense expenditure of 2.55 trillion rupees targeted

* Interest payments projected at 8.21 trillion rupees

REVENUE

* Total gross revenue of 19.28 trillion rupees targeted

* Targets total tax revenue of 14.1 trillion rupees

* Aiming for net external receipts of 106 billion rupees

($1 = 282.0000 Pakistani rupees)


Streaming successes: What’s coming to your screens later this year 

Updated 27 min ago
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Streaming successes: What’s coming to your screens later this year 

  • From stressed-out cooks to foul-mouthed spymasters, the must-see shows still to come in 2025 

‘Squid Game’ season 3 

Starring: Lee Jung-jae, Lee Byung-hun, Wi Ha-joon 

Where: Netflix  

When: June 27 

The final season of the South Korean survival thriller about a game show where the rewards are enormous but loss means death, Seong Gi-hun (or player 456, as you might know him) and his friends must fight for survival in ever-more fiendish challenges. The VIPs — the wealthy individuals who fund the games — return to the island once again, perhaps setting the stage for a vengeance-fueled finale and a showdown between the Front Man and his brother, police officer Jun-ho. 

‘Ironheart’ 

Starring: Dominique Thorne, Anthony Ramos, Lyric Ross 

Where: Disney+ 

When: June 25 

This Marvel miniseries is a spinoff from the “Black Panther” movie franchise and follows MIT student and genius inventor Riri Williams, aka Ironheart, who was responsible for creating the vibranium detector that sparked the events of 2022’s “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” in which she also invented an exoskeleton to rival that of Tony Stark/Ironman so that she could fight alongside the Wakandans. Now Williams has returned home to Chicago, where she meets Parker Robbins, aka The Hood, who is able to access dark magic, setting Williams on a “path of danger and adventure.”  

‘The Bear’ season 4 

Starring: Jeremy Allen White, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Ayo Edebiri 

Where: Disney+ 

When: June 26 

The first two seasons of the horribly tense kitchen-based drama “The Bear” were fantastic TV. The third? Not so much. (Although it should be said that even weak episodes of “The Bear” are still better than the vast majority of shows.) But hopefully season four finds super-talented chef Carmy Berzatto and his crew back on form as they try to make a success of the titular family restaurant which they’ve shifted from run-down sandwich shop to fine-dining venue. And after a wait of almost a year, we’ll finally get to find out what that all-important review said. 

‘Wednesday’ season 2  

Starring: Jenna Ortega, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Luis Guzman 

Where: Netflix  

When: August 6 

Wednesday Addams is back at Nevermore Academy for another year. And this time around, the rest of her spooky, kooky family will be spending a lot more time there, too — much to Wednesday’s chagrin — and not just because her brother Pugsley has enrolled. Co-showrunners Alfred Gough and Miles Millar have promised a “darker, more complex” series. And at Netlix’s live Tudum event last month, it was announced that Lady Gaga will be guest starring as the “mysterious and enigmatic” Nevermore teacher Rosaline Rotwood. 

‘Slow Horses’ season 5 

Starring: Gary Oldman, Jack Lowden, Kristin Scott Thomas 

Where: Apple+ TV 

When: Sept. 24 

Former British super-spy Jackson Lamb and his unfortunate crew of misfit spooks return for another series of this excellent, darkly humorous espionage drama. This time around, the trouble starts when Slough House’s resident tech nerd Roddy gets a glamorous new girlfriend, who everyone — or, at least, everyone except for Roddy — can see is well out of his league. The show is an adaptation of Mick Herron’s “Slough House” novels, and this season is based on “London Rules.” “Ted Lasso” star Nick Mohammed is perhaps the biggest new name to join the cast; he'll be playing an ambitious London mayoral candidate. 

‘Stranger Things’ season 5 

Starring: Winona Ryder, David Harbour, Millie Bobby Brown 

Where: Netflix 

When: November 26 

The final (really?) season of the phenomenally successful Eighties-set sci-fi horror drama has a lot to live up to. Once again, psychokinetic Eleven and her pals in Hawkins, Indiana, must fight to save the Earth from the alternate dimension known as the Upside Down. Since its arrival on our screens in 2016, “Stranger Things” has been one of the world’s most talked-about and beloved series. Showrunners The Duffer Brothers have got pretty much everything right so far. Can they stick the landing? 


Club World Cup marks ‘new era’ for football: Infantino

Updated 34 min 30 sec ago
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Club World Cup marks ‘new era’ for football: Infantino

  • The 32-team competition, with clubs from all continents, gets under way with Inter Miami facing Egyptian club Al Ahly at Hard Rock Stadium
  • The Swiss official, who was general secretary of European body UEFA before taking the helm at FIFA in 2016, said that the club tournament also offered chances to players from over 80 countries

MIAMI: FIFA President Gianni Infantino says the Club World Cup, which kicks off on Saturday, marks a historic “new era” for the game, comparing it to the first World Cup held in 1930.

In an interview with AFP, Infantino also took aim at critics of FIFA’s ticketing policy and said that skeptics who had questioned the need for the tournament would quickly change their minds.

The 32-team competition, with clubs from all continents, gets under way with Inter Miami facing Egyptian club Al Ahly at Hard Rock Stadium.

“It starts a new era of football, a new era of club football. A little bit like when, in 1930, the first World Cup, right, started,” Infantino told AFP.

“Everyone today speaks about the very first World Cup. That’s why it’s also, this World Cup here is historic.”

The first World Cup was held in Uruguay in 1930 and Infantino noted that only European and South American teams took part, adding that the Club World Cup would give a chance to clubs from outside of football’s traditional heartlands to play on the global stage.

“We want to be inclusive. We want to give opportunities to clubs from all over the world,” he said.

“It’s really to globalize football, to make it truly, truly global. Because when you scratch the surface, we say it’s the number one sport in the world, and it is but then the elite is very concentrated in very few clubs, in very few countries,” he said.

The Swiss official, who was general secretary of European body UEFA before taking the helm at FIFA in 2016, said that the club tournament also offered chances to players from over 80 countries.

“Countries who would never have a chance to play in a World Cup are suddenly part of a World Cup and they feel to be part of it, the fans of these players and of these clubs,” added Infantino, who noted several great players of the past who never played in a World Cup,

“A very good friend of mine is George Weah...former legend, great player, Ballon d’Or winner, only African player who ever won the Ballon d’Or, by the way. He never played in a World Cup. He would have been playing in a Club World Cup and made not only his club and also his country proud,” he added.

Infantino dismissed concerns that the tournament added to fixture congestion but acknowledged that some fans were yet to be sure of the value of the tournament, saying though that would quickly change.

“I believe, I’m convinced that, you know, as soon as the ball starts rolling, the whole world will realize what is happening here. It’s something special,” he said.

Reports of low uptake of tickets for same games has led to criticism of FIFA’s ticketing policy with ‘dynamic pricing’, increasingly common in the United States, allowing for prices to rise and fall according to demand.

But Infantino defended the approach and the decision to offer heavy discounts to students in Miami.

“I’m a positive person generally, but they criticize FIFA if the prices are too high, then they criticize FIFA if the prices are too low.

“Then they criticize FIFA if we make ticketing promotions with students. Students! I mean, when I was a student and I didn’t have money, I would have loved FIFA to come to me and say, you want to come and watch a World Cup match?”

“We don’t want to see empty stadiums. I believe the stadiums will be pretty full,” he said.

The FIFA president said that the tournament, which secured a global broadcasting deal with DAZN reported to be worth $1 billion, was already an economic success and stressed that all the money generated from commercial deals would be plowed back into the game.

Asked how he would judge whether the tournament had been a success, Infantino said he would feel it in his ‘heart’ but said he was confident.

“In terms of inclusivity, in terms of economy, in terms of fan interest, you take all of these criteria, we’ll speak again at the end of the club World Cup, but already now, I (feel positive), when I look at the number of tickets sold, and I look at the TV rights,” he said, noting that the games were available on DAZN’s streams for free.

“Tell me one top competition today, where you can watch football for free?” he asked.

The Club World Cup has also been caught up in the US’s fierce debates over immigration control with games being held near Los Angeles, scenes of violent clashes between protesters and immigration officers.

“Security for me and for us is a top priority, always. So when something is happening, like in Los Angeles we are obviously monitoring the situation, we are in constant contact with the authorities, we want fans to go in games in a safe environment,” he said.


REVIEW: ‘Stick’ — Apple’s golf-based comedy unlikely to rival ‘Ted Lasso’ success

Updated 37 min 34 sec ago
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REVIEW: ‘Stick’ — Apple’s golf-based comedy unlikely to rival ‘Ted Lasso’ success

  • Owen Wilson’s charisma shines through, but ‘Stick’ is forgettable fluff

JEDDAH: You remember “Ted Lasso,” right? The Jason Sudeikis-fronted feelgood football-based sporting comedy that was a huge hit for Apple? Apple sure does. Hence “Stick.”

The Jason Sudeikis of “Stick” is Owen Wilson — a solid choice, possessed of a similar goofy charisma and real comedy pedigree. The football of “Stick” is golf. Which, while it’s easier to convincingly replicate to a high standard on screen (the supposedly elite football action in “Ted Lasso” was, unintentionally, just as hilarious as its best jokes) is also nowhere near as visually engaging as football. So “Stick” already has a lot of work to do.

The plot: Wilson is former pro golfer Pryce “Stick” Cahill, a serious talent who had a serious meltdown during a televised tournament, basically ruining his life. He now sells golf gear, gives lessons, and carries out side hustles with his former caddy Mitts (Marc Maron, doing what Marc Maron does — grumpy, cynical, with a glimpse of heart). And he’s going through a protracted divorce with a woman he still clearly loves but who has moved on.

One day, Pryce spots a young teen, Santi (Peter Dager), smashing balls further than most pros manage. Pryce quickly identifies that Santi is a prodigy and convinces his single mom Elena (Mariana Trevino) to let him coach/manage/try and qualify Santi for the US amateur championships. This involves a road trip in Mitts’ RV. It also involves Pryce handing over $100,000 that he really can’t afford to Elena to prove to her he’s serious. She knows Santi’s good, but since his dad — and former coach — left them, he hasn’t wanted to play golf at all. Santi is hugely talented, but prone to losing his head if things don’t go perfectly for him.

And that’s about it (in episodes up to the time of writing). We follow the mismatched crew on their road trip; Santi plays some golf and wows people; Pryce kind of becomes a substitute dad; Mitts and Elena bicker in a kind of flirty way. Nothing much happens, no huge laughs are had, Dager is a convincing mix of adolescent arrogance and angst, and Wilson is his usual quirky, charming self.

There’s nothing to hate about “Stick,” but there’s nothing really to love about it either. It’s nice. It’s vaguely entertaining. I’m already forgetting it.