MADRID: Oscar-winning Spanish actress Penelope Cruz gave birth to her second child with husband Javier Bardem, a girl, on Monday in a Madrid hospital, a source familiar with the situation said.
Spanish media reported the birth earlier on Tuesday, citing a hospital representative, though Madrid’s Clinica Ruber declined to confirm the news and representatives for Cruz and Bardem could not be reached for comment.
Cruz, 39, was still in hospital on Tuesday, the source said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
She married fellow Oscar winner Bardem in 2010 and the couple had their first child, a boy named Leo, in Los Angeles two and half years ago.
Cruz and Bardem are the only Spanish actors to have won academy awards, both for supporting roles. They first met on the set of a Spanish film in 1992 but got together after starring in Woody Allen’s 2008 comedy “Vicky Cristina Barcelona.”
They are due to appear together in supporting roles in “The Counselor,” a film directed by Ridley Scott, scheduled for release later this year.
Penelope Cruz, husband welcome daughter same day as royal baby
Penelope Cruz, husband welcome daughter same day as royal baby
Saudi space agencies launch competition to develop innovative space-based solutions
RIYADH: The Communications, Space and Technology Commission and the Saudi Space Agency, in partnership with Neo Space Group, have launched the global SpaceUp Competition to develop innovative space-based solutions.
The contest aims to promote space entrepreneurship, support local companies specializing in space-based solutions, attract global entrepreneurs, startups and small and medium-sized enterprises, and encourage the adoption of space-based solutions across various sectors.
SpaceUp offers six challenge tracks with contractual opportunities of around $28 million, in addition to providing direct access to end-users and localization.
The first track, “Monitoring Date Palms Pest and Disease,” sponsored by the Ministry of Environment, Water, and Agriculture and the Weqaa Center, focuses on space-based solutions to monitor palm farms and detect pests.
The second, “Improving City Livability by Monitoring Urban Heat Islands,” by the Quality of Life Program, aims to solve the problem of rising temperatures in crowded cities.
“Monitoring the Impact of Infrastructure Development,” by Riyadh Infrastructure Projects Center, promotes infrastructure projects and traffic management.
The fourth and fifth tracks, both sponsored by the Ministry of Municipalities and Housing, are “Optimizing Urban Road Assets,” which aims to provide solutions to detect urban road damage and improve maintenance, and “Mapping of Urban Trees,” focused on monitoring and maintaining urban green spaces.
The final track, “Greening Saudi Arabia,” seeks to monitor tree growth and support sustainability efforts related to the Saudi Green Initiative.
“The SpaceUp Competition extends the efforts of CST and the SSA in enhancing investment opportunities in the Saudi space sector and stimulating research and innovation,” said a statement released by the CST on Monday.
Registration for the competition starts on Jan. 20 and will be open until April 12 via the competition webpage at https://new.cst.gov.sa/en/about/program-and-initiatives/spaceup-competition
Al-Kharj dates, coffee festival records $2.6m in sales
- 10-day festival featured 30 companies and shops offering over 26 varieties of dates and other products
RIYADH: Sales at the first Al-Kharj Festival of Saudi Dates and Coffee has exceeded SR10 million ($2.6 million), the Saudi Press Agency reported on Monday.
Visitors were drawn to Saudi Arabia coffee and dates due to special offers, the approaching holy month of Ramadan, and access to specialized markets with daily promotions.
The 10-day festival featured 30 companies and shops offering more than 26 varieties of dates and related products, according to the SPA.
Additionally, 20 coffee shops were selling 2 to 3 tonnes of the brew daily, with sales increasing to around 5 tonnes on weekends.
The festival, supported by various government departments and institutions within the governorate, underscored the importance of these two products in Saudi Arabia culture, the SPA added.
Dates represent the Kingdom’s agricultural heritage and its status as one of the world’s leading producers and exporters, while local coffee is a vital part of the national identity, symbolizing generosity and social authenticity.
Abdulaziz Al-Sharif, chairman of the festival’s organizing committee, said the event provided an opportunity for small- and medium-sized enterprises and specialized companies to connect with a wider audience and showcase their products.
The festival’s primary goal was to enhance Al-Kharj’s reputation as a vibrant tourist and heritage destination, while promoting local products on both national and international levels, the SPA reported.
Imran Khan to appeal land graft conviction in Pakistan high court this week— lawyer
- Khan was sentenced to 14 years, his wife to seven years in prison by an accountability court last week
- Case involves charitable entity Al-Qadir Trust, set up by ex-premier and his wife Bushra Khan in 2018
ISLAMABAD: Former prime minister Imran Khan will appeal against his conviction in a land graft case in a high court this week, his lawyer Salman Akram Raja confirmed days after the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder was handed a 14-year jail sentence in the case.
An accountability court in Pakistan’s capital on Friday handed Khan a 14-year jail sentence and slapped his third wife with a seven-year imprisonment term after finding them both guilty of receiving land as a bribe from a real estate tycoon.
The couple say that the Al-Qadir Trust, set up by Khan and Bushra Khan in 2018 when he was still in office, was established to impart religious education. Pakistani authorities, however, say the trust was a front for the couple to receive valuable land as a bribe from real estate developer Malik Riaz Hussain, who is one of Pakistan’s richest and most powerful businessmen.
Hussain, like Khan and his wife, both deny any wrongdoing in the case. Khan’s party responded to the verdict last week by saying it lacked “any solid foundation and is bound to collapse.”
“If [the appeal] is not filed tomorrow [Monday] then it will be filed the day after [Tuesday],” Raja told ARY News, a private news channel, on Sunday night. “And obviously, we will file a request with the appeal to dismiss this verdict and that the punishment should also be dismissed,” he added.
Raja hoped the high court would listen to the appeal “soon” and issue its verdict within the next few weeks. He said after the high court’s verdict, whichever party disagrees with the decision will then appeal against its decision at the Supreme Court.
He did not specify which high court the party intends to file Khan’s appeal in.
Authorities say the Al-Qadir Trust scheme originated with 190 million pounds repatriated to Pakistan in 2019 by Britain after Hussain forfeited cash and assets to settle a British probe into whether they were proceeds of crime.
Instead of putting it in Pakistan’s treasury, Khan’s government is accused of using the money to pay fines levied by a court against Hussain for illegal acquisition of government lands at below-market value for development in Karachi.
Raja reiterated that Khan and his wife had not personally benefitted from the amount repatriated to Pakistan, saying that it had been used to pay Hussain’s fines as a result of a mutual understanding between the real estate tycoon and the UK’s National Crime Agency.
“Our stance is clear: that this decision is against the law and logic,” he said. “And cannot under any circumstances stand after an appeal.”
Khan, who has been in jail since August 2023 and faces a slew of legal cases, says all charges against him are politically motivated and being backed by his political rivals led by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and the country’s all-powerful military. Both deny the allegations.
The announcement of the controversial verdict was delayed three times, most recently last Monday, as the government holds reconciliation talks with Khan’s PTI party.
UAE’s money supply M1 increases 1.5% to $247.7bn
RIYADH: The UAE’s M1 money supply saw a monthly rise of 1.5 percent at the end of October, reaching 909.9 billion dirhams ($247.7 billion), according to the latest figures released by the country’s central bank.
The summary report revealed the rise was primarily driven by a 14.9 billion dirhams increase in monetary deposits, which offset a 1.3 billion dirhams decline in currency circulating outside banks.
M1 supply includes liquid money that can be used for spending or transactions. It consists of cash, including coins and paper bills, and funds in checking accounts that are readily accessible for daily transactions.
The UAE’s M2 money supply, which includes M1 and quasi-monetary deposits, rose by 0.9 percent, reaching 2.27 trillion dirhams at the end of October, up from 2.25 trillion dirhams in September.
This growth was driven by an increase in M1 and a 7.5 billion dirhams rise in quasi-monetary deposits.
The country’s M3 money supply, which encompasses M2 and government deposits, grew by 1.3 percent, reaching 2.75 trillion dirhams at the end of October, compared to 2.72 trillion dirhams in September.
The report highlighted that the increase was largely attributed to the expansion of M2 and a 13.8 billion dirhams rise in government deposits.
The M3 money supply is calculated by adding government deposits held at banks operating in the UAE and the Central Bank to the M2 money supply.
The UAE’s monetary base saw a slight decline of 0.1 percent, falling to 743 billion dirhams at the end of October from 743.5 billion dirhams in September.
The decrease was primarily driven by a 11.4 percent drop in banks’ and other financial corporations’ current accounts and overnight deposits with the central bank.
This decline overshadowed increases in currency issuance by 0.8 percent, reserve accounts by 0.05 percent, and monetary bills and Islamic certificates of deposit by 6.2 percent.
The UAE’s gross banking assets, including bankers’ acceptances, grew by 1.3 percent, reaching 4.46 trillion dirhams at the end of October, up from 4.4 trillion dirhams in September.
The UAE’s gross credit rose by 0.6 percent, reaching 2.17 trillion dirhams at the end of October, compared to 2.16 trillion dirhams in September.
This increase was driven by a 0.6 percent rise in domestic credit and a 0.7 percent increase in foreign credit.
Domestic credit growth was driven by a 0.2 percent increase in lending to the government sector, a 3.0 percent rise in lending to the public sector, and a 0.1 percent increase in lending to the private sector, which outweighed a 1.8 percent decline in credit to non-banking financial institutions.
The country’s total bank deposits climbed by 1.5 percent, reaching 2.80 trillion dirhams at the end of October, up from 2.76 trillion dirhams in September.
This growth was driven by a 1.2 percent rise in resident deposits and a 4.7 percent increase in non-resident deposits.
The increase in resident deposits was attributed to higher deposits from the government sector by 2.3 percent, government-related entities by 3.6 percent, and the private sector by 1.1 percent, which offset a 13 percent decline in funds from non-banking financial institutions.
Saudi project clears 732 Houthi mines in Yemen
RIYADH: Members of Saudi Arabia’s Project Masam removed 732 explosive devices from various regions of Yemen last week.
The total included eight anti-personnel mines, 51 anti-tank mines, 672 unexploded ordnances and one explosive device, according to a recent report.
Ousama Al-Gosaibi, the initiative’s managing director, said a total of 478,954 mines had been cleared since its inception in 2018.
The explosives were planted indiscriminately and posed a threat to civilians, including children, women and the elderly.
The demining operations took place in Marib, Aden, Jouf, Shabwa, Taiz, Hodeidah, Lahij, Sanaa, Al-Bayda, Al-Dhale and Saada.
The initiative trains local demining engineers and provides them with modern equipment. It also offers support to Yemenis injured by the devices.
Teams are tasked with clearing villages, roads and schools to facilitate safe movement for civilians and the delivery of humanitarian aid.
About 5 million people have been forced to flee their homes since the start of the conflict in Yemen, many of them displaced by the presence of land mines.
