Author: Editorial Team
RIYADH — The General Directorate of Passports has urged Saudi citizens wishing to travel abroad to safeguard their passports. It called on them to protect their passports from damage or loss, avoid neglect, pledging, or misuse, and keep them in safe places. The directorate stressed the importance of verifying the validity of passports by citizens and their accompanying family members before departing the Kingdom. Passports must be valid for at least three months when traveling to Arab countries and six months when traveling to other destinations. It also emphasized that travelers to the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries must carry…
MAKKAH — The annual ceremonial washing of the Holy Kaaba will be held on Tuesday, Muharram 15, corresponding to June 30. The interior wall of the Kaaba will be washed with holy Zamzam water mixed with rose water, prepared earlier by the General Authority for the Care of the Affairs of the Two Holy Mosques. The washing of the Holy Kaaba follows the example set by Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). Towels are used to wipe the walls of the Kaaba. The interior walls are cleansed with a white cloth dipped in rose and musk perfumes. Zamzam water mixed…
The Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) launched the enhanced Regulatory Sandbox Service through its e-services portal, as part of its ongoing efforts to support the financial sector and innovators in developing advanced financial solutions. The enhanced service aims to improve applicant experience by offering fully integrated, automated processes, along with an advanced system for submitting and tracking applications. This enables a more streamlined and flexible onboarding process. SAMA emphasized that the launch reflects its continued commitment to strengthening a regulatory environment that fosters innovation in the financial sector, enabling companies and financial institutions to access the Regulatory Sandbox more efficiently, while…
“Agentic AI could cause considerable job losses as routine knowledge-work tasks are automated, making reskilling and workforce redeployment an urgent board-level priority”, Khanna said. “The companies most admired a decade from now will use AI to move people into higher-value work, rather than simply cutting headcount”. The report warns agentic AI, governance failures and workforce disruption will reshape enterprise strategy. Enterprise AI is now a board-level execution test. The report sets out a clear message for enterprise leaders: the AI race is moving from experimentation to execution. Peak State Consulting says the companies that win will be those that can…
When I moved to the UAE ten years ago, I knew very little about the place I would come to call home, and when people would ask me to describe it, I was often at a loss for words. How should I speak of it without falling into stereotypes, repeating the well-worn tropes of futurism, ease and prosperity that everyone pushes? I admit to being personally less interested in musings about the future than I am in the excavation of the past. History has always held a fascination for me. In a sense, Sheikha Bodour Al Qasimi’s memoir Let Them…
DAMMAM — Just 50 days before his wedding, Moath Al-Zahrani, one of the 14 Saudi Aramco employees who lost their lives in Sunday’s helicopter crash near Ras Tanura, was preparing to begin a new chapter of his life. Wedding invitations had been sent to family and friends the night before the tragedy. The apartment where he and his bride-to-be planned to build their future together was nearly ready, with every detail carefully arranged. Instead of gathering to celebrate his wedding, relatives, friends and colleagues gathered on Monday at Al Furqan Mosque in Dammam to perform funeral prayers for Al-Zahrani and…
RIYADH — The Ministry of Interior warned that anyone, who facilitates the entry of Border Security Law violators into the Kingdom, transports them within the country, harbors them, or provides them any form of assistance or service, shall be slapped with penalties of up to 15-year imprisonment and a maximum fine of SR1 million. The penalties also include confiscation of the vehicle used for transportation and the property used for sheltering them, as well as publicizing names of the offenders in their own personal expense. The ministry noted that this offense is classified as a major crime warranting arrest and…
A surgical team at King Abdullah Ear Specialist Center at King Saud University Medical City performed the world’s first cochlear implant procedure using autonomous navigation technology, marking a significant advancement in hearing restoration surgery. Consultant Otolaryngologist at King Saud University Medical City Dr. Farid Alzahrani explained that autonomous navigation is among the latest technologies supporting cochlear implant procedures. It enables surgeons to achieve a precise and consistent electrode insertion pathway, helping improve hearing outcomes. He noted that the procedure begins with the development of a detailed surgical plan based on medical imaging and the physiological responses expected during electrode insertion…
Construction work has recently commenced on the UK’s new £750 million national supercomputer in Scotland. Those behind the project say it will be the most powerful computer in the UK, and one of the most powerful in the world, when it is finished at the end of 2027. It will be hosted in University of Edinburgh buildings on the outskirts of Penicuik and Roslin in Midlothian, near the institute where Dolly the sheep was cloned. It is a significant step forward for a project that was shelved by the UK government when Labour came into power, and then reinstated a…
Abu Dhabi-based M42 has launched the UAE’s first genomics-driven clinical trial to attempt to prevent Alzheimer’s disease in the Emirati population. This marks a major milestone in translating the Emirati Genome Programme (EGP) into real-world clinical application. The study will use population-scale genomic data from the EGP to identify individuals who may meet the study’s Alzheimer’s disease criteria before symptoms appear. This supports research linked to earlier intervention and focuses on a shift toward prevention-focused care for the disease. The study will be conducted by M42’s Insights Research Organisation and Solutions (IROS), in collaboration with the Department of Health –…