Author: Editorial Team

JEDDAH — Former Okaz Organization for press and publications General Manager Dr. Walid Jameel Qattan passed away on Friday at the age of 71 after a long illness, leaving behind a distinguished legacy in Saudi Arabia’s media and administrative sectors. Dr. Qattan was regarded as one of the key figures who played a major role in shaping and modernizing institutional work within Okaz Organization, particularly in the areas of administration, marketing, revenue development and financial sustainability during a transformative period for Saudi media institutions. Born in Jeddah in 1955, Qattan completed his early education in the city before earning a…

Following the news around hantavirus and discussions on social media, doctors in the UAE are reassuring residents that the virus is not easily spread between people and behaves very differently from Covid-19. UAE authorities, including the National Emergency Crisis and Disaster Management Authority (NCEMA) and Ministry of Health and Prevention (MoHAP), have also said the country is fully prepared to deal with potential health threats while continuing to monitor the situation closely. Healthcare experts told Khaleej Times that while hantavirus infections can be serious, the virus remains rare and is mainly linked to contact with infected rodents and contaminated environments…

Acting Director-General of Prisons Major General Dr. Fahd Al-Osaimi presented a working paper at the guidance during Hajj symposium organized by the General Administration of Guidance and Counseling at the Ministry of Interior, in the presence of Deputy Minister of Interior for Operations Affairs Mohammed bin Muhanna Al-Muhanna, at the Ministry of Interior Club in Makkah Region.  The paper addressed integrated efforts among security and service entities during Hajj and their contribution to enhancing the quality of services provided to pilgrims. Source: Riyadh Daily

Cisco recently announced the release of Splunk’s latest research, The Hidden Costs of Downtime, revealing the aggregate cost of unplanned downtime for Global 2000 companies has surged to $600 billion annually – a 50% increase in just two years. In partnership with Oxford Economics, the Splunk study shows that the financial toll of an outage is immediate, severe, and potentially long-lasting. Downtime has become a systemic business crisis that threatens revenue, brand equity and shareholder value, costing an organisation $95 million in lost revenue annually. This is nearly twice the level seen in 2024. “Downtime is inevitable; prolonged disruption is…

MAKKAH — Saudi Interior Minister and Chairman of the Supreme Hajj Committee Prince Abdulaziz bin Saud reviewed on Thursday the operational readiness of Hajj security forces to implement approved security and organizational plans for the 1447H Hajj season. The inspection took place during the annual ceremony organized by participating Hajj security forces in Makkah. Director of Public Security and Chairman of the Hajj Security Committee Lieutenant General Mohammed Al-Bassami said in a speech during the event that the Saudi leadership has mobilized all capabilities and resources to serve pilgrims, making the Kingdom a global model in crowd management and large-scale…

MAKKAH — Saudi Arabia’s National Center for Meteorology forecast stable weather conditions on Thursday along roads leading from Madinah to Makkah and the holy sites, with hot to extremely hot temperatures expected during daytime hours. The center said maximum temperatures are expected to reach 42 degrees Celsius, while minimum temperatures could fall to 22 degrees Celsius. Relative humidity is forecast at around 29%, with surface winds expected to become active in some open areas, potentially causing light dust conditions. The National Center for Meteorology urged travelers and pilgrims to follow preventive guidelines, ensure vehicles are properly prepared before travelling, and…

The partnership brings together insurer and provider capabilities to strengthen integration and advance digitally enabled, quality-governed healthcare delivery Published: Thu 14 May 2026, 1:43 PM Mediclinic Middle East, one of the UAE’s leading integrated private healthcare providers, and MetLife, a leading global insurance and financial services provider, have entered a strategic partnership to provide eligible MetLife customers in the UAE with access to Mediclinic’s Virtual Clinic as an added benefit. Through this collaboration, eligible customers can access teleconsultations via Mediclinic’s Virtual Clinic. Services include virtual consultations, electronic prescriptions with medication delivery where appropriate, laboratory referrals including home sample collection, and…

The General Authority for the Care of the Affairs of the Grand Mosque and the Prophet’s Mosque is upgrading the Grand Mosque’s Zamzam water distribution ecosystem to accommodate the rising number of pilgrims during the 1447 AH Hajj season. This strategy expands service points and enhances fountain efficiency to reduce waste, ensure rapid response times, and maintain high service quality across the mosque and its courtyards.  The infrastructure includes 169 drinking fountains, roughly 14,892 daily dispensers, and the distribution of over 2,146,000 cups each day. Daily consumption averages 1,622 cubic meters of Zamzam water, backed by 70 daily safety and…

ASUS recently conducted an extreme environment experiment by sending the new ExpertBook Ultra laptop above the altitude of Mount Everest to evaluate the reliability of the most advanced model in the ExpertBook series under real-world conditions. The device remained fully operational throughout ascent, descent, and landing. As the most advanced ExpertBook to date, ExpertBook Ultra is built to empower professionals who demand elegance without compromise — delivering mobility, intelligence, and reliability for modern, high-performance workflows. “Durability is embedded into our notebooks from the very beginning of the design process and is not just an afterthought. While most laptops are designed…

Arab Cinema Week returns to Cinema Akil for its fifth edition this June, cementing its place as one of UAE’s foremost cinematic showcases. Running from June 5 to 11 at Alserkal Avenue, the week-long programme brings together a compelling mix of films, voices and conversations that spotlight the evolving language of Arab storytelling. Now in its milestone fifth year, Arab Cinema Week Volume 5 is presented by Fujifilm Middle East and features a curated selection of nine films representing 10 Arab countries. Spanning fiction, documentary and hybrid forms, this year’s line-up comprises deeply personal narratives exploring themes, such as conflict,…