Saudi Investment Ministry Signs 2 MoUs at Riyadh Global Medical Biotechnology Summit
Business
Asharq Al-Awsat
The Ministry of Investment signed two memorandums of understanding with Boehringer Ingelheim Company and Saudi Novo Nordisk Trading Company and King Abdullah University of Science and Technology. SPA
The Ministry of Investment signed two memorandums of understanding with Boehringer Ingelheim Company and Saudi Novo Nordisk Trading Company and King Abdullah University of Science and Technology at Riyadh Global Medical Biotechnology Summit 2023, the Saudi Press Agency reported Friday. The MoUs were signed in the presence of Minister of Investment Eng. Khalid bin Abdulaziz Al-Falih, SPA said. The summit was organized by the Ministry of National Guard represented by Health Affairs Department in Riyadh on January 25-26. The two MoUs aim to enhance joint cooperation with the biotechnology and medicine sector in the Kingdom, transfer knowledge, localize the industry, contribute to enhancing human health and quality of life, increase awareness and establish centers specialized in research, SPA said. The Ministry of Investment is a strategic partner to Riyadh Global Medical Biotechnology Summit 2023, which hosts a group of international experts to discuss the latest developments in medical biotechnology, it added.
from Asharq AL-awsat https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/4123916/saudi-investment-ministry-signs-2-mous-riyadh-global-medical-biotechnology
Gulf, Arab Countries Slam Attack on Azerbaijan’s Embassy in Tehran
Gulf
London - Asharq Al-Awsat
Police officers guard an area in front of the Iranian Embassy in Baku, Azerbaijan, Friday, Jan. 27, 2023. (AP)
Saudi Arabia strongly condemned on Thursday the attack on Azerbaijan’s embassy in the Iranian capital Tehran. The Foreign Ministry expressed the Kingdom’s solidarity with Azerbaijan and its people, calling for respecting diplomatic missions and the punishment of the perpetrators. Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Secretary-General Dr. Nayef Al-Hajraf slammed the attack, urging the need to protect diplomatic missions in line with diplomatic norms and treaties. He underlined the solidarity of the GCC with Azerbaijan. Kuwait and Jordan also condemned the attack. Kuwait underscored its firm rejection of violence and terrorism, stressing its solidarity with Azerbaijan. Jordan’s Foreign Ministry said the kingdom rejects all forms of violence, especially those that target diplomatic missio
from Asharq AL-awsat https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/4123906/gulf-arab-countries-slam-attack-azerbaijan%E2%80%99s-embassy-tehran
Ukraine Could Boycott Olympics If Russians Allowed Back, Says Minister
Sports
Asharq Al-Awsat
Paris 2024 Olympics - Official mascots of Paris 2024 Olympics unveiled - Olympic Committee Head Quarters, Saint-Denis, France - November 11, 2022. (Reuters)
Ukraine would not rule out boycotting the Olympic Games if Russian and Belarusian athletes are allowed to compete in the Paris 2024 Games, its sports minister said. Plans by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to look at ways for those athletes to return to international competition would be opposed, the minister, Vadim Guttsait, said on social media late on Thursday. "Our position is unchanged: as long as there is a war in Ukraine, Russian and Belarusian athletes should not be in international competitions," Guttsait wrote on his Facebook page. "Work is currently underway on further possible steps and first steps to continue sanctions and prevent Russians and Belarusians from international competitions," he said. "If we are not heard, I do not rule out the possibility that we will boycott and refuse participation in the Olympics." He later wrote that talks with national sports federations would begin on a possible boycott of the Paris Olympics "in case of allowing Russian and Belarusian athletes to return to international sports arenas". Since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, many sports organizations have moved events and suspended Russian teams or athletes, while sponsors have ended contracts in protests against the war. Russian and Belarusian athletes have been banned in some sports while they are allowed to compete under a neutral flag in others. The IOC, eager to see them back in international competitions, said on Wednesday the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) had offered Russian and Belarusian athletes the chance to compete in Asia, giving them a qualification pathway for the Paris Olympics. In a call with IOC President Thomas Bach in December, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy opposed the idea of Russian athletes taking part under any kind of neutral banner in the 2024 Summer Games.
from Asharq AL-awsat https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/4122641/ukraine-could-boycott-olympics-if-russians-allowed-back-says-minister
World Champion Says Rubik’s Cube and Violin Go Hand in Hand
Varieties
Asharq Al-Awsat
University of Michigan student Stanley Chapel solves a Rubik's Cube while blindfolded, Wednesday, Nov. 23, 2022, in Ann Arbor, Mich. (AP)
A University of Michigan student is one of the world’s foremost “speedcubers,” a person capable of quickly solving a Rubik’s Cube. He also is an accomplished violinist. Stanley Chapel says the two fields go hand in hand. Not only does Chapel say he has equal interest in both, but the 21-year-old says the violin has aided in his speedcubing success. “Repetition, breaking things down into their smallest fundamental elements, all of these different things that we use to improve at an instrument, and being able to take these into the world of cubing has certainly been a huge help to my progression,” said Chapel, a junior majoring in violin performance at the university's school of music, theater and dance. Chapel, who grew up in Ann Arbor not far from the Michigan campus, solved his first 3x3 Rubik’s Cube as a 14-year-old. Five weeks later, Chapel entered his first competition, solving the cube in an average of 22 seconds. Fast-forward a year to 2017 in Paris, with Chapel placing fifth in both the 4x4 blindfolded and 5x5 blindfolded categories at the World Cube Association World Championship. At the 2019 world championship in Melbourne, Australia, the recent high school graduate won both events. Factoring in the time it takes for him to review the cube before placing the blindfold over his eyes, Chapel can solve one in around 17 seconds. “The deeper I go into the realm of cubing technique, the more I find interest in pushing the boundaries of what’s possible there,” he said. Chapel has certain inherent abilities: He is capable of remembering and applying thousands of algorithms to solve a Rubik’s Cube and performing one of Johann Sebastian Bach’s violin sonatas from memory. But he also spends hours upon hours honing his craft, including doing regular hand stretches that help Chapel avoid the kinds of aches and pains that come with the frequent and frenetic turning of the cube’s sides. Chapel says years of playing the violin also has contributed to him having “very, very fine motor control already built up.” Later this year, Chapel intends to defend his world titles in South Korea. Since the 2021 event was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Chapel is the reigning champion in both heading into the 2023 event in Seoul. Once he's done with school, though, Chapel isn't sure how speedcubing fits into his future plans. “I guess it’s cool to know that nobody is able to do this,” he said. “But, at the same time, giving myself a little bit of a reality check, it’s like, ‘How much does that actually matter?’” “It’s not going to pay the bills when I’m older,” Chapel said, laughing.
from Asharq AL-awsat https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/4122461/world-champion-says-rubik%E2%80%99s-cube-and-violin-go-hand-hand
Oil Prices Advance on US Growth, Chinese Recovery Hope
Business
Asharq A-Awsat
Oil prices edged ahead for a second session on Friday. AP
Oil prices edged ahead for a second session on Friday, buoyed by stronger-than-expected US economic growth and hopes of a rapid recovery in Chinese demand as COVID-19 cases and deaths plunged from last month's peak levels. Brent futures gained 18 cents, or 0.2%, to $87.65 a barrel by 0724 GMT, while US crude rose 22 cents to $81.23 per barrel, a 0.4% gain. Both benchmarks had gained more than 1% on Thursday. The prices were flat compared with last Friday's close. If they end at higher levels, it would mark the third straight week of gains for crude, Reuters reported. "Oil might have trouble making any substantial moves to finish the week as many traders will wait to see what happens with next week's two massive events; the OPEC+ virtual meeting on output and the FOMC decision," said Edward Moya, senior market analyst at OANDA. OPEC+ delegates will meet next week to review crude production levels, amid steady support for crude prices from strong demand for jet fuel and diesel. The US Federal Reserve will decide on another rate hike, as inflation cools and gross domestic product improves. Gains on US crude were limited by a 4.2 million barrel build in stocks at Cushing, the pricing hub for NYMEX oil futures, earlier this week. Still, oil markets were boosted by broad optimism on the first day of the return of Chinese stock markets as China's reopening still plays a main role in boosting the demand outlook, said Tina Teng, analyst at CMC Markets. Critically ill COVID-19 cases in China are down 72% from a peak early this month while daily deaths among COVID-19 patients in hospitals have dropped 79% from their peak, pointing to a normalisation of the Chinese economy and boosting expectations of a recovery in oil demand. "The short-term bullish factor is that the recent outage in the US refineries helped push up gasoline prices, though the US crude inventories hit a 16-month high," Teng said.
from Asharq AL-awsat https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/4122446/oil-prices-advance-us-growth-chinese-recovery-hope
Ukraine Comes under Russian Missile Onslaught after Securing Tanks from Allies
World
Asharq Al-Awsat
Local residents remove debris from a house of their neighbor damaged by a Russian military strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in the town of Hlevakha, outside Kyiv, Ukraine January 26, 2023. (Reuters)
The danger of Russian air attacks remained high on Friday, Ukraine's military said, a day after Russian missiles and drones killed at least 11 people in what appeared to be a response to promises by Western allies to supply Ukraine with tanks. Russian forces trained tank, mortar and artillery fire on more than 60 towns and villages on Thursday in an arc of territory extending from Chernihiv and Sumy regions in the north through Kharkiv region in the northeast and in the focal points of Russian attempts to advance in Donetsk region in the east - Bakhmut and Avdiivka. Ukraine's army command said its forces had repelled Russian attacks in various places over the previous 24 hours and struck command and control points, a troop concentration, two artillery concentration areas and an ammunition depot. Reuters could not verify battlefield reports. On Thursday, air raid alarms sounded across Ukraine as Russia launched air strikes after Germany and the United States said they would send Ukraine dozens of modern tanks. More tanks will come from Canada, Poland, Britain, Finland and Norway while several more allies including France, Spain and the Netherlands were considering sending tanks too. Ukraine's military said it shot down 47 of 59 Russian missiles on Thursday. Russia also launched 37 air strikes, 17 of them using Iranian-made Shahed-136 drones. All drones were downed, the military said. Eleven people were killed and 11 wounded in the drone and missile strikes, which spanned 11 regions and also damaged 35 buildings, a State Emergency Service spokesperson said. "Not a single room is left intact, everything got hit," said Halyna Panosyan, 67, surveying twisted sheets of corrugated metal, crumpled masonry and a big missile crater outside her ruined house in Hlevakha near Kyiv. "There was an extremely loud strike that made me jump up. I was in the bedroom ... I was saved by the fact that the bedroom is to the other side of the house." Japan on Friday tightened sanctions against Russia in response to its latest wave of missile attacks in Ukraine. Energy targeted Rafael Grossi, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), who visited Ukraine last week, said IAEA monitors reported powerful explosions near Ukraine's Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station and renewed calls for a security zone around the plant. But Renat Karchaa, an adviser to the head of Rosenergoatom, the company operating Russia's nuclear plants, said the comments were unfounded and called it a "provocation". Russia has in the past reacted to Ukrainian successes with massed air strikes that left millions without light, heat or water. On Thursday, it appeared to follow that pattern. Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said Russia's attacks targeted energy plants. "Repair teams are working in those sites," President Volodomyr Zelenskiy said in an evening video address on Thursday. The Kremlin said it saw the promised delivery of Western tanks as evidence of growing "direct involvement" of the United States and Europe in the 11-month-old war, something both deny. Western allies have committed about 150 tanks while Ukraine has said it needs hundreds to break Russian defensive lines and recapture occupied territory in the south and east. Both Moscow and Kyiv, which have relied on Soviet-era T-72 tanks, are expected to mount new ground offensives in the spring. After being promised modern tanks, Ukraine is now seeking Western fourth-generation fighter jets such as the US F-16, an adviser to Ukraine's defense minister said. In Odesa, the Black Sea port designated a "World Heritage in Danger" site on Wednesday by the UN cultural agency UNESCO, Russian missiles damaged energy facilities, authorities said, just as French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna was arriving. "What we saw today, new strikes on civilian Ukrainian infrastructure is not waging war, it's waging war crimes," she said. The United States on Thursday formally designated Russian private military company the Wagner Group a transnational criminal organization, freezing its US assets for helping Russia's military in Ukraine. Since invading Ukraine on Feb. 24 last year, Russia has shifted the focus of its rhetoric from "denazifying" and "demilitarizing" its neighbor to confronting what it says is an aggressive and expansionist US-led NATO alliance. Russia's invasion has killed thousands of civilians, uprooted millions and reduced cities to rubble. Oleskandr Musiyenko, head of the Military and Strategic Research Center of Ukraine, said Russia was sending in more reinforcements to block Ukrainian advances. "They are mostly sending infantry and artillery forces into battle, made up mainly of conscripts. But they do not have the level of artillery and tank support they had on Feb. 24," Musiyenko said in an interview with Ukrainian television. "They have fewer resources. They are relying on the numerical superiority of their troops."
from Asharq AL-awsat https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/4122366/ukraine-comes-under-russian-missile-onslaught-after-securing-tanks-allies
Israel, Gaza Fighters Trade Missiles after Deadly West Bank Raid
Arab World
Asharq Al-Awsat
An ambulance drives past an Israeli military vehicle near a burning barricade in the occupied West Bank city of Jenin. Zain Jaafar / AFP
Israel launched air strikes on Gaza Friday in response to rocket fire from the Palestinian enclave, as tensions rose following the deadliest army raid on the occupied West Bank in years. Israel said it had carried out at least two rounds of strikes targeting Hamas Islamists, following waves of rocket launches towards southern Israel, AFP said. There were no reported injuries on either side and most of the Gaza rockets were intercepted by Israel's air defense system. No Palestinian group in Gaza has claimed responsibility for the rockets, but both Hamas and Islamic Jihad had vowed to respond to Thursday's Israeli raid in the West Bank, which killed nine people. Another Palestinian was killed Thursday by Israeli fire in separate West Bank unrest near Ramallah. The bloodiest day in the West Bank in years erupted during a raid on the crowded refugee camp in the northern city of Jenin, where gunshots rang through the streets and smoke billowed from burning barricades. The military said Israeli forces came under fire during a "counterterrorism operation to apprehend an Islamic Jihad squad" and shot several enemy combatants. Since its records began in 2005, the United Nations has never logged such a high death toll in a single operation in the West Bank. The violence prompted the Palestinian Authority to announce it was cutting security coordination with Israel, a move criticized by the United States. Among those confirmed dead in Jenin was Majeda Obeid, 61, who lived some meters from the house targeted by the Israeli forces. Her daughter, Kefiyat Obeid, told AFP her mother was shot as she peered out her window at the clashes. "After she finished her prayers, she stopped for a moment to look and, as she stood up, she was hit in the neck by a bullet and she fell against the wall and then to the floor," the 26-year-old told AFP, as bloodstains soaked into the rug of their home. - 'State of panic' - The military said the incursion targeted Islamic Jihad fighters who were allegedly behind attacks on Israeli soldiers and civilians and, according to Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, were planning "to conduct an attack in Israel". Three Palestinians were shot in a firefight, while Israeli forces shot a further two "fleeing the scene", an army statement said. Israeli forces also shot a sixth suspect inside a building, and other Palestinians were hit after firing on troops, the army said. There were no casualties among the Israeli forces, the military said. Wisam Bakr, director of the Jenin Government Hospital, said there was a "state of panic" in the pediatric ward, with some children suffering from tear gas inhalation. The Israeli military told AFP "the activity was not far away from the hospital, and it is possible some tear gas entered through an open window". Jenin resident Umm Youssef Al-Sawalmi said homes were hit during the raid. "Windows, doors, walls and even the refrigerator, everything was damaged by the bullets," she told AFP. Islamic Jihad spokesman Tariq Salmi vowed that "the resistance is everywhere and ready and willing for the next confrontation". The latest deaths bring the number of Palestinians killed in the West Bank so far this year to 30, including fighters and civilians, most of whom were shot by Israeli forces. Saleh al-Arouri, deputy leader of Hamas, which rules Gaza, vowed that Israel "will pay the price for the Jenin massacre". - 'Bloody massacre' - Washington earlier Thursday announced US Secretary of State Antony Blinken would travel next week to Israel and the Palestinian territories, where he will push for an "end to the cycle of violence". US regional allies Jordan, Qatar and Saudi Arabia all strongly condemned the deadly Israeli incursion. The mounting toll follows the deadliest year in the Palestinian territory recorded by the UN. At least 26 Israelis and 200 Palestinians were killed across Israel and the Palestinian territories in 2022, the majority in the West Bank, according to an AFP tally from official sources. UN peace envoy Tor Wennesland said he was "deeply alarmed and saddened by the continuing cycle of violence in the occupied West Bank". Thousands flocked to funerals in Jenin, as the Palestinian presidency announced three days of mourning. It charged that Thursday's raid was happening "under international silence".
from Asharq AL-awsat https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/4122216/israel-gaza-fighters-trade-missiles-after-deadly-west-bank-raid
