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India, Saudi Arabia to explore new cooperation in space

Saudi Space Commission chief executive Dr. Mohammed bin Saud Al-Tamimi, right, visits a space research center in India on March 10, 2023. (Saudi Space Commission)
Saudi Space Commission chief executive Dr. Mohammed bin Saud Al-Tamimi, right, visits a space research center in India on March 10, 2023. (Saudi Space Commission)
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Updated 17 March 2023

India, Saudi Arabia to explore new cooperation in space

India, Saudi Arabia to explore new cooperation in space
  • Saudi Space Commission CEO visited India’s space agency, research centers last week
  • Indian startups in the space sector look forward to cooperating with companies from the Kingdom
Updated 17 March 2023
Sanjay Kumar

NEW DELHI: India is working on new space collaborations with Saudi Arabia, focusing on downstream applications and satellite manufacturing, the Indian Space Research Organization said on Friday.

ISRO, India’s national space agency, has been cooperating with the Kingdom under a 2010 agreement with King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology. There has been growing interest in expanding the collaboration since 2018, following the formation of the Saudi Space Commission, whose CEO, Dr. Mohammed Al-Tamimi, visited India last week.

The trip aimed at enhancing “joint cooperation between the two countries in the future of the space sector,” Al-Tamimi said on Twitter after meeting with ISRO officials and representatives of the industry, as well as visiting research centers.

“Both sides are currently working on a new space cooperation MoU with enhanced areas of cooperation,” the ISRO said in a statement to Arab News.

“India is open to share its rich experience in the field of space with Saudi Arabia, mainly in the interest areas expressed by the Saudi side like downstream applications, satellite manufacturing and academic cooperation.”

More developments are likely to come in the near future, with Al-Tamimi expected to attend the G20 Space Economy Leaders Meeting, held in India’s Bengaluru in July under the country’s 2023 presidency of the Group of 20 largest economies.

ISRO officials have also been invited to take part in Saudi Arabia’s Space Economy Forum planned for the end of this year.

India has been in the global space market since the 1960s and is targeting an almost $13 billion share by 2025, following a regulatory overhaul in 2020 that opened the door to private players and investment in the industry.

Toward reaching that goal, the Indian Space Association, a body established by the government in 2020 to facilitate business opportunities for space startups and the private sector, is looking forward to cooperating with Saudi companies. “ISpA is constantly working on increasing international collaboration with the private space industry,” retired Lt. Gen. Anil Kumar Bhatt, the association’s director general, told Arab News.

“We would be happy to engage with the Saudi Space Commission to explore opportunities for our members and link with private space companies there.”

 

 

Topics: Saudi India  Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO)

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Novocure’s lung cancer device extends survival in late-stage study

Novocure’s lung cancer device extends survival in late-stage study
Updated 58 min 18 sec ago
Reuters

Novocure’s lung cancer device extends survival in late-stage study

Novocure’s lung cancer device extends survival in late-stage study
  • The device, used with certain chemotherapies and immunotherapies, helps in creating electric fields that disrupt cancer cell growth
  • Analysts raised concerns that only a small group of patients in the study were previously treated with ICI
Updated 58 min 18 sec ago
Reuters

DUBAI: Novocure said on Tuesday its experimental device to treat a type of lung cancer showed a statistically significant improvement in extending overall survival among patients in a late-stage study.
The device, used with certain chemotherapies and immunotherapies, helps in creating electric fields that disrupt cancer cell growth.
Data from the study showed the device, along with a class of immunotherapies know as immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI), extended survival by 8 months compared to patients treated with ICI alone. However, analysts raised concerns that only a small group of patients in the study were previously treated with ICI such as Merck’s Keytruda, while it is now a standard of care and most patients take it.
This raises the question whether the data would apply in a real-world setting where most patients initiate treatment with checkpoint inhibitors, analysts said.
Novocure’s shares fell 17.1 percent to $67.70 in early trading.
“Only 2 percent of patients in the ICI arm had prior ICI exposure,” said Emily Bodnar, H.C. Wainwright & Co. analyst.
Novocure’s device along with standard therapies, including chemotherapies and immunotherapies, also extended survival to 13.2 months compared to 9.9 months in patients treated with standard therapies alone.
The therapy is the first in more than seven years to show a significant extension in overall survival in metastatic non-small cell lung cancer treatment (NSCLC) after a type of chemotherapy in late-stage study, the company said.
Lung cancer is the most common cause of cancer-related death worldwide, and NSCLC accounts for about 85 percent of all lung cancers, the company said.
Novocure plans to submit marketing application to the US Food and Drug Administration in the second half of 2023 based on the data.

Topics: Novocure lung cancer

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No sanctions on Israel for its occupation and annexation of Golan

No sanctions on Israel for its occupation and annexation of Golan
Updated 06 June 2023
Khaldon Azhari

No sanctions on Israel for its occupation and annexation of Golan

No sanctions on Israel for its occupation and annexation of Golan
  • “Generally speaking, according to the international law, to unilaterally annex land which has been taken by force, is not recognized under that law,” said Hayashi Yoshimasa
  • Many in the Arab countries voiced hope that Japan would apply sanctions against Israel in the same way they did to Russia.
Updated 06 June 2023
Khaldon Azhari

TOKYO: While Japan and G7 partners apply severe sanctions on Russia for invading Ukraine and changing the status quo by military force, they have expressed no interest in equally applying sanctions on Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories and annexation of the Syrian Golan Heights.
“Generally speaking, according to the international law, to unilaterally annex land which has been taken by force, is not recognized under that law,” Japanese Foreign Minister Hayashi Yoshimasa said in response to a question by Arab News Japan.
“From this perspective, Israel’s occupation is something that we do not recognize and we have been consistent on this point with regard to the Israeli-Palestinian dispute under the two states solution. We feel that it should be resolved between the two parties concerned,” Hayashi added.
The foreign minister was reminded of the 56th anniversary of the 1967 war in the Middle East, resulting in Israel changing the status quo of the Syrian and Palestinian borders, by annexing the Golan Heights and occupying Palestinian Territories through military force.
Many in the Arab countries voiced hope that Japan would apply sanctions against Israel in the same way they did to Russia.
Hayashi’s reply, however, suggests that changing the status quo by military force can be dealt with on a case by case principle such as by diplomacy rather than the sanctions’ approach against Russia.
“We are strongly calling upon Israel’s government to refrain from unilateral activities which change the status quo,” he urged.
Hayashi went on to say, “With regard to Russia’s aggression toward Ukraine, this disturbs the international order which was developed by the efforts of the international society and we have been liaising with the international society to take a resolute action and response to this.”
Furthermore, the Japanese foreign minister noted, “With regard to relations between countries, we make a comprehensive review based on the individual situation,” thus intimating that the Israeli occupation of Palestine and annexation of the Golan Heights are not shaking the international order.

Topics: Japan Israel Syria Golan Heights Hayashi Yoshimasa

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No sanctions on Israel for its occupation and annexation of Golan

No sanctions on Israel for its occupation and annexation of Golan
Updated 06 June 2023
Khaldon Azhari

No sanctions on Israel for its occupation and annexation of Golan

No sanctions on Israel for its occupation and annexation of Golan
  • “Generally speaking, according to the international law, to unilaterally annex land which has been taken by force, is not recognized under that law,” said Hayashi Yoshimasa
  • Many in the Arab countries voiced hope that Japan would apply sanctions against Israel in the same way they did to Russia.
Updated 06 June 2023
Khaldon Azhari

TOKYO: While Japan and G7 partners apply severe sanctions on Russia for invading Ukraine and changing the status quo by military force, they have expressed no interest in equally applying sanctions on Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories and annexation of the Syrian Golan Heights.
“Generally speaking, according to the international law, to unilaterally annex land which has been taken by force, is not recognized under that law,” Japanese Foreign Minister Hayashi Yoshimasa said in response to a question by Arab News Japan.
“From this perspective, Israel’s occupation is something that we do not recognize and we have been consistent on this point with regard to the Israeli-Palestinian dispute under the two states solution. We feel that it should be resolved between the two parties concerned,” Hayashi added.
The foreign minister was reminded of the 56th anniversary of the 1967 war in the Middle East, resulting in Israel changing the status quo of the Syrian and Palestinian borders, by annexing the Golan Heights and occupying Palestinian Territories through military force.
Many in the Arab countries voiced hope that Japan would apply sanctions against Israel in the same way they did to Russia.
Hayashi’s reply, however, suggests that changing the status quo by military force can be dealt with on a case by case principle such as by diplomacy rather than the sanctions’ approach against Russia.
“We are strongly calling upon Israel’s government to refrain from unilateral activities which change the status quo,” he urged.
Hayashi went on to say, “With regard to Russia’s aggression toward Ukraine, this disturbs the international order which was developed by the efforts of the international society and we have been liaising with the international society to take a resolute action and response to this.”
Furthermore, the Japanese foreign minister noted, “With regard to relations between countries, we make a comprehensive review based on the individual situation,” thus intimating that the Israeli occupation of Palestine and annexation of the Golan Heights are not shaking the international order.

Topics: Japan Israel Syria Golan Heights Hayashi Yoshimasa

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Top polluter Indonesia to phase out single-use plastic by 2030

Top polluter Indonesia to phase out single-use plastic by 2030
Updated 06 June 2023
SHEANY YASUKO LAI 

Top polluter Indonesia to phase out single-use plastic by 2030

Top polluter Indonesia to phase out single-use plastic by 2030
  • Over 18 percent of waste produced by Indonesia is plastic
  • Bali was first Indonesian province to ban single-use plastic in 2019
Updated 06 June 2023
SHEANY YASUKO LAI 

JAKARTA: Indonesia, one of the world’s worst plastic polluters, is going to phase out single-use plastic products by the end of 2029, Environment and Forestry Minister Siti Nurbaya announced this week, as the country aims to achieve its zero-waste goals by 2040.  

Asia has been identified as the biggest contributor to ocean plastic, and Indonesia — an archipelago nation of 270 million people — is a major source country.  

Indonesia produced 68.5 million tons of waste in 2022, government data shows, more than 18 percent of which was plastic.  

Less than 10 percent of waste is recycled in Indonesia, and more than half ends up in landfills. 

“Plastic pollution is a real threat that will impact all communities across the world,” Nurbaya said in remarks issued on the occasion of World Environment Day.  

“By the end of 2029, we will phase out several types of single-use plastics.”  

This includes plastic shopping bags, plastic straws and Styrofoam items commonly used for food packaging.  

“This is a way to deal with packaging wastes that are difficult to collect, have no (economic) value, (and are) hard to recycle,” the minister said, adding that manufacturers are also mandated to reduce their use of plastic packaging by 30 percent by the end of 2029 to “push the growth of sustainable businesses and the circular economy in Indonesia.”  

The shift to a circular economy has been advocated by the UN Environment Program, which last month said countries and companies could slash plastic pollution by 80 percent in less than two decades by implementing deep policy and market changes. 

“We are heading toward sustainable waste management (and the) practices of a circular economy,” Nurbaya said. “The potential of the circular economy not only brings economic benefits for the public but is also in line with achieving the zero-waste target by 2040, and zero emissions by 2050, or sooner.”  

Indonesia has seen efforts to reduce single-use plastics, including Bali province’s 2019 ban on single-use plastic bags, straws, and Styrofoam, and a similar one enforced in the capital, Jakarta, in 2020.  

But bans alone may not be enough when the world’s fourth most populous country is lacking a proper waste management system. 

“Government commitments and policies must prioritize reduction efforts,” Muharram Atha Rasyadi, urban campaigner at Greenpeace Southeast Asia, told Arab News. 

“Sorting-based waste management is also key … so that some materials with the potential to become waste can be managed and not all of them turn into a residue that ends up in landfills.” 

Topics: Indonesia Plastic ban

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Pope briefly at hospital for tests two months after bronchitis, returns to Vatican

Pope briefly at hospital for tests two months after bronchitis, returns to Vatican
Updated 06 June 2023
AP

Pope briefly at hospital for tests two months after bronchitis, returns to Vatican

Pope briefly at hospital for tests two months after bronchitis, returns to Vatican
  • The Vatican spokesman, Matteo Bruni, said the pontiff underwent "some clinical examinations and returned to the Vatican before noon”
  • Witnesses at the Vatican's Perugino gate said Francis greeted guards as he usually does before returning to his residence
Updated 06 June 2023
AP

ROME: Pope Francis briefly went to Rome’s main hospital on Tuesday for tests and returned to the Vatican, two months after he was hospitalized with an acute case of bronchitis.
The Vatican spokesman, Matteo Bruni, said the pontiff underwent “some clinical examinations and returned to the Vatican before noon” from the Gemelli hospital.
Witnesses at the Vatican’s Perugino gate, one of the main entrances to the city state, told The Associated Press that Francis greeted guards as he usually does before returning to his residence.
Francis, 86, spent three days at the Gemelli hospital in late March. Initially, the Vatican said he had gone in for scheduled tests, but the pontiff later revealed he had felt pain in his chest and was rushed to the hospital where bronchitis was diagnosed. He was put on intravenous antibiotics and was released April 1, quipping that he was “still alive.”
The Argentine pope had part of one lung removed when he was a young man. He also suffers from sciatica nerve pain and has been using a wheelchair and walker for more than a year because of strained ligaments in his knee.
Francis has had a packed schedule of late, with multiple audiences each day. The Vatican has recently confirmed a travel-filled August, when the Holy See and Italy are usually on vacation, with a four-day visit to Portugal the first week of August and a similarly long trip to Mongolia starting Aug. 31.
In a sign that the trips were very much on, the Vatican on Tuesday released the planned itinerary for Francis’ visit to Portugal for World Youth Day events from Aug. 2-6. The itinerary confirms a typically busy schedule that includes all the protocol meetings of an official state visit plus multiple events with young people and a day trip to the Marian shrine at Fatima.
Francis’ next public appointment, if confirmed, would be his weekly general audience on Wednesday in St. Peter’s Square.

Topics: Rome Vatican Pope Francis

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