Officials detained as investigators smash drug-smuggling operation at Al-Jouf Airport

A drug smuggling operation at Al-Jouf International Airport in Saudi Arabia, in which several government and other public-sector officials allegedly were involved, has been shut down following an extensive investigation. (Screenshots/Ministry of Interior)
A drug smuggling operation at Al-Jouf International Airport in Saudi Arabia, in which several government and other public-sector officials allegedly were involved, has been shut down following an extensive investigation. (Screenshots/Ministry of Interior)
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Updated 14 November 2024
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Officials detained as investigators smash drug-smuggling operation at Al-Jouf Airport

Officials detained as investigators smash drug-smuggling operation at Al-Jouf Airport
  • 9 people arrested, including Ministry of Interior employee, 4 people associated with the Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority, and a Saudi Electricity Company worker

RIYADH: A drug smuggling operation at Al-Jouf International Airport in Saudi Arabia, in which several government and other public-sector officials allegedly were involved, has been shut down following an extensive investigation.

An official source at the Ministry of Interior said on Thursday that nine people were detained, including a ministry employee, four people associated with the Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority, and one from the Saudi Electricity Company.

Their alleged roles in the smuggling network included helping to get the drugs into the Kingdom, ensuring shipments bypassed inspections, transporting them, and concealing them in homes and at other locations.

They also engaged in the promotion and distribution of the narcotics in the country, the Saudi Press Agency reported. The amount and type of drugs involved was not immediately apparent.

The Ministry of Interior said it remains committed to confronting all threats to national security and will take stringent action against anyone who jeopardizes the safety and stability of the country.


CERN aims to open data center at Saudi university

CERN aims to open data center at Saudi university
Updated 6 sec ago
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CERN aims to open data center at Saudi university

CERN aims to open data center at Saudi university

MANAMA: Leading particle physics research center CERN is looking to deepen its collaboration with Saudi Arabia by opening a data center at the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, a staff member has told Arab News.

Martin Gastal, CERN adviser to the Middle East and North African region, told Arab News that “the ambition of the Kingdom is to try and integrate CERN into one of its drivers for research,” adding that there are plans to launch the center at the Saudi university to analyze CERN data.

KAUST already collaborates with the Swiss center, with four KAUST students taking part in internships at CERN.

According to Gastal, the Research, Development and Innovation Authority in Saudi Arabia aims to bring together more particle physicists in the Kingdom to improve research efficiency.

Also working with NEOM University, Gastal said he hopes to find synergies between the technology developed at CERN and the research conducted at Saudi universities.

“Scientific cooperation is a way of bringing together lots of brains with different ways of thinking that bring different ideas to the table and maybe also different techniques for testing those ideas,” CERN physicist John Ellis told Arab News.

Ellis, who holds the Clerk Maxwell Professorship of theoretical physics at King’s College London, and is known for his work in helping discover the Higgs-Boson particle, spoke to Arab News at a recent event on promising work in nuclear research and particle physics.

“Most countries in the Gulf region now have some sort of collaboration with CERN … Bahrain is perhaps the most advanced,” he said.

Ellis added that Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the UAE and Oman have also forged significant partnerships with CERN, with Saudi Arabia taking part in one of its experiments.

He said that CERN’s biggest focus is on “the smallest constituents of matters,” or the particles that make up the universe.

The research center aims to understand the behavior of these particles and decipher how they once behaved in the early history of the universe to answer the fundamental questions of who we are, why we are here and where we are going.

One focus is on the particles that make up dark matter, which, astrophysicists believe, constitute most of the matter in the universe, Ellis said.

CERN is home to the Large Hadron Collider, the world’s biggest and most powerful particle accelerator. It works by colliding hadrons to create new particles and it is responsible for discovering the Higgs-Boson in 2012, a breakthrough that Ellis said was the “holy grail that we physicists have been looking for, for almost 50 years.”

Now, the focus is on carrying out more particle collisions and upgrading the experiments.

“The technological output from CERN is not just from the particles that we discover, but also from the techniques we develop to discover those particles.”

Ellis spoke to Arab News at a CERN event held jointly with the American University of Bahrain and the Sheikh Ebrahim bin Mohammed Al-Khalifa Center for Culture and Research in Manama on Tuesday.

The event hosted officials from CERN and Bahrain universities to discuss scientific collaboration between Gulf and international countries in particle physics.


Saudi program promotes Arabic in Thailand

Saudi program promotes Arabic in Thailand
Updated 13 min 32 sec ago
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Saudi program promotes Arabic in Thailand

Saudi program promotes Arabic in Thailand

RIYADH: Arabic Language Month activities in Thailand by the King Salman Global Academy for Arabic Language have concluded, reported the Saudi Press Agency.

The initiative, in cooperation with Krirk University in Bangkok and Prince of Songkla University in Hat Yai, aimed to enhance Arabic curricula, improve teacher performance and promote the language.

Activities included a scientific symposium on teaching Arabic to non-native speakers which focused on Saudi contributions to Arabic education, challenges faced by educators and students, and the development of dual-language curricula.

Workshops, training sessions and panel discussions further enriched teaching methodologies and improved learning outcomes for Arabic language students.

Abdullah Al-Washmi, the academy’s secretary-general, expressed gratitude for support from Minister of Culture Prince Badr bin Abdullah bin Farhan.

As part of the academy’s global Arabic teaching program, the initiative has been implemented in countries such as Indonesia, China, India, Uzbekistan, Brazil and France, expanding its international reach and fostering global partnerships.


150 new tech programs to train Saudi workforce

150 new tech programs to train Saudi workforce
Updated 16 min 56 sec ago
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150 new tech programs to train Saudi workforce

150 new tech programs to train Saudi workforce

RIYADH: Tuwaiq Academy in Riyadh has opened registrations for more than 150 advanced technical bootcamps and programs scheduled for Q1 2025, in partnership with leading global organizations.

The schemes will improve the skills of the workforce in advanced technologies and connect people to job opportunities, the Saudi Press Agency reported.

Training is open to employees, university students, graduates and high school students, covering fields such as programming, cybersecurity, AI, cloud computing, user experience and interface design, metaverse technologies, digital manufacturing, game development, robotics and drone programming.

It reflects the academy’s commitment to addressing job market needs and preparing the workforce, the SPA added.

Register for training at tuwaiq.edu.sa.

Established in 2019, Tuwaiq Academy works with more than 1,000 in-person trainees daily and offers professional certifications in collaboration with global organizations such as Apple, Meta, Amazon, Alibaba, Dell, CompTIA, OffSec, IBM and Microsoft.

As the training arm of the Saudi Federation for Cybersecurity, Programming and Drones, the academy has trained more than 32,000 people, with 80 percent of graduates securing placements through its Tuwaiq Job Fair program involving government and private sectors.


Saudi Arabia, France deepen cultural cooperation with new executive programs

Saudi Arabia, France deepen cultural cooperation with new executive programs
Updated 04 December 2024
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Saudi Arabia, France deepen cultural cooperation with new executive programs

Saudi Arabia, France deepen cultural cooperation with new executive programs

RIYADH: French President Emmanuel Macron signed an executive program with French cultural institutions in Saudi Arabia during his visit to the Kingdom on Tuesday.

Saudi Minister of Culture Prince Badr bin Abdullah bin Farhan met with his French counterpart, Rachida Dati, during the visit.

The executive programs focus on fostering partnerships relating to heritage, museums, libraries, film and other cultural sectors. Activities include training artists, conducting archaeological surveys, organizing educational workshops and more.

The agreements represent a milestone in Saudi-French cultural relations, highlighting a shared commitment to advancing global cultural heritage and fostering innovation in the arts.

The executive programs were signed with the following institutions:

⁠ National Monuments Center

⁠Operator of Heritage and Cultural Real Estate Projects

⁠French National Institute for Preventive Archaeological Research

⁠⁠Ecole Nationale Supérieure de Creation Industrielle

National Library of France

⁠Grand Palais

⁠National Center for Cinema and the Moving Image

⁠⁠National Institute of Cultural Heritage of France

⁠⁠The National School of Photography of Arles


Saudi crown prince holds meetings on sidelines of One Water Summit

Saudi crown prince holds meetings on sidelines of One Water Summit
Updated 04 December 2024
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Saudi crown prince holds meetings on sidelines of One Water Summit

Saudi crown prince holds meetings on sidelines of One Water Summit

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman held a series of meetings on the sidelines of the One Water Summit held in Riyadh on Tuesday.

Prince Mohammed met with French President Emmanuel Macron and heads of top French companies.

They discussed efforts to combat desertification, exchanging expertise and innovative technologies, and enhancing research and development to address water challenges and ensure the sustainability of water resources.

The crown prince also met with Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow, Chairman of the People's Council of Turkmenistan, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, President of Kazakhstan, Luvsannamsrain Oyun-Erdene, Prime Minister of Mongolia, Shehbaz Sharif, Prime Minister of Pakistan, and Ajaypal Singh Banga, President of the World Bank Group.

The meetings revolved around bilateral relations, joint coordination to address environmental challenges related to water scarcity and drought, in addition to issues of mutual interest.

The summit was jointly chaired by Saudi Arabia, France and Kazakhstan, and supported by the World Bank.

It underscored Saudi Arabia’s pioneering international role in confronting water challenges across the world and its commitment to sustainable environmental issues.

During his opening remarks, the crown prince said the summit was being held in conjunction with the Kingdom hosting the 16th Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention to Combat Desertification, which aims to reduce land degradation and drought.

He said that the Kingdom had contributed $6 billion in supporting 200 water-related projects in more than 60 developing countries around the world.