RIYADH, 12 March 2008 — The winners of SR300,000 in cash prizes for the first Saudi exhibition for inventions, Ibtikar 2008, will be announced today as part of the Kingdom’s national effort to promote creativity and entrepreneurial spirit among young Saudis.
Hassna Mutairy, a member of the organizing committee of Ibtikar 2008, said the winner of the first prize would receive SR150,000 in cash, while the second and third prize winners would collect SR100,000 and SR50,000 respectively.
Some 30 participants, men and women alike, gave a presentation about their products at the Four Seasons Hotel, the venue of the event, yesterday before a panel of judges. They were short-listed out of a total of 68 participants, mostly Saudi nationals.
The prizes were sponsored by the Sultan bin Abdulaziz Science & Technology Center (Scitech), Saudi Aramco, Salman Group, Al-Zamil, Al-Majd Satellite Channel, Al-Yaum, Pan Gulf Trading Co. Ltd., Tamimi Group of Companies and Arabian Services Group. The event, which has been sponsored by King Abdul Aziz and His Companions Foundation for the Gifted, has also brought together some major national and multinational companies, which are also participating in the show. Mutairy said inventions that have a market potential would qualify for financial support.
Speaking at the exhibition, Abdulaziz Al-Ghonaim, a student of Ahrary Private School, explained to Arab News how his invention, a radio-controlled robot, could be deployed for various operations, including installing solar modules on top of buildings, collecting corn in the field or for any industrial operation in the factory. It thus reduces reliance on manpower and promotes cost savings, said Al-Ghonaim, a tenth-grade student who speaks fluent English. He developed his industrial robot as part of Saudi Aramco’s summer program.
Mohammed Al-Harbi of Saudi Royal Navy pointed out that he developed and patented a polar indicator used by pilots to calculate the distance from the altitude of their aircraft to the airport after they receive the radio signal from the airport.
“Before 2002 if the indicator developed any problem, it used to be sent to Paris for trouble-shooting. Now I have developed an indigenous solution and I obtained a copyright from King Abdul Aziz City for Science and Technology (KACST) one and a half years ago,” said Al-Harbi, adding that maintenance of the indicator was also done in-house at Saudi Navy.
Another Saudi inventor, Bandar Abdullah Al-Hammad, spoke on a nanotechnology device that he developed for helping patients undergoing heart or orthopedic treatment without the need for surgical intervention.
“The device finds medical application for now, but later on it could be used for industrial applications also,” he said.
Bandar said he applied for a patent at Waterloo University in Canada.
“They are supporting the program and also trying to find a Canadian partner to develop it as a joint venture,” he said. “The university is looking for a partner. I shall set up a company as a Saudi-Canadian joint venture to market the product on a commercial scale to the Kingdom and other countries.”
According to Thamer Al-Otaibi, a young Saudi who owes his invention to Saudi Aramco’s summer program, his robotic device could help save the expense of mobilizing divers to descend to the depths of an ocean in the event of undersea oil spills. “The robot goes down and closes the valve to prevent leakage,” Thamer said, adding that he was scouting for venture capital to promote the device in the market.
Detained Blogger’s Daughter Calls Him on YouTube
Ebtihal Mubarak
Arab News
JEDDAH — “Daddy I miss you. When are you coming back home?” is 10-year-old Raghad’s plea to her father Fouad Al-Farhan, a detained Saudi blogger, on a YouTube clip posted on Monday.
Al-Farhan, a 32-year-old Saudi father of two, was arrested on Dec. 10 for “violating regulations related to security,” according to Saudi officials.
Al-Farhan daughter’s voice message to her missing dad can be heard on YouTube “freefouad” clip along with pictures of the once happy family.
Yesterday Al-Farhan’s wife said she was able to speak to her husband over the phone last Tuesday for the first time since his arrest in December. “It was only a five-minute call and we could not say much,” said Al-Farhan’s wife.
She said that he assured all of us that he is doing fine and asked her not to worry about him. “His spirits were high, he was laughing.”
When Al-Farhan asked her about work at his small IT company the line was cut off.
This was the second call that Al-Farhan has made from his cell at Dahban Prison to his family. On Feb. 12 Al-Farhan spoke briefly to his elderly mother. He was seen once by his father-in-law during a brief visit on Jan. 5.
Maj. Gen. Mansour Al-Turki, spokesman for the Interior Ministry, said yesterday that he has no update on the case.
Demolitions Begin
to Make Room for More Worshippers
Galal Fakkar & P.K. Abdul Ghafour
Arab News
JEDDAH — Demolition of property to the north and northwest of the Grand Mosque in Makkah has begun to create more prayer space for a growing number of pilgrims and worshippers.
The new expansion project ordered by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah will add more than 300,000 square meters to the existing mosque complex and help accommodate 500,000 more worshippers.
As many as 1,000 properties in the Shamiya and Shubaika neighborhoods will be demolished and the government has allocated SR6 billion in compensation for property owners.
The Saudi Electricity Company and Saudi Telecom Company have disconnected services to houses and hotels in those areas.
The Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs is supervising the project, considered the largest expansion in the mosque’s history. At present the mosque can accommodate more than a million worshippers.
“This is one of the largest development projects related to the Grand Mosque and will change the face of the holy city,” said Makkah Mayor Osama Al-Bar.
Al-Bar said pedestrian tunnels would be constructed linking the northern areas with the mosque’s new courtyard as part of the expansion.
The project has dramatically increased real estate prices in the central area of the holy city.
Al-Sharief Mansour Abu Rayash, chairman of the Real Estate Committee at the Makkah Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said that the announcement of the expansion itself had resulted in prices increasing to SR250,000 per square meter in some areas. He expects prices to shoot up to SR1 million eventually.
Hani Al-Amri, a real estate analyst, said owners of hotels, furnished apartments and other properties in Shamiya, Marwah, Raquba and Jabal Al-Kaaba areas would demand high prices in compensation because of their proximity to the Grand Mosque. “This would in turn lead to increasing prices of real estate in the area,” he added.
Mohammed Shaker Al-Dahlawi, director of compensation at the Ministry of Transport, said those who purchase land in the area would be able to make huge profits by constructing multistory buildings.
Al-Dahlawi, however, pointed out that low-income people, including pilgrims, would find it difficult to get accommodation close to the Haram after the demolitions.
The project will cover an entire area starting from Masjid Al-Haram Street and Gazza on the east to Jabal Al-Kaaba Street and Shubaika Graveyard on the west. It will also run through Abu Sufyan Street, Raquba Street, Abdullah ibn Zubair Street, Jabal Hindi and Khaled ibn Walid Street reaching Jabal Kaaba Street.
Around 1,000 properties in the Shamiya and Shubaika areas of Makkah are being demolished as part of the new expansion of the Grand Mosque. (SPA)
Double Murder in Asir Town
Hayat Al-Ghamdi
Arab News
ABHA — A 22-year-old soldier shot dead a teenager and injured two others with a machine gun in Khamis Mushayt in the southern Asir Region yesterday.
“The soldier has been arrested and he’s admitted what he’s done. He fired 17 shots in total,” Col. Abdullah Al-Qarni, spokesman for Asir police, told Arab News.
Meanwhile, an Indian worker was found dead in his car having been stabbed several times in his stomach and on his neck.
Al-Qarni said that the shooting incident took place at 2 p.m. “We’re investigating the Indian expatriate’s murder which took place around 11 a.m.,” he added.
A high number of murders have been reported from the Khamis Mushayt area lately as a result of tribal conflicts and widespread access to weapons. In 2006, authorities investigated three murders that took place within 24 hours.
Al-Qarni said local police regularly seize unauthorized weapons and fine their owners. He said frequent cases of murderers evading execution by paying blood money might be one of the reasons for the high incidence of violence in the region.
Infection in Health Care
Facilities
in Spotlight
Lulwa Shalhoub
Arab News
JEDDAH — Infection control at health care centers was an issue that Dr. Sulafa Qutub, head of the Infection Control and Medical Waste Disposal Unit, has been keen on bringing to the attention of the public.
Qutub and members of the health sector have prepared an Arabic manual explaining policies and regulations that must be followed to prevent infections. The manual, the result of nine months of work and research, will soon be distributed to health workers and members of the public.
“People have to know that we are working on raising awareness. We don’t want them to panic,” said Qutub.
Controlling infections was also the focus of a two-day seminar that took place in Jeddah last week, targeting over 50 nurses at health care centers in Jeddah, Rabigh, Al-Laith and Qunfudha, and representatives of the Infection Control and Medical Waste Disposal Unit.
Qutub said that preventive measures should come before infections spread. She added that it was important that those who attended the seminar convey its message to other health workers, who did not attend.
“We learn measures to prevent infections at medical and nursing school but they are unfortunately not adhered to. This issue is important and needs following up and monitoring,” she said.
To avoid infections, health workers need to sterilize their hands and medical equipment, and properly dispose of equipment. Health workers are more exposed to infections than other people due to them being in direct contact with patients.
“They are recommended to take hepatitis B vaccinations by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention in addition to influenza vaccinations between September and April,” she said.
