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NYU Abu Dhabi research scientist Dr. Dimitra Atri has produced the world’s first ever Mars atlas in Arabic, Emirates News Agency reported.
The atlas uses data from the UAE’s Emirates Mars Mission (EMM) — also known as Hope or Al-Amal — in order to make the findings of the probe more accessible to both the UAE’s Arabic-speaking population and the rest of the world.
The Mars Atlas Project combines various images from the Hope probe to map the planet’s surface.
The end result is a comprehensive view of Mars and stunning images of a planet that once had similar atmospheric conditions to Earth.
Dimitra Atri used data from UAE’s Hope probe to map the red planet.
Atri and his team compiled the atlas by processing observational data from EMM’s Emirates eXploration Imager, one of three instruments onboard the orbiter. The device will also assist the team in showing how the planet changes over the course of one Mars year, which is roughly equivalent to two Earth years.
As more data from the Hope probe becomes available, the atlas will be gradually updated.
The data will help scientists gain a better understanding of the planet’s atmospheric thinning, which has caused it to cool and dry over the last 4 billion years.
Atri predicts that the collected data will be used to answer unsolved scientific questions about the erosion of Mars’ atmosphere.
The findings could help the international scientific community to better understand Earth’s atmospheric processes, he said.
Egypt has finished in first place at the 2022 Arab Open Robotics Championship held in Sharm El Sheikh on Monday.
Since 2008, the Arab Open Robotics Championship has been the largest regional robotics tournament held in the Arab world.
The tournament was organized by the Ministries of Youth and Sports, Communications and Information Technology, Bibliotheca Alexandrina, and the Egyptian Federation of Electronic Games.
The tournament included over 650 students ranging in age from four years to the end of the university stage.
The participants represented 136 teams from 12 Arab countries: Egypt, Kuwait, the UAE, Oman, Yemen, Qatar, Jordan, Tunisia, Morocco, Algeria, Iraq, and Libya.
The Arab Robotics Association accredited 100 juries to judge the tournament’s nine robot competitions.
Egypt came first, winning seven trophies. Jordan finished second with two trophies, followed by Iraq, Libya and Qatar in third place.
In addition, the tournament hosted a lively forum for Arab youth on the sidelines.
source/content: arabnews.com
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Egypt placed first in 2022 Arab Open Robotics Championship, winning seven trophies. (Source: Egypt State Information Service)
With more than 20,000 students, the Islamic University of Madinah has become a meeting place for the world’s diverse cultures.
The Islamic University of Madinah has entered the Guinness World Records for the second time for having more than 170 nationalities in its student body.
Talal Omar, the MENA director of the records reference book, handed the framed certificate bearing the new world record to the president of the university, Prince Dr. Mamdouh bin Saud bin Thunayan Al-Saud, in Madinah this week.
Opened by royal decree in 1961, the university first broke the record in 2016, but has overcome its own standard with another expansion in nationalities.
With more than 20,000 students studying in nine faculties, the Islamic university has become a meeting place for the world’s diverse cultures.
The Saudi government offers students from around the world full scholarships that cover the entire cost of education, accommodation and transportation.
Notable alumni include Sheikh Abdul Latif Derian, the grand mufti of Lebanon; Sheikh Khaled Hafiz, former advisor to the Muslim minority in New Zealand; Dr. Abdullah Hakim Quick, Canadian scholar and historian; Prince Saud bin Abdul Rahman bin Nasser, deputy governor of the Northern Borders region; Sheikh Mishary Al-Afasy, famous Qur’an reciter who is a specialist in the 10 readings; and Dr. Mohamed Jallow, a Senegalese Islamic preacher and author.
source/content: arabnews.com (headline edited)
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Prince Dr. Mamdouh bin Saud bin Thunayan Al-Saud (right), president of the Islamic University of Madinah, receiving the award from Talal Omar, MENA director of Guinness World Records. (Supplied)
Cairo witnessed the seventh edition of the Cairo International Biennale of the Arabic Calligraphy Art under the auspices of Minister of Culture Ines Abdel-Dayem at the premises of Cairo Opera House.
Under the slogan ‘Pioneers and Renovators in 100 years (1922/2022)’, the biennale included a three-day seminar that ran from 6 to 9 June at El-Hanager Cinema that highlighted the most prominent figures of Arabic Calligraphy in Egypt and the Arab world as well as an art exhibition showcasing artistic gems of this Art from 125 countries represented by 15 artists at the Art Palace in the Cairo Opera House Complex that is running from 7 to 20 June.
Furthermore, the event established a new tradition of honouring artists and researchers for their achievements, and a side competition was held in the name of renowned Egyptian calligrapher Khedr El-Portsaidy — the founder of the Arabic Calligraphy Museum as well as the one who accredits and certifies Arabic calligraphers in Egypt.
In the opening session, Mohamed El-Baghdady — the general commissioner of the biennale — noted that this year marks the centenary jubilee of the establishment of Egypt’s first calligraphy school during the reign of king Fouad in 1922.
The session also included the presentation of a research paper written by Nahla Imam — country representative of Egypt at the 2003 Convention of Safeguarding the Intangible Heritage of UNESCO — who shared her experience in adding Arabic calligraphy knowledge, skills, and practice on UNESCO’s representative list of intangible cultural heritage in December 2021.
Mohamed Hassan Abu El-Khair — the first to innovate the ‘mashq’
The second day of sessions showcased the pioneers and renovators of such enchanting art.
The first paper was presented by researcher and calligrapher Mohamed El-Shafaai on passing down the practice of such art in Egypt, taking the family of Mohamed and Abdel-Aziz Abu El-Khair as an example, as the two are renowned Egyptian calligraphers that this year’s round was dedicated to.
He started off by revealing that the concept of passing down this form of art dates back to the pre-Islamic era, explaining that the initial idea behind Arabic calligraphy was transcription, and then the artistic element came later.
“During the pre-Islamic era, except for a small circle, very little knew how to write Arabic, and according to Abdalla Ibn Abbas, the first person to begin writing in Arabic in the tribe of Qureish was Harb Ibn Umaya — one of the masters of the tribe and the father of Sufian Ibn Harb.
The other key person in calligraphy art was El-Wazir Ibn Noqla, who was famous during the Abbasid Caliphate and inherited the art from his father El-Ali Ibn Hassan, explained El-Shafaai.
Mohamed Hassan Abu El-Khair was born in Cairo in 1921, he studied in Al-Azhar and then joined The School of Improving Calligraphy when he was only 17, where he was the top of his class and was taught by calligraphy masters such as Sheikh Fakhr El-Din, Sheikh Ali Badawi, and Mohamed Hosni El-Baba — the father of iconic Egyptian actress Soad Hosni to name but a few.
He excelled in El-Sulus and Reqaa calligraphy and soon became a professor of the art of calligraphy at Oum El-Qoura University in Mecca for 20 years.
“He was the first to innovate in the mashq (an educational manual technique) of the solos of Arabic calligraphy that are taught to fourth graders, where he started teaching students to write whole sentences from the beginning instead of focusing on letters with no context,” El-Shafaai added.
Abdel-Qader Al-Shihabi — the calligrapher of the Palestinian government
The second paper focused on Abdel-Qader Al-Shihabi — a Palestinian calligrapher — that was written by Farag Hussieny. Al-Shihabi is a renowned Palestinian calligrapher whose fame reached its peak during the first half of the 20th century and was known as the ‘calligrapher of the Palestinian government.’
“Born and raised in Jerusalem, Abdel-Qader Al-Shihabi comes from a long line of calligraphers that started off this art between the 12th and 14th year of the Hijri calendar, however, Al-Shihabi learned calligraphy in Istanbul at the hand of Mohamed Ezzat, the biggest artist. He was known for his suluth calligraphy, which decorates the walls of Al-Aqsa Mosque to date. He also spent all his life teaching calligraphy in Jerusalem and encouraging young artists to follow his passion,” explained Hussieny.
Abdalla Al Zohdi: the calligrapher of Al-Haramein Al-Sharifine
The third paper covered the ‘calligrapher of Al-Haramein Al-Sharifine(The Two Holy Mosques) Abdalla Al-Zohdi and was written by Sami Saleh Abdel-Malak.
“Born in Nablus, Abdalla Al-Zohdi was born around 1251. His family moved to Istanbul, where he studied and excelled in calligraphy at a very early age. His artistic fame made him the official calligrapher of the Prophet’s Mosque in Medina, where his calligraphy adorns the walls and ceilings of the mosque till now,” the paper explained,
“During the reign of khedive Ismail, he was commissioned to write the calligraphy of the Keswa of the Kaaba and Mahmal. His implacable calligraphy was quite visible and stood out in the design of the keswa from that day onwards. He was known by his highly complex and geometric Sulus calligraphy.”
Tunisian start-up “Kumulus Water” has provided assistance to a school deprived of drinking water in Makhtar in the region of Siliana (north-west of Tunisia) through a technical solution “Kumulus 1”, designed to generate water from the ambient air.
It came to support its expertise in water technology, the efforts of the Tunisian NGO “WallahWeCan”, which campaigns for the improvement of living conditions of students in schools and educational environments in Tunisia, especially in disadvantaged areas.
Thanks to atmospheric water generators, each producing 20 to 30 litres of healthy drinking water per day, 570 students of the chosen school will now be able to benefit from a regular supply of drinking water.
Technically, the atmospheric water generator is a device designed to produce water from the ambient air. It sucks in the air and dusts it, then dehumidifies it by lowering its temperature to the dew point to create condensation. The condensed water in the machine then passes through four filters to remove impurities.
The smart machine can fit into a 1m3 cube and can be equipped with a solar pack, making it fully autonomous and independent, the startup says. “It offers mobile control options via a dashboard and an app designed by the six-person team at startup Kumulus Water. It also offers features that ensure water is delivered sustainably and economically,” its creators explain.
According to Kumulus Water, co-founded and led by Iheb Triki, there is 6 times more water in the air than in rivers. This water can be extracted by cooling the air below its dew point and exposing it to moisture absorbers or pressurizing it to make the water drinkable.
Kumulus was also installed at the Bayadha school (Delegation of Ghar Dimaou in the governorate of Jendouba).
According to Regional Commissioner of Education Rim Maaroufi, this is a project developed by a young Tunisian engineer and funded by the Orange Foundation in cooperation with the association “a child, smiles”.
In a statement to TAP, Maaroufi said that Bayadha School, where the Kumulus was installed, suffers from a lack of drinking water due to a lack of connection with the distribution network. Water tanks were installed in advance to provide drinking water to the students and teachers. The machine produces about 20 to 30 litres of drinking water per day.
In Tunisia as in many other countries in the world, access to drinking water is one of the most imminent threats facing humanity. According to the WHO, out of 7 billion people, 2.1 billion do not have satisfactory access to drinking water. The demand for water will increase further with the population growth and the increase in living standards.
In 2021, the co-founder of the Tunisian start-up Iheb Triki was selected by the prestigious Choiseul Institute as one of the 100 Young African Leaders.
Also, the start-up has been selected as the second-best impact investment opportunity in the prestigious competition (MBA Impact Investing Network & Training) “Turner MIINT 2022”.
The young Tunisian company managed to snatch second place among 40 start-ups from the best American business schools, having participated in the global competition Turner MIINT.
The translators of books about culture, physics and data mining are among the latest recipients of the prestigious King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz International Awards for Translation.
This year’s event, covering works published in 2021, marks the 10th anniversary of the awards. There were six categories and the winners, chosen by the event’s board of trustees, were announced on Monday.
Izz ddeen Khattabi Riffi’s translation from the original French of “Beyond Nature and Culture” by Philippe Descola took the award for works in the humanities category translated into Arabic. It was shared by Abdelnour Kharraki for his translation of “Data Mining for the Social Sciences: An Introduction” by Paul Attewell, David Monaghan and Darren Kwong, originally published in English.
The award for institutions went to the publishing and translation department of Obeikan Company, and to Al-Arabi Publishing & Distribution.
There were also two winners in category for works in the natural sciences translated into Arabic, both for books originally published in English: Dr. Sausan Hassan Al-Sawwaf and Dr. Laila Saleh Babsil for their translation of “Physics in Biology and Medicine” by Paul Davidovits; and Yahya Khlaif and Abdullatif Al-Shuhail for their translation of “Introduction to Carbon Capture and Sequestration” by Berend Smit, Jeffrey A Reimer and Curtis M. Oldenburg.
Three awards were presented in the category of Individual Efforts in Translation, to Hamza Qablan Al-Mozainy from Saudi Arabia, Murtazo Saydumarov from Uzbekistan, and Samir Mina Masoud Greeis, who is of Egyptian-German nationality.
The judges decided to withhold the awards in the two remaining categories, for books about the humanities and natural sciences translated from Arabic into other languages.
Tabuk Gov. Prince Fahd bin Sultan honored Itizaz Alnefaie, the primary school pupil from Tabuk International Schools who won second place in this year’s Worldwide Mental Arithmetic Competition, recently held in Egypt’s Sharm El-Sheikh.
Alnefaie broke the world record by solving 100 maths problems, testing herself against the clock.
He congratulated Alnefaie for this achievement, wishing her more success, noting the Saudi leadership’s support for outstanding students in all scientific fields.
“I’m pleased to meet you and everyone is proud of your achievement,” Prince Fahd said, praising the efforts made by Alnefaie’s parents and teachers, who created the environment for her to reach excellence, and who supported her talent. He also wished her and all of Tabuk’s students future success.
The prince then offered Alnefaie his personal pen as a gift. The head of Tabuk International Schools, Maram Al-Atwi, praised Prince Fahd for the achievement, which comes as a result of his great support for the education sector in Tabuk, noting that this success is an extension of the local and international achievements made by public school students from all Saudi regions.
Hundreds of talented pupils representing more than 25 countries, including Saudi Arabia, participated in this year’s competition.
Solving a math problem might take most people a few minutes. However, Alnefaie takes just a second or two.
source/content: arabnews.com (edited)
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Tabuk Gov. Prince Fahd bin Sultan honors Itizaz Alnefaie, the primary school pupil from Tabuk International Schools. (SPA)
A Saudi medical student has won a string of an international awards for an invention that opens up a new world for hearing impaired or deaf drivers by dramatically improving their safety behind the wheel.
Renad bint Musaed Al-Hussein, a student at the College of Medicine at King Saud University, developed special sensors that operate as soon as they detect sounds outside the vehicle.
Sound frequencies are sent to a device inside the car, which then identifies and displays a description, image and color of the sound source visually, alerting the driver to any possible risk.
Her innovation has won several global awards and medals, including best invention at the World Intellectual Property Organization Cup and a gold award in the international invention competition as part of the Korea International Youth Olympiad.
The awards honor outstanding inventors, creators and innovative firms from around the world.
Al-Hussein said that her invention will reduce the risks facing hearing impaired drivers and may also help to save lives.
“One of the things that prompted me to come up with this invention is that some countries prevent hearing impaired or deaf people from driving because they are unable to hear important sounds. This invention will contribute to reducing the risks they face,” she said.
The Saudi inventor said that her invention could allow more than 466 million deaf people worldwide to drive, while also improving road safety by protecting their lives and the lives of others.
source/content: arabnews.com (edited)
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Renad Al-Hussein said that her invention will improve road safety by protecting the lives of deaf drivers. (SPA)
Saudi Arabia has been unanimously re-elected to chair the executive council of the Tunis-based Arab League Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization until 2024.
The decision was made by members of ALECSO’s executive council after the 26th session of the general conference, which concluded its activities.
Council members expressed their appreciation for the positive results achieved and the complementary work of the executive council during the past 10 months.
The Arab ministers praised the initiative of the Saudi representative and chairman of ALECSO’s executive council, Hani Al-Moqbil, to develop the council’s road map, which was put together with a transparent methodology based on the involvement of countries in building a common Arab vision to support and enable the organization to achieve its goals.
Al-Moqbil extended his appreciation to King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for their constant support, empowerment, and care, which was reflected in the Saudi role and its presidency of the executive council to contribute to a beneficial impact and supportive action for the development of ALECSO.
He also thanked Culture Minister Prince Badr bin Abdullah bin Farhan, who is also the chairman of the National Committee for Education, Culture, and Science, for his support, guidance, supervision, and harnessing of capabilities which gave direct and significant support throughout the Saudi presidency which helped it in serving its goals with all Arab countries.
Al-Moqbil also thanked the Arab countries and members of the ALECSO executive council for their re-election of the Kingdom and for renewing their confidence in the results that had been achieved during the past 10 months.
Al-Moqbil said: “Saudi Arabia, in its presidency of the executive council, worked to oversee the interests of the countries by listening to their proposals, observations, and visions to ensure that they are reflected on the ground and implemented in stages. The countries will work with greater effort and higher interest in taking care of the organization’s interests.”
source/content: arabnews.com (edited)
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The decision to re-elect the Kingdom came after the appreciation of the general conference for the efforts made by the executive council under the Kingdom’s stewardship. (SPA)
The Governor of Makkah region, Prince Khalid Al-Faisal, has honored successful students from Makkah and Jeddah who attended a science fair in the US earlier this month.
Prince Khalid congratulated three winning students who took prizes at the Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF), which was held from May 7 to 13.
Student Mawaddah Omar, hailing from Makkah, won third place in social and behavioral sciences, Youssef Khoja, from Jeddah, won a special award in embedded systems, and Rafaa Qanash won fourth place in engineering technologies.
The Saudi Embassy in the US tweeted: “Congratulations to our young #Saudi scientists Represented by @mawhiba and @tc_mohe, the student delegation won 6 awards at #ISEF2022, the second time this record is achieved in the Kingdom’s 16th year of participation.”
This year’s ISEF exhibition attracted more than 2,000 students from public education systems in over 85 countries.
The Saudi Center for International Communication tweeted: “Saudi students made history with an impressive success at the Regeneron International Scientific and Engineering Fair 2022 in Georgia, #USA. KSA has won 22 major awards, meaning 62 percent of the total number of prizes. #ISEF_2022.”
Saudi students have won 83 prizes at ISEF events, including 53 major prizes and 30 special prizes. Mawhiba also presented special annual international prizes in the competition for students from 20 countries.
source/content: arabnews.com (edited)
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Students Mawaddah Omar, Youssef Khoja, and Rafaa Qanash were honored by Prince Khalid Al-Faisal. (SPA)
