MAZAR-I-SHARIF: Daesh fighters attacked the house of a Taliban commander in the northern Afghan province of Sar-e Pul on Tuesday, killing at least 15 people as they were attending a prayer ceremony, the provincial governor’s office said.
The attack, in Sayyad district of Sar-e Pul, followed reports from local officials of fighting between Daesh and Taliban militants in other northern provinces over recent days.
“Two Daesh fighters entered a Taliban commander’s house where a ceremony was under way and opened fire,” said Zabihullah Amani, spokesman for the Sar-e-Pul governor’s office said, using a term widely used for Islamic State.
He said 15 Taliban were killed and another five wounded.
Northern Afghanistan has become one of the main areas of Islamic State activity in Afghanistan as the movement has spread beyond its original base in the eastern province of Nangarhar, where it remains strong.
However establishing a clear picture of the group remains difficult in a remote and often mountainous region, with diverse bands of fighters and militiamen often switching sides between the Taliban, Daesh and even the pro-government camp.
In Nangarhar, a local commander known variously as Saba Gul or Mohammad Khorasani was killed by a drone strike on Monday afternoon, the Nangarhar governor’s spokesman Attaullah Khogyani, said.
A former Taliban commander, he moved to Daesh after the group first appeared in Nangarhar in late 2014 and was responsible for hundreds of deaths, Khogyani said.
Elsewhere in Afghanistan, troops raided a Taliban prison in the southern province of Helmand late on Monday, releasing 58 prisoners, officials said.
The Taliban prisoners, including both civilians and members of the security forces, were released following an army raid on a prison in Musa Qala district of Helmand province, according to a statement from the 215 Maiwand army corps.
Separately, Taliban fighters attacked three checkpoints of the Afghan border forces in the southern province of Kandahar, killing nine members of the security forces and suffering 25 killed themselves, Kandahar police spokesman Zia Durani said.
Daesh fighters in Afghanistan kill at least 15 Taliban
Daesh fighters in Afghanistan kill at least 15 Taliban
PIF’s Alat unveils electrification, AI infrastructure business units
RIYADH: Alat, a flagship company of the Public Investment Fund, unveiled two business units in electrification and AI infrastructure, to establish Saudi Arabia as a premier manufacturing hub globally.
The company unveiled its plans during the Milken Institute Conference held in Los Angeles.
According to a press release, the move comes as part of the PIF company’s strategic vision to spearhead a paradigm shift in industry sustainability while propelling Saudi Arabia on the global stage.
Alat Global CEO Amit Midha said: “I am pleased to announce these two exciting new divisions as they will make a significant contribution to Alat’s overall strategic goal of developing an advanced, sustainable future for the industry.”
The electrification arm will fortify grid technology, catering to the burgeoning demand for electricity driven by exponential growth in renewable energy sources like solar, wind, and hydrogen.
By harnessing Saudi Arabia’s solar energy and other clean resources, the firm seeks to manufacture innovative solutions that will catalyze the global energy transition and drive decarbonization in industry.
The electrification unit will specifically focus on enhancing transmission and distribution technologies, facilitating the integration of renewable energy into existing grids, and pioneering advancements in gas and hydrogen generation and compression technologies.
On the other front, the AI Infrastructure business unit will address the escalating global demand for AI capabilities across industries.
This entails the development of cutting-edge technologies encompassing network and communications equipment, servers, data center networking, storage, industrial edge servers, and Industry 4.0 computing.
“The global electrification market size reached $73.64 billion in 2022 and it is expected to hit around $172.9 billion by 2032, growing at a CAGR of 8.91 percent between 2023 and 2032,” the press release added.
The global AI Infrastructure market is set to hit $460.5 billion by 2033, with a robust 28.3 percent compound annual growth rate, driven by widespread adoption across industries for innovation, decision-making enhancement, and task automation.
As a gold sponsor at the Milken Institute Conference, the firm now has nine business units focused on sustainable technology manufacturing.
“Alat will invest $100 billion by 2030 across these business units to develop key partnerships and build advanced manufacturing capabilities in Saudi Arabia to bring jobs and economic diversification to the Kingdom,” the press release said.
Education minister pushes for ‘practical partnerships’ at Saudi-Canadian forum
- Canada is ‘back and eager’ to work with Saudi Arabia, envoy says
- Jean-Philippe Linteau: ‘We have over 70 people that have traveled from Canada and we have over 70 Saudi institutions that are here to meet them’
RIYADH: During the KSA-Canada Education Partnership Forum in Riyadh on Monday, Saudi Minister of Education Yousef Al-Benyan emphasized the need for “practical partnerships” between the two countries, stating that he is not interested in more agreements, but rather in meaningful collaborations.
“I want you to think beyond the traditional way of partnerships. We have had a lot of MoUs (memorandums of understanding) that have been signed previously and I want to tell you I am not interested in more MoUs. We want to make sure that these are carried into practical solutions,” Al-Benyan told the forum.
The Canadian Embassy, in partnership with the Saudi Ministry of Education, hosted the forum, bringing together leading educational institutions from Canada and the Kingdom to explore areas of collaboration.
The forum will continue on Tuesday with discussions focused on joint study programs, collaborative research initiatives, curriculum development, student and faculty exchanges, and partnerships in technical and vocational training.
Jean-Philippe Linteau, the Canadian ambassador to Saudi Arabia, said: “Canada is back, and Canada is eager to work with Saudi Arabia.
“We have over 70 people that have traveled from Canada and we have over 70 Saudi institutions that are here to meet them, (this) shows (that) the desire, the appetite for that collaboration between our two countries in the education sector is very, very strong,” the envoy told Arab News.
“I am confident that out of today we will have many partnerships and successes that will develop over time for the benefit of Saudi students and Canadian education institutions as well,” he added.
Spearheaded by the Canadian Embassy’s trade division, the education forum brought together leaders from several universities, including the University of Toronto, McMaster University, Western University, Humber College, and dozens of others.
The forum will include a tour for the Canadian delegation to meet the senior leadership of King Saud University, King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology, and Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University.
On Tuesday, experts will discuss key areas of cooperation within the framework of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030, including information technology, tourism and hospitality, healthcare, clean energy, mining, and agriculture.
The Saudi minister said that this forum marks “the start of a practical partnership” that “looks into the ways and means to make an impact.”
Al-Benyan added: “We would like to see more student exchange and faculty exchange.”
The Canadian envoy in turn emphasized the importance of people-to-people ties when growing partnerships.
He told Arab News: “The best thing that can happen is we brought all of these people from Canada here, they will see the new Saudi Arabia, they will go back and they will tell people what they saw and what they missed, for the ones that were not here, and I think we will get more and more collaboration coming up.”
India BJP’s election videos targeting Muslims and opposition spark outrage
- Videos shared by BJP depict Congress giving disproportionate benefits to Muslims over tribal and Hindu groups
- Manipulated videos have become contentious issue in polls, such as fake videos of top Bollywood stars criticizing Modi
NEW DELHI, May 6 : Animated videos shared by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s party targeting opposition Congress and the Muslim community have evoked complaints and outrage, as the political climate in India heats up midway through its six-week long election.
The videos, shared by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party on social media platforms Instagram and X over the last ten days, depict the Congress giving disproportionate benefits to India’s minority Muslim community, at the cost of certain disadvantaged tribal and Hindu caste groups.
The Congress, in a complaint to the poll watchdog Election Commission, said on Sunday that the video has been shared “clearly with an intention to wantonly provocate rioting and promote enmity between different religions.”
A set of guidelines mutually adopted by political parties for how they should conduct themselves during the election period prohibit them from creating “mutual hatred” between caste, religious or linguistic groups.
Manipulated videos on social media have also become a contentious issue in this election, such as fake videos showing top Bollywood stars criticizing the prime minister.
On Monday, the commission warned parties against the misuse of AI tools to create deep fakes and told them not to publish and circulate such videos. It also said parties had been directed to remove such content within three hours of it being brought to their notice.
Modi, the face of the Hindu-nationalist BJP, seeking a rare third consecutive term, had focused his campaign largely on his government’s performance on economic growth and welfare benefits.
But he changed tack after the first phase of voting on April 19 and his campaign speeches have since become more polarizing on religious lines, accusing Congress of planning to redistribute the wealth of the majority Hindus among minority Muslims, who he called “infiltrators” who have “more children.”
The videos shared by the BJP over the last ten days, one of which has since been taken down, illustrated the same message.
A 17-second video shared by a state unit of BJP on May 4, with over 8.5 million views, shows a character resembling Congress leader Rahul Gandhi feeding “funds” to a bird in a skullcap, which eventually pushes out from their common nest three other birds representing other disadvantaged groups.
The Congress has filed a police complaint against BJP leaders for the video, BJP’s head of information and technology Amit Malviya said on X.
“The Congress should in fact thank the BJP for taking their manifesto to the people in a manner that even they couldn’t,” he wrote.
The video has elicited outrage. Nitasha Kaul, a politics professor at London’s Westminster University said on X that the video was a “straightforward 1930s Germany style cartoon.”
In its manifesto for the elections, the Congress has promised to tackle India’s economic inequality by conducting a socio-economic caste census and extending affirmative action. It said it will ensure that minorities receive “their fair share” of education, economic and health care opportunities.
An Election Commission spokesperson, the BJP’s Malviya and Congress spokespersons did not respond to requests seeking comment.
Babar hoping paceman Rauf will regain full fitness and make an impact for Pakistan at T20 World Cup
- Fast bowler Rauf has been included in an 18-man squad for the upcoming tours of Ireland and England
- Pakistan has done well in last two T20 World Cups, reaching semifinals in 2021, final at 2022 tournament
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan captain Babar Azam is hoping Haris Rauf will regain full fitness after a shoulder injury and make an impact at next month’s T20 World Cup.
Fast bowler Rauf has been included in an 18-man squad for the upcoming tours of Ireland and England, with Pakistan delaying its 15-strong party for the World Cup in the United States and West Indies until May 22.
The fitness of Rauf, Mohammad Rizwan, Irfan Khan and Azam Khan will be assessed during the seven T20s against Ireland and England.
“I wasn’t expecting that he (Rauf) would recover so early and start bowling again,” Babar told reporters in Lahore on Monday as the team prepared to fly out to Ireland, where the first T20 will be played in Dublin on Friday.
“There’s pressure on him to make a comeback. There’s lot of talk going around on his injury and how he will respond to it. But I think he will make a good response because when you give yourself proper rest mentally and physically, you can make a different impact.”
Rauf has been out since dislocating his shoulder in late February during the Pakistan Super League. Since then he has gone through rehabilitation at the National Cricket Academy in Lahore.
The seven-member selection committee, which also includes Babar, have named fast bowler Hasan Ali, who last played a T20 international in 2022, as backup for Rauf.
Babar backed the inclusion of Hasan after pace bowlers Zaman Khan, Mohammad Wasim and the PSL’s top wicket-taker Mohammad Ali were omitted.
“There’s no injustice with anyone. We debated a lot on the World Cup combination and Hasan is there as backup for Rauf because of his experience,” Babar said. “Zaman and Ali are new-ball bowlers but we already have enough new-ball bowling options.”
Fast bowler Mohammad Amir, who played in two T20s against New Zealand after ending his retirement, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah and Abbas Afridi are Pakistan’s pace options.
Under Babar, Pakistan has done well in the last two T20 World Cups, reaching the semifinals in 2021 at the United Arab Emirates and losing to England in the final at the 2022 tournament in Australia.
The chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board, Mohsin Naqvi, has promised a cash award of $100,000 to every player if the team wins the tournament.
“What happened in the past is in the past, unfortunately we couldn’t finish the way we wanted,” Babar said. “We’re doubly confident and believe we can bring the trophy home.”
Pakistan starts its campaign against host United States in Dallas on June 6 before taking on arch-rival India in New York three days later.
White-ball head coach Gary Kirsten will likely join the team in England after completing his Indian Premier League assignment with Gujarat Titans.
Saudi Arabia’s Qiddiya to build region’s largest water theme park
- Aquarabia will also feature the first underwater adventure trip with diving vehicles
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia Qiddiya Investment Co. will construct the region’s largest water theme park as a cornerstone of its Six Flags Qiddiya City venture it was announced on Monday.
To be named Aquarabia, Qiddiya hopes to draw visitors from around the globe with 22 attractions and water experiences suitable for all family members, as well as some “world-first” attractions, Saudi Press Agency reported.
These attractions include the world’s first double water loop, the tallest water coaster with the highest jump, the longest and highest water racing track, and the tallest water slide.
Aquarabia will also feature the first underwater adventure trip with diving vehicles, catering to adventure enthusiasts with water sports areas designated for rafting, kayaking, canoeing, free solo climbing, and cliff jumping.
Additionally, the park will introduce the first surfing pool in the Kingdom, incorporating immersive design elements themed around ancient desert water springs and Qiddiya’s wildlife.
With sustainability in mind, Aquarabia will implement advanced systems capable of reducing water waste by up to 90 percent and decreasing energy consumption. As part of the Six Flags Qiddiya project, the venture, the first Six Flags of its kind outside North America, aims to recycle operational waste, diverting over 80 percent from landfill.
Scheduled to open in 2025, both Aquarabia and Six Flags Qiddiya City are situated within Qiddiya City, forming a fully walkable neighborhood offering a diverse array of activities, accommodations, dining options, and relaxation spots.
Abdullah Al-Dawood, managing director of Qiddiya Investment Co., hailed the announcement as a significant milestone for Qiddiya and the entertainment, tourism, and sports sectors in the Kingdom.
He emphasized that the projects will cater to diverse entertainment needs while contributing to economic diversification and job creation in the tourism sector.
The project also aims to meet the growing local demand for immersive entertainment experiences, particularly in water activities, aligning with the goals of Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 to enhance local tourism and employment opportunities.
The unveiling of Aquarabia follows the announcement of several other entertainment, sports, and cultural attractions in Qiddiya, including the world’s first multi-use gaming and electronic sports area, the multi-sport Prince Mohammed bin Salman Stadium and the Dragon Ball amusement park.
