MAKKAH: Watch Isha and Taraweeh prayers live from the Grand Mosque in Makkah, empty this year due to the coronavirus outbreak in the Kingdom.
Abu Dhabi National Energy Co., also known as TAQA, together with JERA Co., Inc, Japan’s largest power generation company, announced Thursday that they have entered into a Power and Steam Purchase Agreement with Saudi Aramco Total Refining and Petrochemical Co., or SATORP, a joint venture company owned by Saudi Aramco and TotalEnergies.
According to the Emirates News Agency, they will develop a greenfield industrial steam and electricity cogeneration plant that will produce electricity and steam for the Amiral petrochemical complex to be developed in Jubail in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia.
The Amiral petrochemical complex is expected to house one of the largest mixed-load steam crackers in the Arab Gulf region.
The Amiral cogeneration plant will include state-of-the-art power and steam generation systems, gas and water receiving systems, and gas-insulated switchgear interconnections while meeting stringent efficiency standards imposed by the Saudi Energy Efficiency Centre.
The project also provides for the future installation of a carbon dioxide capture plant and is capable of hydrogen cofiring, WAM reported.
The Amiral cogeneration plant will be developed by a special purpose entity owned by TAQA, holding 51 percent, and JERA, holding 49 percent. It will operate on a build, own, and operate basis for 25 years, with the possibility of extension by five years upon mutual agreement.
TAQA and JERA will also undertake the operation and maintenance of the plant through an O&M special purpose entity.
Farid Al Awlaqi, CEO of TAQA Generation, said: “The signing of the offtake agreements for the cogeneration power and steam project at the Amiral petrochemical facility, a key downstream project being developed by two of the world’s leading energy companies, demonstrates the confidence in TAQA’s ability to deliver critical utilities, including power and steam effectively.
Together with our partner JERA, TAQA is looking forward to developing an efficient cogeneration plant that reduces carbon emissions and supports SATORP with its long-term decarbonization program. The agreement will bolster TAQA’s efforts in building on our growth and executing our 2030 goals.”
Steven Winn, chief global strategist of JERA, said: “We will be providing stable, highly efficient, clean and reliable power and steam to our customer SATORP. The Amiral Cogeneration plant will not only enhance the Amiral Complex’s operational efficiency, but also demonstrate our commitment to environmental stewardship and our growth ambitions for sustainable power generation solutions in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the region.”
DUBAI: After an abrupt postponement, the UFC Saudi Arabia card is back on track for June 22. UFC president Dana White has confirmed the first five fights that will take place at the promotion’s first event in the country, and the early signs suggest the card will be stacked.
The announcement puts an end to the speculation that has dogged the UFC since it delayed the event from its original March 2 date. There were rumors that the proposed card did not have enough star power for Saudi Arabia’s decision-makers to give it the green light. It is a claim that has been disputed passionately by Dana White. Regardless of where the real truth lies, the UFC has pulled out all the stops for a non-title fight card of note.
Khamzat Chimaev will face Kiwi brawler Robert Whittaker in the main event. Placing Chimaev at the top of the bill is a savvy move from the UFC matchmakers. The undefeated Chechnya-born fighter has fanatical support in the Middle East, almost guaranteeing a sold-out Kingdom Arena in Riyadh.
In his last fight in February 2024, Whittaker outclassed fellow middleweight Paolo Costa — the fighter whose shoulder injury kept him out of a tussle with Chimaev at Abu Dhabi’s UFC 294. A win for either man potentially puts them next in line for a crack at the middleweight crown.
The other four fights that have been confirmed are certified blockbusters, too. A heavyweight clash between perennial title contenders Sergei Pavlovich and Alexander Volkov will provide the co-main event of the show. Both men are known for their heavy hands and deceptively fast technical abilities, which makes this a highly anticipated matchup. Pavlovich’s and Volkov’s last defeats came at the hands (and feet) of current Interim Heavyweight Champion Tom Aspinall.
Welterweight sluggers Kelvin Gastelum versus Daniel Rodriguez is a sleeper hit on the card. They both need a win to end their losing streaks, so we expect the pair to come out swinging for the fences. Brazilian fan-favorite Johnny Walker will take on Swiss striker Volkan Oezdemir in a wild scrap that is bound to end in a knockout.
White also confirmed that Dagestani phenom Sharabutdin Magomedov will return to the octagon to take on Romania’s Ihor Potieria. Magomedov, a fighter with only one eye, made his UFC debut in 2023 but is already tipped for greatness. This is a great matchup to potentially cement his status as the company’s next big thing.
A few more fighters from the Middle East may be on the card including UAE-based Mohammed Yahya. The UFC has built a worthy card from its stable of superstars.
UFC Saudi Arabia confirmed bouts:
Middleweight: Khamzat Chimaev (11) vs Robert Whittaker (3)
Heavyweight: Sergei Pavlovich (3) vs Alexander Volkov (6)
Light Heavyweight: Johnny Walker (7) vs Volkan Oezdemir (9)
Welterweight: Kelvin Gastelum vs Daniel Rodriguez
Middleweight: Sharabutdin Magomedov vs Ihor Potieria
ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court of Pakistan on Thursday allowed military courts to announce judgments reserved in cases against civilians linked to the May 9 violence that erupted last year after the brief detention of former Prime Minister Imran Khan on corruption charges.
Demonstrators, identified with Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, targeted government buildings and military installations, notably setting ablaze the official residence of a senior army general in Lahore.
This incident prompted a significant crackdown on PTI leaders and supporters, with the government facing allegations of arbitrary arrests and custodial torture, which it denied.
Following the May 9 events, military authorities sought to prosecute civilians involved in the assaults on its properties nationwide. However, the move was challenged, and a five-member Supreme Court bench deemed civilian trials in military courts unconstitutional in October.
The government has since appealed the decision.
The Supreme Court said during the hearing today that only the verdict in those cases should be announced in which the people on trial can be released before the Eid Al-Fitr festivities next month.
“Twenty out of 103 suspects involved in the May 9 incidents will be released before Eid,” Attorney General Mansoor Usman Awan told the court. “These 20 individuals will be released following the established procedure.”
The PTI has complained of being unjustly targeted by state institutions since the downfall of its administration in a parliamentary no-confidence vote in April 2022.
Khan himself remains behind bars in a high-security prison in Rawalpindi after being convicted in a number of cases in recent months.
This month, cricket was played at the African Games for the first time ever. The 13th edition of the the games, originally scheduled for August 2023, were hosted by Ghana, which had struggled to deliver the infrastructure in time for 2023.
This was not helped by disputes between the three organizing bodies over marketing revenues and ownership of the games.
The postponement had other consequences. Proximity to the Paris Olympics, scheduled for July 26 to Aug. 11, and national championships in several African countries in March meant that a range of top athletes were absent, providing opportunities for younger athletes.
In football, the Africa Cup of Nations had only ended on Feb. 11. The executive board of the Confederation of African Football determined that the participating countries should be those whose under-20 team reached the quarterfinals of the 2023 U-20 African Cup of Nations, plus the host nation.
Ultimately, 53 of the 54 members of the Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa sent delegations, the exception being Cape Verde. Competition occurred in 23 sports. Accra was the main center, supported by the sub-host cities of Kumasi and Cape Coast. Despite being postponed to 2024, the title of 2023 African Games was retained.
Eight countries competed in men’s cricket: Ghana, Kenya, Namibia, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda and Zimbabwe. A marginally different eight competed in women’s cricketing, with Rwanda replacing Ghana. In each case, the teams were divided into two groups of four who played a round-robin. The two teams with the highest number of points then advanced to the semifinals.
In the men’s event, those semifinalists were Namibia who beat Uganda and Zimbabwe who beat Kenya. In the final on March 23, Zimbabwe convincingly beat Namibia by eight wickets with five overs to spare. Earlier, on March 13, Zimbabwe’s women’s team claimed gold in beating South Africa but by a much narrower margin.
After 20 overs each, both had both scored 112 runs. This meant a super over to determine the winner. In one of cricket’s arcane procedures, a super over in T20 format stipulates that each team selects three batters, an innings ending if two of them are dismissed. This happened to South Africa who could only score two runs for the loss of two wickets. Zimbabwe’s batter scored a four off the second delivery to seal the match.
As if this drama was not enough, cricket managed to create a controversy all of its own making. The impact of the postponement of the games affected not only athletics and football but also cricket. Boards in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia found that top players were engaged elsewhere, in either the Indian Premier League or domestic competitions.
This was especially true of Cricket South Africa, whose press release announcing the squads stated that the men’s team comprised players who have represented their respective university teams, while the women’s was a mix of emerging players. Zimbabwe entered an under-25 squad and Namibia were missing key players.
In 2018, the International Cricket Council gave T20 International status to all T20 matches played by both Full and Associate members. A rider to this in 2022 excluded matches involving A teams or age-group sides. Did CSA consider their men’s squad to be classed as either an A team or U-25 and had there been any clarification of this with the ICC prior to the tournament? There seems to have been a general assumption that all the matches had official T20 International status, meaning that the results feed directly into the ICC T20I team rankings. This has relevance to qualification for the 2026 ICC T20I World Cup. The process for this was approved by the ICC on March 15, after the announcement of squads for the African Games.
There will be 20 places available for the men’s 2026 World Cup. This will comprise the top eight in the 2024 T20 World Cup, two for co-hosts India and Sri Lanka, if not in the top eight this year, with up to four awarded to teams based on their ICC T20I rankings. This refers to teams ranked immediately below 10th. They are Ireland, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Scotland, and the Netherlands, all tightly bunched.
South Africa is ranked sixth and likely to finish in the top eight in the forthcoming World Cup, so why would CSA be worried? However, something extraordinary occurred during the event. Although South Africa won its first match, it lost the next two, thus failing to reach the semifinals. On or around March 20, the day that its elimination was confirmed, sharp-eyed observers noted that the statuses of the matches were being changed on cricket websites, downgrading them from T20I status, as well as showing a changed team name.
Conspiracy theories abounded. Had CSA asked for clarification of the status of the matches and, if so, was that after the exit of the team or before? There were rumors that CSA would not have participated if the matches were accorded T20I status and had only done so on the basis that they would not be.
Eventually, on March 26, the ICC announced that matches involving both the South African men’s and women’s teams at the African Games in Ghana did not hold international status. Presumably, this means that Kenya and Uganda, who beat South Africa, lose points.
The ICC added that “all other matches played between teams at the men’s and women’s events were T20 Internationals.” This may not sit comfortably with the South African women’s team.
There is little doubt that this is a mess and a bad look for cricket. It is difficult to determine if it is incompetence, miscommunication or collusion. A polite interpretation would be miscommunication of crossed messages and understanding. It looks deeper than that. The organizers would have wanted South Africa involved, almost at any cost, to heighten the profile of the games. In return, CSA would not have wanted any degradation of its ranking. Sadly, the high hopes that the inclusion of cricket in the games would provide a boost for cricket in Africa have suffered a knockback at the hands of some petty politics played by people who are not coming clean.
RIYADH: Saudi aid agency KSrelief has donated 40 tonnes of dates to Malaysia and Poland, the Saudi Press Agency reported on Thursday.
In Warsaw, Poland, 15 tonnes of dates were handed over, while in Malaysia a further 23 tonnes were distributed as part of the agency’s ongoing work to assist those most in need.
On Wednesday, meanwhile, the Saudi Ministry of Islamic Affairs, Dawah and Guidance launched the Kingdom’s gift program to distribute dates and iftar meals in Amman, Jordan.
The first stage involves the delivery of approximately 5 tonnes of dates to more than 20,000 people.
The second part of the program aims to provide iftar meals to over 7,000 people.
KSrelief also provided 2,900 food aid parcels to Montenegro, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Benin and Sudan, benefiting 14,275 people.