JEDDAH: Kharlzada Kasrat Rai, a Pakistani, recently completed his peace walk from Jeddah to Riyadh in 13 days.
His 1,100 km peace walk, during his second visit to the Kingdom, was labeled “Mohabbat Haramain Sharifain” (Love for the Two Holy Mosques).
Praising the hospitality of Saudis and expatriates alike, Rai said the love of the people in both countries inspired and encouraged him to undertake the walk.
“The Harmain Sharifain walk was essentially meant to express Pakistan’s solidarity with Saudi Arabia, which means that we’ll never leave the Kingdom and its people alone,” Rai said.
Rai told Arab News that his main aim of doing this peace walk from Jeddah to Riyadh was to disseminate the message of love and peace, and to let the world know how much Pakistanis love the Two Holy Mosques. Rai said Pakistan is home for all Pakistanis living inside and outside their country. His mission is to present Pakistan as a symbol of peace in the world.
“This successful walk in solidarity with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has demonstrated to the world the strong bonds between the two countries,” said Rai.
“I am thankful to the Saudi government and the Pakistani missions, and people from the two countries for supporting my cause. I am also thankful to my companions Burhanullah and Muhammad Ahmed Mubashir, who managed the walk route,” he said.
Peace-walker boosts Saudi-Pakistani ties
Peace-walker boosts Saudi-Pakistani ties
Saudi Arabia’s KAUST named FIFA’s first research institute in MENA
- KAUST President Prof. Sir Edward Byrne said that the university’s selection as the fifth FIFA Research Institute in the world — and the first in the region — marks a significant achievement, reflecting Kingdom’s growing presence in international football
RIYADH: FIFA has designated the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology as its first research institute in the Middle East and Asia to support the development of innovative football research, the Saudi Press Agency reported on Tuesday.
The recognition highlights KAUST’s commitment to integrating sports, academic research and industry through advanced, high-level initiatives grounded in rigorous scientific methodologies, contributing to the advancement of football studies.
KAUST President Prof. Sir Edward Byrne said that the university’s selection as the fifth FIFA Research Institute in the world — and the first in the region — marks a significant achievement, reflecting Saudi Arabia’s growing presence in international football.
The accreditation aligns with national efforts to invest in research and development and promote the knowledge economy, supporting Saudi Vision 2030’s goals of building an advanced sports system based on innovation and sustainability.
The collaboration’s first project focuses on developing advanced AI algorithms to analyze historical FIFA World Cup broadcast footage, transforming decades of match videos into structured, searchable data, according to the KAUST website.
This work opens new opportunities to apply state-of-the-art computer vision techniques and deepen understanding of how football has evolved over time.
The second project uses player and ball tracking data from the FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar and the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 in Australia and New Zealand to compile comprehensive datasets capturing in-game dynamics.
These datasets provide deeper insights into human movement, playing techniques and performance dynamics through AI-driven analysis.
