https://arab.news/593j4
RIYADH: The UK’s ambassador to the Kingdom has hailed the “impressive performance” of 22-year-old Ziyad Almaayouf, who made history as the first person from Saudi Arabia to win a professional boxing match.
Ambassador Neil Crompton tweeted: “Popular win for Saudi Arabia’s own @ZAlmaayouf, #Saudi’s first professional boxer, by way of a knock out. An impressive performance from a boxer who did his last 8 weeks’ training in Liverpool UK.”
Almaayouf, popularly known as Zizo, defeated opponent Alfredo Alatorre in the first round with a knockout in his professional debut.
The bout was held at Jeddah’s King Abdullah Sports City Arena and was on the card for “Rage On The Red Sea.”
Almaayouf said he was excited by his historic win; he could not believe how happy he was because he was in a place where he could see boxing champions around him.
“What an honor it is to be here in front of my home people, in front of this crowd,” Almaayouf said in a post-fight interview. “It’s been years and years of hard work that people don’t see behind the scenes, but it all leads to a few minutes. And what better thing to do in a few minutes than that?”
After his win, Almaayouf praised Saudi Arabia’s leadership for making the dreams of its young people come true.
He praised the Kingdom for its support of women in boxing as “Rage On The Red Sea” also featured the country’s first female boxing match.
He said the bout was bigger than boxing itself as it reflected how the country was empowering girls and women.
Crompton also praised Saudi Arabia for hosting its first female boxing match. He tweeted: “Wonderful to be able to watch the first female boxing match take place in #Saudi. Congratulations to @RamlaAli from Somalia via Bethnal Green on the win! Ramla keeps her perfect record, 7-0.”
He previously tweeted: “Here in #Jeddah at #RageOnTheRedSea. Great to see British sporting talent on display. Fantastic to see the first female boxing match ever hosted in #Saudi. Good luck to all the boxers! Big night ahead!”
RIYADH: King Salman has issued a directive to invest $1 billion dollars into Pakistan, in confirmation of the Kingdom’s support for the country and its people, Saudi Press Agency reported on Thursday.
The directive came during a telephone call between Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan and his Pakistani counterpart Bilawal Bhutto Zardari.
Regional and international issues of common interest were also discussed during the call.
Bhutto Zardari said on Twitter that he welcomed the investment in Pakistan and briefed his counterpart “on damages caused by unprecedented floods” in his country.
He added that he highly valued the solidarity expressed by Saudi Arabia and “all possible assistance” provided by the Kingdom.
RIYADH: More than 70 countries have imported dates from the Buraidah Date Festival so far this year, Saudi Press Agency reported on Thursday.
The month-long event is organized by the Qassim branch of the Ministry of Environment, Water, and Agriculture.
The Qassim region produces more than 300,000 tons of dates annually and local farmers aim to increase production and contribute to achieving the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 by boosting non-oil revenues.
The festival is considered one the biggest marketing hubs in the world, and more than 1,000 vehicles loaded with tons of dates are parked so that customers and investors can buy different types of prized Saudi dates.
There is a 15,000-square-meter export yard at the festival where dates are packed and sent to cities across the Kingdom and countries around the world.
Saudi Arabia exported SR1.2 billion ($323.3 million) worth of dates in 2021.
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s humanitarian and medical outreach in Yemen, through the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSRelief), continues with the provision of equipment, supplies and services to the conflict-ridden country.
KSRelief, in cooperation with the World Health Organization, has provided medical laboratories essential supplies to further boost their capacity to diagnose genetic disorders and chronic diseases.
The Kingdom’s relief agency also provided through its mobile clinic free medical services to 1,601 patients in the Abs district of Hajjah governorate last month.
The clinics received patients with various health conditions in different clinics and departments and provided them with necessary medical services, state news agency SPA reported, with about 800 patients given medications.
RIYADH: The National Cybersecurity Authority staged an exhibition in Riyadh on Monday to raise awareness of its work and the need to protect the Kingdom’s computer networks and systems from attack.
The event, titled “Mobile Exhibition for Awareness of Cybersecurity” and aimed primarily at employees of national authorities, featured four pavilions covering everything from hacking methods and improving cybersecurity awareness, to consultations, discussions and the role of the NCA.
The authority said the event “comes within the framework of its strategic role in raising awareness of cybersecurity to protect the vital interests of the Kingdom, sensitive infrastructure, and government services and activities.”
It also sought to raise the level of awareness among workers “in order to maintain the confidentiality of sensitive information … review hackers’ methods, as well as supporting authorities in promoting the values of preserving national security and personal data.”
Saad Haj Bakry, professor of computer engineering at King Saud University, said: “The challenges to the safety of cyberspace are countless and they come from many sources.
“But protection measures that can reduce or eliminate these challenges are also great. These are usually expressed by cybersecurity governance controls that should be used at the individual level, the organization level, as well as the country level.”
The internet was central to e-government and e-commerce services, social networks and working from home, Bakry said.
“The success of cyberspace in all these activities depends upon its safety, which is the protection of its security.”
He added: “Since its establishment in 2017, the NCA has been highly active in finding, recommending and implementing ways to protect cyberspace in Saudi Arabia. As a result, in 2020, Saudi Arabia ranked second among 193 countries in the ITU Global Cybersecurity Index.”
Dr. Fahad bin Saad Abu-Mouti is the deputy minister for regulatory affairs at the Ministry of Environment, Water, and Agriculture.
A visionary leader with more than 18 years of experience in policy and regulatory affairs development of public utility sectors, Abu-Mouti is skilled in alliance building and change management.
He has worked in multicultural environments such as the GCC and North American countries.
He established the Kingdom’s water regulator and spearheaded the executive team.
He supervised the development of MEWA’s laws to ensure the synergy of strategy execution with the ministry’s policies and the 2030 Vision reform plans.
He also identified multiple services that could be privatized and prepared their legislation.
Over five years, he developed laws and dozens of policies for independent national centers and national programs as well as establishing an environmental fund, and spearheaded their negotiations by getting an approval from the Council of Ministers.
Previously, Abu-Mouti worked as the CEO of the renewable sector at King Abdullah City for Atomic and Renewable Energy. He also supervised the preparation and development of the approved renewable energy target in the National Transformation Program in 2020, and proposed the methodology for executing renewable energy projects in the Kingdom.
He has built international alliances for the Kingdom’s membership in the board of governors of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA). He was then selected to represent Saudi Arabia at IRENA’s board of governors.
He worked as a research associate in the electrical engineering department at Dalhousie University, Canada, and published more than 10 publications in reputable international journals and conferences.
He has also been a speaker at a number of conferences.
He previously worked as head of operations and maintenance in Riyadh city with the Saudi Electricity Company. Before that, he worked as planning engineer in Qatar’s General Electricity and Water Corporation.
Abu-Mouti holds multiple executive management certificates, such as executive certificate in strategic management and leadership from MIT in Boston, US.
He obtained his Ph.D. with distinction in electrical and computer engineering from Dalhousie University, Canada.
