King Salman Global Academy for the Arabic Language, SEF Launch Arabic Esports Glossary

King Salman Global Academy for the Arabic Language, SEF Launch Arabic Esports Glossary
TT
20

King Salman Global Academy for the Arabic Language, SEF Launch Arabic Esports Glossary

King Salman Global Academy for the Arabic Language, SEF Launch Arabic Esports Glossary

The King Salman Global Academy for the Arabic Language (KSGAAL) and the Saudi Esports Federation (SEF) have launched an Arabic esports glossary targeting gaming enthusiasts, and aiming to boost involvement in Saudi Arabia's esports events.
The move is part of the academy's strategic goals and aligns with the Human Capability Development Program (HCDP) under Saudi Vision 2030.
KSGAAL Secretary General Dr. Abdullah bin Saleh Al-Washmi noted that the academy is the primary reference for Arabic language in Saudi Arabia, SPA reported.

Previous collaborations between the two entities resulted in glossaries for government entities in areas like energy, digital government, data, and AI.
Al-Washmi stressed that the esports glossary bridges communication gaps, documents the sector's linguistic landscape and standardizes terms. It also addresses the influx of foreign terms and advances the use of Arabic terminology in esports. This aligns with Saudi Arabia's undertakings in the esports sector, including the National Gaming and Esports Strategy launched by HRH the Crown Prince in 2022.
The glossary stands out for its thorough inclusion of esports terminology, including newly coined expressions and their evolving interpretations. It employs a practical methodology by defining terms, tracing their origins, and providing accurate English translations that capture their specific usage in the esports realm.
Containing over 505 terms in both Arabic and English, each entry is accompanied by detailed definitions and grammatical annotations in Arabic. These terms are systematically categorized in various esports genres, like football, combat sports, adventures, racing, and wrestling.



UN: Most World Heritage Sites at Risk of Drought or Flooding

Muslim devotees offer Eid al-Adha prayers inside the complex of the Taj Mahal in Agra on June 7, 2025. (Photo by Punit Lal / AFP)
Muslim devotees offer Eid al-Adha prayers inside the complex of the Taj Mahal in Agra on June 7, 2025. (Photo by Punit Lal / AFP)
TT
20

UN: Most World Heritage Sites at Risk of Drought or Flooding

Muslim devotees offer Eid al-Adha prayers inside the complex of the Taj Mahal in Agra on June 7, 2025. (Photo by Punit Lal / AFP)
Muslim devotees offer Eid al-Adha prayers inside the complex of the Taj Mahal in Agra on June 7, 2025. (Photo by Punit Lal / AFP)

Almost three quarters of the globe's cultural and natural heritage sites are threatened by too little or too much water, the UN's cultural agency said on Tuesday.

As a result of rising temperatures, extreme weather events including hurricanes, droughts, floods and heatwaves have become more frequent and intense, scientists warn.

Seventy-three percent of all 1,172 non-marine sites on the UNESCO Heritage List are exposed to at least one severe water risk -- including water stress, drought, river flooding or coastal flooding, UNESCO said.

"Water stress is projected to intensify, most notably in regions like the Middle East and North Africa, parts of South Asia and northern China — posing long-term risks to ecosystems, cultural heritage, and the communities and tourism economies that depend on them," it added, according to AFP.

Cultural sites were most commonly threatened by water scarcity, while more than half of natural sites faced the risk of flooding from a nearby river, the UNESCO study showed.

In India, the Taj Mahal monument in Agra, for example, "faces water scarcity that is increasing pollution and depleting groundwater, both of which are damaging the mausoleum," the study said.

In the United State, "in 2022, a massive flood closed down all of Yellowstone National Park and cost over $20 million in infrastructure repairs to reopen."
The report gave four more examples.

Iraq's southern marshes -- the reputed home of the biblical Garden of Eden -- "face extremely high water stress, where over 80 percent of the renewable supply is withdrawn to meet human demand", it added.

And competition for water is expected to increase in the marshes, where migratory birds live and inhabitants raise buffalo, as the region grows hotter in coming years.

On the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe, the Victoria Falls -- originally called Mosi-oa-Tunya ("the smoke that thunders") before it was renamed by Scottish explorer David Livingstone -- has faced recurring drought and is sometimes reduced to a trickle.

In Peru, the pre-Colombian city of Chan Chan and its delicate 1,000-year-old adobe walls face an extremely high risk of river flooding, UNESCO said.

In China, rising sea levels driven in large part by climate change are leading to coastal flooding, which destroys mudlands where migratory waterbirds find food, it added.