Wikipedia Founder Says More Arabic Content is Needed

 Jimmy Wales, Founder of Wikipedia
Jimmy Wales, Founder of Wikipedia
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Wikipedia Founder Says More Arabic Content is Needed

 Jimmy Wales, Founder of Wikipedia
Jimmy Wales, Founder of Wikipedia

Jimmy Wales, the founder and president of Wikipedia, one of the top 5 websites in the world, advised reporters not to use references from the site, adding that governments’ interference in editing the content would turn the pages into tools for public relations.
 
In an interview with Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper, Wales said the Arabic content of Wikipedia was unfortunately less than what it is wanted.
 
Wikipedia’s Arabic community is small, and what is published or what is being edited is few, he said, stressing that the Arabic language had a lot of linguistic power and richness, hoping that further efforts would be deployed to improve the Arabic content in Wikipedia as it is in other languages.
 
Wales noted that according to some volunteers in Wikipedia, the limited Arabic content was due to the Arab youth’s interest in sports more than academic or research topics. But he added that this was not the real cause.
 
He explained that investment in education was very important to reach the required goals in editing and translation, stressing that an educated youth was the basis for a country’s development.
 
Asked about the accuracy of the site’s information, Wales emphasized that its editors seek to achieve as much accuracy, perfection and quality as possible. He noted, however, that the encyclopedia could not be regarded as an academic or research reference.
 
He recounted that in 2001, when the site was first launched, the goal of the founders was not to make it an academic reference, but to contribute to raising questions rather than finding the answers.
 
Researchers may use the encyclopedia to read or view certain information, but not to use it or quote the website in their papers, he explained.
 
Wales refuses to talk about his financial situation, and does not accept to be included in the list of billionaires.
 
Stressing that he was not a billionaire, he noted that Wikipedia was not afraid of bankruptcy and would not sell personal pages, impose fees, or enable governments or administrators to own and edit their own pages.
 
A charity fund with a capital of $100 million makes Wales confident that bankruptcy is not a matter of concern.
 
He noted that the site’s demand for financial contribution was a kind of participation to spread knowledge, not to make profits, adding that the charity fund was managed very carefully and conservatively.
 
Asked about his new project, Wikitribune, Wales said that the idea was as much as possible to benefit from all the inhabitants of the globe to participate in the dissemination of the news and the provision of materials and pictures and others.
 
He denied allegations that the new platform would put an end to the press profession and the journalist’s job, stressing that no one could publish directly on the Wikitribune, as there is an editor and journalists, adding each material would be subject to the approval of the editorial team.
 
Wales concluded by emphasizing that a journalist must nowadays have knowledge in everything, adding a journalist should use Wikipedia to question, raise questions and search for resources more widely.



Yemeni Minister to Asharq Al-Awsat: Houthis Have Lost Nearly 30% of their Military Capabilities

This handout photo released by the US Defense Visual Information Distribution Service (DVIDS) shows a US F/A-18 Super Hornet attack fighter jet taking off from the US Navy's Nimitz-class USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier at sea on March 16, 2025. (Photo by Hunter DAY / DVIDS / AFP)
This handout photo released by the US Defense Visual Information Distribution Service (DVIDS) shows a US F/A-18 Super Hornet attack fighter jet taking off from the US Navy's Nimitz-class USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier at sea on March 16, 2025. (Photo by Hunter DAY / DVIDS / AFP)
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Yemeni Minister to Asharq Al-Awsat: Houthis Have Lost Nearly 30% of their Military Capabilities

This handout photo released by the US Defense Visual Information Distribution Service (DVIDS) shows a US F/A-18 Super Hornet attack fighter jet taking off from the US Navy's Nimitz-class USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier at sea on March 16, 2025. (Photo by Hunter DAY / DVIDS / AFP)
This handout photo released by the US Defense Visual Information Distribution Service (DVIDS) shows a US F/A-18 Super Hornet attack fighter jet taking off from the US Navy's Nimitz-class USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier at sea on March 16, 2025. (Photo by Hunter DAY / DVIDS / AFP)

The Iran-backed Houthis are in disarray over escalating American strikes targeting military and security sites, as well as weapons depots belonging to them, Yemeni Minister of Information Moammar Al-Eryani said, revealing that the group has lost nearly 30% of its military capabilities.

Al-Eryani told Asharq Al-Awsat that the recent strikes have directly hit "the military capabilities of the Houthi group, targeting mainly infrastructure related to ballistic missiles and drones, which were used to threaten international maritime navigation in the Red Sea, Bab el-Mandeb, and the Gulf of Aden."

US President Donald Trump had ordered the start of the military campaign against the Houthis on March 15, pledging to destroy their capabilities.

In the past four weeks, the Houthis have been hit by 365 air and naval strikes, field reports said. The campaign has been primarily targeting fortified bunkers and military warehouses, especially in the group's strongholds in the governorates of Saada, Sanaa, Amran, and Hodeidah.

"Our assessment, based on our field sources, is that the militia has lost 30% of its capabilities, and this number is rising as military operations continue,” Al-Eryani said.

The minister also spoke of "surprises” that will please Yemenis in the coming weeks.

Trump said Monday that the US campaign against the Houthis has been “very successful militarily.”

“We’ve really damaged them,” he said, adding that “we’ve gotten many of their leaders and their experts.”

The Yemeni Minister of Information considered the powerful strikes “as not enough to end the Houthi threat, especially since the militia is still receiving logistical support from Iran through multiple smuggling routes."

Last week, Britain’s The Telegraph quoted a senior Iranian official as saying that Iran had ordered military personnel to leave Yemen to avoid direct confrontation with the US.

Al-Eryani called for “keeping military, political, and economic pressure” on the Houthis and increasing control on the sources that provide arms to the Houthis. He also called for “supporting the legitimate forces to enable them to take control of all Yemeni territory."
Al-Eryani confirmed that the Houthis have recently suffered significant human losses at various leadership levels, yet the militias have avoided announcing such losses for fear of undermining the morale of their fighters.

Last month, Yemeni Defense Minister Lt. Gen. Mohsen Mohammed al-Daeri told Asharq Al-Awsat that the country’s armed forces and all military formations were at a high state of readiness to respond firmly to any Houthi attacks or provocations.

Al-Daeri said the Houthis bear full responsibility for the recent escalation, the imposition of international sanctions, and the militarization of regional waters, which have worsened the humanitarian and economic situation for Yemenis.