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Tabaud: An Application Facilitating Saudis' Return to Normalcy

Tabaud: An Application Facilitating Saudis' Return to Normalcy
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Tabaud: An Application Facilitating Saudis' Return to Normalcy

Tabaud: An Application Facilitating Saudis' Return to Normalcy

Electronic data and applications can play a major role in the plans to confront the new coronavirus. Indeed, Saudi Arabia has been utilizing them since the beginning of the spread of the virus, releasing several apps with a variety of functions to help in the efforts of health bodies against COVID-19.

The latest app that appeared in Saudi Arabia helps contain the virus and return people to normal life as soon as possible. The app uses a notification to warn people who may catch the virus by mingling with known cases.

This app came as normal life was set to return on 21 June accompanied by a rise in cases. The app was developed by the National Information Center affiliated with the Saudi Authority for Data and Artificial Intelligence in cooperation with the Ministry of Health which announced an app called "Tabaud" (Arabic for Distancing) that uses the newest technology to notify users in case they came in contact with someone infected.

The app provides three main services: It notifies users if they encountered a known case, sends the information of users to the Ministry of Health to provide medical support, and allows users with the virus to voluntarily disclose the result of their test to those whom they have mixed with in the last 14 days. The app's developers confirm that the app does not violate the privacy of users as it does not provide any data on geographic location and instead only uses Bluetooth technology to randomly gather identifiers and update them.

The Distancing app is considered a means to notify those who encounter known cases. The app sends encrypted data to smartphones that were in the vicinity at the time. This is done per Google and Apple's privacy policy, safeguarding the privacy of users.

Furthermore, the app enables users to receive direct preemptive notifications if a case is discovered and directly request medical support from the Ministry of Health. Saudi Arabia has launched a variety of apps since the beginning of the pandemic as part of its efforts to confront and contain the virus.

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Israel Warfare Methods 'Consistent With Genocide', Says UN Committee

Israel's warfare practices in Gaza "are consistent with the characteristics of genocide", according to the United Nations Special Committee - AFP
Israel's warfare practices in Gaza "are consistent with the characteristics of genocide", according to the United Nations Special Committee - AFP
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Israel Warfare Methods 'Consistent With Genocide', Says UN Committee

Israel's warfare practices in Gaza "are consistent with the characteristics of genocide", according to the United Nations Special Committee - AFP
Israel's warfare practices in Gaza "are consistent with the characteristics of genocide", according to the United Nations Special Committee - AFP

Israel's warfare in Gaza is consistent with the characteristics of genocide, a special UN committee said Thursday, accusing the country of "using starvation as a method of war".

The United Nations Special Committee pointed to "mass civilian casualties and life-threatening conditions intentionally imposed on Palestinians", in a fresh report covering the period from Hamas's deadly October 7 attack in Israel last year through to July, AFP reported.

"Through its siege over Gaza, obstruction of humanitarian aid, alongside targeted attacks and killing of civilians and aid workers, despite repeated UN appeals, binding orders from the International Court of Justice and resolutions of the Security Council, Israel is intentionally causing death, starvation and serious injury," it said in a statement.

Israel's warfare practices in Gaza "are consistent with the characteristics of genocide", said the committee, which has for decades been investigating Israeli practices affecting rights in the occupied Palestinian territories.

Israel, it charged, was "using starvation as a method of war and inflicting collective punishment on the Palestinian population".

A UN-backed assessment at the weekend warned that famine was imminent in northern Gaza.

Thursday's report documented how Israel's extensive bombing campaign in Gaza had decimated essential services and unleashed an environmental catastrophe with lasting health impacts.

By February this year, Israeli forces had used more than 25,000 tonnes of explosives across the Gaza Strip, "equivalent to two nuclear bombs", the report pointed out.

"By destroying vital water, sanitation and food systems, and contaminating the environment, Israel has created a lethal mix of crises that will inflict severe harm on generations to come," the committee said.

The committee said it was "deeply alarmed by the unprecedented destruction of civilian infrastructure and the high death toll in Gaza", where more than 43,700 people have been killed since the war began, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory.

The staggering number of deaths raised serious concerns, it said, about Israel's use of artificial intelligence-enhanced targeting systems in its military operations.

"The Israeli military’s use of AI-assisted targeting, with minimal human oversight, combined with heavy bombs, underscores Israel’s disregard of its obligation to distinguish between civilians and combatants and take adequate safeguards to prevent civilian deaths," it said.

It warned that reported new directives lowering the criteria for selecting targets and increasing the previously accepted ratio of civilian to combatant casualties appeared to have allowed the military to use AI systems to "rapidly generate tens of thousands of targets, as well as to track targets to their homes, particularly at night when families shelter together".

The committee stressed the obligations of other countries to urgently act to halt the bloodshed, saying that "other States are unwilling to hold Israel accountable and continue to provide it with military and other support".