عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Varieties

Saudi Hospital Develops Diagnostic Test for COVID-19

A Saudi research team at the Research Center of King Faisal Specialist Hospital developed a diagnostic test for the novel coronavirus. (SPA)
A Saudi research team at the Research Center of King Faisal Specialist Hospital developed a diagnostic test for the novel coronavirus. (SPA)
TT
TT

Saudi Hospital Develops Diagnostic Test for COVID-19

A Saudi research team at the Research Center of King Faisal Specialist Hospital developed a diagnostic test for the novel coronavirus. (SPA)
A Saudi research team at the Research Center of King Faisal Specialist Hospital developed a diagnostic test for the novel coronavirus. (SPA)

A Saudi research team at the Research Center of King Faisal Specialist Hospital (KFSH) developed a diagnostic test for the novel coronavirus COVID-19 that has been approved by the Saudi Food and Drug Authority.

The test uses polymerase chain reaction (PCR), which produces multiple copies of a single strand of DNA and has become the most common basis for coronavirus tests.

Dr. Ali S. Alzahrani, the Executive Director of the Research Center at King Faisal Specialist Hospital in Riyadh, says the development of the test complied with precise laboratory-science standards and that all of the validation stages were surpassed after its results matched those of the hospital's primary diagnostic laboratory.

He added that the hospital is equipped with a Primer device, the foundation of the PCR tests that detect the virus. The research team was led by Dr. Ahmed Al-Qahtani and Dr. Fatimah S. Alhamlan, both of whom are microbiology researchers.

Dr. Majed Al-Fayyad, the Chief Executive Officer of King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center (Gen. Org.), paid tribute to the research team that designed and developed the test, which allows the hospital to rely on a local product when conducting required tests of laboratory samples.

This achievement forms a bulwark against problems that the hospital may face in the event of a national or global shortage of commercially manufactured products, a serious concern given the high demand for these products in light of the epidemic's persistence.

He also added that the King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center is ready to produce primers for local laboratories and to share the protocol with local and Gulf laboratories in order to confront a shortage of commercial solutions.

Most Viewed

 
 
Varieties

Stranded Whale Frees Itself Again Off German Coast and Disappears

Seagulls fly above a humpback whale that managed to free itself overnight from a sandbank in shallow waters of Wismar Bay in the Baltic Sea, near Wismar, Germany March 31, 2026. REUTERS/Annegret Hilse
Seagulls fly above a humpback whale that managed to free itself overnight from a sandbank in shallow waters of Wismar Bay in the Baltic Sea, near Wismar, Germany March 31, 2026. REUTERS/Annegret Hilse
TT
TT

Stranded Whale Frees Itself Again Off German Coast and Disappears

Seagulls fly above a humpback whale that managed to free itself overnight from a sandbank in shallow waters of Wismar Bay in the Baltic Sea, near Wismar, Germany March 31, 2026. REUTERS/Annegret Hilse
Seagulls fly above a humpback whale that managed to free itself overnight from a sandbank in shallow waters of Wismar Bay in the Baltic Sea, near Wismar, Germany March 31, 2026. REUTERS/Annegret Hilse

A humpback whale struggling in shallow waters off Germany's northern Baltic Sea coast has freed itself for a third time and has now disappeared, a police spokesman told AFP Tuesday.

"The whale seems to have left Wismar. However, there have been no sightings so far," the spokesman for the city's water police said.

The 13.5-meter (44-foot) long animal has been struggling in shallow waters in the area for more than a week, having first been spotted in the early hours of March 23 near the city of Luebeck.

It managed to free itself from a sandbank there but ran into further difficulty after swimming east.

It twice became stuck on sandbanks close to the city of Wismar and over the weekend experts warned that its breathing rate had reduced.

Nevertheless experts hope that the whale may be able to make it back to its natural habitat in the Atlantic Ocean.

Speaking on ZDF television on Monday, marine biologist and rescue coordinator Burkard Baschek said the lack of sightings was a good sign.

"We haven't received any further reports so far, which is good," he said, adding: "We can now only hope that it will eventually manage to make it under its own steam."

The whale is believed to be suffering from skin problems due to the lower level of salt content in the Baltic Sea compared to the open ocean.

It is possible the whale came into the Baltic following a shoal of fish or having been distracted by the noise of a submarine.

Varieties

India to Begin World’s Biggest Population Count

Commuters walk on a platform after disembarking from a suburban train at a railway station in Mumbai, India, January 21, 2023. (Reuters)
Commuters walk on a platform after disembarking from a suburban train at a railway station in Mumbai, India, January 21, 2023. (Reuters)
TT
TT

India to Begin World’s Biggest Population Count

Commuters walk on a platform after disembarking from a suburban train at a railway station in Mumbai, India, January 21, 2023. (Reuters)
Commuters walk on a platform after disembarking from a suburban train at a railway station in Mumbai, India, January 21, 2023. (Reuters)

India will launch the world's largest census on Wednesday, with more than three million officials to take part in a vast counting exercise over the next year.

The South Asian nation, home to an estimated 1.4 billion people, faces mounting challenges in providing electricity, food and housing to its growing population.

Many of its sprawling megacities are already grappling with water shortages, air and water pollution, and overcrowded slums.

India's government calls the $1.24 billion count a "gigantic exercise of national importance" that could support "inclusive governance and evidence-based policy formulation".

The enumeration will also include the politically sensitive issue of caste, the millennia-old social hierarchy that divides Hindus by function and social standing.

The upcoming census presents a formidable logistical challenge. India's 2024 general election, the largest democratic exercise in history, was conducted in seven phases over six weeks.

The census will be carried out in two phases.

The first phase, beginning Wednesday and running until September, will involve a staggered, month-long enumeration to record details of housing and amenities.

The process will combine door-to-door visits with an option for online self-enumeration, linking to an app drawing on satellite imagery and available in 16 languages.

A second phase will focus on population data including demographic, social and economic details as well as the more contentious question of caste.

Caste remains a powerful determinant of social status in India, shaping access to resources, education and opportunity.

A caste survey conducted in 2011 was never published, with authorities citing inconsistencies in the data.

The last time comprehensive caste data was collected as part of a census was in 1931, under British colonial rule.

Governments since resisted updating the data, citing administrative complexity and concerns over potential social tensions.

For most of the country, population enumeration will take place in the weeks leading up to the reference date of March 1, 2027.

In high-altitude Himalayan regions -- including the disputed territory of Jammu and Kashmir -- it will take place ahead of October 1, 2026, before snowfall begins.

India has not conducted a census since 2011, after the 2021 round was delayed by the Covid-19 pandemic.

According to the last census, India's population was 1.21 billion.

In 2023, the United Nations estimated that India had surpassed China to become the world's most populous country, with more than 1.42 billion people.

Varieties

The First Canine Inducted into the Surfer’s Hall of Fame Dies

FILE - Sugar catches a wave in the first heat of medium dogs during the World Dog Surfing Championships, Aug. 3, 2024, in Pacifica, Calif. (AP Photo/Eakin Howard, File)
FILE - Sugar catches a wave in the first heat of medium dogs during the World Dog Surfing Championships, Aug. 3, 2024, in Pacifica, Calif. (AP Photo/Eakin Howard, File)
TT
TT

The First Canine Inducted into the Surfer’s Hall of Fame Dies

FILE - Sugar catches a wave in the first heat of medium dogs during the World Dog Surfing Championships, Aug. 3, 2024, in Pacifica, Calif. (AP Photo/Eakin Howard, File)
FILE - Sugar catches a wave in the first heat of medium dogs during the World Dog Surfing Championships, Aug. 3, 2024, in Pacifica, Calif. (AP Photo/Eakin Howard, File)

Sugar The Surfing Dog, the first canine inducted into the Surfer’s Hall of Fame, who spent her days outside the water comforting veterans as a dedicated therapy dog, died Monday after battling cancer.

The 16-year-old rescue dog from Huntington Beach, California, who was a five-time dog surfing world champion, died “in her daddy’s arms,” a post on her Instagram said, according to The Associated Press.

“She lived to put smiles on faces, volunteer, to send it !! to change dog surfing forever !!! thank you for loving Sugar,” the post said. “Good bye my Sugar., i can’t believe in writing this .. i’m going to miss you so much.”

Sugar was found as a stray and over the years her love of the waves and natural talent took dog surfing to new heights.

Dressed in a life jacket, spectators would watch the furry white canine in amazement as she balanced on her surfboard, riding wave after wave back to the shore, sometimes with her owner, Ryan Rustan, by her side and other times all on her own.

In 2024, her paw prints joined the hand and footprints of many other renowned surfers immortalized in concrete in Huntington Beach when she was inducted into the hall of fame.

“This is just incredible. Dreams do come true even for a surfing dog and guys like me,” Rustan said at the ceremony.

A post on Huntington Beach's Facebook page described her as a local legend who the Surf City community is mourning.

“From inspiring the surfing world to advocating for rescue dogs and bringing comfort to veterans as a therapy dog, her impact reached far beyond the shoreline,” the post said.