عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Varieties

Sharjah Ruler Launches ‘Arabic Language Historical Dictionary’

Sheikh Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah, launches the first eight volumes of "Arabic Language Historical Dictionary - WAM
Sheikh Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah, launches the first eight volumes of "Arabic Language Historical Dictionary - WAM
TT
TT

Sharjah Ruler Launches ‘Arabic Language Historical Dictionary’

Sheikh Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah, launches the first eight volumes of "Arabic Language Historical Dictionary - WAM
Sheikh Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah, launches the first eight volumes of "Arabic Language Historical Dictionary - WAM

Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah Sheikh Sultan Bin Mohammed Al Qasimi has launched the first eight volumes of "Arabic Language Historical Dictionary", the biggest Arabic linguistic knowledge and information project that documents the history of Arabic language lexicons and their usage transformations over the last 17 centuries (Pre-Islamic to current times).

This came in a ceremony hosted by the Ruler of Sharjah on Thursday in the city of Khorfakkan and attended by a number of heads of Arabic Language Academies, Arabic Language scholars and researchers from the Arab World, state news agency WAM reported.

On the occasion, Sheikh Sultan delivered a speech thanking all those who contributed and participated in editing the "Arabic Language Historical Dictionary", especially the Language and Science Academy Union, headed by Dr. Hassan El Shafei, and all the scholars working with him.

"This project has been a dream of mine for a long time, and I became more eager and keen on supporting and executing this project when I learnt that previous similar attempts were not so successful," he said.

He also congratulated the Arab Nation for this dictionary that documents the history of Arabic lexicons from pre-Islamic, Umayyad, and then Abbasid eras, all the way to our modern times.

"Today we witness the launch of the first eight volumes of the dictionary, executed and printed in a beautiful manner to be put in the hands of Arabic language and culture for their own knowledge and leisure.

"Being a historian myself, I have always thought: Why Arabs do not have a historical dictionary documenting their language? Are Arabic linguists and scholars incapable of accomplishing such a project? "The answer is no, the lovers and scholars of the Arabic language are not incapable of producing such a dictionary.

"I then realized that the project requires gathering the forces, inspiring the morals, unifying the lines, organizing the efforts, and providing the finances that are suitable of a project of this magnitude," he added.

"Praise to Allah Almighty, and with the help of the scholars of the Arabic Language Academies, we were able to overcome the challenges that faced of the completion of this project before."

"I reiterate my congratulations to the Arab and Islamic nation for the launching of the first eight volumes of the dictionary, covering only the first two letters of the Arabic alphabet," the Ruler of Sharjah said in his speech while promising that the coming few years will witness the issuing of dozens of new volumes of this dictionary.

"This dictionary would be the biggest and richest reference for specialists in various domains, students, academics, poets, linguists, and all of those who adore this great language."

He added that this dictionary will not only provide history, origins, meanings, and explanations of words, but will also document the history of the nation, preserve its civilization, and celebrate the achievements of Arabs from the Arabian Peninsula to the Atlantic Ocean, in addition to recording Arabic poetry, literature, tales and news carried by Muslims spreading Islam far in Asia and deep in Africa.

For his part, Dr. Hassan El Shafei, Chairman of the Language and Science Academy Union, gave a televised speech lauding the efforts of the Ruler of Sharjah and celebrating the launch of this monumental and long-awaited project that would greatly serve the Arabic language.

Later, Dr. Mohamed Safi Al Mosteghanemi, Secretary-General of Sharjah's Arabic Language Academy, presented a historical brief of the dictionary and the preparation stages of the first eight volumes, providing statistics and methodologies adopted by the project team during these stages.

Dr. Mamoun Wajih, the Scholarly Project Manager, in turn, briefed the attendees of the details of the project, thanking His highness for his generous support and efforts in granting this project the success it has achieved.

At the conclusion of the ceremony, the Ruler of Sharjah handwrote a gratitude note on the first page of the first volume that read, "We thank all of those who contributed in making this dictionary, the administrators, the editors, and the thinkers, hoping that Almighty Allah guides them to the completion of this great project and count it as part of their good deeds."

Most Viewed

 
 
Varieties

Heavy Snow in Poland Leaves Drivers Stranded in Tailbacks of up to 20 Km

Cars drive on a road during heavy snowfall in central Warsaw, Poland, 30 December 2025. (EPA)
Cars drive on a road during heavy snowfall in central Warsaw, Poland, 30 December 2025. (EPA)
TT
TT

Heavy Snow in Poland Leaves Drivers Stranded in Tailbacks of up to 20 Km

Cars drive on a road during heavy snowfall in central Warsaw, Poland, 30 December 2025. (EPA)
Cars drive on a road during heavy snowfall in central Warsaw, Poland, 30 December 2025. (EPA)

Heavy snowfall in Poland caused tailbacks stretching as far as 20 km (12.43 miles) on a motorway between ​the capital Warsaw and the Baltic port city of Gdansk during the night, police said on Wednesday.

While the situation left hundreds of people trapped in their cars in freezing conditions, by the early hours of ‌Wednesday morning traffic ‌was moving again, ‌according ⁠to ​police.

"The ‌difficult situation began yesterday after 4 p.m., when the first trucks on the S7 route... began having trouble approaching the slopes," said Tomasz Markowski, a spokesperson for police in the northern city of ⁠Olsztyn.

"This led to a traffic jam stretching approximately ‌20 kilometers overnight." Deputy Infrastructure Minister ‍Stanislaw Bukowiec ‍told a press conference that nobody had ‍been hurt as a result of the difficult situation on the roads.

Anna Karczewska, a spokesperson for police in Ostroda, said officers had ​tried to help drivers who found themselves stuck. Ostroda lies on ⁠the highway about 40 km west of Olsztyn.

"We helped as much as we could, and we had coffee and hot tea for the drivers, which the Ostroda City Hall had prepared for us," she said.

State news agency PAP reported that there had also been some disruption to railways and airports, ‌but that services were returning to normal.

Varieties

Infant Screen Exposure Shapes Long-Term Brain Changes and Teen Anxiety, Study Finds  

The study concluded that children exposed to high levels of screen time before age two are exposed to endure adolescent mental health. (The University of Queensland)
The study concluded that children exposed to high levels of screen time before age two are exposed to endure adolescent mental health. (The University of Queensland)
TT
TT

Infant Screen Exposure Shapes Long-Term Brain Changes and Teen Anxiety, Study Finds  

The study concluded that children exposed to high levels of screen time before age two are exposed to endure adolescent mental health. (The University of Queensland)
The study concluded that children exposed to high levels of screen time before age two are exposed to endure adolescent mental health. (The University of Queensland)

Children exposed to high levels of screen time before age two showed changes in brain development that were linked to slower decision-making and increased anxiety by their teenage years, according to new study released by the Agency for Science, Technology and Research in Singapore.

Prepared in collaboration with the National University of Singapore (NUS) Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, the study focuses on infancy, a period when brain development is most rapid and especially sensitive to environmental influences.

The amount and type of screen exposure in infancy are largely determined by parental and caregiver awareness and parenting practices, highlighting a critical window for early guidance and intervention, showed the study, published in eBioMedicine on Tuesday.

It said the researchers followed 168 children before age two and conducted brain scans at three time points (ages 4.5, 6, and 7.5), which allowed them to track how brain networks developed over time rather than relying on a single snapshot.

Children with higher infant screen time showed an accelerated maturation of brain networks responsible for visual processing and cognitive control.

The researchers suggest this may result from the intense sensory stimulation that screens provide. Notably, screen time measured at ages three and four did not show the same effects, underscoring why infancy is a particularly sensitive period.

The study showed that children with high screen exposure, the networks controlling vision and cognition specialized faster, before they had developed the efficient connections needed for complex thinking. This can limit flexibility and resilience, leaving the child less able to adapt later in life.

It said this premature specialization came at a cost: children with these altered brain networks took longer to make decisions during a cognitive task at age 8.5, suggesting reduced cognitive efficiency or flexibility.

Those with slower decision-making, in turn, reported higher anxiety symptoms at age 13. These findings suggest that screen exposure in infancy may have effects that extend well beyond early childhood, shaping brain development and behavior years later.

In a related study, the same team found that infant screen time is also associated with alterations in brain networks that govern emotional regulation — but that parent-child reading could counteract some of these brain changes.

Researchers found that their results give a biological explanation for why limiting screen time in the first two years is crucial.

“But it also highlights the importance of parental engagement, showing that parent-child activities, like reading together, can make a real difference,” said Asst Prof Tan Ai Peng, Clinician-Scientist at NUS, and the study's senior author.

The study concluded that children exposed to high levels of screen time before age two are exposed to endure adolescent mental health, particularly on cognitive performance and anxiety levels.

Varieties

Indonesia Raises Alert for Mount Bur Ni Telong Volcano after Spike of Activity

Explosive activity concentrates at the north-east crater of the Mount Etna, as an eruption started on Dec. 24 continues, in Sicily, Italy, Monday Dec. 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Salvatore Allegra)
Explosive activity concentrates at the north-east crater of the Mount Etna, as an eruption started on Dec. 24 continues, in Sicily, Italy, Monday Dec. 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Salvatore Allegra)
TT
TT

Indonesia Raises Alert for Mount Bur Ni Telong Volcano after Spike of Activity

Explosive activity concentrates at the north-east crater of the Mount Etna, as an eruption started on Dec. 24 continues, in Sicily, Italy, Monday Dec. 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Salvatore Allegra)
Explosive activity concentrates at the north-east crater of the Mount Etna, as an eruption started on Dec. 24 continues, in Sicily, Italy, Monday Dec. 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Salvatore Allegra)

Indonesian authorities have raised the alert level for the Mount Bur Ni Telong volcano in the country’s westernmost province of Aceh to its second highest following a series of increased activity and volcanic earthquakes, official said Wednesday.

The 2,624-meter (8,600-foot) stratovolcano in Aceh's Bener Meriah regency recorded at least seven earthquakes on Tuesday evening that were felt about five kilometers (three miles) away, while seismographs also detected seven shallow volcanic earthquakes along with 14 deep quakes and two tectonic quakes, said Lana Saria, the acting head of the Geological Agency at Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry.

She said based on the results of visual and instrumental monitoring which show the occurrence of increased volcanic activity for Mount Bur Ni Telong, scientists raised the alert level from the third to the second highest level Tuesday evening.

“Aftershocks following local tectonic events indicate magma activity is easily triggered by tectonic disturbances,” Saria said, adding that the increase in seismic activity has been ongoing since July and became more intense and shallow in the past two months.

According to The Associated Press, the agency's visual monitoring showed the volcano clearly visible with no crater smoke. However, she warned of possible eruption, including phreatic blasts and hazardous volcanic gases near areas with fumaroles and solfataras, openings in the Earth’s crust that emit steam and gases.

Authorities urged residents and visitors to stay at least 4 kilometers (2.4 miles) from the crater and avoid fumarole and solfatara zones during cloudy or rainy weather because gas concentrations can be life-threatening.

The heightened alert came as the Bener Meriah area is still recovering from catastrophic floods and landslides earlier this month that struck 52 cities and regencies on Sumatra island, leaving 1,141 people dead with 163 residents still missing and more than 7,000 injured, the National Disaster Management Agency said. In Bener Meriah alone, 31 people died and 14 are still missing after the floods and landslides hit the regency, disrupting access to remote villages and displacing more than 2,100 residents.

Local media said people living in three villages within a 2-kilometer (1.2-mile) radius from the crater are being evacuated as officials fear that heavy rains combined with volcanic activity could worsen conditions and complicate evacuation efforts.

Indonesia, an archipelago of more than 280 million people, has over 120 active volcanoes. It is prone to volcanic activity because it sits along the “Ring of Fire,” a horseshoe-shaped series of seismic fault lines around the Pacific Ocean.