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Saudi Innovation Zones: Building a Knowledge-Based Future

Innovation zones aim to strengthen their role in transforming Saudi Arabia into a globally competitive innovation hub (SPA)
Innovation zones aim to strengthen their role in transforming Saudi Arabia into a globally competitive innovation hub (SPA)
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Saudi Innovation Zones: Building a Knowledge-Based Future

Innovation zones aim to strengthen their role in transforming Saudi Arabia into a globally competitive innovation hub (SPA)
Innovation zones aim to strengthen their role in transforming Saudi Arabia into a globally competitive innovation hub (SPA)

Saudi Arabia is rapidly transforming into a global hub for research, innovation, and entrepreneurship, thanks to the establishment of more than 10 Innovation Zones across the Kingdom.

The zones are key components of the national strategy for research, development, and innovation (RDI), which was launched in 2022 by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

Designed as integrated ecosystems, Innovation Zones aim to support innovators, develop patents, and turn theoretical ideas into market-ready solutions. They offer advanced infrastructure, tailored facilities for startups, and a range of support services such as funding, mentorship, and training. By doing so, they not only stimulate local investment but also attract international partnerships.

All Saudi Innovation Zones are officially registered with the International Association of Science Parks and Areas of Innovation (IASP). They operate under the four national RDI priorities: human health, environmental sustainability and essential needs, leadership in energy and industry, and future economies.

The zones are overseen by the Research, Development and Innovation Authority (RDIA), established in 2021 to coordinate and accelerate innovation efforts across the country.

In April 2024, the RDIA launched the “Innovation Zones in Saudi Arabia” platform in partnership with existing innovation clusters. The platform seeks to strengthen support for entrepreneurs and create specialized zones aligned with national research goals.

Innovation Zones are distributed across major cities and academic institutions, including King Saud University, KAUST, University of Tabuk, Prince Mohammed bin Fahd University, and King Faisal University. They also include corporate-driven hubs such as Aramco’s innovation zones in Dhahran and the King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST) in Riyadh.

The zones serve a wide range of functions, from encouraging tech transfer and supporting the knowledge economy to fostering collaboration between academia and industry. By narrowing the gap between researchers and investors, they provide an ideal environment for innovation to thrive.

The impact is already visible. In 2024, the Innovation Zone at King Saud University reported notable success, transforming several research projects into economically viable ventures. The zone registered more than 16,000 scientific publications, nearly 2,000 patents, and supported over 200 startups within the year.

Looking ahead, Jeddah will host the first National Conference on Innovation and Entrepreneurship in Saudi Universities in October 2025. The event will focus on enhancing university-industry collaboration, promoting a culture of innovation in higher education, and supporting the development of a knowledge-driven economy. It will provide a platform for researchers and entrepreneurs to present their work, exchange ideas, and explore investment opportunities.

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Varieties

Israel Cleared to Stay in Eurovision; Spain, Ireland and Others Quit in Protest

Pro-Palestinian protestors hold a flag and a banner outside the RTE (Radio Telefis Eireann) Irish public service broadcaster television studios as demonstrators call for an Irish boycott of the 2026 Eurovision Song Contest if there is Israeli participation, in Dublin, Ireland, November 1, 2025. (Reuters)
Pro-Palestinian protestors hold a flag and a banner outside the RTE (Radio Telefis Eireann) Irish public service broadcaster television studios as demonstrators call for an Irish boycott of the 2026 Eurovision Song Contest if there is Israeli participation, in Dublin, Ireland, November 1, 2025. (Reuters)
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Israel Cleared to Stay in Eurovision; Spain, Ireland and Others Quit in Protest

Pro-Palestinian protestors hold a flag and a banner outside the RTE (Radio Telefis Eireann) Irish public service broadcaster television studios as demonstrators call for an Irish boycott of the 2026 Eurovision Song Contest if there is Israeli participation, in Dublin, Ireland, November 1, 2025. (Reuters)
Pro-Palestinian protestors hold a flag and a banner outside the RTE (Radio Telefis Eireann) Irish public service broadcaster television studios as demonstrators call for an Irish boycott of the 2026 Eurovision Song Contest if there is Israeli participation, in Dublin, Ireland, November 1, 2025. (Reuters)

Israel was cleared on Thursday to enter the 2026 Eurovision Song Contest by the organizer, prompting Spain, the Netherlands, Ireland and Slovenia to withdraw over the Gaza war and plunging the competition into one of the biggest rows in its history.

The broadcasters who had threatened to boycott the event cited the death count in Gaza and accused Israel of flouting rules meant to guard the contest's neutrality. Israel accuses its critics of mounting a global smear campaign against it.

After a meeting in Geneva, the European Broadcasting Union, or EBU, decided not to call a vote on Israel's participation, saying it had instead passed new rules aimed at discouraging governments from influencing the contest, Reuters said.

Right after that announcement by the contest organizer, the Dutch, Spanish, Irish and Slovenian broadcasters said they would withdraw, meaning singers from their countries would not compete in the contest that draws millions of viewers worldwide.

Ben Robertson, a Eurovision expert from fan website ESC Insight, said the contest's integrity was at its lowest ebb.

"Never in the history of the contest have we had such a vote, and such a split, between the member broadcasters of the European Broadcasting Union," he said.

Both the Israeli government and opposition leaders celebrated the country's inclusion.

Golan Yochpaz, CEO of Israeli broadcaster KAN, likened the efforts to exclude Israel to a form of "cultural boycott."

Rounding on the countries withdrawing, Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said on X: "The disgrace is upon them."

IRELAND SAYS ITS PARTICIPATION 'UNCONSCIONABLE'

The Eurovision Song Contest dates back to 1956 and reaches around 160 million viewers, according to the EBU - more than the almost 128 million recorded for this year's US Super Bowl, according to figures from Nielsen.

Israel's participation has divided opinion in the competition that has a history of entanglement in national rivalries, international issues and political voting.

Its 2025 entrant, Yuval Raphael, was at the Nova music festival, a target of the October 7, 2023 attack by Palestinian group Hamas on Israel that triggered the Gaza war.

A total of 1,200 people were killed and 251 taken hostage in the assault by Hamas, according to Israeli tallies. More than 70,000 people have been killed in Gaza in the ensuing conflict, according to health authorities in the enclave.

Irish broadcaster RTE said it felt "Ireland's participation remains unconscionable given the appalling loss of lives in Gaza and the humanitarian crisis there which continues to put the lives of so many civilians at risk".

Jose Pablo Lopez, head of Spanish state broadcaster RTVE said on X: "What happened in the EBU Assembly confirms that Eurovision is not a song contest but a festival dominated by geopolitical interests and fractured."

RTV Slovenija said it together with Spain, Montenegro, the Netherlands, Türkiye, Algeria and Iceland requested a secret vote on Israel's participation, but it was not held.

Icelandic public broadcaster RUV said its board will make a decision on Wednesday on whether to participate in the next Eurovision, which will be held in Vienna in May.

"I feel sad that other countries are not going to compete next year," said 33-year-old Tel Aviv Eurovision fan Jurij Vlasov, adding the Netherlands' song this year was his favorite.

In Austria, which backed Israel, Eurovision fans welcomed its inclusion, even as some in Spain took the opposite view.

"Why should the population, or a part of the population, not participate?," said Vienna resident Bernhard Kleemann. "If countries decide not to participate because they condemn the government and the prime minister, that's their decision."

"BORN FROM THE ASHES OF THE SECOND WORLD WAR"

Instead of voting on Israel, the EBU said its members backed rules intended to discourage governments and third parties from disproportionately promoting songs to sway voters after allegations that Israel unfairly boosted its 2025 entrant.

"This vote means that all EBU Members who wish to participate in the Eurovision Song Contest 2026 and agree to comply with the new rules are eligible to take part," it said.

Israel's President Isaac Herzog thanked his country's supporters, saying he hoped the song contest would continue to champion "culture, music, friendship between nations".

Germany, a major Eurovision backer, had signaled it would not take part if Israel was barred. Germany's culture minister Wolfram Weimer told the Bild newspaper he welcomed the decision.

"Israel belongs to the Eurovision Song Contest like Germany belongs to Europe," he said.

Martin Green, the contest's director, said EBU members showed they wanted to protect the neutrality of the competition.

"Eurovision was born from the ashes of the Second World War," he said. "It was designed to bring us together, and it will hit bumps in the road, and we have a complicated world, but we hope it's a temporary situation, and we'll move forward."

Varieties

Study Says African Penguins Starved En Masse Off South Africa

Yellow-eyed penguins fights in their colony in Katiki Point, on the southern end of the Moeraki Peninsula in New Zealand's South Island, about 80 kilometers north of Dunedin on November 12, 2025. (Photo by Sanka VIDANAGAMA / AFP)
Yellow-eyed penguins fights in their colony in Katiki Point, on the southern end of the Moeraki Peninsula in New Zealand's South Island, about 80 kilometers north of Dunedin on November 12, 2025. (Photo by Sanka VIDANAGAMA / AFP)
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Study Says African Penguins Starved En Masse Off South Africa

Yellow-eyed penguins fights in their colony in Katiki Point, on the southern end of the Moeraki Peninsula in New Zealand's South Island, about 80 kilometers north of Dunedin on November 12, 2025. (Photo by Sanka VIDANAGAMA / AFP)
Yellow-eyed penguins fights in their colony in Katiki Point, on the southern end of the Moeraki Peninsula in New Zealand's South Island, about 80 kilometers north of Dunedin on November 12, 2025. (Photo by Sanka VIDANAGAMA / AFP)

Endangered penguins living off South Africa's coast have likely starved en masse due to food shortages, a study said Friday, with some populations dropping by 95 percent in just eight years.

Fewer than 10,000 breeding pairs of the small, black and white African Penguin are left globally, according to scientists, and the species was listed as critically endangered last year by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

Two of the most important breeding colonies near Cape Town had collapsed between 2004 and 2011, with some 62,000 birds estimated to have died, the study by the UK's University of Exeter and the South African Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment said.

In those eight years, sardine populations in South African waters -- a main food source for penguins -- were consistently below 25 percent of their peak abundance, Agence France Presse quoted co-author and biologist Richard Sherley as saying.

This drop in sardine stocks was due to fishing practices combined with environmental causes such as changes in water temperatures and salinity.

This "appears to have caused severe food shortage for African penguins, leading to an estimated loss of about 62,000 breeding individuals", Sherley said.

The global population of the species had declined by nearly 80 percent in the past 30 years, the scientists said.

Conservationists say that at the current rate of population decrease, the bird could be extinct in the wild by 2035.

For 10 years, authorities have imposed a commercial fishing ban around six penguin colonies, including Robben and Dassen islands, the two sites observed in the study.

Other initiatives underway include artificial nests and creating new colonies.

The birds are a strong attraction for tourists to South Africa, with thousands of people visiting colonies each year.

But the pressure from tourism also disturbs the birds and causes enhanced stress.

Varieties

Saudi Post Issues Stamp Marking Int’l Day of Persons with Disabilities

Saudi Post (SPL) issued a set of commemorative stamps to mark the International Day of Persons with Disabilities.
Saudi Post (SPL) issued a set of commemorative stamps to mark the International Day of Persons with Disabilities.
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Saudi Post Issues Stamp Marking Int’l Day of Persons with Disabilities

Saudi Post (SPL) issued a set of commemorative stamps to mark the International Day of Persons with Disabilities.
Saudi Post (SPL) issued a set of commemorative stamps to mark the International Day of Persons with Disabilities.

Saudi Post (SPL), the Kingdom's national postal and logistics provider, has issued a set of commemorative stamps valued at SAR3 to mark the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, observed annually on December 3.

The day is celebrated worldwide, including in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, to reinforce care for persons with disabilities, empower them to achieve their aspirations, enhance their quality of life, ensure their rights, and include them in all activities and events by highlighting their talents and diverse abilities, said the Saudi Press Agency on Thursday.

The launch took place during a ceremony organized by the Authority for the Care of People with Disabilities (APD).

The event included the unveiling of a campaign titled “Say It Right,” which promotes the correct and officially adopted terminology for persons with disabilities.

The stamp features several individuals with disabilities who participated in the campaign.

APD continues to work collaboratively with various sectors to enhance service quality and raise awareness of the rights of persons with disabilities.