عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Varieties

Saudi Arabia Ranks 5th Globally, 1st in Arab World for AI Sector Growth on Global AI Index

File photo of the Saudi flag/AAWSAT
File photo of the Saudi flag/AAWSAT
TT
TT

Saudi Arabia Ranks 5th Globally, 1st in Arab World for AI Sector Growth on Global AI Index

File photo of the Saudi flag/AAWSAT
File photo of the Saudi flag/AAWSAT

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia ranked fifth globally and first in the Arab world in artificial intelligence sector growth, according to the Global AI Index, the Saudi Press Agency reported on Sunday.

This marks a national achievement that builds on the Kingdom’s steady progress in artificial intelligence and reflects the effectiveness of its development plans and its ability to achieve high international competitiveness under Saudi Vision 2030.

During the period measured by the Global AI Index, Saudi Arabia launched a wide range of national initiatives led by the Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA). These initiatives strengthened Saudi Arabia’s position on the index.

They included several projects, notably the Rowad Package initiative, which supports entrepreneurs and startups by enabling them to verify customer data through electronic linkage with the National Information Center’s databases.

SDAIA also launched the AI Ethics Incentive Badges initiative to raise awareness of ethical practices and promote responsible use of technologies. The initiative provides a clear framework to help organizations and developers adhere to global best standards. More than 50 accreditation certificates have been granted to national AI companies for developing AI-based products serving priority sectors.

The generative Gaia AI accelerator, supported by SDAIA and the National Technology Development Program (NTDP) in collaboration with New Native, has helped numerous startups enter the market more quickly and efficiently.

These efforts also extended to the SDAIA Academy, which has focused on building national capabilities and empowering young talent through advanced training programs in data and AI, offered in partnership with international organizations.

As part of its efforts, the SDAIA Academy trained more than one million Saudi men and women in data and AI skills through the SAMAI initiative, conducted in collaboration with several government entities. The initiative is considered one of the world’s largest training programs targeting the general population.

These achievements highlight SDAIA’s success in the field of data and AI, both nationally and internationally. They reinforce its role as the Kingdom’s central authority for regulation, development, and application, and advance the nation toward leadership in data- and AI-driven economies.

Most Viewed

 
 
Varieties

Research Reveals Decades-Long Silverpit Crater Triggered by Tsunami 40 Million Years Ago

A massive asteroid struck the North Sea millions of years ago (Getty)
A massive asteroid struck the North Sea millions of years ago (Getty)
TT
TT

Research Reveals Decades-Long Silverpit Crater Triggered by Tsunami 40 Million Years Ago

A massive asteroid struck the North Sea millions of years ago (Getty)
A massive asteroid struck the North Sea millions of years ago (Getty)

A long-running dispute about the origin of a North Sea crater has finally been settled, as new research finds a massive asteroid hit the water and triggered a towering tsunami millions of years ago.

Scientists have found that the Silverpit Crater – which lies around 700 meters beneath the southern North Sea seabed, roughly 80 miles off the coast of Yorkshire – was formed when an asteroid or comet struck the region roughly 43 to 46 million years ago, sparking a 330 feet tsunami.

Since geologists first identified the formation in 2002, the 3km-wide crater and its surrounding ring of circular faults spanning about 20 km have sparked intense debate, according to The Independent.

But researchers say their new study marks the clearest evidence yet that the structure is one of Earth’s rare impact craters.

This confirmation places it in the same category as well-known structures such as the Chicxulub Crater in Mexico, which is linked to the dinosaur mass extinction.

The team used computer modelling and analyzed newly available seismic imaging and microscopic geological samples taken from beneath the seabed.

Dr. Uisdean Nicholson, a sedimentologist in Heriot-Watt University’s School of Energy, Geoscience, Infrastructure and Society, who led the investigation, said: “New seismic imaging has given us an unprecedented look at the crater.”

He said samples from an oil well in the area also revealed rare ‘shocked’ quartz and feldspar crystals at the same depth as the crater floor.

“We were exceptionally lucky to find these – a real ‘needle-in-a-haystack’ effort. These prove the impact crater hypothesis beyond doubt, because they have a fabric that can only be created by extreme shock pressures,” said Nicholson.

The scientists say these microscopic minerals form only under the extreme pressures generated during asteroid impacts, providing strong confirmation of the event.

Early research proposed that the feature was created by a high-speed asteroid impact. Supporters of that idea pointed to its round shape, central peak, and surrounding concentric faults, which are often seen in known impact craters.

But other scientists suggested different explanations. Some proposed that underground salt movement distorted the rock layers and created the structure.

Others argued that volcanic activity may have caused the seabed to collapse.

In 2009, geologists even voted on the issue. According to a report in the December 2009 issue of Geoscientist magazine, most participants rejected the asteroid impact explanation at the time.

The latest findings, published in the journal Nature Communications and funded by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), now appear to overturn that conclusion.

Dr. Nicholson said: “Our evidence shows that a 160-meter-wide asteroid hit the seabed at a low angle from the west.”

“Within minutes, it created a 1.5 km high curtain of rock and water that then collapsed into the sea, creating a tsunami over 100 meters high.”

The impact would have produced a violent explosion at the seafloor and sent enormous waves spreading across the region.

Professor Gareth Collins, of Imperial College London, who attended the 2009 debate about the crater’s origin and contributed to the new research, said the researchers have “finally found the silver bullet” to end the debate.

He said: “I always thought that the impact hypothesis was the simplest explanation and most consistent with the observations.”

“It is very rewarding to have finally found the silver bullet. We can now get on with the exciting job of using the amazing new data to learn more about how impacts shape planets below the surface, which is really hard to do on other planets,” Collins added.

Dr. Nicholson also expressed his excitement about using the new findings for further research into asteroids.

“Silverpit is a rare and exceptionally preserved hypervelocity impact crater,” he said.

“These are rare because the Earth is such a dynamic planet – plate tectonics and erosion destroy almost all traces of most of these events.”

Varieties

Naples Museum to Allow Visually Impaired Visitors to Experience Art Through Touch

Giuseppe Sanmartino's sculpture of the Veiled Christ housed in the Sansevero Chapel in Naples, Italy, 10 March 2026. EPA/CIRO FUSCO
Giuseppe Sanmartino's sculpture of the Veiled Christ housed in the Sansevero Chapel in Naples, Italy, 10 March 2026. EPA/CIRO FUSCO
TT
TT

Naples Museum to Allow Visually Impaired Visitors to Experience Art Through Touch

Giuseppe Sanmartino's sculpture of the Veiled Christ housed in the Sansevero Chapel in Naples, Italy, 10 March 2026. EPA/CIRO FUSCO
Giuseppe Sanmartino's sculpture of the Veiled Christ housed in the Sansevero Chapel in Naples, Italy, 10 March 2026. EPA/CIRO FUSCO

The Sansevero Chapel Museum in Naples will allow dozens of visually impaired visitors to take part in a rare tactile experience, letting them touch celebrated works of art including the Veiled Christ, which is widely regarded as one of the most striking masterpieces in the history of sculpture.

On March 17, the museum will host an initiative called La meraviglia a portata di mano – Wonder within reach – organized in partnership with the Italian Union of the Blind and Visually Impaired of Naples, offering about 80 blind and partially sighted visitors a chance to encounter the marble masterpieces.

According to The Guardian, visitors will be guided through the chapel by guides who are also visually impaired in a program designed to place accessibility at the center of the museum experience.

The protective barrier surrounding the sculptures will be removed, allowing participants, wearing latex gloves, to explore by touch the intricate marble surface of the sculptures including Giuseppe Sanmartino’s Veiled Christ, which depicts Jesus covered by a transparent shroud made from the same block as the statue. The tactile route will also extend to the reliefs at the feet of the sculptures La Pudicizia and Il Disinganno.

Chiara Locovardi, a guide, told the state agency Ansa: “The veil covering Christ is extraordinary. It’s impossible to understand how Sanmartino managed to create it. The veil defies explanation – for those who can see and for those who cannot. When you touch it, you can feel the veins pulsing beneath.”

“This initiative forms part of our wider program to create a cultural space that is inclusive and accessible through dedicated pathways and tools tailored to the different needs of museum visitors,” Maria Alessandra Masucci, the president of the Sansevero Chapel Museum, said.

Varieties

All But 2 of Austria's 96 Glaciers Have Retreated Over Last 2 Years

FILE - The Sulzenauferner Glacier is visible near Innsbruck, Austria, on Sept. 25, 2023. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader, File)
FILE - The Sulzenauferner Glacier is visible near Innsbruck, Austria, on Sept. 25, 2023. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader, File)
TT
TT

All But 2 of Austria's 96 Glaciers Have Retreated Over Last 2 Years

FILE - The Sulzenauferner Glacier is visible near Innsbruck, Austria, on Sept. 25, 2023. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader, File)
FILE - The Sulzenauferner Glacier is visible near Innsbruck, Austria, on Sept. 25, 2023. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader, File)

All but two of Austria’s 96 glaciers have retreated over the last two years, monitors in the Alpine country reported Friday, saying the “dramatic development” highlights the impact of climate change.

The latest report from the Austrian Alpine Club shows the Alpeiner Ferner in the western Tyrol region and Stubacher Sonnblickkees in Salzburg to the east are facing the greatest loss, each with a retreat of more than 100 meters (about 330 feet). The average retreat was more than 20 meters (65 feet).

“The disintegration of the glacier tongue is also progressing at the Pasterze, Austria’s largest glacier, making the consequences of climate change visible,” the club said in the report covering 2024 and 2025.

The report, it added, “confirms once again the long-term trend: Glaciers in Austria continue to shrink significantly in length, area, and volume.”

FILE - The Gaisskarferner Glacier is visible near Innsbruck, Austria, Monday, Sept. 25, 2023. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader, file)

The retreat of glaciers in Europe has vast implications for drinking water, power generation, agriculture, infrastructure, recreational activities, the Alpine landscape and more.

Neighboring Switzerland, which is home to the most glaciers in Europe, has noted a similar retreat in its glaciers in recent years, a trend that has been reported around the world.

Poor weather conditions including low snowfall, warm temperatures including an exceptionally hot June last year — nearly 5 degrees Celsius (9 degrees Fahrenheit) above the average — have contributed to the retreat, The Associated Press quoted the club as saying.

“The glaciers are melting — and with every new report, the urgency grows,” club vice president Nicole Slupetzky said. “It’s no longer a question of whether we can still save the glaciers in their old form; it’s about mitigating the consequences for ourselves.”

Such changes in the Alps should serve as a “wake-up call” for policymakers and the public in its behavior, the club said.

It said the current figure was lower than during the previous two years, but still ranks as the eight-largest retreat in the 135 years of measurements.