Category: General

Aleppo, Maghrib Azan (call to prayer) has sounded again in the Grand Umayyad Mosque in Aleppo City, announcing the return of life to this religious and historical hub after 12-year hiatus, and that came follwoing its cleansing of terrorism and its rehabilitation.

That came during a Ramadan Iftar banquet Sunday that brought together 1,400 residents of the neighborhoods of Aleppo City and the workers and craftsmen who have contributed to the rehabilitation and construction of this archaeological landmark.

The banquet came as part of the ‘Share in Goodness’ campaign launched by the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor in cooperation with the Syria Trust for Development and the Union of Charitable Societies in Aleppo, according to what the Director of Social Affairs and Labor in Aleppo, Ahmed Hamza, said.

In a statement to a SANA correspondent, Hamza stressed the importance and significance of this banquet and its specialty for the people of old Aleppo, as it gathered them in this great religious edifice and g
ave them the joy of hearing the sound of the call to prayer, which they were deprived of for years, especially in the holy month of Ramadan.

The banquet included religious chanting, in which the artist Tayseer Idris participated, and religious chants from Mawlawiyah.

Source: Syrian Arab News Agency

Salfit – Ma’an – Today, Monday, the Israeli occupation army confiscated a bulldozer while working in Qarat Bani Hassan, west of Salfit.

The mayor of Qarawat Bani Hassan, Ibrahim Assi, said, ‘The occupation army stormed the Al-Tall area and confiscated a bulldozer while working on the home of citizen Muqbil Rayan, under the pretext of working in an area classified as ‘C’ in which work is prohibited.’

Assi indicated that the occupation army is pursuing citizens and confiscating their property under the pretext of working in areas classified as ‘C,’ according to his claims.

Source: Maan News Agency

Ramallah – Together – The Sri Lankan President, Ranil Wickremasingha, and the Sri Lankan government announced a donation of one million dollars to support the care of Palestinian children in Gaza, through the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees. This was done in the presence of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Secretary General of the Presidency, the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the representative of the United Nations. United in Colombo.

It is noteworthy that Sri Lanka is suffering from a very difficult economic situation, and this donation is an additional and initial step rejecting the plans that aim to end the role and status of UNRWA, which serves more than five million Palestinian refugees.

Source: Maan News Agency

Paris, The French National Institute for Preventive Archaeological Research (INRAP) announced the discovery of a 14th century castle – complete with a moat – under a hotel in Vannes, France.

The castle, which has been identified as the ChSteau de l’Hermine, was built by John IV the Conqueror in the 1380s.

In addition, excavators found dozens of objects related to the daily life of the castle, including coins, cooking dishes and jewelry. The humidity of the area also preserved remarkable wooden items, including fragments of barrels.

The archaeologists conducted a deep survey in the moat, INRAP reported, adding that from this very wet material, they extracted rich furniture.

“The excavation revealed little by little the plan of the ground floor: the ducal house, 42 meters long and 17 meters wide (out of work), is endowed with walls of an exceptional thickness,” INRAP explained.

Source: Qatar News Agency

Doha: Shafallah Center for Persons with Disabilities, one of the centers affiliated with the Qatar Foundation for Social Work, is set to mark the World Autism Awareness Day which falls on April 2 and is marked this year under the theme: “Moving from Surviving to Thriving: Autistic Individuals share regional perspectives”.

The celebration aims to garner an overarching global perspective on autism through uniquely focusing on the voices and experiences of People with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), in addition to underscoring the importance of implementing the sustainable development goals for people with ASD.

Commenting on this occasion, CEO of Shafallah Center Mariam Saif Al Suwaidi highlighted that the celebration is a crucial opportunity to spotlight the milestones the State of Qatar has achieved in caring for people with ASD and achieving further successes in including and caring for this critical segment of the society. She heaped a praise on the role performed by Shafallah Center for Persons with Disab
ilities in undertaking significant efforts to provide the environment conducive for the targeted people with ASD at the educational, functional, and social levels.

Al Suwaidi pointed out that the State of Qatar gives top priority to persons with disabilities, including people with ASD through launching the Qatar’s National Autism Plan that primarily aims to improve the livelihood of people with ASD and their family members based on the Qatar National Vision 2030.

The CEO of Shafallah Center affirmed that the autism department receives male and female children diagnosed with ASD from the age of 6 until 16. Thereafter, they are transferred to the Vocational Rehabilitation and Training Department at the center to further receive services of vocational rehabilitation to be prepared for recruitment.

Shafallah Center for Persons with Disabilities offers a wide diversity of inclusive pedagogical and rehabilitation services for people with ASD, where an individual educational plan is separately set for each affili
ate containing educational and skillful objectives of high priority, Al Suwaidi pointed out, highlighting that the aforementioned plan is the official document between teachers, children and families as the center of attention.

The autism department provides a combination of educational services in professional classes that receive a limited number of affiliates, about six students per class, distributed to class groups as compatible with each other as possible, she noted underlining that such a program is carried out in collaboration with the affiliates’ families as partners in affording this service through multiple communication channels.

Al Suwaidi emphasized that Shafallah Center for Persons with Disabilities strives to upgrade the capabilities of affiliates to help them overcome the encountered behavioral and educational challenges through enabling them to internalize the skills in a multi-pronged aspect, such as social and behavioral aspects, academic and functional aspects, linguistic and communicat
ion aspects as well as the daily life kinetic skills.

She indicated that the skills include movement, health, safety, and game skills offered under reliable world-class programs through utilizing the Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA), which is one of the most critical methodologies that has proven its efficiency in training and rehabilitating people with ASD.

CEO of the Shafallah Center, Mariam Saif Al Suwaidi said that the Autism Department provides special education and various rehabilitative and skill services to its members based on a set of reliable and evidence-based curricula, which keep pace with the latest developments and commensurate with autistic people’s special educational needs and characteristics. She added that the educational services in the Autism Department are offered under the umbrella of the so-called Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA) – a reliable scientific methodology based on the principles of the behavioral school. Al Suwaidi highlighted the Center’s adoption of VB.MAPP Verbal Behav
ior Milestones Assessment and Placement Program, adding that the program has positive impacts on the child’s daily life by providing children with priority skills that enable them to overcome the challenges in their surroundings. Most of the Shafallah Center’s educational staff have received sufficient training on applying and using this program, she added. Al Suwaidi indicated that the Family Support Department at the Center provides lectures, courses and training workshops for families, in order to provide them with the skills necessary to achieve a better life and higher psychological health, which leads to developing the family’s confidence in their abilities and competence and encourages them to continuously strive to improve their skills and update their information about everything related to their children’s disabilities. She highlighted many workshops, including a workshop on the role of the family in caring for their children with autism spectrum disorder, the role of the family in developing langua
ge skills for people with disabilities and autism spectrum disorder, strategies for developing communication skills for children with disabilities and autism spectrum disorder, and strategies for modifying behavior for people with disabilities.

Source: Qatar News Agency

Jeddah: The Yalamlam Miqat, one of the spatial Miqats for Ihram, experiences a large influx of visitors and Umrah performers during the last ten days of Ramadan in the year 1445 AH. These visitors travel from the southern regions of the Kingdom and Yemen to Makkah and the Grand Mosque. Representatives from the Saudi Press Agency captured the religious scenes of the worshippers at the Miqat mosque before their journey to Makkah to perform Umrah rituals and spend the remainder of the holy month.

Various relevant authorities, under the supervision of the Ministry of Islamic Affairs, Dawah and Guidance, provide organizational services and monitor the readiness of the mosque and its facilities to serve the worshipers. They supervise the distribution of Iftar meals for fasting people, ensure the provision of water and food, and maintain the cleanliness of the place.

Several development projects have been implemented at the Miqat, including improving the urban landscape, restructuring the locations of public servi
ces, and renewing the carpets in the Miqat mosque. The mosque covers an area of 10,000 square meters and can accommodate more than 4,000 worshipers. It is staffed with over 105 employees to serve the Umrah performers and visitors. Additionally, the vicinity of the Miqat includes a water desalination plant that pumps approximately 1,500 tons of desalinated water and a reception hall located on an area of 6,000 square meters.

Situated about 85 km southwest of Makkah on the coastal road leading to Makkah, the Yalamlam Miqat serves as the southern gate to the Holy Land and is one of the five spatial Miqats designated by the Prophet for Ihram. It is a mandatory stop for those embarking on the Ihram and is particularly significant for Yemenis and the southern regions of the Kingdom.

Source: Saudi Press Agency

Aden, The King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center’s (KSrelief) Masam Project, dedicated to clearing mines in Yemen, dismantled 513 mines in various regions during the fourth week of March 2024. These included one anti-personnel mine, 86 anti-tank mines, 420 unexploded ordnances, and 6 explosive devices.

Since the start of the project, a total of 436,376 mines have been cleared.

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, through KSrelief, remains steadfast in its commitment to rid Yemeni lands of all mines. This menace has tragically resulted in the loss of lives and injuries to innocent children, women, and the elderly.

Source: Saudi Press Agency

Hebron – Ma’an – An informed security source revealed that the General Intelligence Service in Hebron Governorate seized and confiscated illegal weapons and arrested a number of wanted persons.

The source explained that, through the agency’s follow-up and analysis of data received from the field, the director of the agency in Hebron Governorate, Major General Muhammad Ghannam (Abu Daoud), issued strict and sustained instructions to the agency’s officers on the necessity of working around the clock to control the security situation and arrest those wanted by justice and suspected persons. They were involved in shooting incidents on citizens’ property recently.

He added, the agency’s officers were able to seize a quantity of illegal firearms and arrest several wanted persons and others suspected of involvement in incidents and crimes that occurred in Hebron Governorate.

He pointed out that the security services, within record time, arrested people suspected of being involved in throwing Molotov cocktails at
the Bani Naim police station last Friday evening, and they were transferred to the competent authorities to follow up on investigations and take legal action against them.

During his conversation with Ma’an, the security source stressed that the security services will not hesitate to pursue outlaws, arrest them, and deal with them in accordance with the law.

He said: ‘Our message in the security services, to those who are outlawed and wanted by justice, is to surrender themselves urgently, before the hand of the law reaches them sooner or later, and we call on citizens to cooperate with the Palestinian security forces to combat crimes and incidents that disturb their lives, in order to ensure civil peace and non-existence.’ Harmful to the social fabric.

Source: Maan News Agency

Bethlehem – Ma’an – Today, Monday, the occupation authorities seized 170 dunums of citizens’ land in the Arab Al-Ta’amra area, east of Bethlehem, under the pretext that it is state land.

The director of the Office of the Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission in Bethlehem, Younis Arar, indicated that this seizure is the third seizure under the same pretexts since the beginning of this year/2024, bringing the total number of lands seized by the occupation to a total of 11 thousand dunums of citizens’ lands in the governorates of Jerusalem. Nablus and Bethlehem.

Arar added that the military order related to seizing the land in Al-Ta’amra indicates that it is located in Natural Basin No. 4 for the Al-Uqban and Al-Furaidis areas, and Natural Basin No. 11 for the Fadel plot in the Al-Ta’amra lands, and the spatial data associated with the order allocated to this announcement indicates that its goal is to conduct operations. Expansion of the ‘Sidi Bar’ colony established on citizens’ lands in Al-Oqban, the tow
n of Al-Taamra in the governorate.

The so-called Civil Administration of the occupation said that declaring state lands on the site of the Herodion Garden will enhance the planning and development of the site’s facilities, will make it a tourist center and will allow the area to be developed by the Civil Administration and the Nature and Parks Authority for years to come.

Source: Maan News Agency

Doha: The Qatar Amateur Radio Society (QARS) participated in the 2024 CQ World-Wide WPX Contest which brought together a host of radio amateurs from around the globe. The event is one of the major international competitions.

In preparation for the contest, QARS established an international station at its premises which operated in all international frequencies for the competition, in addition to preparing towers, antennas and all essential equipment and computers for this event. Also, QARS participated with the international call signal of the Qatar Amateur Radio Society (A73A).

In addition, a host of QARS members took part in this event from the wired stations established in their homes, who would coordinate interoperably to operate as one team that represented QARS in this international contest.

The World-Wide WPX Contest is held annually. It is classified as one of the most significant competitions for radio amateurs on the global calendar in the radio hobby. Members of QARS’s board of directors partici
pated in this contest, along with members who had previously took part in such kinds of competitions in the past years and achieved advanced results globally.

Source: Qatar News Agency