Day: May 18, 2024

Najran, Najran University won a gold medal through the participation of student Ghaida Al-Yami at the International Invention, Innovation and Technology Exhibition (ITEX) 2024, held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, from May 11 to 20.

The student participated in the exhibition by designing a watercolor mixing device connected wirelessly to a dedicated instructions application for mobile devices. The device aims to read color names and determine their location in an image using computer vision concepts and artificial intelligence.

The results demonstrated the application’s efficiency in helping people with color blindness draw traditional paintings without the help of a guide.

Source: Saudi Press Agency

The debate on the issue of the Moroccan Sahara at the C24 Caribbean Seminar, held in Caracas (May 14-16), ended with sharp exchange between Morocco’s Ambassador to the UN, Omar Hilale and his Algerian counterpart Amar Benjama. The Moroccan diplomat vigorously denounced the acts of intimidation exerted by his Algerian colleague against the delegations which supported the Moroccanness of the Sahara during this meeting.

Telling the participants of his shock and indignation at this harassment, he reminded the Algerian ambassador that “the C24 meetings have always been a space of freedom of expression respected by all. However, instead of answering my questions about the responsibility of his country in the dispute over the Moroccan Sahara, my Algerian colleague went to terrorize a delegation for the simple reason that it defended the Moroccanness of the Sahara”.

Hilale added: “Algerian diplomatic terrorism is well known to friendly delegations supporting the territorial integrity of the Kingdom, both at the C24
, the Fourth Committee and the General Assembly in New York, including in their respective capitals, and unfortunately today in Caracas”. “We are not in Algiers Mr. Ambassador’, he told him.

The Moroccan ambassador also decried Algeria’s interference in the sovereign decisions of States, noting that Algiers did not hesitate to use its mandate in the Security Council to blackmail friendly countries under examination in the Council, with the shameful transaction ‘Change your position on the Sahara question and you will have the support of Algeria’, affirming that it is a lost cause for Algeria, because these countries are in no way intimidated.

Hilale noted that the behavior of his colleague is not surprising, because it is the extension of a well-established practice in his country, regularly singled out by UN bodies and international organizations for its infamous record in matters of human rights violations.

He explained that in Algeria “there is no freedom of expression, no freedom of movement, no freedo
m of assembly. All human rights organizations have been dissolved. Your country has just promulgated the most liberticidal penal code, which allows the sentencing to 30 years in prison of any person simply expressing their opinion and you come to Caracas to give lessons on self-determination, freedom and independence’.

Reacting in a second right of response to the Algerian ambassador’s indecent confusion between the question of the Moroccan Sahara and that of Palestine, as well as his tendentious remarks on the American recognition of the Moroccanness of the Sahara, Hilale highlighted the Kingdom’s constant and unwavering support for the Palestinian cause.

He addressed his Algerian colleague directly, saying: “you pride yourself on defending Palestine in the Security Council, it is your role as representative of Arab countries within this body, but you forbid your people to demonstrate in favor of Palestine, because you are afraid of the Algerian people when they take to the streets, unlike you, demonstrati
ons in support of the Palestinian population of Gaza know no restrictions in the Kingdom of Morocco.

Ambassador Hilale also demystified the fabrication of his Algerian colleague according to which his country has no claim in the Sahara issue, reminding him that “Algeria grants itself the right to interfere in Morocco’s internal affairs, the right to block the UN political process, the right to host and arm a separatist group which has links to terrorism in the Sahel.

He concluded by saying ‘this is what Algeria is, its true face, and it’s true demands.’

Source: Agence Marocaine De Presse

The debate on the issue of the Moroccan Sahara at the C24 Caribbean Seminar, held in Caracas (May 14-16), ended with sharp exchange between Morocco’s Ambassador to the UN, Omar Hilale and his Algerian counterpart Amar Benjama. The Moroccan diplomat vigorously denounced the acts of intimidation exerted by his Algerian colleague against the delegations which supported the Moroccanness of the Sahara during this meeting.

Telling the participants of his shock and indignation at this harassment, he reminded the Algerian ambassador that “the C24 meetings have always been a space of freedom of expression respected by all. However, instead of answering my questions about the responsibility of his country in the dispute over the Moroccan Sahara, my Algerian colleague went to terrorize a delegation for the simple reason that it defended the Moroccanness of the Sahara”.

Hilale added: “Algerian diplomatic terrorism is well known to friendly delegations supporting the territorial integrity of the Kingdom, both at the C24
, the Fourth Committee and the General Assembly in New York, including in their respective capitals, and unfortunately today in Caracas”. “We are not in Algiers Mr. Ambassador’, he told him.

The Moroccan ambassador also decried Algeria’s interference in the sovereign decisions of States, noting that Algiers did not hesitate to use its mandate in the Security Council to blackmail friendly countries under examination in the Council, with the shameful transaction ‘Change your position on the Sahara question and you will have the support of Algeria’, affirming that it is a lost cause for Algeria, because these countries are in no way intimidated.

Hilale noted that the behavior of his colleague is not surprising, because it is the extension of a well-established practice in his country, regularly singled out by UN bodies and international organizations for its infamous record in matters of human rights violations.

He explained that in Algeria “there is no freedom of expression, no freedom of movement, no freedo
m of assembly. All human rights organizations have been dissolved. Your country has just promulgated the most liberticidal penal code, which allows the sentencing to 30 years in prison of any person simply expressing their opinion and you come to Caracas to give lessons on self-determination, freedom and independence’.

Reacting in a second right of response to the Algerian ambassador’s indecent confusion between the question of the Moroccan Sahara and that of Palestine, as well as his tendentious remarks on the American recognition of the Moroccanness of the Sahara, Hilale highlighted the Kingdom’s constant and unwavering support for the Palestinian cause.

He addressed his Algerian colleague directly, saying: “you pride yourself on defending Palestine in the Security Council, it is your role as representative of Arab countries within this body, but you forbid your people to demonstrate in favor of Palestine, because you are afraid of the Algerian people when they take to the streets, unlike you, demonstrati
ons in support of the Palestinian population of Gaza know no restrictions in the Kingdom of Morocco.

Ambassador Hilale also demystified the fabrication of his Algerian colleague according to which his country has no claim in the Sahara issue, reminding him that “Algeria grants itself the right to interfere in Morocco’s internal affairs, the right to block the UN political process, the right to host and arm a separatist group which has links to terrorism in the Sahel.

He concluded by saying ‘this is what Algeria is, its true face, and it’s true demands.’

Source: Agence Marocaine De Presse

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia won the chairmanship of the Executive Council of the Arab League Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization (ALECSO) as its member of the Executive Council Hani Bin Muqbil Al Muqbil was reelected as the Chairman of the Executive Council of ALECSO from 2024 to 2026.

Saudi Arabia won the post for the third time in a row, while Qatar was elected as deputy chair and Jordan as rapporteur.

This came during the council’s meeting held following the 27th ALECSO Congress in Jeddah, in which the Council members expressed their thanks and appreciation for the positive results achieved and the integrated work of the Executive Council during the previous two terms of the Saudi presidency.

Source: Qatar News Agency

The Union of the Comoros reaffirmed, at the UN Committee of 24 (C-24) Caribbean Seminar held in Caracas (14-16 May), Venezuela, from 14 to 16 May, its support for the autonomy plan presented by Morocco to definitively settle the regional dispute over the Sahara.

“The Union of the Comoros fully supports the Moroccan Autonomy Initiative,” underlined its permanent representative to the UN, Ambassador Issimail Chanfi, noting that this initiative, deemed as serious and credible by the Security Council and consistent with UN resolutions, represents a compromise-based solution.

The diplomat, who commended the commitment and sustained efforts of the Personal Envoy of the UN Secretary General for the Moroccan Sahara, Staffan de Mistura, to resume the political process led under the exclusive aegis of the United Nations chief, stressed that his country calls for the resumption of round tables, in accordance with Security Council resolution 2703.

He underlined in this regard that the commitment of all parties is extr
emely crucial with a view to achieving a political, realistic, pragmatic and lasting resolution to this regional dispute.

The ambassador also welcomed the opening by his country of a consulate general in Laayoune, while hailing the growing number of consulates general inaugurated by several Arab, African, American and Asian countries as well as the significant number of international organizations settling in the Kingdom’s southern provinces.

“Within this space, which is at the same time Mediterranean, Atlantic and African, the growing interest in the region will certainly contribute to enhancing and strengthening economic and social opportunities,” he noted, adding that the Moroccan Sahara is a genuine development hub in the region.

The Comorian ambassador congratulated Morocco for its “very commendable” achievements in the area of human rights, as noted and praised by the resolutions of the United Nations Security Council.

These resolutions point to the strengthening of the role of the regional commissi
ons of the National Human Rights Council in LaSyoune and Dakhla and highlight bilateral cooperation and the kingdom’s positive interaction with the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the procedures of the Human Rights Council, he recalled.

The speaker also indicated that his country welcomes Morocco’s respect for the ceasefire and calls on the other parties to do the same.

Referring to the worrying situation in the Tindouf camps in south-west Algeria, Mr. Chanfi slammed the “frequent” and “unacceptable” violations of the rights of populations held against their will, in particular women and children.

“We underline the importance of an exhaustive census and registration of these populations, in accordance with international standards,” the diplomat said.

Source: Agence Marocaine De Presse

The Union of the Comoros reaffirmed, at the UN Committee of 24 (C-24) Caribbean Seminar held in Caracas (14-16 May), Venezuela, from 14 to 16 May, its support for the autonomy plan presented by Morocco to definitively settle the regional dispute over the Sahara.

“The Union of the Comoros fully supports the Moroccan Autonomy Initiative,” underlined its permanent representative to the UN, Ambassador Issimail Chanfi, noting that this initiative, deemed as serious and credible by the Security Council and consistent with UN resolutions, represents a compromise-based solution.

The diplomat, who commended the commitment and sustained efforts of the Personal Envoy of the UN Secretary General for the Moroccan Sahara, Staffan de Mistura, to resume the political process led under the exclusive aegis of the United Nations chief, stressed that his country calls for the resumption of round tables, in accordance with Security Council resolution 2703.

He underlined in this regard that the commitment of all parties is extr
emely crucial with a view to achieving a political, realistic, pragmatic and lasting resolution to this regional dispute.

The ambassador also welcomed the opening by his country of a consulate general in Laayoune, while hailing the growing number of consulates general inaugurated by several Arab, African, American and Asian countries as well as the significant number of international organizations settling in the Kingdom’s southern provinces.

“Within this space, which is at the same time Mediterranean, Atlantic and African, the growing interest in the region will certainly contribute to enhancing and strengthening economic and social opportunities,” he noted, adding that the Moroccan Sahara is a genuine development hub in the region.

The Comorian ambassador congratulated Morocco for its “very commendable” achievements in the area of human rights, as noted and praised by the resolutions of the United Nations Security Council.

These resolutions point to the strengthening of the role of the regional commissi
ons of the National Human Rights Council in LaSyoune and Dakhla and highlight bilateral cooperation and the kingdom’s positive interaction with the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the procedures of the Human Rights Council, he recalled.

The speaker also indicated that his country welcomes Morocco’s respect for the ceasefire and calls on the other parties to do the same.

Referring to the worrying situation in the Tindouf camps in south-west Algeria, Mr. Chanfi slammed the “frequent” and “unacceptable” violations of the rights of populations held against their will, in particular women and children.

“We underline the importance of an exhaustive census and registration of these populations, in accordance with international standards,” the diplomat said.

Source: Agence Marocaine De Presse