Category: Sports

Sébastien Loeb will be aiming to build on a brilliant winning record in Mexico as he looks to protect the lead held by Bahrain Raid Xtreme in the World Rally Raid Championship this week.

Loeb, partnered by Fabian Lurquin in the BRX Prodrive Hunter, holds a 16-point advantage over arch rival Nasser Al Attiyah heading into the Sonora Rally, which gets under way with a Prologue in Hermosillo tomorrow (Sunday).

The Frenchman has won nine of the 19 stages run so far in the first two rounds of the WRRC series, the Dakar Rally and the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge, and is relishing his return to action in Mexico where he previously won six times on his way to nine World Rally Championship titles.

“Of course, I have very good memories from Rally Mexico in the WRC as I always enjoyed that rally, so hopefully it’ll be the same with this WRRC round too,” said Loeb.

“It’s always a new adventure whenever there’s a new event for anyone, and Sonora certainly has that feel to it. We’re leading the championship so the goal will be to finish the rally still in front in the standings – that’s the target.

“It’s been quite a few weeks that Fabian and I have been out of the car, so we’ll be happy to get back behind the steering wheel and have some fun on the stages.”

With the prologue and five stages adding up to more than 1200 kilometres, Bahrain Raid Xtreme are prepared for another tense examination, with 55pts at stake in temperatures approaching 40C, and warmer inside the Prodrive Hunter.

The team has planned ahead and made updates to cool down the four crews competing under the BRX umbrella in Mexico.

Guerlain Chicherit and Alex Winocq are back in action in the Prodrive Hunter which they took to two stage wins on the Dakar earlier this year. The French duo expect to be fighting again for stage wins, as they did in giving the Hunter an historic first victory in last year’s Rallye du Maroc.

Standing out in their resplendent yellow will be a further two new Prodrive Hunters for the Brazilian based X Rally crews of Cristian Baumgart and Alberto Andreotti, and Marcos Baumgart with Kleber Cincea.

Source: Bahrain News Agency

Three Saudi Student Teams are gearing to take part in the finals of the 2023 FIRST Robotics Championship, which will be held in Houston, USA, from April 19-22, under the auspices of the Saudi Federation for Robotics and Tele-Sports, in cooperation with the Ministry of Education.

As many as 12 female and male students are set to take part in the competition. The Saudi teams are divided into three-age categories: from 6 – 10, 9-16 and intermediate and secondary schools students.

The competition allows the participants to compete in imaginary thinking, and collective work in the fields of science, engineering, technology and mathematics to enhance innovation, and discover and develop robotics and artificial intelligence skills.

The qualifying phase for this competition was held in all administrative regions of the Kingdom at the King Abdullah Civilizational Center in Jubail, last March.

Source: Saudi Press Agency

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia received the flag of hosting the FEI World Cup Finals 2024, during the World Cup Finals held in Omaha, Nebraska, USA.

The FEI World Cup Finals 2024 will be held in April of next year, in Riyadh, marking the first time the event will be held in the Middle East.

Prince Abdullah bin Fahd bin Abdullah, President of the Saudi Arabian Equestrian Federation, expressed his pride in hosting the championship by the Kingdom for the first time in the Middle East.

He stressed that hosting this global event is a result of unconditional support provided by the wise leadership and the follow-up of Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al-Faisal, the Minister of Sports.

Source: Saudi Press Agency

Verdict Enforcement and Alternative Sentencing director-general Shaikh Khalid bin Rashid Al Khalifa attended the conclusion of the first Ramadan tournament in football and padel.

Employees from the directorate and beneficiaries of the alternative penalties and the open prisons programme took part in the tournament which was held at the “Gravity Village” stadiums.

“The tournament follows directives from the Minister of Interior General Shaikh Rashid bin Abdulla Al Khalifa to gradually integrate beneficiaries of the programmes which reflects social security”, said the director general, as he awarded the winners with cups and medals.

Source: Bahrain News Agency

Tripoli- The Preparatory Committee for the Benghazi Programme, Capital of Culture of the Islamic World for the current year, held its first meeting, Wednesday, at the headquarters of the House of Representatives in Benghazi, headed by the Director General of the Libyan News Agency, Ibrahim Hadiya.

The committee discussed the general programme of the celebration and its general form, approved the official theme for the celebration, and decided to divide the work into specific sub-committees according to specialization to determine the schedule of programmes and activities for the event.

The Committee reviewed the estimated budget for the activities undertaken by ISESCO in cooperation with the National Organization for Education, Culture and Science.

It is noteworthy that the preparatory committee was formed by a decision of the Minister of Education – Chairman of the National Committee for Education, Culture and Science – and is chaired by the Director General of the Libyan News Agency, Ibrahim Hadiya, and includes in its membership the official spokesman for the House of Representatives, Abdullah Blehaq, and a number of heads of media, cultural and artistic institutions in the city of Benghazi. and cultural specialists.

Source: Libyan News Agency

Following the latest meeting of rival military leaders in Sirte, Libya, the head of the UN Mission in the country (UNSMIL) has called upon the national authorities to recommit to fully supporting the implementation of Libya’s 2020 ceasefire agreement.

On Monday, Abdoulaye Bathily, who is also the Special Representative of the Secretary-General, urged the government to allocate the appropriate resources, step up political efforts to end the stalemate, and reestablish legitimacy to Libyan institutions through elections.

‘Spirit of unity’

Since the 2011 overthrow of former ruler Muammar Gadaffi, oil-rich Libya has descended into multiple crises that has divided the country between rival administrations – a UN-recognized Government of National Accord (GNA) based in the capital Tripoli, and that of the self-styled Libyan National Army (LNA), led by General Khalifa Haftar.

Mr. Bathily, who chaired the two-day meetings, commended the JMC – military representatives from opposing sides, called the 5+5 – for their “determination and commitment towards peace and stability in Libya and its unity and integrity.”

And he called on political leaders “to show the same spirit of unity and abnegation as their brothers in uniform in the Joint Military Commission in order to overcome the current crisis”.

‘Instrument of hope’

The senior UN official reiterated the UN’s support to the JMC and relevant Libyan institutions in their efforts towards reunifying military and security institutions and withdrawing mercenaries, which is in accord with the action plan to preserve Libya’s territorial integrity.

Moreover, he stressed the need to identify ways to engage neighboring countries in ending the presence of these forces on Libyan soil and called on the international community to support the 5+5 JMC as “an instrument of hope for all Libyans”.

Among other matters discussed at the meeting, the JMC spoke about engaging armed groups with the aim of creating a conducive environment for sustainable peace and security in Libya.

The closing session was attended by a visiting team from UN Headquarters tasked to assess how UNSMIL is implementing recommendations made by an Independent Strategic Review conducted last year.

The review was intended to enhance the Mission’s delivery on its mandated tasks to best meet the expectations of the Libyan people and institutions for peace and stability.

Source: United Nations