Day: May 8, 2023

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ACCESSWIRE MENA Press Releases

Global Autonomous Corporation (GAC), a Subsidiary of Alpine 4 Holdings Nasdaq: (ALPP), Establishes a Presence in the United Arab Emirates

PHOENIX, AZ / ACCESSWIRE / May 8, 2023 / Alpine 4 Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALPP), a leading operator and owner of small market businesses, announces that its subsidiary, Global Autonomous Corporation (GAC) has selected Dubai, United Arab Emirates, as its first international point. The Company is working towards the deployment of the GAC Fulfillment Delivery Network in and around Dubai, dubbed “The City of the Future,” as they have a proven willingness to adopt new and emerging concepts and technologies. The Alpine 4 Executive Team are in Dubai May 8th-15th to establish a new office in the heart of Dubai’s technology epicenter, near the Burj Khalifa, that will support strategic business functions, including kiosk operations, flight management and business infrastructure. Additionally, Alpine 4 /GAC’s UAE based consultants, Ghani Consulting, have set up meetings with top officials within several agencies and authorities including: the Dubai Civil Aviation Authority, Dubai Smart City and Silicon Oasis, Dubai Roads and Transportation Authority, Dubai Police Ports, Dubai Small Medium Enterprise, H.E Helal Saeed Almarri, General Manager of Dubai’s Economy and Tourism Authority, and the Dubai Future Foundation to further the initiatives of GAC. As GAC expands into Dubai and throughout the UAE, the Company seeks to add Dubai’s highly skilled local workforce as it aims to immediately add executives and support staff to meet GAC’s growth initiatives, subsequently supporting the local economy of Dubai.

Kent Wilson, CEO of Alpine 4 and Global Autonomous Corporation had this to say, “After visiting Dubai in late September 2022, the Company concluded that Dubai, and by a larger part, the UAE, represents an ideal host city and country for the inaugural deployment of the GAC Mesh Fulfillment Network due to their regulatory desire and potential user base to see these technologies deployed. We also understood the magnitude of choosing Dubai as the first city to receive the GAC Mesh Fulfillment Network, as the City’s commitment to embracing new technologies is second to none around the world. This is the perfect environment to showcase our Vayu Aerospace American Made G1 Drones to the UAE and future US-2’s. I want to personally say thank you to all the hard-working groups that have brought us to this point; we look forward to a long and prosperous relationship with Dubai and the UAE.”

To lean more about the various agencies and authorities the Alpine Team will be meeting with, visit:

https://www.dcaa.gov.ae/

https://www.dubaifuture.ae/

https://www.dsoa.ae/

https://www.rta.ae/wps/portal/rta/ae/home?lang=en

https://sme.ae/Default/en

https://www.dubaitourism.gov.ae/en/

About Global Autonomous Corporation: Global Autonomous Corporation’s (GAC) mission is direct and resolute. Create a simple, pleasant, and meaningful user experience to deliver goods autonomously.

https://gacusa.global/

About Alpine 4 Holdings: Alpine 4 Holdings, Inc. is a Nasdaq traded Holding Company (trading symbol: ALPP) that acquires business, wholly, that fit under one of several portfolios: Aerospace, Defense Services, Technology, Manufacturing or Construction Services as either a Driver, Stabilizer or Facilitator from Alpine 4’s disruptive DSF business model. Alpine 4 works to vertically integrate the various subsidiaries with one another even if from different industries. Alpine 4 understands the nature of how technology and innovation can accentuate a business, focusing on how the adaptation of new technologies, even in brick-and-mortar businesses, can drive innovation. Alpine 4 also believes that its holdings should benefit synergistically from each other, have the ability to collaborate across varying industries, spawn new ideas, and create fertile ground for competitive advantages.

Four principles at the core of our business are Synergy. Innovation. Drive. Excellence. At Alpine 4, we believe synergistic innovation drives excellence. By anchoring these words to our combined experience and capabilities, we can aggressively pursue opportunities within and across vertical markets. We deliver solutions that not only drive industry standards, but also increase value for our shareholders.

Contact: Investor Relations

investorrelations@alpine4.com

www.alpine4.com

Forward-Looking Statements: Certain statements and information in this press release may constitute “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), and the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The information disclosed in this press release is made as of the date hereof and reflects Alpine 4 most current assessment of its historical financial performance. Actual financial results filed with the SEC may differ from those contained herein due to timing delays between the date of this release and confirmation of final audit results. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements including, without limitation, the risks, uncertainties, including the uncertainties surrounding the current market volatility, and other factors the Company identifies from time to time in its filings with the SEC. Although Alpine 4 believes that the assumptions on which these forward-looking statements are based are reasonable, any of those assumptions could prove to be inaccurate and, as a result, the forward-looking statements based on those assumptions also could be incorrect. You should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements contained in this release are made as of the date hereof, and Alpine 4 disclaims any intention or obligation to update the forward-looking statements for subsequent events.

Other factors that may affect our businesses include global economic trends, competition and geopolitical risks, including changes in the rates of investment or economic growth in key markets we serve, or an escalation of sanctions, tariffs or other trade tensions between the U.S. and China or other countries, and related impacts on our businesses’ global supply chains and strategies; market developments or customer actions that may affect demand and the financial performance of major industries and customers we serve, such as secular, cyclical and competitive pressures in our Technology, Construction and Manufacturing businesses; pricing, the timing of customer investment and other factors in these markets; demand for our products or other dynamics related to the COVID-19 pandemic; conditions in key geographic markets; and other shifts in the competitive landscape for our products and services; changes in law, regulation or policy that may affect our businesses, such as trade policy and tariffs, regulation and the effects of tax law changes; our decisions about investments in research and development, and new products, services and platforms, and our ability to launch new products in a cost-effective manner; our ability to increase margins through implementation of operational changes, restructuring and other cost reduction measures; the impact of actual or potential failures of our products or third-party products with which our products are integrated, and related reputational effects; the impact of potential information technology, cybersecurity, or data security breaches at Alpine 4, our subsidiaries or third parties; and the other factors that are described in “Risk Factors” in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2022, as updated in our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q.

SOURCE: Alpine 4 Holdings, Inc.

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Africa GLOBE-NEWSWIRE MENA Pakistan Press Releases South Africa

Recursion Enters into Agreements to Acquire Cyclica and Valence to Bolster Chemistry and Generative AI Capabilities

SALT LAKE CITY and TORONTO and MONTRÉAL, May 08, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Recursion (NASDAQ: RXRX), a leading clinical stage TechBio company decoding biology to industrialize drug discovery, today announced it has signed agreements to acquire two companies in the AI-enabled drug discovery space: Cyclica and Valence.

“Recursion has pioneered the massive, parallel generation of -omics data with machine learning in order to map and navigate biology to discover new medicines faster. The strategic acquisitions of Cyclica and Valence add industry-leading capabilities in digital chemistry, as well as machine-learning and artificial intelligence, which combined with our large-scale automated wet-laboratories and supercomputing capabilities, enables us to deploy what I believe is the most complete, technology-enabled drug discovery solution in the biopharma industry. We look forward to showing the world proof of the compounding benefit of this full-stack approach through the rapid acceleration of our pipeline and partnerships. Amidst a rapidly accelerating global race for technology talent, these acquisitions cement Recursion as the center of gravity for the best and brightest in ML and AI who want to reimagine how drugs are discovered,” said Chris Gibson, Ph.D., Co-Founder and CEO of Recursion. “I am so excited to welcome the Cyclica and Valence teams to Recursion, especially at such a dynamic moment in history when machine learning and artificial intelligence are creating so much rapid change across every industry.”

Cyclica, headquartered in Toronto, has built two highly differentiated products in the digital chemistry space which will be integrated into the RecursionOS. MatchMaker™ is an AI-enabled deep learning engine that predicts the polypharmacology of small molecules as the foundation for small molecule drug discovery. It is able to generalize across the proteome and uses both AlphaFold2 structures and homology models. POEM™ (Pareto Optimal Embedding Model) is a unique similarity-based property prediction model. In contrast to other AI prediction models, POEM uses multiple types of molecular fingerprints to describe molecules, providing a much richer measure of similarity that leads to greater accuracy.

“Cyclica and Recursion both believe in the value of industrializing drug discovery,” said Naheed Kurji, CEO and Co-Founder of Cyclica. “Combining our proteome-wide prediction of small molecule-target interactions into Recursion’s data universe will create one of the largest fit-for-purpose biological and chemical datasets in the drug discovery space. Together, I believe Recursion will have an immense impact on human health in the years to come.”

Valence, headquartered in Montréal at Mila, the world’s largest deep learning research institute, is committed to unlocking the full potential of deep learning in the drug discovery process. The company has pioneered the application of low-data learning in drug design, unlocking the ability to design differentiated small molecules with improved properties and function from datasets too small, sparse, or noisy for traditional deep learning methods. Valence has an unparalleled track record of innovation in molecular machine learning, including best-in-class methods for AI-enabled structural biology, generative chemistry, and multi-parametric optimization, ultimately enabling the design of best-in-class or first-in-class chemistry against challenging biology.

“The integration of Valence’s powerful AI-based chemistry engine into Recursion’s diverse and data-rich operating system will help unlock the true power of AI-first digital chemistry and drug discovery,” said Daniel Cohen, CEO and Co-founder at Valence Discovery. “Recursion is a leader in technology-enabled drug discovery with a proven track record of leveraging data to uncover novel biology, and I’m thrilled for our teams to join forces and combine our respective strengths to rapidly advance new medicines to patients who need them.”

Joining forces with Recursion’s Montréal deep learning research office, Valence will become an artificial intelligence and machine learning research center to be led by Daniel Cohen with continued advisory from Yoshua Bengio.

“The acquisition of Valence gives Recursion the opportunity to create a true center of excellence for some of the most compelling AI/ML research in the world,” said Yoshua Bengio, deep learning pioneer and scientific advisor to both Recursion and Valence. “With this newly integrated group housed in the Mila ecosystem, Recursion’s team of researchers in AI and ML for drug discovery reaches a critical mass at a crucial time in the development of new AI algorithms for scientific discovery.”

Terms of the Acquisitions

Recursion has entered into agreements to acquire Cyclica for a purchase price of $40 million and Valence for a purchase price of $47.5 million, in each case subject to customary closing and post-closing purchase price adjustments. The purchase price in the acquisitions will be payable in the form of shares of Recursion Class A common stock, shares of a subsidiary of Recursion exchangeable for shares of Recursion’s Class A common stock and the assumption of certain outstanding Valence and Cyclica options. In certain limited circumstances, Recursion may pay nominal cash consideration to Valence and Cyclica shareholders in lieu of such exchangeable shares or Recursion Class A common stock. Recursion expects no material change to its cash runway as a result of these acquisitions. Recursion expects both acquisitions to be completed in the second quarter of 2023, subject to applicable closing conditions.

About Recursion
Recursion is a clinical stage TechBio company leading the space by decoding biology to industrialize drug discovery. Enabling its mission is the Recursion OS, a platform built across diverse technologies that continuously expands one of the world’s largest proprietary biological and chemical datasets. Recursion leverages sophisticated machine-learning algorithms to distill from its dataset a collection of trillions of searchable relationships across biology and chemistry unconstrained by human bias. By commanding massive experimental scale — up to millions of wet lab experiments weekly — and massive computational scale — owning and operating one of the most powerful supercomputers in the world, Recursion is uniting technology, biology and chemistry to advance the future of medicine.

Recursion is headquartered in Salt Lake City, where it is a founding member of BioHive, the Utah life sciences industry collective. Recursion also has offices in Toronto, Montréal and the San Francisco Bay Area. Learn more at www.Recursion.com, or connect on Twitter and LinkedIn.

About Cyclica
As a neo-biotech, Cyclica is efficiently advancing an industry-leading, robust and sustainable drug discovery portfolio focused on CNS, oncology, and auto-immune diseases. Cyclica has built the only generalizable platform across the entire proteome, expanding the target space for low-data targets, including AlphaFold2 structures, PPIs, and mutant oncogenic targets. Cyclica has brought together a diverse and experienced team of biologists, chemists, computer scientists, and business professionals who are collectively passionate about changing the drug discovery paradigm. By exploring the unexplored, and drugging the undrugged, Cyclica strives to impact patient health like never before. For more information, please visit: www.cyclicarx.com.

About Valence Discovery
Valence is harnessing a revolution in computation to improve human health. The company is a leader in developing and deploying AI and physics-based technologies to enable the design of differentiated small molecules with improved properties and function. Following successful partnerships with leading biotech and pharmaceutical companies, and an unparalleled track record of innovation featured in top AI journals and conferences, Valence has built a team of interdisciplinary industry veterans and computational experts focused on rapidly advancing a portfolio of internal drug discovery programs. Valence launched publicly in 2021, is supported by leading biotech and deeptech investors, and is headquartered in Montréal. To learn more, please visit www.valencediscovery.com.

Media Contact

Media@Recursion.com

Investor Contact
Investor@Recursion.com

Forward-Looking Statements
This document contains information that includes or is based upon “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including, without limitation, those regarding the timing and completion of the Cyclica and Valence acquisitions and the outcomes and benefits expected from such acquisitions; Recursion OS and other technologies; business and financial plans and performance, including cash runway; and all other statements that are not historical facts. Forward-looking statements may or may not include identifying words such as “plan,” “will,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “believe,” “potential,” “continue,” and similar terms. These statements are subject to known or unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in such statements, including but not limited to: challenges inherent in pharmaceutical research and development, including the timing and results of preclinical and clinical programs, where the risk of failure is high and failure can occur at any stage prior to or after regulatory approval due to lack of sufficient efficacy, safety considerations, or other factors; our ability to leverage and enhance our drug discovery platform; our ability to obtain financing for development activities and other corporate purposes; the success of our collaboration activities; our ability to obtain regulatory approval of, and ultimately commercialize, drug candidates; our ability to obtain, maintain, and enforce intellectual property protections; cyberattacks or other disruptions to our technology systems; our ability to attract, motivate, and retain key employees and manage our growth; inflation and other macroeconomic issues; and other risks and uncertainties such as those described under the heading “Risk Factors” in our filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including our Annual Report on Form 10-K. All forward-looking statements are based on management’s current estimates, projections, and assumptions, and Recursion undertakes no obligation to correct or update any such statements, whether as a result of new information, future developments, or otherwise, except to the extent required by applicable law.

GlobeNewswire Distribution ID 8833750

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General

DEWA achieves phenomenal financial results in Q1, 2023

DUBAI, 8th May, 2023 (WAM) — Dubai Electricity and Water Authority PJSC (ISIN: AED001801011) (Symbol: DEWA), the Emirate of Dubai’s exclusive electricity and water services provider, which is listed on the Dubai Financial Market (DFM), has today reported its first quarter 2023 consolidated financial results, recording quarterly revenue of AED 5.44 billion and net profit of AED 763 million. For the last twelve months, DEWA’s consolidated revenue was AED 27.7 billion and net profit was AED 8.1 billion. DEWA’s first quarter consolidated revenue increase of 7.3 percent to AED 5.44 billion was mainly driven by an increase in demand for electricity, water, and cooling services as well as an increase in the revenues of DEWA’s other portfolio of assets. Quarterly revenue growth for electricity, water and cooling services increased by 7.2 percent, 7.0 percent and 4.6 percent respectively. DEWA’s other portfolio of assets grew their revenue by 11.2 percent. Demand for power in the first quarter reached 9.66 TWh compared to 9.17 TWh for the same period in 2022, representing a 5.3 percent increase. Average customer power consumption in the first quarter of 2023 was higher than that of 2022. DEWA’s first quarter gross heat rate for power was 9,317 BTUkWH, which is a 2.04 percent improvement compared to the same period in the last year, indicating increased operational efficiency, reflecting our targeted sustainability and environmental efforts. Demand for water in the first quarter of 2023 reached 32.3 billion imperial gallons (BIG) compared to 30.4 BIG in Q1, 2022, representing a 6.25 percent increase. Average customer water consumption in the first quarter of 2023 was higher than that of 2022. By the end of the first quarter of 2023, DEWA served 1,169,713 customers, representing an increase of 12,212 customers from the fourth quarter of 2022, and an increase of 51,022 customers from the first quarter of 2022. “At DEWA, we continue the journey of excellence and sustainable growth guided by the vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, and the directives of H.H. Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of the Executive Council of Dubai, and H.H. Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, First Deputy Ruler of Dubai, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance of the United Arab Emirates. Our reported results for the first quarter of 2023 have exceeded our expectations, reflecting the robust growth of Dubai. Looking ahead, I reiterate our optimism about our operating and financial performance for 2023 and beyond. DEWA’s shareholder strategy is focused on delivering consistency of returns, sustainability of growth and compounding of our growth value over time, which forms the bedrock of our core value proposition to our investors,” said Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, MD and CEO of DEWA. “DEWA’s efforts support the Dubai Economic Agenda (D33), which aims to double the size of Dubai’s economy over the next decade. Our strategies, growth pillars and capital commitments are well positioned to deliver on our energy transition ambitions to achieve the Dubai Clean Energy Strategy 2050 and the Dubai Net Zero Emissions Strategy 2050 to provide 100 percent of the energy production capacity from clean energy sources by 2050, while supporting the strong demand for our exclusive portfolio of products and services,” added Al Tayer. By the end of the first quarter of 2023, DEWA commissioned four 132 kV substations, and three 33kV substations. DEWA has now deployed 1,129,816 smart electricity meters (up by 21,286 from December 2022) and 1,010,924 smart water meters (up by 14,007 from December 2022). Over the 1st quarter of 2023, DEWA added 100 MW of solar capacity. The company’s installed generation capacity at the end of the 1st quarter stands at 14.6 GW with 2.1 GW of this capacity from renewable energy. DEWA’s H Station at Al Aweer has reached a project progress of 95.49 percent, while the Hatta pumped storage hydroelectric power plant has reached a project progress of 65.2 percent. The company’s installed desalinated water production capacity at the end of the 1st quarter is unchanged at 490 MIGD. By the end of 2030, DEWA plans to have gross installed capacity of 20 GW and 730 MIGD of desalinated water. Of this 20 GW, DEWA plans to have 5 GW of installed renewable capacity, representing 25 percent production from renewable sources. The additional 240 MIGD of desalination capacity will be achieved using reverse osmosis technology. DEWA excels in Q1 2023 with numerous awards, including the Great Place to Work Certificate, Leadership of the Year Award, Hydrogen Project of the Year Award, Research and Innovation Award, LinkedIn Learning Talent Awards, and 19th Annual Globee Cybersecurity International Award. Additionally, DEWA establishes Disruptive Labs for Innovation and Future Shaping at Al Hudaiba building.

Source: Emirates News Agency (WAM)

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General

Sharjah Ruler affirms importance of cultural exchange with Tunisia

SHARJAH, 8th May, 2023 (WAM) — H.H. Dr. Sheikh Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah, welcomed Dr. Hayat Qatat Al-Qarmazi, the Minister of Cultural Affairs of Tunisia, to his palace on Monday. Sheikh Sultan emphasised the importance of cultural relations among different Arab countries, which contributes to the achievement of various educational and scientific projects, and the establishment and sponsorship of cultural institutions. They discussed the significance of cultural exchange among Arab countries, which strengthens the development of knowledge tools and makes them accessible to all members of society. Culture represents the most prominent means of societal development and enhancing its global presence, as well as achieving belonging and pride in heritage and authenticity. They also discussed supporting and sponsoring cultural projects in different Arab countries and the necessity of continuing this support to preserve the intellectual heritage, encourage those interested in this field to produce and accumulate knowledge, and inspire the new generation of youth to take an interest in culture, heritage, the Arabic language, and identity. Dr. Hayat conveyed the greetings of the President of Tunisia to His Highness, and praised his contributions in various cultural and scientific fields, as well as Sharjah’s pioneering development in all cultural activities through its diverse initiatives in theatre, arts, poetry, and various literary fields. She also thanked His Highness for his continuous support for all cultural projects in Arab capitals and cities, which strengthens the role of creators in society. During the meeting, Dr. Hayat extended an official invitation from the President of Tunisia to His Highness to visit Tunisia. Abdullah bin Mohammed Al Owais, Head of Sharjah Department of Culture, Dr. Abdul Aziz Al Musallam, Chairman of the Sharjah Institute for Heritage, and Moez Benmime, Ambassador of Tunisia to the United Arab Emirates, attended the meeting.

Source: Emirates News Agency (WAM)

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General

NYU Abu Dhabi supports sport for climate action with 3rd Indoor Triathlon

ABU DHABI, 8th May, 2023 (WAM) — NYU Abu Dhabi (NYUAD) hosted its third Indoor Triathlon this academic year on Saturday to highlight the importance and shared responsibility of the sports industry to minimise the negative impacts of human activity on earth. More than 100 athletes took part in the Indoor Triathlon, which concluded the Net Zero Now initiative, a week of on-campus events including insightful panels and interactive workshops focusing on climate action. The event kicked off with the Super Sprint Triathlon, which saw participants swim 300m in an open water style pool, before jumping to the bike station for a 5km ride, and finishing off with a 1.1 km run on the 200m indoor track. In the Threshold Double Triathlon, 19 athletes pushed themselves further still by completing an impressive two rounds of the swim and cycle, before running the final 1.1km. With a range of options for junior competitors the junior Aquathlon was very popular and saw 63 take part. There were three categories for junior participants: under 8’s, under 11’s, and under 13’s. Kids had the chance to race their friends with a 50 to 150m pool swim, and 300 to 500m dash on the Indoor Track. Triathlon is one of the fastest growing sports in the world; the governing body of Triathlon, World Triathlon, has joined two international initiatives: UN Climate Change Sports for Climate Action movement and the United Nations Environment Program Clean Seas Campaign to highlight the positive role sports can play towards sustainability. Esraa Esmail

Source: Emirates News Agency (WAM)

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General

Awqaf Minister receives Malaysian envoy over cooperation

Minister of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs and Holy Sites, Mohammad Khalayleh, on Monday received Malaysia’s Ambassador to Jordan Mohamad Nasri Abdul Rahman. Khalayleh presented the ministry’s role to care for the Kingdom’s mosques, which reach about 7,000 and preaching affairs, referring to the experience of female preachers who provided social and religious services to families across the Kingdom. Khalayleh also spoke about Jordanian Hajj Fund, which today constitutes a “mature” Islamic banking experience, as the number of its savers exceeded 40,000, while the volume of its deposits are about JD300 million, adding 20% of the Kingdom’s Hajj quota goes for its savers within instructions in force. With regard to Jordan-run Jerusalem Endowments Department, Khalayleh said its allocations are about JD15 million disbursed from the ministry’s budget, in addition to His Majesty King Abdullah II’s support for Al-Aqsa Mosque’s reconstruction and maintenance works. Jordan, through the Hashemite Custodianship over Jerusalem’s Islamic and Christian holy sites, adheres to its role in providing services for the entire Al-Aqsa Mosque, which has a 144- dunum area, he said. He also affirmed Jordan’s rejection to carry out Al-Aqsa Mosque’s temporal or spatial division, which Israeli occupation authorities seeks to impose. Noting Israel-imposed challenges and obstacles, he said its measures obstructed some reconstruction operations in Al-Aqsa Mosque area. For his part, the envoy lauded the ministry’s experience as ” distinguished and commendable,” noting that Jordan and Malaysia have “deep-rooted, historic” relations. He added that Jordanian universities have graduated many Malaysian students, who have joined Sharia specialties, adding that 1,500 students have so far enrolled in Jordanian universities.

Source: Jordan News Agency

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General

RJGC wins Sharjah Prize in Public Finance award

Royal Jordanian Geographic Center (RJGC) won 2022-2023 Sharjah Prize in Public Finance in the institutional category- Distinguished Entity for Control, Auditing and Financial Risk Management. RJGC’s participation in the award is the first- of- its kind in the Arab world, which is organized by Sharjah Central Finance Department in the United Arab Emirates, in cooperation with the Arab Administrative Development Organization (ARADO). Sharjah Crown Prince, His Highness Sheikh Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, honored RJGC Director General, Brig. Gen. Muammar Haddadin, during a ceremony held at Sharjah Cultural Palace. In his speech during the honoring ceremony, Haddadin said the RJGC’s achievement reflects its “outstanding” performance in the regulatory and financial aspects, which comes in appreciation of its “distinguished” efforts at the institutional and individual levels and recognition of its “high and effective” performance. Haddadin added that the center’s honoring came for its commitment to excellence standards and requirements with control and financial operations, and its compliance with government financial audit work at the institutional level. He also pointed to the award’s importance to reveal the RJGC’s strengths in the target fields and highlight key opportunities for development to reach the “highest” levels of performance excellence.

Source: Jordan News Agency

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General

Prince El Hassan partakes in “Islam-Christianity Commonalities” Colloquium

His Royal Highness Prince El Hassan bin Talal, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Royal Institute for Interfaith Studies, has participated in the VI Colloquium between the Vatican’s Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue and the Institute on the theme “Creative Commonalities between Christianity and Islam”. The meeting was held on Wednesday and Thursday last week. While attending the colloquium, His Highness emphasized the crucial role of education and shared religious values in fortifying the foundations of justice and peace. He underscored the significance of ensuring the dignity and rights of all individuals as part of the endeavor to establish a new human system where people can mutually support each other. His Highness advocated for the creation of a platform for open discourse aimed at fostering trust and facilitating mutual familiarity among individuals residing and interacting in culturally converging regions. Such an initiative, he noted, would empower them to cultivate a fresh ethos of collaboration, comprehension, and joint problem-solving to tackle shared obstacles. Pope Francis voiced appreciation and gratitude to His Majesty King Abdullah II for his attention to the Christian communities not only in Jordan, but also those of the Middle East, especially in times marked by conflicts and violence. His Holiness also thanked His Highness Prince El Hassan bin Talal for the contribution of the Royal Institute for Inter-faith Studies, “under the enlightened care of His Highness,” in “preserving and appreciating the Arab Christian heritage,” which benefits the citizens of the East. In the closing statement, the participants thanked His Highness Prince El Hassan bin Talal for his valuable contributions to the symposium, which reflected his wisdom and long experience in the field of dialogue between followers of religions and cultures. The statement called for respect for human dignity while appreciating the participants and acknowledging diversity and difference, as they form a common heritage based on mutual respect. It is noteworthy that this symposium is the sixth in a series of meetings initiated by the Royal Institute for Inter-faith Studies and the Vatican’s Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue since 2009. It is held alternately every two years in Amman and Rome.

Source: Jordan News Agency

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General

FM, Norwegian, Belgian counterparts discuss Syrian crisis

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Ayman Safadi and his Norwegian and Belgian counterparts on Monday discussed the Arab role in reaching a political solution to the Syrian crisis and ending the suffering it caused and the threats to the security of the region. During a phone call with Norwegian Foreign Minister Anniken Huitfeldt, Safadi said the committee formed by the Arab League on Sunday to follow up on the Amman and Jeddah meetings on the Syrian crisis will keep engaging with the Syrian government to “gradually reach a political solution to the crisis” and address its humanitarian, security, and political ramifications according to a “step-by-step approach” that is in line with the United Nations Security Council Resolution 2254. On a related note, he pointed out Norway’s central role as a chairman of the Ad Hoc Liaison Committee (AHLC) for Coordination of International Aid to the Palestinian People, underlining the severity of the situation in the occupied Palestinian territories as well as the absence of prospects for a just and lasting peace based on the two-state solution in accordance with the approved references. Huitfeldt affirmed her country’s commitment to the AHLC’s framework and support to find political horizons for the Palestinian cause. The two ministers reiterated the strong Jordanian-Norwegian ties and the adherence to advancing cooperation on regional issues. In a separate phone call with Belgian Foreign Minister Hadja Lahbib, Safadi gave a briefing on Arab efforts to solve the Syrian crisis, affirming the futility of the crisis management approach and the importance of a new Arab track to gradually solve the crisis and meet the aspirations of the Syrian people, maintain Syria’s unity, cohesion, and sovereignty, address threats caused by the crisis, and provide conditions for the voluntary return of refugees. They also went over relations between the two countries, underscoring their commitment to exploring broader prospects for cooperation.

Source: Jordan News Agency

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General

FOREIGN MINISTER HOLDS BILATERAL TALKS WITH AMBASSADOR OF PORTUGAL

Caretaker Minister of Foreign Affairs and Emigrants, Dr. Abdallah Bou Habib, on Monday welcomed the Ambassador of Portugal residing in Cyprus and accredited to Lebanon, Vanda Sequeira. The pair discussed the means to strengthen bilateral ties between both countries, in addition to local and regional developments.

Source: National News Agency – Lebanon