UN says Gaza polio vaccination campaign complete

LONDON: Ahmed Aboul Gheit, the secretary-general of the Arab League, called on Arab scientists to develop regulations and standards for artificial intelligence during a dialogue meeting on Sunday.

The two-day meeting, “Artificial Intelligence in the Arab World: Innovative Applications and Ethical Challenges,” held at the Arab League headquarters in Cairo, will explore the development of generative AI technologies, including drones and robotics.

Aboul Gheit said that computer scientists must set up standards for AI projects as the technology has become increasingly prevalent in several sectors in the past decade.

During the opening session, he noted that many Arab countries focused on maximizing AI’s benefits.

Saudi Arabia is a key player in the Middle East in adopting AI technologies across various sectors, including industry and energy. In 2019, the Kingdom established a dedicated organization called the Saudi Data and AI Authority to regulate, develop, and implement data and AI strategies.

Aboul Gheit noted the rapid advancements in AI, particularly in large language models and generative intelligence, resemble an “arms race” among major powers, including China and the US.

“Our scientists, politicians, and thinkers must keep pace with everything that is going on with AI in the world. This general-purpose technology will reshape the way we work, interact, and live,” he added.

JERUSALEM: Israeli police are conducting a criminal investigation into Sara Netanyahu, the wife of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the office of the state attorney said in a letter made public on Sunday.
“A criminal investigation was opened” into suspected criminal offenses, the office said in a letter to an Israeli opposition lawmaker who had accused Sara Netanyahu of tampering in her husband’s corruption trial after the broadcast in December of a television news investigation.
Naama Lazimi, Knesset member for the Democrats, shared the letter on X on Sunday confirming the criminal investigation was launched on December 26, adding that her office had contacted the state attorney following the investigation by Israeli Channel 12’s Uvda news program.
The show alleged that Sara Netanyahu had tried to intimidate a key witness in her husband’s ongoing corruption trial.
She also organized demonstrations to harass the Attorney General, his deputy and other individuals deemed hostile to her husband, according to the program.
The state attorney’s office added the investigation was being “conducted by the Israel Police accompanied by the cyber department of the state attorney’s office.”
In December, Benjamin Netanyahu testified in the corruption trial in which he faces charges of bribery, fraud and breach of public trust in three separate cases, calling the charges against him “ridiculous.”
The trial, which had been delayed many times since it first began in May 2020, is scheduled to last for months, with an appeals process that could further prolong matters.
Netanyahu, who filed multiple requests to delay the proceedings based on the wars in Gaza and Lebanon, has steadfastly denied any wrongdoing.
In the first case, Netanyahu and his wife are accused of accepting more than $260,000 worth of luxury goods such as cigars, jewelry and champagne from billionaires in exchange for political favors.
He is the first sitting premier to face criminal trial in the country.