KSrelief enables Zakat donations to Yemen, Somalia

RIYADH: AlUla has been included in the IMD World Smart Cities Index 2025, released by the International Institute for Management Development, alongside five other cities in Saudi Arabia: Makkah, Madinah, Riyadh, Jeddah, and Al-Khobar, the Saudi Press Agency reported.

According to the agency, this milestone underscores the Kingdom’s commitment to its Vision 2030 initiative, aimed at transforming urban landscapes into smart cities through innovative projects led by the Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority in collaboration with various government entities. The goal is to create smart cities that elevate quality of life to the highest standards.

The IMD is globally recognized for its expertise in competitiveness and is the publisher of the World Competitiveness Yearbook, a reference for international organizations and institutions seeking insights into competitive practices.

According to the SPA, AlUla’s listing on the Smart City Index reflects the Kingdom’s ambitious vision to position the city as a leading heritage, cultural, and tourism hub. The integration of modern technologies, enhanced by artificial intelligence, aims to safeguard archaeological treasures while enriching the visitor experience. Advanced digital solutions, such as crowd management systems, smart transport services, and interactive applications are used to facilitate a seamless exploration of the city.

The IMD Smart City Index 2025 evaluates cities on diverse criteria, including residents’ perceptions of smart city initiatives, the balance of economic and technological factors with human dimensions, and the alignment between citizens’ needs and contemporary trends in urban development.

The index also highlights the significance of digital technologies in optimizing resource utilization, reducing carbon footprints, and making public spaces more attuned to the needs of residents.

In a related development, in 2023 the National Competitiveness Center and IMD formalized their collaboration through a bilateral agreement in Lausanne, Switzerland, intended to bolster Saudi Arabia’s competitiveness in alignment with Vision 2030. Key figures, including Minister of Commerce Majid bin Abdullah Al-Qasabi, attended the signing ceremony, emphasizing the commitment to leverage global expertise and best practices.

The NCC reiterated its dedication to enhancing competitiveness by accessing IMD’s consulting services and educational programs. This partnership follows Saudi Arabia’s rise in the IMD World Competitiveness Yearbook, where it climbed eight places to secure 24th position globally, a sign of significant advances in government policy and efforts at digital transformation. 

LONDON: UK-based lawyers said they have asked the British government to lift a ban on the Palestinian militant group Hamas, a petition that has drawn sharp criticism from opposition politicians.
The legal submission argues the ban contravenes Britain's human rights commitments, with the militants insisting on "the legitimacy of the struggle of the Palestinian people for independence, territorial integrity, national unity and liberation."
The military wing of Hamas was designated a "terrorist group" by the UK in 2001. The United States and the European Union consider Hamas a terror group.
Hamas's proscription was extended in 2021 to include the political wing, with the group considered a "complex but single terrorist organisation", according to the government website.
In the UK, belonging to, encouraging and expressing support for a proscribed organisation, among other acts, are criminal offences.
The Home Office said it did not comment on proscription matters.
The submission to the UK interior ministry was announced by London-based firm Riverway Law on Wednesday.
It added the right to resist "foreign occupation by all available means, including armed struggle, is moral, legitimate and explicitly enshrined in international law."
Hamas militants stormed over Israel's border with the Gaza Strip to carry out the October 7, 2023 attack against Israel in which 1,218 people were killed on the Israeli side, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures.
In retaliation, Israel vowed to crush Hamas and has relentlessly bombarded Gaza, with the death toll since the start of the war now at more than 50,000 people, mostly civilians, according to the territory's Hamas-run health ministry.
Riverway Law said it was instructed by Mousa Abu Marzouk, a senior Hamas official.
By banning Hamas "Britain is effectively denying the Palestinians the right to defend themselves", the lawyers said in a statement on X.
The submission argues that the proscription of Hamas is "disproportionate" because the group "does not pose any threat" to Britain's national security.
The plea says the ban goes against Britain's human rights duties, including under the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) -- which has become a target of UK's political right since Britain left the European Union in 2020.
The application has drawn sharp criticism from opposition politicians, with shadow foreign secretary Priti Patel slamming the group as a "evil, Iranian-backed terrorist organisation".
"Those campaigning to end the proscription of Hamas fail to understanding the seriousness of the threats this terrorist organisation poses", Patel said in a statement.