It was a gesture seen around the world. Now, Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's heartfelt reaction to US President Donald Trump could soon become an emoji, if one software engineer has his way.
Ali Almatrafi, who lives in Riyadh, created the emoji after he saw many Saudis reacting warmly to the interaction between the Crown Prince and Trump at the US-Saudi Investment Forum during the American President's visit to the Kingdom. The moment was captured when Trump announced the cessation of sanctions against Syria, which was met with huge applause. A smiling Crown Prince Mohammed was then seen clapping and holding his hands over his chest.
"It was a spontaneous and heartfelt symbol of gratitude and a very Arab reaction," Almatrafi tells The National. "A lot of Saudis were touched by it and I felt like I needed to do something to capture the moment.
"There is a Japanese kimono emoji, Indians have the sari, the French have a baguette emoji and there are emojis representing Russian and Chinese cultures. But we don't have anything that is distinctly Saudi or Arab or Gulf."
Almatrafi's emoji shows a smiling male character, dressed in a traditional white thobe and red and white shemagh or headdress, with both hands clasped on his chest. In the Arab world, placing the palm of the right hand on the heart or chest is often used as a sign of gratitude.
While creating the emoji took Almatrafi only a few hours, drafting the proposal was a laborious process, he says. Unicode Consortium, the non-profit that approves all emojis, has strict criteria for submission, with approvals taking a minimum of two years. Once approved, it could still be months or years before they eventually appear on devices.
Almatrafi says his emoji is meant to be used to convey gratitude.
"It's not really a thank you, but to communicate utmost gratitude. Like when someone does you a favour and you want to show how much you appreciate it from the bottom of your heart. It's very Arab," he says.
Whether or not it gets approved, the Saudi software engineer is glad his creation has already sparked conversations about Saudi culture and identity and about Crown Prince Mohammed.
His recent post about the emoji on X has garnered hundreds of retweets and more than 3.6 million views.
"I create things like this all the time, but never has something I've done gone viral," says Almatrafi, who is the head of curriculum at Tuwaiq Academy, an institute in Riyadh that trains people in cybersecurity.
"I'm glad I've helped to raise awareness about Saudis and about Gulf culture and also got people talking about His Highness Mohammed bin Salman and what he's doing for the development of Saudi Arabia."
During Trump's visit, AI-generated images of him in a local dress were also widely shared online by Saudis, reflecting the strong favourable impression he's made on the Kingdom. The images showed Trump in traditional attire with a white thobe and a red-and-white headdress held in place with a black agal.
For Almatrafi, the biggest reward is that Saudis have given his emoji an overwhelming thumbs up.
"The main prize for me is that so many Saudis and people in the Gulf region are already loving it and using it," he says. "Such support and love were something I did not expect."
The story of Edge
Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, established Edge in 2019.
It brought together 25 state-owned and independent companies specialising in weapons systems, cyber protection and electronic warfare.
Edge has an annual revenue of $5 billion and employs more than 12,000 people.
Some of the companies include Nimr, a maker of armoured vehicles, Caracal, which manufactures guns and ammunitions company, Lahab
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Your rights as an employee
The government has taken an increasingly tough line against companies that fail to pay employees on time. Three years ago, the Cabinet passed a decree allowing the government to halt the granting of work permits to companies with wage backlogs.
The new measures passed by the Cabinet in 2016 were an update to the Wage Protection System, which is in place to track whether a company pays its employees on time or not.
If wages are 10 days late, the new measures kick in and the company is alerted it is in breach of labour rules. If wages remain unpaid for a total of 16 days, the authorities can cancel work permits, effectively shutting off operations. Fines of up to Dh5,000 per unpaid employee follow after 60 days.
Despite those measures, late payments remain an issue, particularly in the construction sector. Smaller contractors, such as electrical, plumbing and fit-out businesses, often blame the bigger companies that hire them for wages being late.
The authorities have urged employees to report their companies at the labour ministry or Tawafuq service centres — there are 15 in Abu Dhabi.
The Cairo Statement
1: Commit to countering all types of terrorism and extremism in all their manifestations
2: Denounce violence and the rhetoric of hatred
3: Adhere to the full compliance with the Riyadh accord of 2014 and the subsequent meeting and executive procedures approved in 2014 by the GCC
4: Comply with all recommendations of the Summit between the US and Muslim countries held in May 2017 in Saudi Arabia.
5: Refrain from interfering in the internal affairs of countries and of supporting rogue entities.
6: Carry out the responsibility of all the countries with the international community to counter all manifestations of extremism and terrorism that threaten international peace and security
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Uefa Champions League semi-final, first leg
Bayern Munich v Real Madrid
When: April 25, 10.45pm kick-off (UAE)
Where: Allianz Arena, Munich
Live: BeIN Sports HD
Second leg: May 1, Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid
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Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
FINAL RESULT
Sharjah Wanderers 20 Dubai Tigers 25 (After extra-time)
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Tries: Gormley, Penalty
cons: Flaherty
Pens: Flaherty 2
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Tries: O’Donnell, Gibbons, Kelly
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- Carbon sink: Seagrass sequesters carbon up to 35X faster than tropical rainforests
- Marine nursery: Crucial habitat for juvenile fish, crustations, and invertebrates
- Biodiversity: Support species like sea turtles, dugongs, and seabirds
- Coastal protection: Reduce erosion and improve water quality
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- Particle size: Larger, heavier sand grains
- Visibility: Often dramatic with thick "walls" of sand
- Duration: Short-lived, typically localised
- Travel distance: Limited
- Source: Open desert areas with strong winds
Dust storm
- Particle size: Much finer, lightweight particles
- Visibility: Hazy skies but less intense
- Duration: Can linger for days
- Travel distance: Long-range, up to thousands of kilometres
- Source: Can be carried from distant regions
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- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
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Manchester City 3 (Silva 8' &15, Foden 33')
Birmginahm City 0
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Dubai works towards better air quality by 2021
Dubai is on a mission to record good air quality for 90 per cent of the year – up from 86 per cent annually today – by 2021.
The municipality plans to have seven mobile air-monitoring stations by 2020 to capture more accurate data in hourly and daily trends of pollution.
These will be on the Palm Jumeirah, Al Qusais, Muhaisnah, Rashidiyah, Al Wasl, Al Quoz and Dubai Investment Park.
“It will allow real-time responding for emergency cases,” said Khaldoon Al Daraji, first environment safety officer at the municipality.
“We’re in a good position except for the cases that are out of our hands, such as sandstorms.
“Sandstorms are our main concern because the UAE is just a receiver.
“The hotspots are Iran, Saudi Arabia and southern Iraq, but we’re working hard with the region to reduce the cycle of sandstorm generation.”
Mr Al Daraji said monitoring as it stood covered 47 per cent of Dubai.
There are 12 fixed stations in the emirate, but Dubai also receives information from monitors belonging to other entities.
“There are 25 stations in total,” Mr Al Daraji said.
“We added new technology and equipment used for the first time for the detection of heavy metals.
“A hundred parameters can be detected but we want to expand it to make sure that the data captured can allow a baseline study in some areas to ensure they are well positioned.”
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