Men use an umbrella during rain in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, February 16, 2017. Reuters
Men use an umbrella during rain in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, February 16, 2017. Reuters
Men use an umbrella during rain in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, February 16, 2017. Reuters
Men use an umbrella during rain in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, February 16, 2017. Reuters

Saudi Arabia issues tough guidelines to stop misinformation on weather and climate


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  • Arabic

People issuing weather warnings in Saudi Arabia could face harsh fines and jail sentences following new government guidelines regulating weather forecasting in the kingdom.

According to the National Centre of Meteorology, unscrupulous social media users are issuing weather warnings in an attempt to gain followers or advertising revenue for unofficial websites.

Amateur forecasters and rumour-mongers “gain followers and benefit from advertising and financial gains,” despite having no formal qualifications in meteorology, a spokesman for the Centre told Arab News.

Stiff penalties for misinforming the public could include a jail sentence of up to 10 years or a fine of 2 million Saudi Riyals, or over $500,000. The new regulations will take effect in six month's time.

“It is forbidden to carry out sovereign meteorological services concerned with meteorological activities, products, and information related to national security, and what is related in this regard is limited to the National Centre of Meteorology,” the centre’s Bureau of Investigation and Public Prosecution said on twitter.

Saudi Arabia’s National Centre of Meteorology is tasked with providing an array of weather data in the kingdom, vital for scientific studies in agriculture, real time air and maritime navigation as well as weather warnings.

The latter is especially because heavy rain can cause dangerous flash flooding in some areas.

The centre’s website says the government agency provides, “high quality services for weather and climate to protect the lives and development support, in addition to everything related to meteorological locally and regionally.”

ELECTION%20RESULTS
%3Cp%3EMacron%E2%80%99s%20Ensemble%20group%20won%20245%20seats.%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EThe%20second-largest%20group%20in%20parliament%20is%20Nupes%2C%20a%20leftist%20coalition%20led%20by%20Jean-Luc%20Melenchon%2C%20which%20gets%20131%20lawmakers.%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EThe%20far-right%20National%20Rally%20fared%20much%20better%20than%20expected%20with%2089%20seats.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EThe%20centre-right%20Republicans%20and%20their%20allies%20took%2061.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
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Creators: Matt Sazama, Burk Sharpless, Irwin Allen

Stars: Molly Parker, Toby Stephens, Maxwell Jenkins

Rating: 4/5

COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Airev
Started: September 2023
Founder: Muhammad Khalid
Based: Abu Dhabi
Sector: Generative AI
Initial investment: Undisclosed
Investment stage: Series A
Investors: Core42
Current number of staff: 47
 
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Match info

Deccan Gladiators 87-8

Asif Khan 25, Dwayne Bravo 2-16

Maratha Arabians 89-2

Chadwick Walton 51 not out

Arabians won the final by eight wickets

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MATCH INFO

England 2
Cahill (3'), Kane (39')

Nigeria 1
Iwobi (47')

Book%20Details
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COMPANY PROFILE

Name: Qyubic
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Investment stage: Pre-seed
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Nepotism is the name of the game

Salman Khan’s father, Salim Khan, is one of Bollywood’s most legendary screenwriters. Through his partnership with co-writer Javed Akhtar, Salim is credited with having paved the path for the Indian film industry’s blockbuster format in the 1970s. Something his son now rules the roost of. More importantly, the Salim-Javed duo also created the persona of the “angry young man” for Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan in the 1970s, reflecting the angst of the average Indian. In choosing to be the ordinary man’s “hero” as opposed to a thespian in new Bollywood, Salman Khan remains tightly linked to his father’s oeuvre. Thanks dad. 

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Stars: Varun Dhawan, Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Kashvi Majmundar, Kay Kay Menon

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MIDWAY

Produced: Lionsgate Films, Shanghai Ryui Entertainment, Street Light Entertainment
Directed: Roland Emmerich
Cast: Ed Skrein, Woody Harrelson, Dennis Quaid, Aaron Eckhart, Luke Evans, Nick Jonas, Mandy Moore, Darren Criss
Rating: 3.5/5 stars

How to get there

Emirates (www.emirates.com) flies directly to Hanoi, Vietnam, with fares starting from around Dh2,725 return, while Etihad (www.etihad.com) fares cost about Dh2,213 return with a stop. Chuong is 25 kilometres south of Hanoi.
 

War and the virus
Skewed figures

In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458. 

The five pillars of Islam

1. Fasting

2. Prayer

3. Hajj

4. Shahada

5. Zakat 

Four motivational quotes from Alicia's Dubai talk

“The only thing we need is to know that we have faith. Faith and hope in our own dreams. The belief that, when we keep going we’re going to find our way. That’s all we got.”

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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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