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RIYADH: The Times Higher Education World Academic Summit is being held in the Middle East for the first time, hosted by the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology.

The three-day summit began on Tuesday, bringing together 750 participants including 105 keynote speakers from 75 institutions in 28 countries, the Saudi Press Agency reported.

The gathering includes leading university presidents, decision-makers, industry leaders and academics from across the globe to discuss the theme “Universities as Agents of Change.”

It explores the role of universities in accelerating innovation and economic growth, promoting sustainability, preserving culture, and strengthening global collaboration.

Speakers presented research to address real-world needs, from developing sustainable cities to innovations in health and artificial intelligence, as well as the essential skills students need to build a prosperous future.

In his opening remarks, KAUST President Edward Byrne said that hosting the summit for the first time in the Middle East affirms ��������’s growing leadership in science and innovation.

He added that the milestone underscores KAUST’s role as a benchmark model for universities designed to deliver impact. The summit provides an opportunity to collaborate with global partners to drive progress and help shape the future of higher education.

The Times Higher Education’s Chief Global Affairs Officer Phil Baty said the summit has brought together some of the most influential voices in higher education to address the challenges and opportunities facing universities.

He noted that KAUST’s hosting of the event reflects its mission-driven role in supporting ��������’s priorities in research, development and innovation under Saudi Vision 2030.

Baty added that such priorities span diverse fields, including health and well-being, environmental sustainability, leadership in energy and industry and future economies.

DUBAI: ��������’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned what it described as the storming of the courtyards of Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque by Israeli officials and settlers, saying the incursions took place “under the protection of the occupation forces” and violated the sanctity of one of Islam’s holiest sites.
In a statement made on Wednesday, the ministry said the Kingdom “reiterates, in the strongest terms, its denunciation of the continued assaults on the sanctity of Al-Aqsa Mosque.”

The ministry also affirmed “its categorical rejection of anything that would undermine the historical and legal status of Jerusalem and its holy sites,” calling on the international community “to hold the Israeli occupation authorities accountable for their serious and ongoing violations against Islamic holy sites and innocent civilians in the State of Palestine.”

The statement did not specify further details about the reported incidents. ��������, which has repeatedly pressed for the protection of Jerusalem’s holy places, framed the latest episode as part of a pattern of violations and urged a coordinated international response.

Al-Aqsa Mosque, located in Jerusalem’s Old City, is a frequent flashpoint; periods of tension there often reverberate across the region. The Kingdom’s comments add to mounting diplomatic statements from Arab and Islamic capitals emphasizing the need to preserve the status quo at holy sites and to prevent provocations that could escalate violence.

Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir visited the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound On Wednesday and posted a video saying that “two years after” the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attack, Israel was “winning” at the site and that “we are the owners of the Temple Mount.”

He urged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to pursue “complete victory” in Gaza— “to destroy Hamas,” he said— while talks mediated in Egypt continue over ending the war.

Ben-Gvir, who heads the nationalist-religious Jewish Power party and has previously threatened to quit Netanyahu’s coalition unless Hamas is “utterly destroyed,” has a record of challenging the decades-old “status quo” governing the hilltop compound.

Under that arrangement, administered by a Jordanian religious endowment, Muslims worship at the Al-Aqsa compound, while Jews may visit but not pray. Suggestions that Israel might alter those rules have repeatedly triggered outrage across the Muslim world and, in past episodes, set off violence.