News

The First Female Saudi Astronaut Heads To Space On May 21

Rayyanah Barnawi is the first Arab Muslim female astronaut to journey to space, joining her teammate Ali AlQarni aboard the International Space Station.

Published

3 years ago

May 16, 2023

Nour Nasir

the first female saudi astronaut heads to space on may 21

Saudi Press Agency

On May 21, 2023, the Arab world will witness another historic mission to space as Rayyanah Barnawi, the first Arab Muslim female astronaut, blasts off from the United States on a journey to the International Space Station.

The mission is part of Saudi Arabia’s ambitious space research program and aligns with the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 manifesto. During the mission, Rayyanah Barnawi and teammate Ali AlQarni will conduct groundbreaking scientific experiments aimed at furthering human space exploration, as well as using live feeds to engage with 12,000 Saudi students.

Also Read: Dubai’s Self-Driving, Electric Abra Blends Tech With Tradition

Once the mission has been successfully completed, Saudi Arabia will join a select few countries that have simultaneously sent two astronauts to the International Space Station.

The May 21 mission represents a significant milestone for Saudi Arabia’s space program, which aims to prepare future engineers and astronauts for further space-related assignments.

News

Visa’s Return To Syria Starts With A Test And A Bank In Lebanon

Foreign visitors will be the first users to benefit, but whether Syria’s own banks and cardholders follow is still an open question.

Published

2 weeks ago

August 27, 2026

Dana Saadeh

visa's return to syria starts with a test and a bank in lebanon

Visa is returning to Syria. Its first live international card transaction in the country was a test rather than a launch, and the milestone event ran through a Lebanese bank.

The acquirer (the bank on the merchant’s side of a card payment) was Fransabank Lebanon, with Paymera as the other named partner. Nadim Moujaes, who heads a Fransabank Group subsidiary, describes the test as both the culmination of “longstanding efforts to link Syria back to international payment networks” and “the first step in a larger path”.

Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa makes the first electronic payment in Syria using a @Visa card at a store in Damascus, following the lifting of US sanctions on Syria. pic.twitter.com/lpAN7nQ6Fc

— Tech Magazine (@TechMGZN) August 27, 2026

“We are excited to have successfully tested live transactions today as we plan to enable international visitors to use their Visa cards while in Syria,” says Leila Serhan, Visa’s senior vice president and group country manager for the North Africa, Levant and Pakistan region. Although a significant first step, that plan doesn’t come with a hard date for when a visitor’s card will work normally.

Mohammed Safwat Raslan, governor of the Central Bank of Syria, says the test paves the way for international card acceptance in Syria and that maintaining strong compliance, risk management and operational controls will remain essential. Serhan likewise stresses that Visa has worked within applicable legal, regulatory and compliance requirements. For a test transaction, it seems there was a great deal of attention paid to the rules, with the entire operation being carefully managed.

Also Read: Lebanon’s 5G Era Begins With 150 Stations And A $1M Budget

The test is the latest step in a sequence that began in December 2025, when Visa announced a strategic roadmap to support Syria’s integration into the global digital economy. In February 2026 it hosted its first industry gathering of banks, ecosystem partners and policymakers in Damascus and, the same month, signed an agreement with Syria’s Ministry of Communications and Information Technology in San Francisco.

Michel Kattouah, Paymera’s CEO, called the test “the return of international card acceptance,” but while that’s positive news, there’s no word yet on when a Syrian bank will issue a Visa card to a Syrian customer.