News

Omar Yaghi Becomes Saudi Arabia’s First Nobel Laureate In Chemistry

The award marks a historic moment for Saudi science and underscores Vision 2030’s focus on research and innovation.

Published

11 months ago

October 14, 2025

omar yaghi becomes saudi arabia's first nobel laureate in chemistry

Professor Omar Yaghi has won the 2025 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, the first Saudi citizen to receive the prestigious honor. The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences recognized him for founding the field of reticular chemistry and developing metal-organic and covalent organic frameworks — materials now used in clean energy, environmental technologies and clean water harvesting.

Yaghi’s discoveries have reshaped material science, allowing molecules to form complex, functional networks with applications from carbon capture to hydrogen storage. His frameworks have opened routes to new industrial materials and commercial uses, bridging basic chemistry and engineering. As a professor at the University of California, Berkeley, he has published more than 300 papers and been cited over 250,000 times, placing him among the world’s most influential chemists.

Dr. Munir Eldesouki, president of King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST), said the award “reflects the wise leadership’s vision of making the Kingdom a global center for science, knowledge, and innovation”. He added that Yaghi’s work on nanomaterials capable of pulling water from air “is a remarkable example of how science transforms passion into impact”.

Yaghi’s career has also brought him major international honors, including the King Faisal Prize in Science, the Wolf Prize in Chemistry, and the Albert Einstein World Award of Science. His recognition extends across both academic and industrial sectors for advancing sustainability-focused technologies.

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Recently granted Saudi citizenship, Omar Yaghi serves as co-director of the KACST-UC Berkeley Center of Excellence for Nanomaterials for Clean Energy Applications, advisor to the KACST president, and board member of the Research, Development, and Innovation Authority. His appointment aligns with the Kingdom’s push to attract global talent and strengthen research partnerships as part of Vision 2030.

His Nobel win anchors Saudi Arabia on the global research map, a signal of how far its science ambitions have advanced under Vision 2030.

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 days 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.

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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.