News
Saudi Arabia Launches Digital Platform For Seismic Hazards
The new service could prevent potential future risks and will help to support research into improving local infrastructure.
Residents of Saudi Arabia will soon be able to keep a watchful eye on potential natural disasters. The Saudi Geological Survey (SGS) recently launched the first digital scientific platform in the kingdom, known as the Geological Risk Base Platform, aimed at informing and educating citizens on natural seismic hazards.
منصة قاعدة المخاطر الجيولوجية
تعد أول منصة علمية رقمية تثقيفية للمخاطر في المملكة، تتيح للمستخدم استعراض بيانات النشاط الزلزالي والاطلاع على البيانات والخرائط ذات العلاقة وتمكن الباحثين والمختصين من طلب تلك البيانات واستخدامها في الدراسات البحثية العلمية. pic.twitter.com/yZbywdHeH6— هيئة المساحة الجيولوجية السعودية (@SgsOrgSa) April 4, 2023
The new portal will offer data and seismic risk assessments across various locations in Saudi Arabia and will provide technical solutions aimed at potential future risk prevention, as well as acting as a repository for research on improving local infrastructure.
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The Geological Risk Base Platform was introduced by Bandar Alkhorayef, Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources and Chairman of the Board of Directors of SGS. Meanwhile, Tariq Aba Al Khail, SGS spokesman, explained that the new platform would act as a “digital electronic page that includes all the information related to seismic hazards, data, and maps in and around Saudi Arabia”.
News
Nano Banana 2 Arrives In MENA For Google Gemini Users
Google brings its latest image model to Gemini and Search, adding 4K output and tighter text control for regional users.
Google has opened access to Nano Banana 2 across the Middle East and North Africa, pushing its newest image model into everyday tools rather than keeping it inside the exclusive (and expensive) Pro tier.
The rollout spans the Google Gemini desktop and mobile apps, and extends to Google Search through Lens and AI Mode. Developers can also test it in preview via AI Studio and the Gemini API.
Nano Banana 2 runs on Gemini Flash, Google’s fast inference layer. The focus is speed, but also control. Users can export visuals from 512px up to 4K, adjusting aspect ratios for everything from vertical social posts to widescreen displays.
The model maintains character likeness across up to five figures and preserves fidelity for as many as 14 objects within a single workflow. This enables visual continuity across scenes, iterations, or edits — supporting projects like short films, storyboards, and multi-scene narratives. Text rendering has also been improved, delivering legible typography in mockups and greeting cards, with built-in translation and localization directly within images.
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Under the hood, the system taps Gemini’s broader knowledge base and pulls in real-time information and imagery from web search to render specific subjects more accurately. Lighting and fine detail have been upgraded, without slowing output.
By embedding the model inside Gemini and Search, Google is normalizing advanced image generation for a mass audience. In MENA, where startups and marketing teams are leaning heavily on AI to scale content across languages and borders, that shift lands at a practical moment.
The move also folds creative tooling deeper into search itself, so that image generation is no longer a separate workflow. It now sits right next to the query box.
