News
Saudia Introduces Sanitizing Prayer Beads For Religious Pilgrimages
The national airline has developed ProtecTasbih, a groundbreaking solution marrying hygiene with tradition for traveling pilgrims.
Saudia, the national airline of Saudi Arabia, has introduced ProtecTasbih, prayer beads infused with self-cleansing properties, helping to create a safer pilgrimage experience for the millions who travel to Makkah for Hajj and Umrah.
ProtecTasbih is a result of a collaboration between Saudia and its creative partners, including Leo Burnett Saudi Arabia and Saatchi & Saatchi Dubai. Confronted with the challenge of incorporating antibacterial elements into prayer beads without adding alcohol, the team opted for tea tree oil due to its natural ability to disrupt the cell membranes of bacteria.
The beads are engineered to endure various environments and temperature fluctuations, from the controlled atmosphere of aircraft cabins to outdoor pilgrimage trails. Beyond their cleansing function, the beads are also sustainable, as once the antibacterial outer shell is worn away, a core shell underneath allows them to continue to be used, reducing waste.
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As pilgrims embark on their spiritual journeys, ProtecTasbih will enhance hygiene standards without interrupting age-old customs.
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.
Nano Banana 2 Arrives In MENA For Google Gemini Users
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