* Women represent less than 15 percent of the energy sector jobs in many countries in the Middle East and North Africa, according to a recent report by the World Bank. The report found that the number is even lower in Egypt, Jordan, Iraq, Lebanon, and Saudi Arabia - where women's participation in the energy sector is on average below 10 percent. However, the number varies across the region, with several Gulf countries boasting a much higher ratio of female participation in the energy workforce. In Qatar, the ratio of women to men sits at 60 percent, while in the United Arab Emirates it is at 56 percent. Overall, the percentage of women in the workforce across the region is low and analysts have noted that the lack of female participation is hindering economic growth. One of the ways to combat the low number of women in the energy sector is to create opportunities in renewable energy, according to the World Bank.

* The Red Sea Development Co. has partnered with Saudi Human Resources Development Fund to provide vocational training for 1,000 nationals — its second batch of students — to encourage a thriving tourism industry in the region. The partnership comes close on the heels of TRSDC’s first vocational training program, which granted diplomas to 500 Saudis across various fields such as hospitality management, culinary arts, airport services, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering and renewable energy. According to TRSDC Education Director Fadi Al-Aseri, the second vocational training program seeks to empower young Saudis by creating economic and educational opportunities to achieve their full potential. Besides Saudi Human Development Fund, TRSDC has also tied up with Higher Institute for Water & Power Technologies on the technical services front. Furthermore, it partnered with Bunyan for Hospitality Training Co for courses on luxury and hospitality. The company is also in partnership with the Saudi Academy for Civil Aviation and King Abdulaziz University Faculty of Tourism to skill students in airport services. According to a company statement, of the 200 seats allocated for the technical services track, 100 percent were filled by men. In comparison, 170 seats in the hospitality track constituted 53 percent women and 47 percent men. The airport track filled 130 seats with 31 percent women and 69 percent men. In addition, the program supported establishing a new hospitality school in Bunyan, a training academy at King Abdullah Economic City where future hoteliers study the essentials of luxury hospitality. The program is conducted in a state-of-the-art facility and is accredited by École hôtelière de Lausanne.

* “Mom put out my fire,” were the last words Fatima heard from her son Hussein Abu Arabiya, who committed suicide by setting his emaciated body on fire in front of her eyes, escaping poverty and looking for a safe place to complain of hunger and humiliation. From dignity and bad life in Gaza. He saved him, but she did not succeed, but her hands burned with him. Hosny works two days a week and gets paid $20 for it. His mother asks: "Why is this amount enough, for water or food, or to rent the house and pay off the accumulated debt?" The mother was silent for a while, then said: There is no justice in life, and that is why he was burned. Hosni himself and ended his life.” These words were the most frequently used phrase. This story sparked outrage because this was the fifth suicide to occur this week. According to the data of the Palestinian Statistics Center (a government institution), unemployment rates reached 89 percent among workers, and this percentage is the highest in the Palestinian territories, while there are about 450 thousand university graduates without work, and the poverty rate reached 53 percent, of which 33 percent of extreme poverty, while 80 percent of Gaza families suffer from food insecurity and depend mainly on food aid provided by international organizations, which are threatened with stopping, at a time when the per capita income in Gaza is estimated at eight dollars a day. With the increase in suicides, the residents of Gaza accused the officials of being the cause, and that the tragic conditions in the Strip prompted the young people to commit suicide, while the security forces launched investigations to search for the circumstances of these incidents.