Restoration project for Jeddah district’s old buildings completed
JEDDAH, SAUDI ARABIA – The Ministry of Culture, represented by the Jeddah Historic District Program, has announced the completion of...
Arts & Culture
Al-Azhar Ash-Sharif celebrates 1084th anniversary
Cairo, Egypt - Historic al-Azhar Mosque marked its 1084th anniversary of its founding on March 17, celebrated by al-Azhar ash-Sharif...
Saudi Arabia to allow one million hajj pilgrims this year: statement
Saudi Arabia said Saturday it will permit one million Muslims from inside and outside the country to participate in this...
- After the onset of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, Saudi authorities allowed only 1,000 pilgrims to participate
- The government wants to ensure pilgrims' safety "while ensuring that the maximum number of Muslims worldwide can perform the hajj", Saturday's statement said
Arts & Culture
The metaverse threat: ‘TV will die with its audience’
On the horizon is the so-called "metaverse" -- a loose term covering the growing eco-system of interactive online worlds, games...
- On the horizon is the so-called "metaverse" -- a loose term covering the growing eco-system of interactive online worlds, games and 3D meeting places
- While older consumers are still wedded to traditional TV, viewership among under-35s has halved in a decade, according to Statista
Geostrategy
Pope Francis to visit crisis-hit Lebanon in June
Lebanon, home to one of the largest Christian communities in the Middle East, has been gripped by an unprecedented economic...
- The pontiff, who has received Lebanon's president and prime minister in the Vatican in recent months, had previously promised to visit the country.
- The last trip in 2012 saw Pope Benedict XVI visit to appeal for peace, months after the start of the civil war in neighboring Syria.
Morocco arrests four people for involvement in organ trafficking
Moroccan police have arrested four people suspected of involvement in an international drug and organ trafficking network operating in particular...
- Authorities launched an investigation after an announcement was published on social media proposing kidney removal "in private clinics abroad for large sums of foreign currency"
- The four suspects, including three women, were allegedly intermediaries, helping those wishing to sell their organs to go abroad, in particular to Turkey
Arts & Culture
Unhappy spouses celebrate as England adopts ‘no-fault divorce’
The change brings England and Wales into line with Scotland, which has its own legal system, and with other countries...
- The change brings England and Wales into line with Scotland, which has its own legal system, and with other countries including the United States, Australia and Germany
- While experts expect a rush of divorces by couples who were waiting for the legal reform, they predict it could also ironically increase rates of marriage
A stabbing kills a cleric, wounds two others in Iran
An attacker stabbed to death an Iranian Shiite Muslim cleric Tuesday and wounded two others, one of them seriously, in...
- The assailant and four suspected accomplices were arrested after the bloody attack in the Imam Reza shrine's courtyard, said Mohammad-Hossein Doroudi, the chief prosecutor
- "The attacker is a foreign national," he told the Fars news agency, without specifying the country
Arts & Culture
Sweet smell of Ramadan in South Asia
The region is home to around a third of Islam's adherents. Festive Iftar meals traditionally bring families together and there...
- More subdued evening gatherings are underway in Afghanistan, where people are still reckoning with an acute humanitarian crisis.
- The centuries-old Chawkbazar market in Bangladesh is a traditional center for evening meet-ups during Ramadan.
Arts & Culture
Libyan artisans restore old Korans for Ramadan
Compared to the cost of a new Koran -- at more than $20 depending on the binding -- restoring costs...
- Compared to the cost of a new Koran -- at more than $20 depending on the binding -- restoring costs just a few dollars
- For Muslims, Ramadan is a month of spirituality, where a daily dawn-to-dusk fast is accompanied with prayer and acts of charity
Arts & Culture
Riyadh Season 2021 ends, welcomes more than 15 million visitors
Middle East’s largest entertainment event, Riyadh Season 2021, which concluded on March 31, welcomed more than 15 million visitors, according...
- Organized by the Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority, the first edition of the event was launched in 2019 and saw more than 10 million visitors.
- Riyadh Season 2021 hosted eight international exhibitions on fashion, technology and communications, electronic games, perfumes, plastic arts, and crafts.
Arts & Culture
First World Cup in Middle East will be healthiest ever: FIFA President
Several measures will be implemented at this year’s FIFA World Cup Qatar in a bid to promote healthy lifestyles. Senior...
- World Health Organization, Qatar's health ministry and FIFA agree to implement several measures to promote healthy lifestyles at the mega event.
- The three entities will leverage the global power of football to help people lead healthy lives, said WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Restoration project for Jeddah district’s old buildings completed
JEDDAH, SAUDI ARABIA – The Ministry of Culture, represented by the Jeddah Historic District Program, has announced the completion of...
Arts & Culture
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Library battles on to restore Palestinian history
Arts & Culture
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Iraq’s marshes along with a way of life are dying
Arts & Culture
Saudi clubs spent $875.4m on new players from June 1- Sept 1, says FIFA
Spending by Saudi Arabian football clubs in the transfer window just closed was second only to that by teams in...
Arts & Culture
UN urges age restrictions on Artificial Intelligence in schools
Paris, France - The United Nations called on Thursday for strict rules on the use of AI tools such as viral...
Arts & Culture
Demarai Gray quits Everton to join Saudi Arabia’s Al-Ettifaq
London, United Kingdom - Demarai Gray has left Everton for Al-Ettifaq ahead of Thursday's transfer deadline in the Saudi Pro League.The...
Arts & Culture
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Arts & Culture
Israel showcases Roman era weapons
Four Roman-era swords and a javelin were discovered inside a cave in the Judean desert, where they had been preserved...
- The archaeologists said the ancient weapons were believed to have been used during the Bar Kokhba revolt of Jews against the Romans in the second century.
- "It's a very unique and important discovery, which is unprecedented in Israel," Eitan Klein, director of Israel Antiquities Authority, told journalists at an event.
Arts & Culture
Saudi Arabia to register 50,000 urban heritage assets
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia -- The Saudi Heritage Commission announced on Monday the nomination of 50,000 urban heritage assets across the...
- The Architectural Heritage Register serves as the record of heritage sites that have been registered based on specific criteria related to national, or cultural significance
- The registration process involves the use of a geospatial information system to accurately manage, store, and preserve information about these sites and structures
Arts & Culture
Protection pact for Yemeni cultural assets extended with US support
Dubai, UAE-- Yemen and the US have signed an agreement to renews and extend protections for Yemeni cultural property that...
- According to the US State Department, the agreement provides a framework for cooperation between the two countries to combat cultural property trafficking
- It further noted that the agreement adds to the US support for a durable resolution to the Yemen conflict and reaffirms US support for Yemeni sovereignty