81 percent of Saudi population attends cultural events, activities in 2024: GASTAT
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia -- Nearly 81.6 percent of Saudi individuals visited at least one cultural event or activity in 2024, according...
Arts & Culture
‘Beautiful thing’: hijab-wearing singer looks to inspire
Dubai, United Arab Emirates - In a Dubai recording studio, hijab-clad Ghaliaa Chaker tunes her guitar and belts out original songs...
Arts & Culture
Teachers play key role in shaping future generations
Arts & Culture
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.
Arts & Culture
Qatar World Cup draw pairs Iran and USA
England also found themselves in Group B and will face Iran in their opening game on the tournament's first day,...
- Germany and Spain are joined by Japan in Group E, which will be completed by the winner of an intercontinental play-off in June between Costa Rica and New Zealand.
- Qatar will also take on African champions Senegal as well as the Netherlands, who return to the World Cup after missing out in 2018, in Group A.
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81 percent of Saudi population attends cultural events, activities in 2024: GASTAT
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia -- Nearly 81.6 percent of Saudi individuals visited at least one cultural event or activity in 2024, according...
Arts & Culture
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Teachers play key role in shaping future generations
Arts & Culture
Dubai must possess its distinct emblem, says new decree
Dubai, UAE - Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE, issued Law No....
Geostrategy
Turkish film festival canceled over censorship controversy
The festival's jury members threatened to pull out if the film was not readmitted and said they "reject the approach...
Arts & Culture
Archaeology talks unravel past’s influence on future
Insights from the recently held archaeology summit highlight AlUla's prominence as an archaeological epicenter, helping to bridge historical gaps and...
Arts & Culture
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Arts & Culture
Saudi Arabia’s natural reserve makes it to UNESCO heritage list
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia -- The Uruq Bani Ma'arid Reserve in Saudi Arabia has been inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage...
- Uruq Bani Ma'arid Reserve occupies an area of over 12,750 km2 and is the only major sand desert in tropical Asia.
- It provides vital natural habitats for the survival of more than 120 indigenous plant species.
Geostrategy
EU nominates Mahsa Amini and Elon Musk for top rights award
BRUSSELS, BELGIUM- Mahsa Amini, the Iranian Kurdish woman who died in custody a year ago, and billionaire Elon Musk were among...
- The European Parliament's three biggest political groups each backed Mahsa Amini as the recipient for this year's Sakharov Prize.
- The legislature's small far-right bloc was the only one to nominate Elon Musk, the tech titan behind X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.
Business
92% of respondents in Saudi Arabia willing to pay more for sustainable broadband
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia - About 92% of respondents in Saudi Arabia consider ‘critical national infrastructure’ and are willing to pay...
- A survey, encompassing 2,000 respondents in the Kingdom, reveals that 91% of participants consider broadband as crucial as basic necessities like water and electricity
- Over half of Internet users in Saudi Arabia primarily use the Internet for social media (58%), streaming videos and gaming (57%), and browsing, reading, or shopping (53%)