RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority (GEA), which has begun sponsoring concerts and shows said on Friday its website had been the target of cyberattacks from outside the kingdom.
The GEA was set up last year as part of the Vision 2030 reform program to provide entertainment options for Saudis, who are accustomed to traveling abroad to see shows and visit amusement parks in nearby Dubai and further afield.
It said on Twitter it was working to end the attacks, which began early on Thursday, to prevent any impact to its website or social media accounts.
“The source of the subversive attacks, which aim to harm the authority and its efforts, is being identified,” it added.
The GEA organized a big program of concerts and performances last weekend for the 87th anniversary of Saudi Arabia’s foundation.
The festivities included a pageant operetta which allowed women to enter a sports stadium in Riyadh for the first time and a block party where men and women danced to music in a central street — drawing some criticism in the conservative Islamic kingdom where gender segregation is strictly enforced.
Earlier this year, Saudi Arabia put out an alert about the Shamoon virus, which cripples computers by wiping their disks, as the labor ministry had been attacked and a chemicals firm reported a network disruption.
(Reporting by Katie Paul)
Saudi entertainment authority says hit by cyberattack
Saudi entertainment authority says hit by cyberattack
Amr Moussa: Saudi Arabia and Egypt must lead Arabs for true peace
RIYADH: Amr Moussa, former Arab League secretary-general, has called for the establishment of an effective Arab leadership led by Saudi Arabia and Egypt, in partnership with Jordan, to unify regional positions and negotiate on the Palestinian cause and broader regional future.
During a panel discussion at the King Fahd National Library in Riyadh on Thursday evening, Moussa stressed this was “both vital and achievable” and emphasized the primary goal should be the establishment of a fully sovereign and effective Palestinian state: “True peace is only that which protects all parties … we need genuine peace, not a facade or a superficial justification,” he said.
Such a state must be “responsible for security and peace in the Middle East alongside its neighbors,” rather than a fragile entity, he added.
Moussa underlined that achieving this objective first requires the Arab world to demonstrate the capacity for unified and decisive action. “Are we as Arabs truly capable of being ‘we,’ or has that moment passed?” he asked.
He said the firm positions taken by Saudi Arabia and Egypt in rejecting forced displacement and calling for an end to aggression “underscore that it is possible to assert ‘no’ when the Arab stance is justified.”
Warning of the severe consequences of maintaining the status quo, he added: “If things continue this way … there will inevitably be something akin to October 7 again, because injustice breeds resistance.”
He placed full responsibility on Israel, saying it “bears complete responsibility for the chaos and destruction.”
On a practical mechanism to implement a unified Arab stance, Moussa proposed that Saudi Arabia and Egypt take the lead in establishing a diplomatic baseline, representing their “yeses and noes” in consultation with other Arab states. This framework, he said, would counter any attempts to impose unjust solutions under labels such as the new international “Peace Council,” which might “demand Palestinian concessions on Palestinian land.”
On whether peace was possible with the current Israeli government, which he described as “not committed to peace,” Moussa said: “There are other Israelis who speak the language of peace.” He urged efforts to “identify and support them to create a political alternative within Israel.”
He said the first thing Palestinians should do is hold comprehensive Palestinian elections as soon as possible, utilizing technology to ensure all Palestinians took part, including those in Jerusalem, to select a new leadership “with strong negotiating legitimacy.”
Moussa also warned that the challenges “are not limited to Palestine,” saying the Arab world faces interconnected crises in Syria, Yemen, Sudan, Lebanon and Libya, alongside shifts in the international order and the race for space.
“The issue of our future (requires) reviving a new Arab world,” capable of actively shaping that future rather than being marginalized, the former secretary-general concluded.
