JEDDAH: The Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage (SCTH) signed an agreement with MBC Group to organize the opening ceremony of the 12th Souq Okaz festival in Taif.
The festival will begin on June 27 under the patronage of King Salman and SCTH President Prince Sultan bin Salman.
The event will also be attended by Taif Gov. Saad Al-Maimouni, Taif University President Husam Zaman, General Authority for Culture CEO Ahmed Al-Mazeed, and members of the souq’s supervisory committee.
The opening ceremony this year will feature theatrical and cultural performances in the Okaz main theater.
The performances will employ the latest visual and creative technologies, and will focus on capturing Taif’s rich culture.
During the ceremony, plays, poetry readings and songs will be presented by Prince Badr bin Abdulmohsen, with the participation of an elite group of Saudi actors and singers. The event will be broadcast live on MBC and several other TV channels.
The opening ceremony will be repeated at the Okaz theater on Thursday and Friday evening. Attendance during those two evenings is free and open for all. The festival will conclude on July 13.
SCTH, MBC sign deal to organize Souq Okaz opening ceremony
SCTH, MBC sign deal to organize Souq Okaz opening ceremony
- The festival will begin on June 27 and conclude on July 13.
- The performances will employ the latest visual and creative technologies, and will focus on capturing Taif’s rich culture.
South Korea seeks to build economic, cultural relations with Saudi
- Seoul focusing on hydrogen supply chains and defense
- Media event saw 65 reporters from across world attend
SEOUL: The Korean Embassy in Riyadh recently hosted reporters from Saudi Arabia and across the globe at the week-long World Journalists Conference here to enhance the Asia nation’s relations with other countries.
“As a Saudi journalist, your experience and exchanges of views in Korea, along with your insights, will provide a great introduction about Korea to Saudi Arabia,” Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Choi Byung Hyuk told Arab News.
“Cooperation is expanding beyond traditional construction and energy sectors to include areas like plants, hydrogen supply chains, defense, and culture — leveraging Korea’s economic development expertise, experience, and the capabilities and technologies of its excellent companies,” he added.
The WJC invited over 65 international journalists including an Arab News reporter to the week-long conference organized by the Korean Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Korea Press Foundation.
The participants discussed various issues including the role of media in war reporting, efforts to achieve world peace, and Korea’s foreign policy.
The conference included sessions on the impact of Web3 on digital media and journalism and Seoul’s Tourism Renewal plan.
The organizers, during the trip, highlighted Korea’s culture, landscapes, history, diplomatic relations, and emerging scientific advancements.
“Korea has developed economically and is also well-known culturally to Saudi youth through K-pop, K-movies, and dramas,” the Korean ambassador explained.
Hyuk said the natural environment of Korea makes it a great place to visit and explore. “Korean people, like Saudis, are known for their warmth and hospitality, which will be quickly evident through long-term interactions.”
He added that there was a growing Muslim community in Korea.
Hyuk said the visit of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to Korea in November 2022 and President Yoon Suk-Yeol’s trip to Saudi Arabia in October 2023 has led to “rapid progress in bilateral relations.”
In his remarks at the opening of the 12th WJC conference, Jong Hyun Park, president of the Journalists Association of Korea, said: “Since 2013, in the spirit of the global era, foreign journalists, who are engaged in similar deliberations and tasks within our global village, have been gathering at the WJC. This assembly aims to tackle common global challenges and engage in meaningful discussions about the future of journalism.”
“Our unity is rooted in a shared commitment to journalism, transcending differences in nationality, gender, skin, color, and ideology. We hope you will seize the opportunity to explore South Korea’s rich traditional culture and unique characteristics of each region, including visits to Seoul, Gyeonggi-do, Incheon, Suwon, Ansan, and the demilitarized zone,” Park added.
The speakers at the event included Joo Hee Lee, the managing editor of the Korea Herald, Anum Hanif, the producer of the Hum News Network in Pakistan, Nicola Smith, Asia correspondent for The Telegraph in the UK, Leonardo Casa, the deputy director of BioBio Chile, and Ki Yon Kil, the president and CEO of the Seoul Tourism Organization.
The tour included Incheon, Seoul, Suwon, Yongin and Ansan, where journalists were able to meet local people and see how technology was shaping communities.
There was also a visit to the demilitarized zone and the Dora observatory. Through binoculars, visitors were able to view the mountains and farmlands on the North Korea side, and the city of Gaeseong.
First pilgrims from India arrive for 2024 Hajj
- India is sending a total of 175,025 pilgrims in this pilgrimage season
- Special Hajj flights for Indian pilgrims depart from 10 cities on Thursday
NEW DELHI: The first group of pilgrims from India arrived in Saudi Arabia on Thursday to perform this year’s Hajj, as the world’s most populous country launched special flights for the annual pilgrimage.
With over 200 million Indians professing Islam, the Hindu-majority country has the world’s largest Muslim-minority population. Under the 2024 Hajj quota, 175,025 worshippers will travel to Saudi Arabia for the spiritual journey that is one of the five pillars of Islam.
This year, Hajj is expected to begin on June 14 and end on June 19. While the pilgrimage can be performed over five or six days, many pilgrims choose to arrive early for what may be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to fulfill their religious duty.
One of the first Hajj flights for Indian pilgrims departed on Thursday from the Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi.
“The flight carrying the first lot of 285 people took off at 2:20 a.m. on Thursday,” Kausar Jahan, chairperson of the Delhi State Hajj Committee, told Arab News.
In Madinah, the pilgrims were welcomed by the Indian Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Suhel Ajaz Khan, and his team, as well as the Saudi Minister of Transport and Logistics Service, Saleh bin Nasser Al-Jasser, and the Saudi Vice Minister of Hajj and Umrah, Abdul Fattah Mashat.
“First flight of Indian Hajj pilgrims arrives in Madinah (and) receives a warm reception,” the Indian Hajj Mission in Jeddah wrote on Facebook. “With the arrival of the first flight … India’s Hajj 2024 has begun.”
A.P. Abdullakutty, chairman of the Hajj Committee of India, said several flights took off from different parts of India on Thursday.
“We have several embarkation points, and on May 9th, the first day of the Hajj flights, several planes will be taking off from at least 10 places across India,” he told Arab News.
The list of cities includes Bangalore, Hyderabad, Jaipur, and Srinagar, capital of the Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir, a Muslim-majority territory between India and Pakistan, both of which claim it in full and rule in part.
India’s Hajj contingent this year includes more than 4,000 women who will perform the Hajj on their own, without a mahram, or male guardian, Abdullakutty said.
They represent a group of women pilgrims who have been able to travel to Saudi Arabia alone since last year, following the Kingdom’s 2022 decision to lift a rule that required women to be accompanied by a mahram. Those who had no such companion could only travel in large groups of other women.
India’s preparations for this year’s Hajj were overseen by Muktesh K. Pardeshi, secretary of consular, passport, visa and overseas Indian affairs at the Ministry of External Affairs, who concluded an official visit to Saudi Arabia on Tuesday.
“During his visit, the secretary conducted a review of preparations for Hajj 2024 in Jeddah and Madinah,” the ministry said in a statement.
“He met with (Saudi) Vice Hajj Minister Dr. Abdul Fattah Mashat, and discussed logistical arrangements and infrastructure developments aimed at the welfare and comfort for pilgrims.”
Saudi Arabia leads condemnation of attack on UNRWA headquarters in occupied Jerusalem
- The Kingdom said it holds the “Israeli occupation” responsible for the recurring crimes against innocent civilians and aid workers
- Saudi Arabia urged the international community to take serious action in halting Israel’s human rights violations
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia on Thursday condemned the Israeli settler attack on the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees headquarters in occupied Jerusalem.
The Kingdom said it holds the “Israeli occupation” responsible for the recurring crimes against innocent civilians and aid workers, according to a statement issued by the Saudi Foreign Ministry.
It urged the international community to take serious action in halting Israel’s human rights violations. “The occupation must be held accountable for its ongoing crimes that violate international law,” the statement said.
#بيان | تُعرب وزارة الخارجية عن إدانة المملكة العربية السعودية الاعتداء السافر من قبل مستوطنين إسرائيليين على مقر وكالة الأمم المتحدة لإغاثة وتشغيل اللاجئين الفلسطينيين (الأونروا) في القدس المحتلة، والذي تم تحت مراقبة ونظر شرطة الاحتلال الاسرائيلي. pic.twitter.com/AclZ27mfG6
— وزارة الخارجية (@KSAMOFA) May 9, 2024
UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini earlier said that a group of Israeli protesters had attacked the agency’s headquarters in occupied East Jerusalem after calls for protests against UNRWA by an Israeli municipal official.
Jordan condemned the attack as a “blatant defiance of international law, which aims to protect UN facilities.”
It called on the international community to enforce international humanitarian law “immediately and effectively,” and oblige Israel to prevent attacks on relief workers who “play a major humanitarian role in providing aid and services to Palestinians in the occupied Palestinian territories.”
KSrelief provides shelter, aid to people in flood-hit Yemen
RIYADH: The Kingdom’s aid agency KSrelief has distributed emergency shelter and other support to people across Yemen, the Saudi Press Agency reported on Thursday.
The agency provided nearly 200 tents, more than 600 shelter bags, and food to those affected by the recent flooding in the Hadramout governorate and the Al-Masila district of Al-Mahra governorate.
KSrelief continues to help vulnerable people in war-torn Yemen.
KSrelief providing ongoing medical care in Yemen
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s aid agency KSrelief is providing ongoing cardiac surgery and catheterization for children and adults at Prince Mohammed bin Salman Hospital in Yemen’s Aden governorate.
The project runs until May 15, with 23 medical specialists participating in cooperation with the Saudi Development and Reconstruction Program for Yemen, the Saudi Press Agency reported on Thursday.
The medical team has already performed 35 cardiac catheterizations and eight open-heart surgeries, all of which were successful.
Meanwhile, KSrelief has completed another medical project which included 226 procedures for people with burns, deformities, and sports injuries.
This initiative took place from April 27 to May 5, 2024, in Yemen’s Aden governorate.
In addition, there were 1,026 individuals treated at the dermatology clinic, 2,317 at the family medicine clinic, and 587 at the dentistry clinic.
Training was also provided for 78 staffers in sports rehabilitation.
