Saudi Camel Racing Federation launches golden commentator competition
27 contestants reached the final stages of the golden commentator program
Head of Jury Murdhi Al-Khamaali praised SCRF for launching the competition aimed at refining and honing the commentary skills of young Saudi and Gulf talents
Updated 01 June 2022
Arab News
The Saudi Camel Racing Federation (SCRF) launched, on Tuesday evening the golden commentator program with the participation of 27 contestants who reached the final stages of the program.
During the first episode of the program that was broadcasted live on SSC channels and saw the participation of 9 contestants, contestant Ayesh Bin Fuhaid Al-Shammari excelled and received the gold card that qualifies him for the final episode. The performance of the remaining 8 contestants will be voted on by the participating audience.
The organizing committee of the program indicated that the next episode will see two contestants qualify to the final episode according to the results of the vote.
The head of the jury of the golden commentator competition Murdhi Al-Khamaali noted that the competition aims to create a competitive and attractive environment to comment on the sport of camels, keeping up with the value of this cultural and historical heritage. He also praised SCRF for launching this type of competition aimed at refining and honing the commentary skills of the young Saudi and Gulf talents.
Detained French journalist faces deportation from Turkiye
Raphael Boukandoura, arrested while covering a pro-Kurdish protest in Istanbul is facing the threat of deportation
Updated 8 sec ago
AFP
ISTANBUL: A French journalist arrested while covering a pro-Kurdish protest in Istanbul is facing the threat of deportation from Turkiye and was transferred to a migrant detention center on Wednesday, his lawyer told AFP. Raphael Boukandoura, who works for various French publications including Liberation and Courrier International was detained late Monday at a protest over a military operation targeting Kurdish fighters in northern Syria. Boukandoura, 35, has lived legally in Turkiye for at least a decade and holds an official press card. The journalist was transferred to a detention center for migrants, his lawyer Emine Ozhasar told AFP. “The file is being registered,” she said, adding that there was no decision made yet and that it might be postponed until Thursday. Asked if Boukandoura may be deported, the lawyer said: “It’s a possibility.” The detention sparked fury from the French foreign ministry as well as rights groups. In a statement to AFP on Tuesday, the French foreign ministry said it hoped Boukandoura would be “freed as quickly as possible,” indicating its diplomats in Turkiye were “closely monitoring the situation.” At the protest, called by the pro-Kurdish party DEM, party officials called for “an immediate halt to the attacks” and the protection of civilians in northeastern Syria. Police broke up the protest, arresting 10 people, including Boukandoura. Two weeks ago, Syrian government troops launched an offensive against Kurdish-led forces — an operation publicly welcomed by Turkiye, despite its own efforts to pursue a peace process with the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). According to the rights group MLSA, Boukandoura told police he was present strictly as a journalist and covering the protest for the daily Liberation. During questioning, police also asked Boukandoura about slogans allegedly chanted during the protest. He said, according to the MLSA, that he did not chant any slogans and was at the scene solely to report. Erol Onderoglu of media-rights group Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said the French journalist facing the risk of expulsion was “unacceptable.” “It is intended to intimidate journalists covering pro-Kurdish protests in Turkiye,” he told AFP. Liberation, along with Courrier International, Mediapart and Ouest-France — other outlets that have published Boukandoura’s work — all issued statements calling for his immediate release.
