Category: General

Riyadh, The second Saudi Media Forum kicks off on Monday in Riyadh with the attendance of more than industry leaders, experts, professors and specialists from Arab and other countries as well as ministers and officials from the Kingdom and abroad.

The two-day forum will discuss more than 100 working papers, and will witness brainstorming sessions and workshops with the participation of international experts to formulate recommendations on improving media content and suggesting solutions to dilemmas facing the sector.

Panel sessions will also be organized during the forum with Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Minister of Investment Khalid bin Abdulaziz Al-Falih and Acting Minister of Media Dr. Majid bin Abdullah Al-Qasabi.

In conjunction with the activities of the forum, the first initiative of its kind was launched to qualify Saudi broadcasters, with the participation of the Saudi Broadcasting Authority, the Saudi Press Agency, MBC Group, Al Arabiya News Channel and Rotana Media Group. The initiative includes a field experience to evaluate young talents through a specialized arbitration committee comprising media professionals.

The forum will also announce the winners of its award which aims at improving the media content, the Kingdom’s media landscape as well as encouraging competitions and professional creativity.

Source: Saudi Press Agency

Aleppo, King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSRelief) has distributed relief items to people affected by the devastating earthquake in Jandiris town in the countryside of Afrin, north of Syria’s Aleppo.

The relief aid included 10.7 tons of food parcels, 100 shelter bags, 100 tents, and 200 blankets that were distributed to 100 families, benefiting 626 individuals.

The assistance was provided under the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s humanitarian efforts and the airlift operated by KSRelief to provide on-the-ground support to people affected by the earthquakes in Türkiye and Syria.

Source: Saudi Press Agency

Mogadishu,Riyadh-based King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre (KSrelief) has distributed 1000 relief bags to drought-hit people in Mendera Governorate, Somalia, benefiting 6000 individuals, it was reported here today.

This comes within a project to distribute clothes and necessary supplies to displaced families suffering from drought in Somalia.

Source: Saudi Press Agency

Khartoum,Riyadh-based King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre (KSrelief) has distributed 239 relief bags to flood-stricken people in Kadabas administrative unit, west Barber Municipality, River Nile State, Sudan, benefiting 1139 individuals, it was reported here today.

This comes within Saudi Arabia’s efforts to distribute relief items to the needy in different parts of the world.

Source: Saudi Press Agency

Damascus, People’s Assembly Speaker Hammouda al-Sabbagh received a cable of condolence from the Speaker of the Senate of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, Faisal bin Akef Al-Fayez, in which he expressed his deep condolences over the victims of the devastating earthquake that hit several Syrian governorates recently.

Al-Fayez expressed solidarity of the Jordanian people with the Syrian people in addressing the impacts of the earthquake.

Source: Syrian Arab News Agency

Baghdad, Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Sheikh Salem Abdullah Al-Jaber Al-Sabah announced an upcoming meeting between his country and Iraq to resolve border disputes between the two countries.

Sheikh Salem said today, Saturday, on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference, that Kuwait and Iraq will hold a round of legal and technical talks tomorrow, Sunday, as part of their efforts to end a maritime border dispute.

The Kuwaiti minister expressed hope that progress would be made.

The minister added: The matter is a top priority for my government, and we are working with Iraq to put the final touches on the demarcation of those maritime borders.

He said that the two countries’ legal and technical teams will meet tomorrow, Sunday, to seek an agreement, and continued: We are moving forward.

Reaching an agreement would open the door for closer cooperation, including port construction, border oil field management, general facilitation of trade and transportation between the two countries, and other areas.

In 1993, the United Nations demarcated the land borders between the two countries after Iraq invaded Kuwait, but the demarcation process did not include the length of their maritime borders, and left it to the two countries to find a solution to it.

Source: National Iraqi News Agency

Baghdad, The President of the Kurdistan Region, Nechirvan Barzani, discussed today, Saturday, with US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, the results of the Iraqi delegation’s visit to Washington and negotiations with US officials.

According to a statement by the Presidency of the Kurdistan Region, “The meeting also discussed the development of relations between America, Iraq and the Kurdistan Region on the basis of the strategic agreement and the situation in Iraq.”

It added, “The US Secretary of State affirmed his country’s commitment to its relations with Iraq and the Kurdistan region, and he spoke with interest about the relationship between Erbil and Baghdad, which is very important for it to be a stable relationship and the problems between them are resolved.”

According to the statement, Barzani presented a summary of the situation in Iraq and the Kurdistan region, pointing to “the importance of continuing American support for Iraq and Kurdistan to meet the challenges facing them.”

Source: National Iraqi News Agency

Al-Amarah, The head of the National Sanad Parliamentary Bloc, “Murtada Ali Hammoud Al-Saadi”, affirmed that the role of the House of Representatives is legislative and oversight, but the political aspect greatly affected the work of the relevant committees and the oversight role of the MP and the head of the committee.

Al-Saadi said: “For example, the Oil and Gas Committee is concerned with a group of ministries, and these ministries have problems and have laws that need treatments, whether that pertain to the citizen or as a general policy.”

Source: National Iraqi News Agency

Beirut, The Arab and international campaign to break the siege imposed on Syria called for expanding relief operations for those affected by the earthquake disaster, and linking them to campaigns to cancel the so-called US’ “Caesar Act” along with its annexes.

The Campaign decided to link the existing Arab and international relief campaigns with campaigns to overturn the “Caesar” Act and its annexes, as it is the biggest obstacle in the way of raising relief campaigns to the level required, according to a statement issued after the campaign’s regular meeting on Friday, headed by its general coordinator Magdy al-Maasrawi.

The statement referred to the preparation for an international meeting of campaign members from five continents to develop an international action plan for relief and reconstruction in Syria, leading to the drop of the unjust “Caesar” Act against Syria.

Source: Syrian Arab News Agency

Homs- An uninhabited three-storey building, in Bayada neighborhood of Homs city collapsed without causing any casualties.

“The building was devoid of its population, and was damaged due to the crimes of terrorist groups during their presence in the region”, Brigadier General Ghiath Aqel, Director of the Civil Defense in Homs, said in a statement to SANA reporter, indicating that the collapse occurred as a result of the earthquakes that occurred in the area recently.

The neighboring buildings have been evacuated to ensure safety, with the rubble being removed, Aqel noted.

Source: Syrian Arab News Agency

Damascus, Iranian Minister of Education, Dr. Yousef Nouri, extends condolence over quake victims, affirming that his country stands by Syria in its affliction.

During a video conference meeting with the Minister of Education Dr.Darem Tabaa , Dr. Nuri pointed out the strong relations between Iran and Syria in various fields, especially educational ones, stressing readiness to support the educational sector in the affected governorates.

Nouri indicated that several Iranian aid planes were sent through the Red Crescent and a fundraising campaign was launched by students and their administrations under the supervision of the Iranian Ministry of Education to help the earthquake victims.

For his part, Minister Tabaa appreciated the support provided by Iran and thanked the Iranian students and teachers for their assistance.

The Minister said that the statistics indicate that the earthquake victims, including teachers and students, reach to 142 victims, and 139 schools were turned into shelter centers for the affected families in Lattakia, Aleppo and Hama.

Source: Syrian Arab News Agency

Moscow, There is a clear politicization by the West in delivering humanitarian aid to Syria, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said at press conference on Friday.

“There is clear politicization by the West in delivering humanitarian aid to Syria, as Turkey received assistance from 21 countries in the European Union, while only a few provided assistance to Syria, which is unacceptable in the humanitarian field,” Zakharova said.

Rendering emergency humanitarian assistance to Syria is a priority, given the destruction caused by the earthquake, the Russian diplomats indicated.

“We stress the importance of lifting unilateral restrictions from Syria to simplify relief efforts,” Zakharova added.

Russia will continue to provide humanitarian assistance for the quake- affected people in Syria, adding that the Russian rescuers returned from Syria after completing the search-and-rescue operation in the earthquake- affected area, Zakharova said.

Source: Syrian Arab News Agency