Middle East Experience

The discovery represents the country’s rich pearl diving history. Qatar’s historic pearl trade industry has found its way to the present with the recent discovery of the oldest known natural pearl bead in the country, dating back to 4600 BCE. The gift from the past was discovered during a local excavation mission led by Dr. ..
Source: Your Middle East
Full Article: Qatar unearths oldest known natural pearl from 4600 BCE

Dubai’s Infinity des Lumières and the Mohammed bin Rashed Space Center (MBRSC) have joined forces to launch a new immersive digital exhibition entitled ‘Destination Cosmos: The Ultimate Challenge,’ a statement released on Tuesday revealed.Infinity des Lumières, the Middle East’s biggest digital art center located in Dubai Mall, will present the immersive, multi-sensory digital art exhibit on February 11.For the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.The exhibit was created in collaboration with the French Space Agency (CNES) to celebrate its 60th anniversary.According to a statement released by the digital art center and MBRSC, ‘Destination Cosmos’ aims to enrich human knowledge of the universe and contribute to improving the daily lives of humans – one of the key pillars of the United Arab Emirates’ National Space Strategy for 2030.“We believe that the programme will enhance the community’s understanding and passion for space exploration and studies,” MBRSC Director-General Salem Humaid Al-Marri said in a statement.“Through this novel digital exhibition, residents and visitors alike will have a new way to discover and learn about space that is immersive and enjoyable,” Al-Marri added.Through 130 projectors, 58 speakers, and 3,000 HD digital moving images, Infinity des Lumières’ visitors will have the chance to enjoy the 13-segment and prologue program. This will include a maze of stars, planets, nebulae, and supernova – making it a unique voyage that begins in the Guyanese rainforest and ends at the edge of the universe.“We are confident that Destination Cosmos will be an awe-inspiring edutainment experience for our visitors, and we look forward to opening our doors to the surreal outer space,” said the digital art center’s Executive Director, Wael Soueid.MBRSC seeks to enhance the importance of space exploration and innovation in the UAE through digital art, a growing interest among the Gulf country’s art enthusiasts.Read more:Saudi Arabia, Cirque du Soleil to debut shows, establish regional officeRAK arts festival celebrates 10th anniversary in February launchDubai’s creative sector generates $10.7 billion in 2019, says new report
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Destination Cosmos: Space-themed digital art exhibit set to be launched in Dubai

A 10-event run called the International Series will form part of this season’s Asian Tour in a Saudi-funded move that could prove to be a threat to golf’s two main tours.For the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.The series is being funded by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund and fronted by former world No. 1 Greg Norman, who has been behind attempts for a proposed breakaway super league.Norman announced the introduction of the series on Tuesday, ahead of this week’s Saudi International.One of the 10 events will take place at the Centurion Club outside London. Two more will be in the Middle East. Norman said the series will not be “geo-fenced,” raising the potential for a future event in the United States. The tournaments will be open to players from other tours.The series will start in Thailand in March.Many of golf’s top players, including Bryson DeChambeau and Phil Mickelson, have chosen to compete this week in Saudi Arabia — where appearance money is lucrative — instead of on the US PGA Tour or European tour.Read more: ‘Au revoir Bafe’: Saudi Arabia’s Asian champions al-Hilal bid farewell to GomisRiyadh’s Asian champions al-Hilal sign former Man Utd forward IghaloEmpowered through sports, Saudi females take the sector by storm
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Saudi-funded Asian Tour golf series expanding in Middle East and to UK

American music icon Alicia Keys is set to perform at Saudi Arabia’s AlUla for the first time on February 11 at the Maraya concert hall.“I feel the future emerging in a way I was never aware of before. And as an artist, I feel a sense of belonging and connection - with nature, with humanity, with the magic of this special place,” Keys said in a statement issued to the media.For the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.Titled ‘One Night Only,’ the Grammy-award-winning singer has added AlUla to her list of touring destinations to showcase her latest album ‘KEYS’ which was debuted at EXPO 2020 Dubai.“I’m excited to add AlUla to the very exclusive and special list,” the artist said in the same statement.Additionally, Keys will host a town hall event titled ‘Women to Women’ with the first female Saudi Ambassador to the US, Princess Reema bint Bandar Al Saud on February 12.The event aims to bring together female entrepreneurs, business owners, creatives, artists, and the beautiful array of women to talk about “power, purpose, and progression,” according to the statement shared with media.During a previous visit to the Kingdom, Keys met women business owners who had a “powerful sense of creating meaningful experiences.”She said, “I visited a women’s art school in the old town and got to see firsthand the continuation of the timeless artisan traditions.”The artist has sold more than 90 million records and is a best-selling musician with shows around the world. A classically trained pianist, she started composing songs at age 12 and secured a record deal at 15 years old.The February 11 performance is happening as part of ‘AlUla Moments,’ a range of events that continue into February with two more female artists - rising popstar Naika and regional sensation Rahma Riyadh. The events are taking place at the Maraya concert hall, which means reflection or mirror in Arabic, and is built close to Saudi Arabia’s first UNESCO World Heritage site, al-Hijra.Tickets for the concert are on sale and the event will be broadcast on MBC and YouTube (AlUla Moments).Read more:Destination Cosmos: Space-themed digital art exhibit set to be launched in DubaiDiners in Boulevard Riyadh City thrilled by horror-themed restaurantMusician Naseer Shamma seeks to rebuild Iraq through music, culture
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Alicia Keys to perform in AlUla, host town hall with female entrepreneurs, creatives

Algeria is betting on bringing Palestinians together to leverage its diplomacy, in a way that allows it to play a more active role and mediate in a number of complex conflicts..
Source: Albawaba
Full Article: Algeria tries its hand at Palestinian reconciliation

Saudi Arabia has launched investments worth $6.4 billion in future technologies, the Saudi minister of communication and information technology said on Tuesday, as the kingdom races to diversify its economy from oil in the face of fierce regional competition.Wealthy Gulf countries have launched initiatives to boost non-oil growth and reduce dependence on crude oil as climate change campaigners and volatility in oil prices have put pressure on government finances.The kingdom has already announced it is pouring hundreds of billions of dollars into an economic transformation, known as Vision 2030, led by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.For the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.The investments announced on Tuesday include a $2 billion joint venture between eWTP Arabia Capital, a fund backed by Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund (PIF) and Alibaba, and China's J&T Express Group, minister Abdullah Alswaha said.Saudi oil giant Aramco will inject, via its fund Prosperity7 Ventures, $1 billion to help entrepreneurs across the globe build transformative start-ups, while Saudi Telecom Co (STC) will invest $1 billion in the infrastructure of submarine cables and data centres, he said.“Right now, the tech and digital market in the kingdom is around $40 billion which is the largest by far in the region. We're very proud of the growth that we have seen in the region, specifically in areas around e-commerce, gaming, digital content and cloud,” Alswaha said in a interview with Reuters.The minister, who was speaking on the margins of LEAP, an international technology platform taking place in Riyadh, said Armaco Prosperity7's initiative will focus on green technologies while logistics company J&T Express Group's joint venture will build a smart hub for the region that will improve efficiency by up to 100 percent.Alswaha said NEOM, a futuristic megacity that the crown prince is building on the Red Sea coast, has launched $1 billion of investments in a metaverse to serve the city's residents and visitors, in addition to another platform that would help users to take control of their personal data.“We project over the next eight years, a minimum of another 100,000 to 250,000 jobs, which will effectively mean doubling the number of coders that we have today, in some cases will triple (the number),” he said.The government also expects $1.4 billion to be spent in entrepreneurship and allocated to funds to support digital content, including an initiative known as The Garage, a space in the capital Riyadh that will host start-ups specialised in new technologies.“All the numbers ... are vetted and validated by third parties. Again, we are not in the business of any showmanship, we're in the business of committing and delivering,” the minister said. Read more:Saudi wealth fund PIF plans to buy $10 billion in stocks in 2022Aramco’s Rumayyan: IKTVA drew 500 investments to Saudi Arabia with CapEx of $7 blnSaudi Arabia agrees deal with GSK to develop healthcare sector: TwitterSaudi Arabia's PIF launches esports group, acquires ESL Gaming, FACEIT
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Saudi Arabia announces .4 billion investments in future tech

Judge Ghada Aoun issued a subpoena for Salameh; Lebanon’s president promised that an audit into the Central Bank would hold the organisation accountable..
Source: Albawaba
Full Article: Pressure builds up on Lebanon Central Bank governor

The deal boosted Boeing at a time when the US planemaker faces chronic industrial and financial constraints..
Source: Albawaba
Full Article: Qatar Airways seals Boeing freighter deal with surprise 737 order

The UAE called on the US to provide it with better anti-missile and anti-drone capabilities to continue defending itself against Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi attacks, Emirati diplomats wrote in a Wall Street Journal opinion piece after the militia attacked Abu Dhabi three times in January.UAE Ambassador to the US Yousef al-Otaiba and UAE permanent representative to the UN Lana Zaki Nusseibeh wrote in the WSJ article: “Better anti-missile and anti-drone capabilities are... needed. The US Patriot and Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) systems prevented an even greater loss of life in the January strikes.”“The UAE will intensify its cooperation with the US to expand and improve this protective umbrella for itself, US assets in the region and other Gulf allies,” they added.In January, the Houthis targeted the UAE with three cross border aerial attacks using cruise and ballistic missiles, as well as drones. All the attacks targeted civilian sites and infrastructures and led to the death of three civilians.For the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.The UAE said it had coordinated efforts with US forces at Al Dhafra Air Base near Abu Dhabi, and Washington announced that its military forces in the Gulf country deployed Patriot surface-to-air missiles to intercept and deter the Houthi attacks on the Emirati capital.Otaiba and Nusseibeh said: “Containing Houthi aggression requires broad diplomatic pressure, tougher US and international sanctions, intensified efforts to block weapons proliferation, and the development and wider deployment of effective countermeasures.”They also reiterated their call for Washington to re-designate Yemen’s Houthis as a terrorist organization.President Joe Biden’s administration revoked a terrorist designation of the Houthis introduced by former President Donald Trump last February. Saudi Arabia and the UAE maintained over the course of the past year that they will continue to treat the Houthis as a terrorist organization regardless of whether the US decides to designate the group as such.The UAE diplomats added that the re-designation “would help choke off [the Houthis’] financial and arms supplies without restricting humanitarian relief for the Yemeni people.”They also called on greater pressure on Iran which provides financial and military support to the Houthis. According to a draft UN Security Council report circulated in January, Iran has been exporting thousands of weapons from the Iranian port of Jask on the Sea of Oman to Yemen.Iran has long been accused of fanning the flames of violence in the Middle East through financial and military support to its network of Shia proxies in the region, specifically in Iraq, Lebanon, Syria and Yemen. Tehran denies the accusation.Just last December, the US Navy seized two large caches of Iranian weapons from two vessels in the Arabian sea which Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corp (IRGC) intended to ship to the Houthi militias in Yemen, according to the US Justice Department.Read more:UAE says intercepted Houthi ballistic missile, destroyed launching site in YemenUAE cooperated closely with US to repel second Houthi attack on Abu Dhabi: AmbassadorUS forces fired Patriot missiles during Houthi attack on UAE: White HouseHouthis attacked UAE in retaliation for Arab Coalition gains in Yemen: Analysts
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: UAE diplomats call on US to relist Houthis as terrorists, demand more defense systems

For over a century, Afghanistan's rulers and ethnic groups have been arguing about what women should do and how they should be. Women haven't had much say. By Manasi Gopalakrishnan..
Source: Albawaba
Full Article: Afghanistan: A brief history of Afghan women's rights