Biden thanks Saudi Arabia as Kingdom evacuates over 150 Saudis, foreign nationals from Sudan

Biden thanks Saudi Arabia as Kingdom evacuates over 150 Saudis, foreign nationals from Sudan
More than 300 people have been killed since the fighting erupted on April 15 between forces loyal to Sudan's army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). (File/AFP)
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Updated 24 April 2023
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Biden thanks Saudi Arabia as Kingdom evacuates over 150 Saudis, foreign nationals from Sudan

Biden thanks Saudi Arabia as Kingdom evacuates over 150 Saudis, foreign nationals from Sudan
  • 5 ships carrying 158 people from 11 different countries arrived from Sudan
  • Evacuated people were transported to Jeddah in Saudi Arabia

JEDDAH: More than 150 people from various nations reached the safety of Saudi Arabia on Saturday in the first announced evacuation of civilians from Sudan, where fighting between the army and paramilitaries entered a second week following a brief lull.

Foreign nations have said they are preparing for the potential evacuation of thousands more of their nationals, even though Sudan’s main airport remains closed.

As the Kingdom’s naval forces transported the civilians, including diplomats and international officials, across the Red Sea from Port Sudan to Jeddah, fighting resumed in Sudan’s capital Khartoum after a temporary truce saw gunfire momentarily die down on Friday, the first day of Eid Al-Fitr.

Fighting has left hundreds dead and thousands wounded while survivors cope with shortages of electricity and food.

Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Ministry announced the “safe arrival” of 91 of its citizens along with nationals from Kuwait, Qatar, the UAE, Egypt, Tunisia, Pakistan, India, Bulgaria, Bangladesh, the Philippines, Canada and Burkina Faso.

It added that diplomats and international officials were among those who arrived in the evacuation operation carried out by the Royal Saudi Navy with the support of various branches of the armed forces.

US President Joe Biden thanked the Kingdom, Djibouti and Ethiopia for facilitating the plan to get US personnel out of Khartoum. 

“I thank Djibouti, Ethiopia, and Saudi Arabia, which were critical to the success of our operation,” he said in a statement on Saturday, calling for a ceasefire to allow “unhindered humanitarian access, and respect the will of the people of Sudan”. 

The Saudi ministry said in a statement: “The Kingdom worked to provide all the basic needs of foreign nationals in preparation for their departure to their countries.

“The first evacuation vessel from Sudan has arrived, carrying 50 (Saudi) citizens and a number of nationals from friendly countries,” the official Al-Ekhbariyah television said.

The first boat docked at the Red Sea port of Jeddah where the four other ships carrying 108 people from 11 different countries was expected to arrive later from Sudan, the broadcaster said.

Al-Ekhbariyah carried footage of large vessels arriving in Jeddah’s port. It also released a video showing women and children carrying Saudi flags on board one of the ships.

Those who have arrived in Jeddah include the crew of a Saudi passenger plane that was hit by gunfire while preparing to take off from Khartoum at the start of the fighting on April 15, according to Saudi state TV.

A convoy of vehicles carried the evacuees to Port Sudan from where they boarded ships to Jeddah, according to the Saudi broadcaster.

Saudi Arabia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Waleed Al-Khuraiji received the first batch of citizens and foreign nationals, upon their arrival today at King Faisal Naval Base in the Western Fleet in Jeddah on board the His Majesty King Jubail ship.




Saudi security forces welcome Saudi citizens and other nationals with chocolates and flowers as they disembark in Jeddah from a ship that rescued them from Sudan. (SPA)

He said the journey was long, starting from Khartoum, passing through a number of regions in Sudan until reaching Port Sudan, and was done in cooperation with government agencies in the Kingdom, praising the role of the Ministry of Defense that implemented the plan.
“We all celebrate the return of our sons and the sons of brotherly and friendly countries to the Kingdom Saudi Arabia, which coincided with the celebration of Eid Al-Fitr,” he said.
Those evacuated expressed their thanks and appreciation to the Saudi government and the concerned authorities in the Kingdom for their efforts to secure their transportation and facilitate their arrival procedures to the Kingdom.

Earlier on Saturday, the Kingdom’s Foreign Ministry announced that Saudi Arabia will start arranging the evacuation of its citizens and several nationals from other “brotherly and friendly” countries from Sudan as clashes intensify despite an Eid truce.

In a statement, the Saudi foreign ministry said the evacuated people will be flown to Saudi Arabia.

The decision comes “in the implementation of the directives” of Saudi Arabia’s King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman “to oversee the care and wellbeing of citizens of the Kingdom in the Republic of Sudan,” the foreign ministry said.

Kuwait’s Foreign Minister Sheikh Salem Abdullah Al-Jaber Al-Sabah said his country carried out an emergency operation to evacuate Kuwaiti citizens stranded in Sudan.

Sheikh Salem confirmed that all citizens wishing to return to the country had arrived safely in Jeddah, and that work was currently underway to secure their transfer to Kuwait.

The minister praised the efforts of Kuwait’s Ambassador to Sudan Dr. Fahd Mashari Al-Dhafiri, all members of the embassy in Khartoum and also extended his sincere thanks and gratitude to the Saudi authorities for coordinating and providing all the facilities for the transfer and evacuation of citizens to Jeddah.

He also thanked the Sudanese authorities and everyone who contributed to securing the safety of Kuwaiti citizens and enabling them to communicate with their families to ensure their safe return to their country.

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Saturday’s evacuations mark the first major civilian rescue since violence in Sudan broke out on April 15.

Eid this year in Sudan is being marked by fear, grief and hunger.Eid is meant to be spent “with sweets and pastries, with happy children, and people greeting relatives,” Khartoum resident Sami Al-Nour said. Instead, there has been “gunfire and the stench of blood all around us.”

The Sudanese army said it was coordinating efforts to evacuate diplomats from the United States, Britain, China and France out of the country on military airplanes, as fighting persisted in the capital, including at its main airport.

The military said that army chief Gen. Abdel Fattah Burhan had spoken to leaders of various countries requesting safe evacuations of their citizens and diplomats from Sudan.

Foreign countries have struggled in vain to repatriate their citizens, a task deemed far too risky as clashes between the Sudanese army and a rival powerful paramilitary group have raged in and around Khartoum, including in residential areas.

The main international airport near the center of the capital has been the target of heavy shelling as the paramilitary group, known as the Rapid Support Forces, has tried to take control of the complex, complicating evacuation plans. With Sudan’s airspace closed, foreign countries have ordered their citizens to simply shelter in place until they can figure out evacuation plans.

The country has been roiled by bloody fighting for the past week that has killed over 400 people so far, according to the World Health Organization.

(With AFP and AP)


Tokyo governor looking forward to ‘exciting’ World Expo in Riyadh

Tokyo governor looking forward to ‘exciting’ World Expo in Riyadh
Updated 30 sec ago
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Tokyo governor looking forward to ‘exciting’ World Expo in Riyadh

Tokyo governor looking forward to ‘exciting’ World Expo in Riyadh
  • Japan will pass baton to Kingdom after Osaka hosts global event in 2025
  • Saudi Arabia, Japan can learn from each other on green issues, Gov. Koike Yuriko says

DUBAI: The governor of Tokyo hopes World Expo 2030 in Riyadh will be an exciting and sustainable event with the potential to “surprise the world.”

Speaking to Arab News Japan on Saturday, Gov. Koike Yuriko offered her best wishes to Saudi Arabia after Riyadh this week won its bid to host the prestigious event.

“I’d like to congratulate the Kingdom,” she said. “And I hope the Expo … would be an exciting one (and) make the people of the world surprised.”

Japan will pass the Expo baton to the Kingdom after Osaka hosts the event in 2025. Speaking on the sidelines of the COP28 climate summit in Dubai, Koike said she hoped the event in Riyadh would be a “sustainable one.”

Saudi Arabia, the Gulf region and Japan should learn from one another and collaborate in order to achieve decarbonization and other green initiatives, the governor said.

“Saudi Arabia and the UAE are producing countries, while Japan is a buying one. Both regions already collaborate and can share knowledge and initiatives to seek the best ways to save the great climate,” she said.

Tokyo’s first female governor, Koike also spoke about the plans and initiatives in place to make the city greener.

“To tackle climate change in Tokyo is very challenging,” she said. “Our timeline is to curb CO2 emissions by 2030 and (achieve) net zero by 2050.”

As 70 percent of Tokyo’s CO2 emissions come from residential property, Koike said the city would implement a new policy in 2025 requiring all new buildings to install solar or renewable energy equipment.

“This is the very first regulation that requests people, or especially house-builders, to set solar panels or solar cells.”

Next year, Tokyo will host the SusHi Tech summit, which aims to make Tokyo a smart city and promote a digital economy. The event will also encourage startups to come up with new initiatives to help Tokyo achieve its green goals.

On the situation in the Gaza Strip, Koike said she was “anxious” for the Palestinian people.

“I have asked a Japanese company, which runs the sanitary goods products in that area, to send their products to children and women in Gaza,” she said. “The Japanese government previously supported building a school for deaf children. But that was bombed many years ago.”

Koike said she hoped the crisis could be resolved as soon as possible.


Saudi Arabia’s cultural renaissance embraces metal music

Saudi Arabia’s cultural renaissance embraces metal music
Updated 34 min 6 sec ago
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Saudi Arabia’s cultural renaissance embraces metal music

Saudi Arabia’s cultural renaissance embraces metal music
  • Local band Immortal Pain fulfills growing appetite for genre among Saudi music lovers

JEDDAH: Saudi metal band Immortal Pain delivered a loud and lively concert at Comic Con Arabia in Jeddah, with a huge crowd of fans cheering and singing along with them.

Friday night marked the second performance of the band at the convention. They have been in the rock and metal scene since late 2005, starting with two members and later doubling.

In a previous interview with Arab News, rhythm guitarist and vocalist Emad Ashoor said the band started with only him and the lead guitarist Rasheed Attar. Later, drummer Moayad Al-Shammari and bassist Anan Al-Sabban joined the group, and just last year, they signed a contract with Saudi recording company Wall of Sound: Dark Mode.

The local band has been in the rock and metal scene since late 2005, gradually increasing their audience over the years. Instagram/immortal_pain_official. (Supplied)

The Jeddah-based band has been throwing mini-concerts across the Kingdom. They have also released original music and are working on releasing more to their Saudi, Arab, and international audiences.

While they previously spoke to Arab News about their origins, this time the members shared insight into the dynamic of the group and how they work together on making their songs and music videos.

It all begins with inspiration.

“The four of us gather, talk about our latest encounters in life and how we felt,” said the drummer Al-Shammari. “Then we express everything in music. We let our instruments talk for us.”

The four of us gather, talk about our latest encounters in life and how we felt. Then we express everything in music. We let our instruments talk for us. (Supplied)

On the unusual places or moments that can inspire, Al-Shammari said: “One day, I was passing by a construction site, and the sounds of wrecking and drilling inspired me somehow and I made a song based on the noise of the construction site.”

Ashoor, gifted with a poetic sense, takes over the next step of writing the lyrics.

So far, they have been writing lyrics in English, but they all agreed they were open to the challenge of writing in Arabic and were eager to experiment and evolve with their music.

The four of us gather, talk about our latest encounters in life and how we felt. Then we express everything in music. We let our instruments talk for us.

Moayad Al-Shammari, Immortal Pain drummer

Once the lyrics are in place, they decide upon a melody and arrange the song, deciding which riff goes first and which follows. The lyrics are recorded last.

When asked about the difficult times they have encountered throughout their career, the four agreed that starting was tough as metal music was considered a Western genre and was not popular locally. Although they have supportive families, they said it was hard for them to find an audience at the very beginning.

Their audience gradually increased from a few people to several dozen, and by the time they played at Comic Con last year and this year, they had amassed about 1,000 music fans.

“Rock and metal are both on the rise contrary to what Gene Simmons and the likes of KISS might think. They can go ahead and retire if it’s getting too loud,” bassist Al-Sabban joked when asked about the metal scene in the Kingdom.

“But the local and global scenes are growing,” he said, adding that Metallica would be playing in the Kingdom next week. “As we all know, when Saudi Arabia gets involved, it’s going to be bigger and better.”

When MDLBeast announced that Metallica would be performing in Saudi Arabia, fans from across the Middle East and North Africa bought tickets to see the legendary metal band.

Immortal Pain also told Arab News exclusively that after only releasing singles, they are officially going to record their first full album first thing next year. They also revealed that in 2024, they will hit the road on a tour across the MENA region, throwing concerts in the Kingdom, the UAE, and Egypt.

Al-Shammari proudly added that they have also received an invitation to perform in Germany, and while nothing is yet confirmed, they are hoping things will work and they will hold an international concert.

For updates about the band, follow their Instagram @immortal_pain_official.

 


Saudi Arabia showcases crafts, culture at Milan exhibition

Saudi Arabia has previously participated in Milan’s Artigiano in Fiera exhibition and offered cultural experience workshops.
Saudi Arabia has previously participated in Milan’s Artigiano in Fiera exhibition and offered cultural experience workshops.
Updated 02 December 2023
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Saudi Arabia showcases crafts, culture at Milan exhibition

Saudi Arabia has previously participated in Milan’s Artigiano in Fiera exhibition and offered cultural experience workshops.
  • The Saudi Company for Crafts and Handicrafts will display its most notable craftwork, while the Royal Institute of Traditional Arts will exhibit work from 12 of its students

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia is participating in the Artigiano in Fiera exhibition in Milan, Italy, which runs from Dec. 2-10. The Saudi pavilion, overseen by the Ministry of Culture, will showcase various aspects of the country’s culture and rich national heritage.

According to a report by the Saudi Press Agency, participating organizations include the Saudi Heritage Commission, the Culinary Arts Commission, the Theater and Performing Arts Commission, the Royal Institute of Traditional Arts, and the Saudi Handicrafts Company.

The pavilion will also highlight Arabic poetry’s relationship to Italian culture. A selection of Arabic verses will be translated into Italian and hung on murals at the entrance.

Saudi Arabia has previously participated in Milan’s Artigiano in Fiera exhibition and offered cultural experience workshops. (Ministry of Culture)

The Heritage Commission will showcase the creative ingenuity of 25 artisans and the traditional handicrafts and crafts that have long been a source of pride for the nation.

The Saudi Company for Crafts and Handicrafts will display its most notable craftwork, while the Royal Institute of Traditional Arts will exhibit work from 12 of its students.

Twelve chefs from the Culinary Arts Commission will be on hand to provide the public with a live cooking demonstration of popular delicacies from across Saudi Arabia. A traditional restaurant will offer coffee and traditional produce, too.  

FASTFACT

The Royal Institute of Traditional Arts will exhibit work from 12 of its students at Artigiano in Fiera exhibition in Milan, Italy, until Dec. 10.

The Theater and Performing Arts Commission, meanwhile, will present shows involving 13 traditional performing arts.

Saudi Arabia’s participation in Artigiano in Fiera is a component of the Ministry of Culture’s efforts, in cooperation with other cultural organizations, to represent the Kingdom in international forums in line with Saudi Vision 2030’s aims is to promote worldwide cultural exchange.

As part of the 2023 Year of Arabic Poetry project, the ministry is focusing on the Kingdom’s interest in “intangible cultural heritage,” such as the relationship between Arabic poetry and Italian culture.

 


Saudi king, crown prince congratulate UAE on 52nd National Day

Saudi king, crown prince congratulate UAE on 52nd National Day
Updated 02 December 2023
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Saudi king, crown prince congratulate UAE on 52nd National Day

Saudi king, crown prince congratulate UAE on 52nd National Day
  • Monarch wishes Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed ‘good health and happiness’
  • Annual event marks unification of 7 emirates into one nation

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s King Salman sent a message of congratulations to UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed to mark his country’s national day on Saturday, the Saudi Press Agency reported.

The king “wished the Emirati president continued good health and happiness, and the government and friendly people of UAE further progress and prosperity.”

He also lauded the fraternal relations that bind the two countries.

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman sent a similar message to Sheikh Mohammed.

The UAE is celebrating its 52nd National Day anniversary, which falls on Dec. 2 each year and commemorates the unification of all seven emirates into one nation.

The UAE leader received congratulatory messages from around the world, as did Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, vice president, prime minister and ruler of Dubai, and Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed, vice president, deputy prime minister and chairman of the Presidential Court.

The US congratulated the UAE and sent its best wishes for the country’s continued success.

“The United States and the UAE are bound together by more than five decades of friendship and partnership,” the State Department said, attributing the comments to Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

“Our many successes stand as a testament to our leaders’ shared commitment to advance regional peace and stability, deter threats, de-escalate conflicts, and drive forward an affirmative agenda for prosperity and peaceful coexistence,” it said.

Blinken said the two countries shared a “vision of an interconnected region and world,” which was embodied in establishing diplomatic relations with Israel, also known as the Abraham Accords, and the UAE’s hosting of COP28 in Dubai.

“In these and many other groundbreaking diplomatic efforts, the UAE’s leadership has been instrumental,” he said.


Saudi communications commission to join Green Digital Action initiative

ITU Secretary-General Doreen Bogdan-Martin. (Twitter @ITUSecGen)
ITU Secretary-General Doreen Bogdan-Martin. (Twitter @ITUSecGen)
Updated 02 December 2023
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Saudi communications commission to join Green Digital Action initiative

ITU Secretary-General Doreen Bogdan-Martin. (Twitter @ITUSecGen)
  • ITU scheme aims to fast-track commitments to tackling climate challenges
  • CST will lead ‘Foster a Circular ICT Industry’ track

RIYADH: The Saudi Communications, Space and Technology Commission has agreed to join the Green Digital Action initiative convened by the International Telecommunication Union.

An announcement was made on the sidelines of COP28, in the presence of ITU Secretary-General Doreen Bogdan-Martin.

Green Digital Action aims to enhance collaboration, fast-track industry-wide commitments to addressing climate challenges, and put digital solutions at the forefront of climate action, by transforming into a digital infrastructure that enables environmental and sustainable solutions, the Saudi Press Agency reported.

The initiative is supported by several international entities and agencies.

FASTFACT

The International Telecommunication Union scheme aims to fast-track commitments to tackling climate challenges.

The commission said it would be leading the “Foster a Circular ICT Industry” track as part of Green Digital Action, which covers reducing ICT sector emissions, advancing climate solutions through open environmental data and technologies, implementing green standards, facilitating a green transition across all industries through digital technology, and leveraging digital systems for disaster alerts and early warnings.

By joining the initiative, the commission will be helping to provide digital and sustainable solutions to address climate challenges and improve and implement regulations that enable a circular economy that contributes to reducing carbon emissions, the report said.

It also seeks to move to an eco-friendly digital infrastructure by collaborating with the public and private sectors and UN organizations.

The commission has also organized a panel discussion to be held on the sidelines of COP28 to highlight Saudi Arabia’s efforts in leading digital sustainability.

Titled “Circular Economy,” it will be attended by ITU Deputy Secretary-General Tomas Lamanauskas as well as representatives from countries that will apply the “E-Waste Management Regulations” launched by the Kingdom in partnership with the ITU.

The initiative aims to implement the regulations in Zambia, Rwanda and Paraguay as a way to tackle the challenges facing the treatment of e-waste around the world and raise awareness of the issue among policymakers and industry leaders.

Saudi Arabia has launched many initiatives that contribute to raising awareness and educating the public about the best practices for the use of technology to create a sustainable future for all.