Saudi pavilion at Delhi book fair features English translations of Kingdom’s literature

Special Saudi pavilion at Delhi book fair features English translations of Kingdom’s literature
The Tarjuma initiative corner of the Saudi pavilion at the New Delhi World Book Fair in New Delhi, Feb. 4, 2025. (AN Photo)
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Updated 07 February 2025
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Saudi pavilion at Delhi book fair features English translations of Kingdom’s literature

Saudi pavilion at Delhi book fair features English translations of Kingdom’s literature
  • India’s second-oldest book fair attracts 2,000 exhibitors from 40 countries
  • Saudi Arabia was guest of honor of the New Delhi World Book Fair in 2024

New Delhi: Saudi Arabia’s exhibition at the New Delhi World Book Fair is bringing the Kingdom’s literature closer to the Indian audience with a display of its English-language translations under the flagship Tarjim initiative.

Inaugurated in 1972, the fair in the Indian capital is the country’s second oldest after the Kolkata Book Fair.

Organized by the National Book Trust of India, the event started on Feb. 1 at the Pragati Maidan convention center and will run through Feb. 9. It is attended by 2,000 exhibitors from about 40 countries.

Saudi Arabia — which in 2024 was guest of honor of the book fair — this year is represented by the Literature, Publishing and Translation Commission, a government agency regulating and managing literature in the Kingdom.

The part of the exhibition that has drawn significant interest among Indians comprises English translations of Arabic works published under the Tarjim program, which was launched in 2020 to promote international cultural outreach under the Kingdom’s Vision 2030.

The books displayed at the New Delhi fair included classics, fiction, and short stories.

Mona Lisa, a Delhi-based lawyer who visited the Saudi pavilion, appreciated the exhibition as a way to remove linguistic barriers and help Indians grasp the Kingdom’s culture.

“It’s nice to know that Saudi Arabia is trying to bridge the gap in terms of language,” she told Arab News.

“It’s a nice move by Saudi Arabia ... by the way of literature we’ll be able to know the culture, the people better. It’s always good to know something that you didn’t know before. It’s good to know the culture as well. And I’m looking forward to seeing much more.”

Another visitor, Zohra Fatima, was drawn especially to short fiction stories as a way to imagine and understand life in Saudi Arabia.

“It seems very interesting ... to know deep inside their culture, one has to read this kind of tale,” she said.

Besides the translations, Saudi Arabia’s pavilion also presented the country’s national bibliography — a catalog of all publications, including books, articles, and reports, produced in the Kingdom.

“National bibliography is basically a list of books published in a particular country,” said Dr. Prathasari Das, library information officer at the National Library of India, who was studying the works displayed at the exhibition.

“It is very nice to see this bibliography here to introduce the print culture — the print output in Saudi Arabia — to India ... Books are those mediums which connect different cultures around the world, so it’s like a window. I think that it will be a great help or great opportunity for Indians to see and mingle with this culture.”

For some, like Shivani Nagar, a French linguistics student in New Delhi, visiting the pavilion was not only about literature, but also the Arabic language.

“I met the employees here and they taught me some words in Arabic, and I found it really interesting and, in my mind, I’m really hoping to learn more,” she said.

“It’s very good that they are putting English books so that I can learn about Arab culture in English, in my language ... (and) I can know about the culture, and (then) I can turn my goal to learning Arabic.”

 


Greenland leaders lambast US delegation trip as Trump talks of takeover

Greenland leaders lambast US delegation trip as Trump talks of takeover
Updated 3 sec ago
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Greenland leaders lambast US delegation trip as Trump talks of takeover

Greenland leaders lambast US delegation trip as Trump talks of takeover
  • The delegation will visit an American military base and watch a dogsled race
  • Delegation will be led by Usha Vance, wife of Vice President JD Vance
COPENHAGEN/WASHINGTON: Greenlandic leaders criticized an upcoming trip by a high-profile American delegation to the semi-autonomous Danish territory that President Donald Trump has suggested the US should annex.
The delegation, which will visit an American military base and watch a dogsled race, will be led by Usha Vance, wife of Vice President JD Vance, and include White House national security adviser Mike Waltz and Energy Secretary Chris Wright.
Greenland’s outgoing prime minister Mute Egede called this week’s visit a “provocation” and said his caretaker government would not meet with the delegation.
“Until recently, we could trust the Americans, who were our allies and friends, and with whom we enjoyed working closely,” Egede told local newspaper Sermitsiaq. “But that time is over.”
The Greenlandic government, Naalakkersuisut, is currently in a caretaker period after a March 11 general election won by the Democrats, a pro-business party that favors a slow approach to independence from Denmark.
Jens-Frederik Nielsen, leader of the Democrats, called for political unity and said the visit by the US delegation during coalition talks and with municipal elections due next week, “once again shows a lack of respect for the Greenlandic people.”
Waltz and Wright plan to visit the Pituffik space base, the US military base in Greenland. The White House said they will get briefings from US service members there.
They will then join Vance to visit historical sites and attend the national dogsled race.
Brian Hughes, spokesman for the White House National Security Council, said the US team is “confident that this visit presents an opportunity to build on partnerships that respects Greenland’s self-determination and advances economic cooperation.”
“This is a visit to learn about Greenland, its culture, history, and people and to attend a dogsled race the United States is proud to sponsor, plain and simple,” Hughes said.
Trump has made US annexation of Greenland a major talking point since taking office for a second time on January 20. Greenland’s strategic location and rich mineral resources could benefit the US It lies along the shortest route from Europe to North America, vital for the US ballistic missile warning system.
The governments of both Greenland and Denmark have voiced opposition to such a move.
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said in a written comment reacting to news of the visit that “this is something we take seriously.” She said Denmark wants to cooperate with the US, but it should be cooperation based on “the fundamental rules of sovereignty.”
She added that dialogue with the US regarding Greenland would take place in close coordination with the Danish government and the future Greenlandic government.

WHO calls for immediate action as report shows 10% rise in child TB infections in European region

WHO calls for immediate action as report shows 10% rise in child TB infections in European region
Updated 7 min 57 sec ago
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WHO calls for immediate action as report shows 10% rise in child TB infections in European region

WHO calls for immediate action as report shows 10% rise in child TB infections in European region
  • WHO’s European region reported more than 7,500 cases among children under 15 years of age in 2023
  • Children under 15 years of age made up 4.3 percent of all TB cases in the European Union

Tuberculosis (TB) infections among children in the European region rose 10 percent in 2023, indicating ongoing transmission and the need for immediate public health measures to control the spread, the World Health Organization said on Monday.
WHO’s European region, which comprises 53 countries in Europe and Central Asia, reported more than 7,500 cases among children under 15 years of age in 2023, an increase of over 650 cases compared to 2022.
“The worrying rise in children with TB serves as a reminder that progress against this preventable and curable disease remains fragile,” said Hans Henri Kluge, WHO’s Regional Director for Europe.
Askar Yedilbayev, regional TB adviser for WHO’s European region, said in an interview that a rise in overall cases might indicate improved diagnoses. However, it could also result from increased cross-border movement due to the Russia-Ukraine war, the two countries with the highest disease burden in the region.
Children under 15 years of age made up 4.3 percent of all TB cases in the European Union, a joint report by the WHO and the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control showed.
This shows an increase in cases in this age group for the third consecutive year, which Yedilbayev said was a “worrisome scenario.”
WHO has previously warned that funding cuts from global donors will undo progress in controlling TB infections across low- and middle-income countries. These cuts can hurt TB programs in non-EU countries, fueling a rise of hard-to-treat strains, the agency said.
Several local, on-ground workforces have been hurt from the funding cuts, and the supply of diagnostics and treatments remains at risk, said Yedilbayev.
TB, among the top 10 causes of death worldwide, is a potentially fatal bacterial infection that mainly affects the lungs and spreads through coughing or sneezing.


South Korea authorities deploy choppers, troops to battle wildfire

South Korea authorities deploy choppers, troops to battle wildfire
Updated 52 min 54 sec ago
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South Korea authorities deploy choppers, troops to battle wildfire

South Korea authorities deploy choppers, troops to battle wildfire
  • Four people have been killed so far, with officials warning that high winds and rising temperatures were hindering efforts to put out the blazes
  • The government declared a state of emergency in the affected regions, citing ‘the extensive damage caused by simultaneous wildfires across the country’

SEOUL: South Korean authorities said Monday they would deploy dozens of helicopters and thousands of firefighters and soldiers as they struggle to control multiple wildfires in the southeast, which have been burning for days.
Four people have been killed so far, with officials warning that high winds and rising temperatures were hindering efforts to put out the blazes.
In Uiseong, nearly 7,000 hectares (17,000 acres) of land has been affected and around 600 people evacuated, Lim Sang-seop, head of the Korea Forest Service, told a press briefing.
“A total of 57 wildfire fighting helicopters are to be deployed to extinguish the fire,” he said, adding that more than 2,600 firefighting personnel – including soldiers – would be mobilized “to respond with all their might.”
The fire had been partly contained but was still burning as of Monday afternoon.
The forest agency has issued “severe” fire warnings, its highest level, in multiple locations, including North and South Gyeongsang provinces, Busan and Daejeon.
A major wildfire claimed four lives over the weekend in Sancheong county, in South Gyeongsang province, about 250 kilometers (155 miles) southeast of Seoul.
That fire was also partly contained by Monday – but still burning.
The government declared a state of emergency in the affected regions, citing “the extensive damage caused by simultaneous wildfires across the country.”
Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, who was reinstated as acting president earlier Monday, visited the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters, urging authorities to work together “until the wildfires are completely extinguished.”
“It is a truly heartbreaking incident,” he said, adding that he would meet people affected by the fires later Monday.
The leader of the main opposition Democratic Party, Lee Jae-myung, urged authorities to “mobilize all means at their disposal to quickly and safely suppress the fires” and take further measures to prevent any additional wildfires.
Some types of extreme weather have a well-established link with climate change, such as heatwaves or heavy rainfall.
Other phenomena such as forest fires, droughts, snowstorms and tropical storms can result from a combination of complex factors.


Interior minister: 199 migrants deported from US arrive in Venezuela

Interior minister: 199 migrants deported from US arrive in Venezuela
Updated 24 March 2025
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Interior minister: 199 migrants deported from US arrive in Venezuela

Interior minister: 199 migrants deported from US arrive in Venezuela
  • Live footage showed young men in sweatsuits walking off the plane, which landed outside the capital Caracas
  • The flight comes after Venezuela announced it had reached an agreement with Washington to resume repatriation flights

MAIQUETIA, Venezuela: A plane carrying 199 migrants deported from the United States arrived early Monday in Venezuela, Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello said.
“Today, we are receiving 199 compatriots,” he said at the airport. “We are ready to receive Venezuelans wherever they are.”
Live footage showed young men in sweatsuits walking off the plane, which landed outside the capital Caracas. Some of them were smiling and clapping as officials looked on.
The flight comes after Venezuela on Saturday announced it had reached an agreement with Washington to resume repatriation flights from the United States.
The deportation pipeline was suspended last month when US President Donald Trump claimed Venezuela had not lived up to a deal to quickly receive deported migrants, and Caracas subsequently said it would no longer accept the flights.


Russia launches third consecutive overnight air attack on Kyiv ahead of peace talks with US

Russia launches third consecutive overnight air attack on Kyiv ahead of peace talks with US
Updated 24 March 2025
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Russia launches third consecutive overnight air attack on Kyiv ahead of peace talks with US

Russia launches third consecutive overnight air attack on Kyiv ahead of peace talks with US
  • Latest attack came ahead of Russia-US talks in Riyadh to discuss ways to ensure the safety of shipping in the Black Sea

KYIV: Russia launched its third consecutive overnight air attack on Kyiv, wounding one person and damaging several houses in the region surrounding the Ukrainian capital, a Kyiv’s regional governor said on Monday.
A 37-year-old person received shrapnel wounds in his upper body and head, governor Mykola Kalashnyk said in a post on Telegram messaging app.
“The person has been hospitalized,” Kalashnyk said.
Late on Sunday, in the southeastern Zaporizhzhia region, Russia’s attack injured a 54-year-old woman and damaged windows of multi-story and residential buildings, the region’s administration said on Telegram.
The attacks came after a Ukrainian delegation met with US officials for peace talks in Saudi Arabia, and ahead of Russia-US talks there on Monday to discuss ways to ensure the safety of shipping in the Black Sea.
The United States is pushing for a peace deal between Ukraine and Russia, and hopes to reach a broad ceasefire in the war by April 20, Bloomberg News reported on Sunday, citing people familiar with the planning.
But despite the peace push, both sides have been reporting continued strikes.
The full-scale of the overnight attack was not immediately clear.
There was no immediate comment from Russia. Both sides deny targeting civilians in the war that Russia started with its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Kyiv, its surrounding region and the eastern half of Ukraine were under air raid alerts several hours starting late on Sunday, according to Ukraine air force maps.