Saudi women must share their stories with pride, Princess Noura Al-Saud tells London forum

Balakleets says women are 'united by their belief in making a creative impact'. (AN Photo/Mustafa Abu Sneineh)
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Balakleets says women are 'united by their belief in making a creative impact'. (AN Photo/Mustafa Abu Sneineh)
Shaikha Fouz Al-Sabah, founder of Khaleejesque, a Kuwait-based online magazine that covers the cultures of the Arab Gulf youth. (AN Photo/Mustafa Abu Sneineh)
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Shaikha Fouz Al-Sabah, founder of Khaleejesque, a Kuwait-based online magazine that covers the cultures of the Arab Gulf youth. (AN Photo/Mustafa Abu Sneineh)
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Updated 12 May 2025
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Saudi women must share their stories with pride, Princess Noura Al-Saud tells London forum

Saudi women must share their stories with pride, Princess Noura Al-Saud tells London forum
  • The founder of 2 leading Saudi cultural spaces was speaking at the Creative Women Platform
  • Networking forum’s CEO, Olga Balakleets, says women are ‘united by their belief in making a creative impact’

LONDON: Saudi creatives are writing and telling their stories to the world after years of borrowing the narratives of others, Princess Noura Al-Saud, the founder of two leading Saudi cultural spaces, said on Wednesday.

“Finally, now, we are taking ownership and writing our own stories. We are proud of it and are showcasing who we really are. (We’re) not trying to fit into other people’s expectations,” she said.

Princess Noura was speaking at the annual networking forum of the Creative Women Platform, of which she is a Saudi patron, at Plaisterers' Hall in London’s Square Mile.

She is the the founder of Rukun Creative Exchange and AlMashtal Creative Space, a destination for creatives in Riyadh to receive support and nurture their talent.

On Wednesday, she joined dozens of entrepreneurs, policymakers and business leaders from the food, steel and sports sectors, as well as philanthropists and fitness experts, to discuss sustainability and the role of women in shaping the future.

 I tell (Saudi women) to be proud and share their stories as it will inspire others.

Princess Noura Al-Saud

She acknowledged that building a space for creatives could be relatively easy but said that the most critical factor was creating a place of belonging where people could share meaningful experiences.

At AlMashtal, which means plant nursery in Arabic, the focus was on the tiny details, such as the interior design and the background music, to foster a cultural identity in the space, Princess Noura said.

“Nature is a major source of inspiration for me. Plant nurseries provide the right climate and nutrition, so the plant builds strong roots to live in the outside world, and this is also our goal at AlMashtal,” she told Arab News.

AlMashtal, founded in 2019, has four labs focusing on creativity, business, glass and sound, and offers workshops, mentorship and other resources. The space has become essential for sharing ideas, networking and experimenting among Saudi creatives, Princess Noura said.

She told Arab News that Saudi women in the private sector who work in sciences, technology and entrepreneurship should “speak more about their work and achievements, and show the efforts it took to reach this stage.

“I tell them to be proud and share their stories as it will inspire others,” she added.

Coming to (the Creative Women Platform), I feel really inspired and the women here have become role models, and I'm learning a lot from them.

Aswar Kadie, CEO of Aswar Sports Agency

Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 has transformed women’s lives in the Kingdom through a series of reforms since 2016 that empowered them to take part in the workforce and business. There are increased opportunities for women to pursue careers in the creative industries such as design, architecture, film, fashion and the arts. The Kingdom made “major strides” in the cultural sectors, according to a 2024 Harvard Business Review report, driven by a “commitment to preserving and showcasing its abundant history, national identity and heritage.”

During a conversation with Olga Balakleets, founder and CEO of the Creative Women Platform, Princess Noura said: “Creativity is essential to life. It is what grounds us ... it is how we connect, and it has always been that for me, and my mission is to help others see and understand that.”

Balakleets told Arab News that her journey with the forum was “an exciting one,” and added that creative women are “united by their belief in making a creative impact,” contributing positively to society by finding solutions to global problems.

At Wednesday’s event, speakers included author and philanthropist Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York; Shaikha Fouz Al-Sabah, founder of Khaleejesque, a Kuwait-based online magazine that covers the cultures of the Arab Gulf youth; and Tessa Clarke, co-founder and CEO of Olio, a community app designed to help people share food and reduce waste. Daniela Baumann, CEO of LOFTI Studios, spoke about the ups and downs that led her to establish a series of pole fitness studios, while Paula Owen, founder and CEO of ECO Action Games, highlighted the importance of raising climate awareness through games and avoiding tactics that induce guilt or fear.

Creative women are united by their belief in making a creative impact, contributing positively to society by finding solutions to global problems.

Olga Balakleets, CEO of the Creative Women Platform

Aswar Kadie, a young entrepreneur of Somali descent who grew up in Sweden, is the founder and CEO of Aswar Sports Agency, established in 2021. She told Arab News that Aswar’s clientele includes football players under 18 and 21 in the Premier League and La Liga academies.

She recently returned from a visit to the Kingdom and said her agency is set to be involved with the Saudi Ministry of Sport as the country prepares to host the FIFA World Cup in 2034. She described the Creative Women Platform as a “huge” opportunity for a woman entrepreneur in a male-dominated industry.

“I always worked with men in a very competitive environment ... coming (to this event), I feel really inspired and the women here have become role models and I’m learning a lot from them,” she said.

The Creative Women Platform will return to Riyadh next November to feature Saudi entrepreneurs and leaders from various sectors, according to organizers.

Since launching in 2016, the networking forum has celebrated the leadership and entrepreneurial achievements of women from more than 50 countries.


Fast-moving brush fire on Hawaii’s Maui island evacuates about 50 people. No structures have burned

Fast-moving brush fire on Hawaii’s Maui island evacuates about 50 people. No structures have burned
Updated 59 min 25 sec ago
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Fast-moving brush fire on Hawaii’s Maui island evacuates about 50 people. No structures have burned

Fast-moving brush fire on Hawaii’s Maui island evacuates about 50 people. No structures have burned
  • Officials said it was 85 percent contained as of Monday morning

HONOLULU: A fast-moving Hawaii brush fire fueled by fierce winds forced the evacuation of about 50 Maui residents on the opposite side of the same island where a devastating blaze killed over 100 people two years ago.
The fire started Sunday in a sparsely populated area with land set aside for Native Hawaiians.
Here’s what we know about the fire so far:
Fire size now estimated at 330 acres
The Kahikinui was initially estimated at 500 acres (202 hectares), but aerial surveys overnight put the estimate at about 330 acres (134 hectares), Maui’s fire department said. The fire is 85 percent contained.
The remote, challenging terrain made it difficult to estimate the fire’s size, the department said in a statement. A police drone showed hot spots, but none flared overnight.
No injuries or structural damage was reported. Weather conditions were mostly sunny Monday with a high of 67 degrees Fahrenheit (19 degrees Celsius) and east winds of about 15 mph (24 kph), gusting up to about 25 mph (40 kph).
The US Drought Monitor says all of Maui is in drought.
Authorities conducted door-to-door evacuations and part of a highway remains closed.
Flashbacks to an earlier fire
Warren Aganos was on his family’s Hawaiian Homelands lot preparing to go on a Father’s Day hunt when a neighbor called him around 9 a.m. telling him a fire had broken out.
“I hung up and raced out, I didn’t let her finish,” said Aganos, who has been slowly rebuilding the three structures his family lost in a 2016 brush fire that burned over 5,000 acres (2,000 hectares) in the same area. “I was thinking about the last one,” he said. “It was super emotional.”
Aganos said he rushed in his truck to make sure first responders knew where the community’s water storage tanks were before navigating Kahikinui’s dirt roads down to the highway where he could see smoke billowing over the hillside. The community lacks electrical and water infrastructure, and some of the roads are only navigable by four-wheel drive.
State and local leaders signed emergency proclamations so that the Hawaii National Guard can help and counties can access assistance.
What is the region like?
Kahikinui is less populated and developed than Lahaina, which was the Hawaiian Kingdom’s capital in the 1800s and is now a popular tourist destination. Kahikinui was used for cattle ranching for many years and is near a state forest reserve.
The fire department sent engines, tankers and a helicopter to battle the blaze. Three bulldozers cut firebreaks in the lower part of the community, Desiree Graham, co-chair of Kahikinui’s firewise committee, said.
The area has 104 Hawaiian homeland lots of 10 to 20 acres (4 to 8 hectares) each. About 40 lots have homes, including 15 with full-time residents. Some lots have more than one home, Graham said.
A state agency issues lot leases under a program Congress created in 1921 to help Native Hawaiians become economically self-sufficient. Those with at least 50 percent Hawaiian blood quantum can apply for a 99-year lease for $1 a year.
Fire devastated Lahaina nearly two years ago
Maui is still recovering from the massive inferno that enveloped Lahaina in August 2023.
That fire was the deadliest in the US in more than a century. It destroyed thousands of properties and caused an estimated $5.5 billion in damage. University of Hawaii researchers say unemployment and poverty rose after the blaze.
The Kahikinui fire may seem small compared to continental US fires, but it’s significant for an island of 735 square miles (1,903 square kilometers).
Other Western fires
Crews also are battling wildfires in the Pacific Northwest, around the Great Basin, in California and the Rockies.
National Weather Service forecasters and federal land managers have warned in recent weeks that fire danger is escalating in many places amid rising daytime temperatures and single-digit humidity levels.
The risks won’t start to wane — at least in the southwestern US — until the monsoon starts to kick in, bringing much-needed rain. In southern New Mexico, a wildfire ballooned to nearly 30 square miles (78 square kilometers) over the weekend in the Gila National Forest.
The flames forced the evacuations of homes that dot the mountains north of Silver City, blocked access to the Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument and prompted air quality warnings as smoke drifted north. Campgrounds and access points to the Continental Divide National Scenic Trail also were closed.
In Oregon, several dozen homes in Wasco County were destroyed by a fire that started last Wednesday. Some evacuations remained, but fire managers said Monday that the threat to structures had diminished.
So far this year, the nation has seen double the number of fires as last year but the acreage is less, according to the National Interagency Fire Center. More than 2,700 wildland firefighters and support personnel were assigned to 15 large wildfires across the country.


Despite law, US TikTok ban likely to remain on hold

Despite law, US TikTok ban likely to remain on hold
Updated 17 June 2025
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Despite law, US TikTok ban likely to remain on hold

Despite law, US TikTok ban likely to remain on hold
  • Trump has repeatedly downplayed risks that TikTok is in danger, saying he remains confident of finding a buyer for the app’s US business

SAN FRANCISCO, United States: US President Donald Trump is widely expected to extend the Thursday deadline for TikTok to find a non-Chinese buyer or face a ban in the United States.
It would be the third time Trump put off enforcing a federal law requiring its sale or ban, which was to take effect the day before his January inauguration.
“I have a little warm spot in my heart for TikTok,” Trump said in an NBC News interview in early May.
“If it needs an extension, I would be willing to give it an extension.”
Trump said a group of purchasers is ready to pay TikTok owner ByteDance “a lot of money” for the video-clip-sharing sensation’s US operations.
Trump has repeatedly downplayed risks that TikTok is in danger, saying he remains confident of finding a buyer for the app’s US business.
The president is “just not motivated to do anything about TikTok,” said independent analyst Rob Enderle.
“Unless they get on his bad side, TikTok is probably going to be in pretty good shape.”
Trump had long supported a ban or divestment, but reversed his position and vowed to defend the platform after coming to believe it helped him win young voters’ support in the November election.
“Trump’s not really doing great on his election promises,” Enderle maintained.
“This could be one that he can actually deliver on.”
Motivated by national security fears and belief in Washington that TikTok is controlled by the Chinese government, the ban took effect on January 19, one day before Trump’s inauguration, with ByteDance having made no attempt to find a suitor.
TikTok “has become a symbol of the US-China tech rivalry; a flashpoint in the new Cold War for digital control,” said Shweta Singh, an assistant professor of information systems at Warwick Business School in Britain.
“National security, economic policy, and digital governance are colliding,” Singh added.
The Republican president announced an initial 75-day delay of the ban upon taking office.
A second extension pushed the deadline to June 19.
As of Monday, there was no word of a TikTok sale in the works.
Trump said in April that China would have agreed to a deal on the sale of TikTok if it were not for a dispute over tariffs imposed by Washington on Beijing.
ByteDance has confirmed talks with the US government, saying key matters needed to be resolved and that any deal would be “subject to approval under Chinese law.”
Possible solutions reportedly include seeing existing US investors in ByteDance roll over their stakes into a new independent global TikTok company.
Additional US investors, including Oracle and private equity firm Blackstone, would be brought on to reduce ByteDance’s share in the new TikTok.
Much of TikTok’s US activity is already housed on Oracle servers, and the company’s chairman, Larry Ellison, is a longtime Trump ally.
Uncertainty remains, particularly over what would happen to TikTok’s valuable algorithm.
“TikTok without its algorithm is like Harry Potter without his wand — it’s simply not as powerful,” said Forrester Principal Analyst Kelsey Chickering.
Meanwhile, it appears TikTok is continuing with business as usual.
TikTok on Monday introduced a new “Symphony” suite of generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools for advertisers to turn words or photos into video snippets for the platform.
“With TikTok Symphony, we’re empowering a global community of marketers, brands, and creators to tell stories that resonate, scale, and drive impact on TikTok,” global head of creative and brand products Andy Yang said in a release.


1 killed, 40 wounded in Kyiv after Russian drone and missile attack

1 killed, 40 wounded in Kyiv after Russian drone and missile attack
Updated 57 min 27 sec ago
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1 killed, 40 wounded in Kyiv after Russian drone and missile attack

1 killed, 40 wounded in Kyiv after Russian drone and missile attack
  • “More strikes by Russian drones on residential buildings in Kyiv,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, wrote on Telegram

A combined Russian missile and drone attack in Kyiv overnight Tuesday killed at least 1 person and wounded 40 people, according to Ukrainian officials.
The attack, the latest in a spate of mass drone and missile attacks on Kyiv, occurred as world leaders convened at the Group of Seven meeting in Canada, which Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is expected to attend. The summit runs through Tuesday.
Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko told reporters at the scene that a U.S. citizen was killed in the attack after suffering wounds from shrapnel. Explosions could be heard for hours throughout the night on Tuesday.
Thirty apartments were destroyed in a single residential block, Klymenko said. He noted the death toll would likely rise as emergency workers descended to the scene of a collapsed apartment building to search for bodies buried under the rubble.
People were wounded in the city's Sviatoshynskyi and Solomianskyi districts. Kyiv's Mayor Vitali Klitschko said fires broke out in two other Kyiv districts as a result of falling debris from drones shot down by Ukrainian air defenses.
Canada, which assumed the presidency of the G7 this year, invited Zelenskyy to the summit, where he is expected to hold one-on-one meetings with world leaders.
Zelenskyy was set to meet with U.S. President Donald Trump in Canada on Tuesday, though the White House announced that Trump would be returning unexpectedly to Washington on Monday night instead of Tuesday night because of tensions in the Mideast.
Russia has launched a record number of drones and missiles in recent weeks. Moscow escalated attacks after Ukraine's Security Service agency staged an audacious operation targeting war planes in air bases deep inside Russian territory.
Little progress has emerged from direct peace talks held in Istanbul, with the exception of prisoner exchanges, expected to conclude next week, said Zelenskyy.


G7 urges Iran de-escalation as Trump makes hasty summit exit

G7 urges Iran de-escalation as Trump makes hasty summit exit
Updated 17 June 2025
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G7 urges Iran de-escalation as Trump makes hasty summit exit

G7 urges Iran de-escalation as Trump makes hasty summit exit
  • Asked what it would take for the US to get involved in the conflict militarily, Trump said Monday morning, “I don’t want to talk about that”
  • The G7, which originated as a 1973 finance ministers’ meeting to address the oil crisis and evolved into a yearly summit meant to foster personal relationships among world leaders and address global problems

G7 leaders on Monday called for "de-escalation" in the Middle East starting with the Israel-Iran conflict, as US President Donald Trump hastily left the group's summit.
Trump, who was making his return to the international diplomatic calendar, departed the gathering in the Canadian Rockies a day early as ally Israel pounded Iran.
After a day of statements backing diplomacy, Trump ominously took to social media to sound a warning to people in the Iranian capital, whose population is nearly 10 million.
"Everyone should immediately evacuate Tehran!" he wrote on his Truth Social platform.
Having earlier hesitated at backing a joint statement on the crisis, Trump relented during a dinner at a forested lodge under the snow-capped mountains in Kananaskis.
"We urge that the resolution of the Iranian crisis leads to a broader de-escalation of hostilities in the Middle East, including a ceasefire in Gaza," said the joint statement released by Canada.
The statement said that Israel "has a right to defend itself" and stressed "the importance of the protection of civilians," as the growing attacks kill civilians on both sides.
The leaders of the club of industrial democracies -- Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States -- stated their conviction that Iran "can never have a nuclear weapon."
Trump for weeks said he favored diplomacy, and his envoy Steve Witkoff met five times with Iranian envoys, but he quickly backed Israel's strikes and said that Tehran's clerical state should have agreed to his terms.
At a group photo with fellow G7 leaders before the dinner, Trump said: "I have to be back as soon as I can. I wish I could stay for tomorrow, but they understand, this is big stuff."
French President Emmanuel Macron suggested that the United States was ready to make a diplomatic overture.
"There was an offer made for a meeting and an exchange," Macron told reporters.
Trump told reporters before his decision was announced to leave early: "As soon as I leave here, we're going to be doing something."
He has repeatedly declined to say if the United States would participate in Israeli military action, although he has said Washington was not involved in initial strikes and the White House said that US forces remained in a defensive posture.
Trump earlier said that Iran would be "foolish" not to agree to a negotiated settlement.
"It's painful for both parties, but I'd say Iran is not winning this war, and they should talk, and they should talk immediately, before it's too late," Trump told reporters as he met Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney.
The US president will miss a day of G7 meetings that was expected to include discussions with the leaders of Ukraine and Mexico.
Since Friday, Israel has struck major nuclear and military sites and killed leading commanders and nuclear scientists in Iran, which has responded with its own volley of drones and missiles on Israel.
Macron voiced objections to what increasingly appeared to be Israel's goal -- toppling the clerical state that took power after the 1979 revolution toppled the pro-Western shah.
"All who have thought that by bombing from the outside you can save a country in spite of itself have always been mistaken," he said.
Iran, since Trump pulled out of an earlier nuclear deal in 2018, has ramped up uranium enrichment but not yet at levels to create an atomic bomb.
Israel is widely known to have nuclear weapons but does not acknowledge them publicly.
The summit comes after months of tumult on the global stage since Trump's return to the White House.
Seeking to shatter a decades-old US-led global economic order, Trump has vowed sweeping tariffs on friends and foes alike although he has postponed implementation until July 9.
But Trump voiced optimism about a resolution with Canada and signed documents with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer to confirm an agreement with Britain.
Trump has previously mocked host Canada, stating that the vast but less populated neighbor should become the 51st US state.
But Trump has appeared to show more respect to Canada since Carney, a staid former central banker, took over from the more flamboyant Justin Trudeau in March.
Trump had taken office seeking diplomacy both on Iran and Ukraine, which Russia invaded in 2022.
He has since voiced frustration that Russian President Vladimir Putin has not accepted a US proposal for a ceasefire.
Trump said Monday that Putin was "very insulted" by Russia's 2014 expulsion from the G8 and that if Russia were still a member, "you wouldn't have a war right now."


US official says Trump not signing G7 statement on Israel-Iran de-escalation

US official says Trump not signing G7 statement on Israel-Iran de-escalation
Updated 17 June 2025
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US official says Trump not signing G7 statement on Israel-Iran de-escalation

US official says Trump not signing G7 statement on Israel-Iran de-escalation
  • Canadian and European diplomats said G7 attendees are continuing discussions on the conflict at the summit in Canada, which ends on Tuesday

CALGARY, Alberta: A US official said on Monday that President Donald Trump would not sign a draft statement from Group of Seven leaders calling for de-escalation of the Israel-Iran conflict.
The draft statement, seen by Reuters, also commits to safeguarding market stability, including energy markets, says Iran must never have a nuclear weapon, and that Israel has the right to defend itself.
Canadian and European diplomats said G7 attendees are continuing discussions on the conflict at the summit in Canada, which ends on Tuesday.