Lebanon Crisis Mutes National Music Conservatory

Lebanon's national conservatory of music student Matthew Ata, 10, plays guitar during a debut concert performance at the Al-Madina theatre in Beirut, on April 18, 2023. (AFP)
Lebanon's national conservatory of music student Matthew Ata, 10, plays guitar during a debut concert performance at the Al-Madina theatre in Beirut, on April 18, 2023. (AFP)
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Lebanon Crisis Mutes National Music Conservatory

Lebanon's national conservatory of music student Matthew Ata, 10, plays guitar during a debut concert performance at the Al-Madina theatre in Beirut, on April 18, 2023. (AFP)
Lebanon's national conservatory of music student Matthew Ata, 10, plays guitar during a debut concert performance at the Al-Madina theatre in Beirut, on April 18, 2023. (AFP)

At Lebanon's national music conservatory, pianos collect dust and classrooms sit empty, making the institution another casualty of an economic collapse that has crippled the public sector and hampered education.

Toufic Kerbage, 65, watched the value of his pay packet and pension evaporate after the Lebanese economy began melting down in 2019, taking the local currency and people's savings with it.

Without family support "I would have starved," said the music teacher, who began working at the conservatory in the late 1980s.

"It's difficult at my age to ask for money", he said from the silence of the conservatory's branch in Sin al-Fil, a suburb of the capital Beirut.

Once on a comfortable income, Kerbage now earns around $70 a month, in a country the World Bank says suffers the highest food price inflation globally.

He has been teaching his classes online, battling Lebanon's "disastrous" internet and spending more than he earns on a generator subscription to get through hours-long daily power cuts.

The state-run conservatory, with several thousand mostly school-aged students and 17 branches around the country, counts prestigious musicians like the composer and oud player Marcel Khalife among its alumni.

But as the economic crisis grinds on, some teachers have quit. Many others have turned to online classes to save on travel costs or teach private lessons on the side to make ends meet.

Kerbage said he was "worried" about colleagues without a support network.

'Musical revolution'

Taking matters into their own hands, a group of teachers and students have been holding independent concerts to highlight their plight and give musicians a chance to support each other and perform.

"I am here today to stand with my colleagues who are not happy with the way we are treated," said concert organizer Ghada Ghanem, who is also a teacher and soprano.

Some teachers have moved house or "sold their cars" to survive, added Ghanem, herself a conservatory student during Lebanon's 1975-1990 civil war.

The shows' proceeds will be invested into creating further performance opportunities or distributed among those involved, she said, calling the initiative a "musical revolution".

"Let's fix our problems with our own talent," Ghanem said recently from a darkened Beirut theatre before a recent show -- the second in a planned series.

"Depression will attack us if we sit and do nothing."

Matthew Ata, 10, said he was "a bit nervous" about his debut concert performance.

Despite starting with the conservatory two years ago, he only met his guitar teacher for the first time at the show.

"We really hope that things will get better" and in-person classes will resume, said Matthew's mother, Rita Jabbour.

Some students said the protracted online teaching and disruptions had left them feeling discouraged.

Software engineer Aline Chalvarjian, 33, who studies oud and lyric singing, said she had "lost motivation".

The conservatory used to be "like a second home", she said. Now, "we feel that we are left behind".

'First' pay boost

Like other public sector workers throughout the crisis, conservatory staff have taken strike action to demand their rights are respected, with the head of the conservatory teachers' league sacked in January after organizing protests.

In recent months, teacher strikes at Lebanon's public schools have paralyzed the education sector.

Soprano Hiba al-Kawas, who last year became the first woman to head the conservatory, said she had worked day and night to improve the situation, but political deadlock has stymied progress.

Lebanon's entrenched political elite, widely blamed for the country's crisis, has failed to take action to stem the three-year economic collapse.

As sectarian barons bicker over who should be the country's next leader, the presidency has remained vacant since October 31, while a caretaker government with limited powers has been at the helm of the bankrupt state for almost a year.

Despite the obstacles, Kawas said she had managed to secure pay increases that should allow a return to in-person teaching.

A teacher who was paid 30,000 Lebanese pounds per hour -- $0.50 based on an exchange rate used for public sector salaries -- would earn 300,000 once the wage hike takes effect, she said.

It is "just a first step", Kawas added. Teacher Kerbage expressed optimism at the new regime, which he said should push his monthly earnings into the hundreds of dollars.

"Anything" would be welcome, he said.

"I would be able to pay for my fuel, for my electricity, and for some food -- that's a lot."



Saudi Falcons Club to Launch 5th Edition of Int'l Saudi Falcons and Hunting Exhibition 2023

The Saudi Falcons Club will inaugurate the fifth edition of the International Saudi Falcons and Hunting Exhibition 2023 on Thursday.
The Saudi Falcons Club will inaugurate the fifth edition of the International Saudi Falcons and Hunting Exhibition 2023 on Thursday.
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Saudi Falcons Club to Launch 5th Edition of Int'l Saudi Falcons and Hunting Exhibition 2023

The Saudi Falcons Club will inaugurate the fifth edition of the International Saudi Falcons and Hunting Exhibition 2023 on Thursday.
The Saudi Falcons Club will inaugurate the fifth edition of the International Saudi Falcons and Hunting Exhibition 2023 on Thursday.

The Saudi Falcons Club will inaugurate the fifth edition of the International Saudi Falcons and Hunting Exhibition 2023 on Thursday.

The exhibition will be held at the club's headquarters in Molham, north of Riyadh, until October 14.

Through the exhibition, the club aims to introduce the Kingdom's heritage and educate visitors about the hobby of falconry.

The exhibition will be held in an area of 38,000 square meters. It will include various pavilions for displaying and selling hunting and air weapons, selling tools for road and camping trips, falcon food and technologies, veterinary and pharmaceutical products, modified cars, motorcycles and bicycles, and a pavilion for the "Future Falconer" for children.

It will feature the "Shalayel" digital museum, which will take visitors on an immersive educational journey in the world of falcons and bring together various Saudi artists to draw in front of visitors using Arabic calligraphy, sculpture and oil painting.

This year's edition will have over 18 accompanying events, such as virtual hunting trips in the desert of the Kingdom, taking pictures with the falcons, mosaic murals about hunting and falconry, live performances to welcome visitors, and laser shows and fireworks.

The Saudi Falcons Club recently announced that an international falcon conference accompanying the International Saudi Falcons and Hunting Exhibition 2023 will be held on October 8 and 9 under the slogan “Together for the Sustainability of Falcons”.

The conference will bring together researchers, economists and investors to support the efforts to protect falcons and sustain the heritage of falconry.

The International Saudi Falcons and Hunting Exhibition 2023 aims to attract 450 exhibitors, with the number of visitors expected to exceed 550,000.


Nobel Chemistry Prize Awarded for Discovery of Quantum Dots Used in LED Lights 

Permanent Secretary of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences Hans Ellegren (C) speaks during the announcement of the winners of the 2023 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in Stockholm, Sweden, 04 October 2023. (EPA)
Permanent Secretary of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences Hans Ellegren (C) speaks during the announcement of the winners of the 2023 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in Stockholm, Sweden, 04 October 2023. (EPA)
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Nobel Chemistry Prize Awarded for Discovery of Quantum Dots Used in LED Lights 

Permanent Secretary of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences Hans Ellegren (C) speaks during the announcement of the winners of the 2023 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in Stockholm, Sweden, 04 October 2023. (EPA)
Permanent Secretary of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences Hans Ellegren (C) speaks during the announcement of the winners of the 2023 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in Stockholm, Sweden, 04 October 2023. (EPA)

Scientists Moungi Bawendi, Louis Brus and Alexei Ekimov won the 2023 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for "the discovery and synthesis of quantum dots," which illuminate computer monitors and television screens and are used by doctors to map tumors.

"The Nobel Laureates ... have succeeded in producing particles so small that their properties are determined by quantum phenomena. The particles, which are called quantum dots, are now of great importance in nanotechnology," the Nobel Committee for Chemistry said in a statement.

"Researchers believe that in the future they could contribute to flexible electronics, tiny sensors, thinner solar cells and encrypted quantum communication."

Nanoparticles and quantum dots are used in LED-lights and can also be used to guide surgeons while removing cancer tissue.

The more than century-old prize is awarded by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences and is worth 11 million Swedish crowns ($997,959).

Earlier on Wednesday, the academy appeared to have inadvertently published the names of the three scientists it said had won this year's Nobel Prize in chemistry.

Bawendi is a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Brus is professor emeritus at Columbia University and Ekimov works for Nanocrystals Technology Inc.

Brus was hired by AT&T Bell Labs in 1972 where he spent 23 years, devoting much of the time to studying nanocrystals.

Bawendi was born in Paris and grew up in France, Tunisia, and the US. Bawendi did his postdoctoral research under Brus then joined MIT in 1990 and became professor in 1996.

Ekimov was born in the Soviet Union worked for the Vavilov State Optical Institute before moving to the United States. In 1999, Ekimov was named chief scientist at Nanocrystals Technology Inc.

The third of this year's crop of awards, the chemistry Nobel follows those for medicine and physics announced earlier this week.

Established in the will of Swedish dynamite inventor and chemist Alfred Nobel, the prizes for achievements in science, literature and peace have been awarded since 1901 with a few interruptions, primarily due to the world wars.

The economics prize is a later addition funded by the Swedish central bank.

While the chemistry awards are sometimes overshadowed by the physics prize and its famous winners such as Albert Einstein, chemistry laureates include many scientific greats, including radioactivity pioneer Ernest Rutherford and Marie Curie, who also won the physics prize.

Last year's chemistry award went to scientists Carolyn Bertozzi, Morten Meldal and Barry Sharpless for pioneering work in "click chemistry", discovering reactions that let molecules snap together to create new compounds.


Agostini, Krausz and L'Huillier Win 2023 Nobel Prize in Physics

The award is the second of the season after the Medicine Prize went to mRNA researchers Katalin Kariko and Drew Weissman. Jonathan NACKSTRAND / AFP
The award is the second of the season after the Medicine Prize went to mRNA researchers Katalin Kariko and Drew Weissman. Jonathan NACKSTRAND / AFP
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Agostini, Krausz and L'Huillier Win 2023 Nobel Prize in Physics

The award is the second of the season after the Medicine Prize went to mRNA researchers Katalin Kariko and Drew Weissman. Jonathan NACKSTRAND / AFP
The award is the second of the season after the Medicine Prize went to mRNA researchers Katalin Kariko and Drew Weissman. Jonathan NACKSTRAND / AFP

Scientists Pierre Agostini, Ferenc Krausz and Anne L'Huillier won the 2023 Nobel Prize in Physics for "experimental methods that generate attosecond pulses of light for the study of electron dynamics in matter", the award-giving body said on Tuesday. 

The prize, which was raised this year to 11 million Swedish crowns (about $1 million), is awarded by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. 

Physics is the second Nobel to be awarded this week after Hungarian scientist Katalin Kariko and US colleague Drew Weissman won the medicine prize for making mRNA molecule discoveries that paved the way for COVID-19 vaccines. 

Created in the will of dynamite inventor and businessman Alfred Nobel, the prizes for achievements in science, literature and peace have been awarded since 1901 with a few interruptions, becoming the arguably highest honor for scientists everywhere. 

While the sometimes controversial award for peace can hog the limelight, the physics prize has likewise often taken center stage with winners such as Albert Einstein and awards for science that has fundamentally changed how we see the world. 

Last year, Alain Aspect, John Clauser and Anton Zeilinger won the prize for work on quantum entanglement, where two particles are linked regardless of the space between them, something that unsettled Einstein himself who once referred to it as "spooky action at a distance". 

Announced on consecutive weekdays in early October, the physics prize announcement will be followed by ones for chemistry, literature, peace and economics, the latter a later addition to the original line-up. 


New Van Gogh Show in Paris Focuses on Artist’s Extraordinarily Productive and Tragic Final Months

 A visitor looks at "Champs de ble aux corbeaux" a painting by Vincent Van Gogh during the press preview of the exhibition "Van Gogh in Auvers-sur-Oise, last months" at Orsay Museum in Paris on September 29, 2023. (AFP)
A visitor looks at "Champs de ble aux corbeaux" a painting by Vincent Van Gogh during the press preview of the exhibition "Van Gogh in Auvers-sur-Oise, last months" at Orsay Museum in Paris on September 29, 2023. (AFP)
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New Van Gogh Show in Paris Focuses on Artist’s Extraordinarily Productive and Tragic Final Months

 A visitor looks at "Champs de ble aux corbeaux" a painting by Vincent Van Gogh during the press preview of the exhibition "Van Gogh in Auvers-sur-Oise, last months" at Orsay Museum in Paris on September 29, 2023. (AFP)
A visitor looks at "Champs de ble aux corbeaux" a painting by Vincent Van Gogh during the press preview of the exhibition "Van Gogh in Auvers-sur-Oise, last months" at Orsay Museum in Paris on September 29, 2023. (AFP)

Planted in a field, Vincent van Gogh painted furiously, bending the thick oils, riotous yellows and sumptuous blues to his will. The resulting masterpiece, “Wheatfield with Crows,” bursts off the canvas like technicolor champagne. Art historians believe the Dutch master painted it on July 8, 1890.

As far as they can tell, Van Gogh then churned out another stunning work the very next day, July 9, of more wheat fields under thunderous clouds. In the painting's vibrant greens, the mind's eye can imagine the artist working frenetically amid the sashaying stalks.

On or around July 10, then came yet another Van Gogh marvel — a painting of a tidy garden with a prowling cat. And the day after that, July 11, the artist appears to have headed back to the fields, likely having risen early as was his habit, painting them spotted with blood-red poppies, under skies of swirling blue.

At age 37 and the height of his powers, Van Gogh was splurging out genius at a rate of a painting a day. But less than three weeks later, he was dead, shot by his own hand.

A new exhibition at Paris' Orsay Museum that focuses on Van Gogh's last two months before his death on July 29, 1890, is extraordinary and extraordinarily painful — because this final period in the artist's life was also one of his most productive. The tragic paradox of the unprecedented assemblage of paintings and drawings is that it shows Van Gogh on fire creatively just as his life was tick-tick-tocking to its fateful end.

After a year's stay in a psychiatric hospital, which he entered voluntarily a few months after cutting off his left ear, Van Gogh had resettled in the French village of Auvers-sur-Oise, north of Paris. It had picturesque landscapes that also inspired Paul Cézanne, Camille Pissarro and other artists. And it had a doctor who specialized in depression, Paul Gachet, who took Van Gogh on as a patient.

Adhering to the doctor's advice, Van Gogh went into creative overdrive, throwing himself into his work to not dwell on his mental illness. He churned out an astounding 74 paintings, including some of his masterpieces, and dozens of drawings in 72 days.

After arriving May 20 in Auvers and checking into an auberge, Van Gogh immediately got busy with his brushes and paints, apparently polishing off at least seven paintings of houses, flowering chestnut trees and Dr. Gachet's garden in his first week.

“Painting quickly was important for him, to capture a feeling, to capture a vision,” Emmanuel Coquery, one of the show's curators, said.

“He’d get up very early in the morning, around 5 o’clock, have his coffee, go out with his easel, canvas and brushes, and set up in front of the subject he’d identified. He would paint all morning and go back to work in the studio in the afternoon,” Coquery said.

“He'd spend his whole days painting, perhaps 12 hours a day.”

For the exhibit titled “Van Gogh in Auvers-sur-Oise: The Final Months,” the Musée d'Orsay, which boasts the world's richest collection of Impressionist and post-Impressionist art, has assembled around 40 of Van Gogh's paintings and about 20 drawings from this fleeting, tragic period. It took four years of research and persuasion to liberate valuable works on loan from other museums and collections, with the Orsay clinching deals by also loaning some of its pieces in return.

The exhibit includes 11 paintings that Van Gogh painted on unusual elongated canvases, experimenting to stunning effect. Their dimensions — 1 meter long, 50 centimeters tall (30 inches by 19.6 inches) — give the paintings a dramatic, wide-screen, panorama look.

Loaned from eight museums and collections, it is the first time the 11 paintings have been shown together. Another version of the exhibition, with 10 of the elongated canvases, was first shown at Amsterdam’s Van Gogh Museum earlier this year.

They include the masterful “Wheatfield with Crows,” loaned from Amsterdam, with its foreboding black birds that can almost be heard caw-cawing as they take flight.

Equally poignant, but also unnerving, is “Tree Roots,” in part because it is thought to be Van Gogh's last work.

He is thought to have painted it on July 27, 1890, before shooting himself in the chest that evening. Van Gogh managed to get back to his room but died two days later. Two American authors cast doubt on this account in 2011, suggesting the artist was shot by two teenage boys. But the ultimately fatal suicide attempt is the version more widely believed.

In the painting's jumble of tree roots in blues that wrestle for attention with the greens of shaggy undergrowth and the browns of soil, the viewer imagines confusion, angst and pain. In 2020, a Dutch researcher pinpointed the exact location where Van Gogh painted the work, a discovery that shed new light on the anguished artist's final hours.

Like the music of rock god Jimi Hendrix, the poetry of Sylvia Plath or the graffiti wildness of New York artist Jean-Michel Basquiat, the Van Gogh show forces the question: What other marvels would he have left had he lived longer?

Yet being able to experience the world through Van Gogh's eyes, with his colors and scenes so alive that they seem to breathe, is also a gift that keeps on giving. For the viewer, the show is a mind-blowing combination of regret and awe.

“The quality is dazzling,” said Coquery, the curator. “It’s a real fireworks show.”

“Van Gogh in Auvers-sur-Oise: The Final Months” runs at the Musée d'Orsay through Feb. 4, 2024.


Culture Ministry Inaugurates Saudi Film Confex in Riyadh

The “Saudi Film Confex” is a platform that brings together relevant parties to enhance and promote filmmaking - SPA
The “Saudi Film Confex” is a platform that brings together relevant parties to enhance and promote filmmaking - SPA
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Culture Ministry Inaugurates Saudi Film Confex in Riyadh

The “Saudi Film Confex” is a platform that brings together relevant parties to enhance and promote filmmaking - SPA
The “Saudi Film Confex” is a platform that brings together relevant parties to enhance and promote filmmaking - SPA

Saudi Arabia's Deputy Minister of Culture Hamed bin Mohammed Fayez inaugurated the first edition of the Saudi Film Confex on Sunday at the Riyadh Front EXPO.

The event, which was held under the patronage of Minister of Culture and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Saudi Film Commission Prince Badr bin Abdullah bin Farhan Al Saud, draws select Arab and international filmmakers and several national, regional and international directors and industry experts in the Kingdom.

In the opening speech, Fayez stressed that art and culture continue to represent the spirit of Saudi society and are fundamental pillars of the Kingdom’s development.

According to SPa, he pointed to the efforts of the Ministry of Culture and the Saudi Film Commission to build a bright future for filmmaking and arts, in line with the Saudi Vision 2030, which was launched by His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Crown Prince and Prime Minister.

“Over the past few years, the film industry has been changing rapidly. Saudi films have placed our country onto the cultural world map in national and international arenas, and continue to highlight the creativity and talent available throughout the Kingdom,” Fayez said.
He stressed that the Ministry of Culture seeks to support filmmaking by establishing and developing industry-specific forums, such as the Saudi Film Confex, to ensure the exchange of experience, and facilitate communication among artists, local creators and international filmmakers.

He added: “We believe in the power of cinema and films and their prominent role in changing reality for the better and spreading our culture throughout the world. Therefore, the Film Commission will continue to support artistic and cinematic initiatives, contribute to developing skills, and expand the horizons of creativity, all of which come within the framework of our firm commitment to developing the art and cinema sector in our country.”

The “Saudi Film Confex” is a platform that brings together relevant parties to enhance and promote filmmaking and to publicize its importance to the national economy and investment opportunities in this field through three main pillars: industry trends, global practices, and challenges and opportunities in filmmaking; more than 100 experts and international figures in the field of filmmaking take part in it.

Some 50 speakers, including executives, investors and specialists from all over the world, will discuss the latest topics and technologies that support the film industry and its operations, and organize workshops, training sessions, and displays of cinematic products, projects and innovations related to filmmaking in the Kingdom and globally.


Hungarian and US Scientists Win Medicine Nobel for COVID-19 Vaccine Work 

A screen at the Karolinska Institute shows this year's laureates Katalin Kariko of Hungary (L) and Drew Weissman of the US during the announcement of the winners of the 2023 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm on October 2, 2023. (AFP)
A screen at the Karolinska Institute shows this year's laureates Katalin Kariko of Hungary (L) and Drew Weissman of the US during the announcement of the winners of the 2023 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm on October 2, 2023. (AFP)
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Hungarian and US Scientists Win Medicine Nobel for COVID-19 Vaccine Work 

A screen at the Karolinska Institute shows this year's laureates Katalin Kariko of Hungary (L) and Drew Weissman of the US during the announcement of the winners of the 2023 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm on October 2, 2023. (AFP)
A screen at the Karolinska Institute shows this year's laureates Katalin Kariko of Hungary (L) and Drew Weissman of the US during the announcement of the winners of the 2023 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm on October 2, 2023. (AFP)

Scientists Katalin Kariko and Drew Weissman from Hungary and the United States respectively won the 2023 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for discoveries enabling the development of mRNA COVID-19 vaccines, the award-giving body said on Monday.

The prize, among the most prestigious in the scientific world, is selected by the Nobel Assembly of Sweden's Karolinska Institute medical university and also comes with 11 million Swedish crowns (about $1 million).

"The 2023 NobelPrize in Physiology or Medicine has been awarded to Katalin Kariko and Drew Weissman for their discoveries concerning nucleoside base modifications that enabled the development of effective mRNA vaccines against COVID-19," the body said.

Kariko was senior vice president and head of RNA protein replacement at BioNTech until 2022 and has since acted as an adviser to the company. She is also a professor at the University of Szeged in Hungary and adjunct professor at the University of Pennsylvania’s Perelman School of Medicine.

Weissman is professor in vaccine research at the Perelman School.

Kariko found a way to prevent the immune system from launching an inflammatory reaction against lab-made mRNA, previously seen as a major hurdle against any therapeutic use of mRNA.

Together with Weissman, she showed in 2005 that adjustments to nucleosides, the molecular letters that write the mRNA’s genetic code, can keep the mRNA under the immune system’s radar.

"So this year's Nobel Prize recognizes their basic science discovery that fundamentally changed our understanding of how mRNA interacts with the immune system and had a major impact on society during the recent pandemic," said Rickard Sandberg, member of the Nobel Assembly at Karolinska Institute

The medicine prize kicks off this year's awards with the remaining five to be unveiled in the coming days.

The prizes, first handed out in 1901, were created by Swedish dynamite inventor and wealthy businessman Alfred Nobel, and are awarded for achievements in science, literature and peace, and in later years also for economics.

The Swedish king will present the prizes at a ceremony in Stockholm on Dec. 10, the anniversary of Nobel's death, followed by a lavish banquet at city hall.

Last year's medicine prize went to Swede Svante Paabo for sequencing the genome of the Neanderthal, an extinct relative of present-day humans, and for discovering a previously unknown human relative, the Denisovans.

Other past winners include Alexander Fleming, who shared the 1945 prize for the discovery of penicillin, and Karl Landsteiner in 1930 for his discovery of human blood groups.


Literature, Publishing and Translation Commission Signs Executive Program with China NPPA

The program will encourage the two parties to build bridges of culture, enrich content, and strengthen literary cooperation - SPA
The program will encourage the two parties to build bridges of culture, enrich content, and strengthen literary cooperation - SPA
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Literature, Publishing and Translation Commission Signs Executive Program with China NPPA

The program will encourage the two parties to build bridges of culture, enrich content, and strengthen literary cooperation - SPA
The program will encourage the two parties to build bridges of culture, enrich content, and strengthen literary cooperation - SPA

The Literature, Publishing and Translation Commission signed an executive program with the National Press and Publication Administration (NPPA) in China, for cooperation in the fields of translation, literature and publishing, and translation of prominent classic literature books from Arabic language into Chinese language and vice-versa, and publishing them in both friendly countries.The signing ceremony of the executive program took place at the Riyadh International Book Fair 2023, which is organized by the Literature, Publishing and Translation Commission under the theme "Inspirational Destination" at King Saud University in Riyadh from September 28 to October 7, SPA reported.

The program will encourage the two parties to build bridges of culture, enrich content, and strengthen literary cooperation between the Literature, Publishing and Translation Commission and the National Press and Publication Administration in China in a way that serves the sector and contributes to the development of cultural exchange between the Saudi and Chinese peoples.The program also reflects the keenness of the Ministry of Culture to promote international cultural exchange as one of the strategic goals of Saudi Vision 2023.


Celebrated Syrian Author Khaled Khalifa Dead at 59

Writer Khaled Khalifa speaks during an interview with AFP at his home in the Syrian capital Damascus on June 2, 2020. (AFP)
Writer Khaled Khalifa speaks during an interview with AFP at his home in the Syrian capital Damascus on June 2, 2020. (AFP)
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Celebrated Syrian Author Khaled Khalifa Dead at 59

Writer Khaled Khalifa speaks during an interview with AFP at his home in the Syrian capital Damascus on June 2, 2020. (AFP)
Writer Khaled Khalifa speaks during an interview with AFP at his home in the Syrian capital Damascus on June 2, 2020. (AFP)

Syrian writer and veteran government critic Khaled Khalifa has died of cardiac arrest at the age of 59 at his home in Damascus, a close friend told AFP.

Khalifa, who hailed from Maryamin in northwestern Aleppo province, was celebrated for his novels, television screenplays and newspaper columns, and honored with several of the Arab world's top literary awards.

He "died in his home alone in Damascus" on Saturday, said journalist Yaroub Aleesa, who had spent time with the author during his final days. "We called him repeatedly and he didn't respond. When we went to his home, we found him dead on the sofa."

Doctors at the Abbassiyyin Hospital in Damascus said the cause of death was a heart attack.

Khalifa gained fame as a writer of several popular Syrian TV series in the early 1990s.

He was known as a staunch opponent of the ruling Baath party and his columns criticizing the authorities.

But despite his well-known stance, he chose to remain in the country after the 2011 civil war broke out with the repression of protests against the government.

"I am staying because this is my country," he said in a 2019 interview. "I was born here, I live here and I want to die here!"

His 2006 novel "In Praise of Hatred" was shortlisted for the International Prize for Arab Fiction -- often dubbed the Arab Booker prize -- and was translated into six languages.

The novel recounts the story of a young Syrian woman from Aleppo who escapes her sequestered life by joining an extremist organization.

In 2013, his novel "No Knives in the Kitchens of this City" won the Naguib Mahfouz literature prize, Egypt's top accolade for writers.

It focuses on the lives of Syrians under the rule of the Baath party headed by President Bashar al-Assad.

The writer's death sparked a wave of condolences on social media from fellow writers and members of Syria's exiled opposition.

"Goodbye, you kind man," wrote Syrian writer and academic Salam Kawakibi.

Khalifa was expected to be buried later on Sunday in Damascus, though details of the funeral had yet to be disclosed.


King Abdulaziz Public Library Translates Over 100 Books from 12 Languages

The library has translated more than 100 books. SPA
The library has translated more than 100 books. SPA
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King Abdulaziz Public Library Translates Over 100 Books from 12 Languages

The library has translated more than 100 books. SPA
The library has translated more than 100 books. SPA

Translation from various international languages was a strategic goal of King Abdulaziz Public Library (KAPL) in Riyadh. Dozens of important books were translated into various scientific, literary, historical, and cultural fields, including children's books.

The library has translated more than 100 books, with a focus on works by Western scholars, orientalists, and travelers about Saudi Arabia and its founder King Abdulaziz Al Saud. It has also emphasized the translation of books related to history, Islamic civilization, and library science.

On International Translation Day, celebrated on September 30 each year, the library highlights the most prominent books that it has translated since the launch of its scientific publishing and translation program.

These translations have been from a range of international languages, including English, French, German, Korean, Hindi, Urdu, Czech, Turkish, Russian, Spanish, Japanese, and Chinese.

The International Federation of Translators, established in 1953, has been celebrating International Translation Day since 1991 to promote collaboration among translators worldwide and to underscore the importance of translation and translators' work. The United Nations General Assembly recognized and celebrated this day for the first time on September 30, 2017.


Cultural, Intellectual Destinations Inspire Riyadh International Book Fair Visitors

The Sultanate of Oman is the guest of honor during this edition
of the Riyadh International Book Fair. (Saleh al-Ghannam)
The Sultanate of Oman is the guest of honor during this edition of the Riyadh International Book Fair. (Saleh al-Ghannam)
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Cultural, Intellectual Destinations Inspire Riyadh International Book Fair Visitors

The Sultanate of Oman is the guest of honor during this edition
of the Riyadh International Book Fair. (Saleh al-Ghannam)
The Sultanate of Oman is the guest of honor during this edition of the Riyadh International Book Fair. (Saleh al-Ghannam)

The new edition of the Riyadh International Book Fair (RIBF) is offering its audience millions of books and new titles from the Arabic library, and also offering a wide space for intellectual and cultural dialogues that revive the evenings of the Saudi capital with publishers, intellects, and content creators from all over the world.

The corridors of the fair were crowded thanks to its new location at the King Saud University, and its organization over an area of 50,000 sqm. People have been touring seamlessly to visit the pavilions of over 1,800 publishers partaking from 32 countries and displaying millions of titles. The setup also features halls for the training workshops and platforms for the discussion evenings, which look into various topics on the intellectual movement and the Arabic creativity.

The Oman pavilion... history and art

RIBF is hosting a folkloric Omani group that performs popular arts reflecting the diversity and richness of the country. The Sultanate of Oman is the guest of honor of this year’s edition of the fair. Its pavilion displays diverse aspects of thought, culture, literature, art, and heritage, and hosts seminars, poetry evenings and art shows in which partakes an elite of Omani novelists and intellects.

Mhanna al-Qamshoui from the Omani Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Youth, said the visitors flocked to the Sultanate’s pavilion right after the opening, looking to explore the rare Omani manuscripts, the art exhibition, musical shows, and VR presentation on the Sultanate, as well as a Majlis serving Omani goods and popular sweets.

Qamshoui added that the pavilion exhibits a collection of rare manuscripts that reflect the Omani cultural history and its role in the Arab world, the connections among Arab countries and people throughout history, and their civilizational role in advancing humanity and serving various scientific and cultural purposes.

Visitors of the Omani pavilion have been given the opportunity to enjoy a collection of rare manuscripts including the oldest ever, which was written in 1137. The pavilion is decorated with a mural inspired by the Jabreen Castle built by Bil'arab bin Sultan bin Saif Al Yarubi in 1670.

Outdoor area... coffee and books

In the outdoor area, visitors can take a break in the coffee shops and partake in the intellectual discussions before resuming their tours.

The area also hosts theater shows and Saudi and Omani performances that entertain the visitors with cultural ambiances that highlight the historic connection between humans and books, and the significance of literatures for Arabs, as well as honoring the symbols of culture, thought, and poetry in the region.

Qamshoui announced that the Omani Orchestra will attend the RIBF in the few coming days to share its musical creativity with the Saudi audience, and expand the Omani experience in the heart of Saudi Arabia.