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Saudi Arabia Discusses Joint Cooperation with British, German Officials

Saudi Assistant Minister of Culture Rakan bin Ibrahim Al-Touq met with the UK Parliamentary Under Secretary of State of Department for Culture, Media and Sport. SPA
Saudi Assistant Minister of Culture Rakan bin Ibrahim Al-Touq met with the UK Parliamentary Under Secretary of State of Department for Culture, Media and Sport. SPA
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Saudi Arabia Discusses Joint Cooperation with British, German Officials

Saudi Assistant Minister of Culture Rakan bin Ibrahim Al-Touq met with the UK Parliamentary Under Secretary of State of Department for Culture, Media and Sport. SPA
Saudi Assistant Minister of Culture Rakan bin Ibrahim Al-Touq met with the UK Parliamentary Under Secretary of State of Department for Culture, Media and Sport. SPA

Saudi Assistant Minister of Culture Rakan bin Ibrahim Al-Touq met on Saturday with the UK Parliamentary Under Secretary of State of Department for Culture, Media and Sport, Lord Stephen Parkinson, on the sidelines of the meeting of the G20 Ministers of Culture in Varanasi in India.

During the meeting, the two sides discussed bilateral cultural cooperation between the two friendly countries, mainly the participation of the Saudi Culinary Arts Commission in the Taste of London Festival and the partnership between Royal Academy of Culinary Arts and The Prince's Foundation School of Traditional Arts.

Also on the sidelines of the meeting in Veranasi, Al-Touq met with the Germany Minister of State for Culture and the Media, Claudia Roth.

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UN Rights Office Warns of Israel’s Threat to Baalbek, Other Archaeological Sites in Lebanon

Smoke rises from the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted an area on the outskirts of the eastern Lebanese city of Baalbek in the Bekaa valley on October 31, 2024. (AFP)
Smoke rises from the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted an area on the outskirts of the eastern Lebanese city of Baalbek in the Bekaa valley on October 31, 2024. (AFP)
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UN Rights Office Warns of Israel’s Threat to Baalbek, Other Archaeological Sites in Lebanon

Smoke rises from the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted an area on the outskirts of the eastern Lebanese city of Baalbek in the Bekaa valley on October 31, 2024. (AFP)
Smoke rises from the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted an area on the outskirts of the eastern Lebanese city of Baalbek in the Bekaa valley on October 31, 2024. (AFP)

The UN Human Rights Office on Friday expressed alarm over “the continuing grave impact” of Israeli military operations on civilians and civilian targets in Lebanon, including the destruction of places of worship and risks posed to invaluable archaeological sites.

The office said that since Israel’s air force ordered the northeastern Lebanese city of Baalbek evacuated, airstrike that followed have “come perilously close” to the ancient Roman-era temple complex, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Destruction of cultural heritage “depletes the historical and cultural identity of the communities it represents,” it said.

The sites destroyed or severely damaged so far include mosques in the southern villages of Yaroun, Maroun el-Ras, Blida, and Kfar Tibnit, OHCHR said, adding that a Melkite Greek Catholic church in the port city of Tyre was also damaged in early October.

Civilian objects, buildings dedicated to religion and other sites of cultural significance are protected from attack under international humanitarian law unless they become military objectives, the office said.

It stressed that should the sites lose their protection, any attacks upon them must still comply with the principles of proportionality and precaution, and that all parties to the conflict should take special care to avoid damage to buildings dedicated to religion or other sites of cultural or historical significance.