Chinese Cultural Delegation Visits King Abdulaziz Public Library

The King Abdulaziz Public Library (KAPL). SPA
The King Abdulaziz Public Library (KAPL). SPA
TT

Chinese Cultural Delegation Visits King Abdulaziz Public Library

The King Abdulaziz Public Library (KAPL). SPA
The King Abdulaziz Public Library (KAPL). SPA

A Chinese cultural delegation has visited the King Abdulaziz Public Library (KAPL) in Riyadh.

The delegation was briefed on Wednesday on the library's programs, activities, and artistic and cultural exhibitions. The visit aimed to facilitate cognitive and scientific dialogue between Saudi and Chinese cultures and introduce students and scholars to the most prominent features of ancient and contemporary cultures.
The library also celebrated the Year of the Camel, which was declared by the Ministry of Culture for 2024. A luncheon was held in a camp outside Riyadh, which included various cultural activities such as learning about camels, their breeding, and their upbringing in the Kingdom's desert and on the Arabian Peninsula. Additionally, the library displayed a group of publications related to camels.
In recent years, Saudi-Chinese cultural relations have witnessed remarkable interaction represented by cultural exchange and the holding of various events.
Since the establishment of the KAPL branch at Beijing University, the library has held many events about Saudi and Arabic literature and introduced them to China.
It is also currently translating some examples of Saudi and Arabic literature into Chinese while translating several Chinese literary publications and books into Arabic.



Australia Bans Uranium Mining at Indigenous Site

A view shows a sign at the Energy Resources Australia (ERA) Ranger Project Area in Kakadu National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Northern Territory, Australia, July 11, 2024. (Reuters)
A view shows a sign at the Energy Resources Australia (ERA) Ranger Project Area in Kakadu National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Northern Territory, Australia, July 11, 2024. (Reuters)
TT

Australia Bans Uranium Mining at Indigenous Site

A view shows a sign at the Energy Resources Australia (ERA) Ranger Project Area in Kakadu National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Northern Territory, Australia, July 11, 2024. (Reuters)
A view shows a sign at the Energy Resources Australia (ERA) Ranger Project Area in Kakadu National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Northern Territory, Australia, July 11, 2024. (Reuters)

Australia moved Saturday to ban mining at one of the world's largest high-grade uranium deposits, highlighting the site's "enduring connection" to Indigenous Australians.

The Jabiluka deposit in northern Australia is surrounded by the heritage-listed Kakadu national park, a tropical expanse of gorges and waterfalls featured in the first "Crocodile Dundee" film.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the national park would be extended to include the Jabiluka site -- which has never been mined -- honoring the decades-long desires of the Mirrar people.

"They were seeking a guarantee that there would never be uranium mining on their land," Albanese told a crowd of Labor Party supporters in Sydney.

"This means there will never be mining at Jabiluka," he added.

Archaeologists discovered a buried trove of stone axes and tools near the Jabiluka site in 2017, which they dated at tens of thousands of years old.

The find was "proof of the extraordinary and enduring connection Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander have had with our land", Albanese said.

"The Mirrar people have loved and cared for their land for more than 60,000 years.

"That beautiful part of Australia is home to some of the oldest rock art in the world," he added.

Discovered in the early 1970s, efforts to exploit the Jabiluka deposit have for decades been tied-up in legal wrangling between Indigenous custodians and mining companies.

It is one of the world's largest unexploited high-grade uranium deposits, according to the World Nuclear Association.

Rio Tinto-controlled company Energy Resources of Australia previously held mining leases at Jabiluka.

The conservation of Indigenous sites has come under intense scrutiny in Australia after mining company Rio Tinto blew up the 46,000-year-old Juukan Gorge rock shelters in 2020.

Australia's conservative opposition has vowed to build nuclear power plants across the country if it wins the next election, overturning a 26-year nuclear ban.