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.



UN Puts 4th Century Gaza Monastery on Endangered Site List

The Saint Hilarion complex dates back to the fourth century. Mahmud HAMS / AFP/File
The Saint Hilarion complex dates back to the fourth century. Mahmud HAMS / AFP/File
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UN Puts 4th Century Gaza Monastery on Endangered Site List

The Saint Hilarion complex dates back to the fourth century. Mahmud HAMS / AFP/File
The Saint Hilarion complex dates back to the fourth century. Mahmud HAMS / AFP/File

The Saint Hilarion complex, one of the oldest monasteries in the Middle East, has been put on the UNESCO list of World Heritage sites in danger due to the war in Gaza, the body said Friday.
UNESCO said the site, which dates back to the fourth century, had been put on the endangered list at the demand of Palestinian authorities and cited the "imminent threats" it faced.
"It's the only recourse to protect the site from destruction in the current context," Lazare Eloundou Assomo, director of the UNESCO World Heritage Centre, told AFP, referring to the war sparked by Hamas's October 7 attack on Israel.
In December, the UNESCO Committee for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict decided to grant "provisional enhanced protection" -- the highest level of immunity established by the 1954 Hague Convention -- to the site.
UNESCO had then said it was "already concerned about the state of conservation of sites, before October 7, due to the lack of adequate policies to protect heritage and culture" in Gaza.
The Hamas attack on October 7 resulted in the deaths of 1,197 people in Israel, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.
Israel's retaliatory offensive against Hamas has killed at least 39,175 Palestinians in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run territory's health ministry, which does not give details of civilian and militant deaths.