Saudi Arabia Wins First World Camel Endurance Championship in AlUla

The championship is co-organized by the International Camel Racing Federation and the Royal Commission for AlUA - SPA
The championship is co-organized by the International Camel Racing Federation and the Royal Commission for AlUA - SPA
TT

Saudi Arabia Wins First World Camel Endurance Championship in AlUla

The championship is co-organized by the International Camel Racing Federation and the Royal Commission for AlUA - SPA
The championship is co-organized by the International Camel Racing Federation and the Royal Commission for AlUA - SPA

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia won first place at the First World Camel Endurance Championship for men and women, held in AlUla.
The championship, co-organized by the International Camel Racing Federation and the Royal Commission for AlUla, witnessed fierce competition from jockeys representing 20 countries.
Saudi dominance was undeniable, with Saudi male jockeys securing the top three spots and winning trophies in both the first and second rounds. Adding to the Kingdom's triumph, a Saudi woman jockey took home first place in the women's category, SPA reported.
The grueling race tested the endurance of both camels and riders. It covered a total distance of 16 kilometers across two stages, each 8 kilometers long. The event offered a total prize pool exceeding SAR2 million.



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
TT

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.