Cultures and Peoples' Festival at Islamic University of Madinah Concludes

500 participating university students represented 95 countries worldwide in the festival - SPA
500 participating university students represented 95 countries worldwide in the festival - SPA
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Cultures and Peoples' Festival at Islamic University of Madinah Concludes

500 participating university students represented 95 countries worldwide in the festival - SPA
500 participating university students represented 95 countries worldwide in the festival - SPA

The Islamic University of Madinah concluded the 12th annual Cultures and Peoples' Festival.

The festival was organized under the slogan "Here is the World" and included 3,114 events and activities for families, children, and the community.
Visitors from all segments of society highly appreciated the events and activities, SPA reported.
The festival organizers confirmed that the current session had an increased number of attendees, which is in line with the significant development the festival has experienced compared to previous years.
They praised the efforts and presentations of 500 participating university students, who represented 95 countries worldwide.



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.