KSA: Al Musawara From Terror Hideout to Cultural Hub

Saudi cultural center in Al Musawara neighborhood in Al-Awamiyah town,Eastern Province , Saudi Arabia, Asharq Al Awsat
Saudi cultural center in Al Musawara neighborhood in Al-Awamiyah town,Eastern Province , Saudi Arabia, Asharq Al Awsat
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KSA: Al Musawara From Terror Hideout to Cultural Hub

Saudi cultural center in Al Musawara neighborhood in Al-Awamiyah town,Eastern Province , Saudi Arabia, Asharq Al Awsat
Saudi cultural center in Al Musawara neighborhood in Al-Awamiyah town,Eastern Province , Saudi Arabia, Asharq Al Awsat

Within a year of the Saudi government’s decision to reform and develop Al Musawara neighborhood in Al-Awamiyah town nestled in the Eastern Province, the locality has been transformed from a springboard for terror assaults against security servicemen to a cultural center meant to advance provincial stability.

Saudi security forces have successfully routed terrorist groups that were holed up in the neighborhood that has become home to one of the country’s greatest cultural and development projects achieved in under 12 months.

Mayor of the Eastern Province Fahd Bin Mohammed Al-Jubeir confirmed that the project’s construction works were accomplished.

Speaking to Asharq Al Awsat, Jubeir said that the total cost of the project stood at $64 million dollars (SAR 239 million riyals) and was finished in the remarkable period of eight months.

The educational center is one of the development projects that are designed to preserve the urban and cultural identity in the eastern region, combining heritage and tradition with modern day architecture and development.

Considered a regional milestone in development for the Eastern Province, the center spans over an area of 180,000 square meters and provides a number of multi-cultural, tourist and commercial services to both locals and visitors.

More so, Jubeir reaffirmed that the Eastern Region Secretariat is working rapidly to wrap up the finishing touches on the project for a timely delivery without undercutting construction quality and safety standards.

Last October, the project’s completion rate was 70 percent. The project will include commercial stores, a cultural center, a public library, a sports complex, cafes, restaurants, men’s and women’s halls, a shopping mall, a women’s club, a kindergarten, and a car park.

The center will also host landmark heritage towers built on an area of 866 square meters.



Saudi Arabia Welcomes Ceasefire Agreement in Yemen

 The damaged Sanaa airport a day after Israeli airstrikes hit the premises, in Sanaa, Yemen, 07 May 2025. (EPA)
The damaged Sanaa airport a day after Israeli airstrikes hit the premises, in Sanaa, Yemen, 07 May 2025. (EPA)
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Saudi Arabia Welcomes Ceasefire Agreement in Yemen

 The damaged Sanaa airport a day after Israeli airstrikes hit the premises, in Sanaa, Yemen, 07 May 2025. (EPA)
The damaged Sanaa airport a day after Israeli airstrikes hit the premises, in Sanaa, Yemen, 07 May 2025. (EPA)

Saudi Arabia welcomed the ceasefire in Yemen, announced by Oman, aiming to protect international navigation and trade, the Kingdom's foreign ministry said on Wednesday.

It reiterated its support for all effort aimed at reaching a comprehensive political solution to the crisis in Yemen that would achieve security and stability in the country and region.

Oman said a day earlier that it mediated a ceasefire deal between Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis and the US.

President Donald Trump announced on Tuesday the US would stop bombing the Houthis in Yemen, saying that the militants had agreed to stop attacking US ships.

The ceasefire deal does not include sparing Israel, the Houthis said on Wednesday, suggesting their shipping attacks that have disrupted global trade will not come to a complete halt.

There have been no reports of Houthi attacks on shipping in the Red Sea area since January.

The Houthis have been firing at Israel and at shipping in the Red Sea since Israel began its military offensive against Hamas in Gaza after the Palestinian group's deadly attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.

The US military has said it has struck more than 1,000 targets since its current operation in Yemen, known as Operation Rough Rider, started on March 15. The strikes, the US military said, have killed "hundreds of Houthi fighters and numerous Houthi leaders".