Andrea Bocelli Stars in Opera Night at Saudi’s Winter Tantora Festival

Tenor Andrea Bocelli. (Reuters)
Tenor Andrea Bocelli. (Reuters)
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Andrea Bocelli Stars in Opera Night at Saudi’s Winter Tantora Festival

Tenor Andrea Bocelli. (Reuters)
Tenor Andrea Bocelli. (Reuters)

Tenor Andrea Bocelli held on Friday his first-ever concert in Saudi Arabia as part of the Winter at Tantora festival that is underway in the al-Ula region.

The sold-out concert was conducted by Marcello Rota at the head of a 140-piece orchestra.

The concert featured a variety of performances by Bocelli and his companions, soprano Maria Aleida Rodriguez, violinist Anastasiya Petryshak and guest singer Ilaria Della Bidia.

Bocelli performed several of his acclaimed hits and during one of the segments, appeared on stage dressed in traditional Saudi garb much to the delight of the audience.

Hosted by the residents of al-Ula, the festival runs from December 20, 2018 until February 9, 2019.

During a series of themed weekend events, festival visitors experienced a range of activities including a celebration of the winter planting season, weekly cultural events, a spectacular Fursan equine experience and premiere musical performances from some of the world’s greatest musicians.

They included music performances by Mohamed Abdo, Majida El Roumi and Renaud Capuçon.

Fans are in store for a concert by Kadim Al-Saher and Ilham al-Madfai on February 15.

On February 22, the festival will honor Abdul Karim Abdul Qader with performances by Majid al-Muhandis and Rashed Al-Majed.



Japan Births in 2024 Fell Below 700,000 for First Time 

People walk along a pedestrian crossing at a shopping street Wednesday, June 4, 2025, in Tokyo. (AP)
People walk along a pedestrian crossing at a shopping street Wednesday, June 4, 2025, in Tokyo. (AP)
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Japan Births in 2024 Fell Below 700,000 for First Time 

People walk along a pedestrian crossing at a shopping street Wednesday, June 4, 2025, in Tokyo. (AP)
People walk along a pedestrian crossing at a shopping street Wednesday, June 4, 2025, in Tokyo. (AP)

The number of births in Japan last year fell below 700,000 for the first time on record, government data showed Wednesday.

The fast-ageing nation welcomed 686,061 newborns in 2024 -- 41,227 fewer than in 2023, the data showed. It was the lowest figure since records began in 1899.

Japan has the world's second-oldest population after tiny Monaco, according to the World Bank.

Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has called the situation a "quiet emergency", pledging family-friendly measures like more flexible working hours to try and reverse the trend.

Wednesday's health ministry data showed that Japan's total fertility rate -- the average number of children a woman is expected to have -- also fell to a record low of 1.15.

The ministry said Japan saw 1.6 million deaths in 2024, up 1.9 percent from a year earlier.

Ishiba has called for the revitalization of rural regions, where shrinking elderly villages are becoming increasingly isolated.

In more than 20,000 communities in Japan, the majority of residents are aged 65 and above, according to the internal affairs ministry.

The country of 123 million people is also facing increasingly severe worker shortages as its population ages, not helped by relatively strict immigration rules.

In neighboring South Korea, the fertility rate in 2024 was even lower than Japan's, at 0.75 -- remaining one of the world's lowest but marking a small rise from the previous year on the back of a rise in marriages.