GEA Launches Program to Discover Saudi Talents

GEA Launches Program to Discover Saudi Talents
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GEA Launches Program to Discover Saudi Talents

GEA Launches Program to Discover Saudi Talents

The General Entertainment Authority (GEA) has launched the national program to discover talents dubbed "Entertainment Challenges". The program aims to discover, develop and enable the best talents to reach world class levels in 20 categories.

The program aims to discover national talents in various fields of entertainment, and its scope would be broadened to include all Saudis, along with encouraging all segments of the society to take part with a local entertainment content that suits the Kingdom’s image and culture. Winners will receive a fund of SR20 million ($5.3 million) to train and take their talents to an international audience.

Turki Al-Sheikh, chairman of the General Entertainment Authority (GEA), announced that winners of the three first places in all the challenges will be supported with training programs aimed at developing their talents and enhancing their potentials. Prizes will be given to the winners as follows: SR500,000 ($133,000) for the first place, SR300,000 for the second, and SR200,000 for the third.

The 20 entertainment challenges are: entertainment song, laughing marathon, graffiti artist, Saudi singer, national poet, Saudi circus, nature Olympics, entertainment activities, acting, folk dances, tank shows, kingdom chef, car shows, Saudi cartoon, animal shows, magic arts, skiing, Saudi comedy, video and photography, and events coverage.

The Authority said it will be ready to receive any proposal on other entertainment talents that are not included in the available categories.

The GEA announced that doors for registration have been opened until April 30. The evaluation and nomination stage is scheduled on May 1 to July 30, and live performance shows before the jury will take place from July 1 until Aug. 31.



10,000 Pages of Records about Robert F. Kennedy’s 1968 Assassination Are Released, on Trump’s Order

Roses adorn the headstone on the grave of Robert F. Kennedy on the 50th anniversary of his assassination at Arlington National Cemetery, in Arlington, VA, US, June 6, 2018. (Reuters)
Roses adorn the headstone on the grave of Robert F. Kennedy on the 50th anniversary of his assassination at Arlington National Cemetery, in Arlington, VA, US, June 6, 2018. (Reuters)
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10,000 Pages of Records about Robert F. Kennedy’s 1968 Assassination Are Released, on Trump’s Order

Roses adorn the headstone on the grave of Robert F. Kennedy on the 50th anniversary of his assassination at Arlington National Cemetery, in Arlington, VA, US, June 6, 2018. (Reuters)
Roses adorn the headstone on the grave of Robert F. Kennedy on the 50th anniversary of his assassination at Arlington National Cemetery, in Arlington, VA, US, June 6, 2018. (Reuters)

Approximately 10,000 pages of records related to the 1968 assassination of Sen. Robert F. Kennedy were released Friday, continuing the disclosure of national secrets ordered by President Donald Trump.

Kennedy was fatally shot on June 5, 1968, at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles moments after giving his victory speech for winning California’s Democratic presidential primary. His assassin, Sirhan Sirhan, was convicted of first-degree murder and is serving life in prison.

The US National Archives and Records Administration posted roughly 229 files containing the pages to its public website. Many files related to the senator’s assassination had been previously released, but others had not been digitized and sat for decades in storage facilities maintained by the federal government.

“Nearly 60 years after the tragic assassination of Senator Robert F. Kennedy, the American people will, for the first time, have the opportunity to review the federal government’s investigation thanks to the leadership of President Trump,” Tulsi Gabbard, the director of national intelligence, said in a statement.

Gabbard also said the files release “shine a long-overdue light on the truth.”

The release of the RFK files comes a month after unredacted files related to the 1963 assassination of President John F. Kennedy were disclosed. Those documents gave curious readers more details about Cold War-era covert US operations in other nations but didn’t initially lend credence to long-circulating conspiracy theories about who killed JFK.

Trump, a Republican, has championed in the name of transparency the release of documents related to high-profile assassinations and investigations. But he’s also been deeply suspicious for years of the government’s intelligence agencies, and his administration’s release of once-hidden files opens the door for additional public scrutiny and questioning about the conclusions and operations of institutions such as the CIA and the FBI.

Trump signed an executive order in January calling for the release of governmental documents related to the assassinations of Robert F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr., who were killed within two months of each other.

Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., a son of the Democratic New York senator who now serves as the US Health and Human Services secretary, commended Trump and Gabbard for their “courage” and “dogged efforts” to release the files.

“Lifting the veil on the RFK papers is a necessary step toward restoring trust in American government,” the health secretary said in a statement.