Palestine Scores One of World's Highest Literacy Rates

In this May 26, 2019 file photo, a teacher supervises while school children attend a final exam during the last day of the school year, at the UNRWA, Hebron Boys School, in the West Bank. (AP)
In this May 26, 2019 file photo, a teacher supervises while school children attend a final exam during the last day of the school year, at the UNRWA, Hebron Boys School, in the West Bank. (AP)
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Palestine Scores One of World's Highest Literacy Rates

In this May 26, 2019 file photo, a teacher supervises while school children attend a final exam during the last day of the school year, at the UNRWA, Hebron Boys School, in the West Bank. (AP)
In this May 26, 2019 file photo, a teacher supervises while school children attend a final exam during the last day of the school year, at the UNRWA, Hebron Boys School, in the West Bank. (AP)

On the occasion of International Literacy Day, the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS) published a report saying Palestine has one of the world's highest literacy rates.

Illiteracy rates among Palestinian population aged 15 years and above in Palestine fell in the period from 13.9% in 1997 to 2.8% in 2018, said the PCBS report.

For males, the rate fell from 7.8% in 1997 to 1.3% in 2018, while for females it fell from 20.3% to 4.3% over the same period.

By region, the rate fell from 14.1% in 1997 to 3.0% in 2018 in the West Bank while the rate fell in the Gaza Strip from 13.7% in 1997 to 2.4% over the same period.

The illiteracy rate varies considerably between age groups, where the age group 65 years and above got the highest rate, while the lowest rate was among the age groups 30-44 years and 15-29 years.

In 2018, the illiteracy rate among rural locales reached 3.7% (18,000 illiterate persons), while scored 2.8% in the refugee camps (7,100 illiterate persons) and 2.6% (57,700 illiterate persons) in urban areas. In 2018, the female illiteracy rate was the highest in rural localities, followed by refugee camps and urban areas respectively. Male illiteracy rate did not vary by type of locality.

In 2018, the highest illiteracy rate among persons aged 15 years and above was in the Salfit governorate with 5.4%, followed by Jericho and Al Aghwar with 3.9%. The lowest rate was in Gaza governorate with 2%.

By gender, the highest illiteracy rate among males aged 15 years and above was in Jerusalem governorate with 2.9% while the highest illiteracy rate among females for the same age group was in Salfit with 9.2%.



Farewell Eagles… Hobbit Sculptures Removed from Wellington Airport

A sculpture of an eagle from the Hobbit films, ridden by the wizard Gandalf, hangs over the food court area of Wellington Airport, in Wellington, New Zealand, Monday, May 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Charlotte Graham-McLay)
A sculpture of an eagle from the Hobbit films, ridden by the wizard Gandalf, hangs over the food court area of Wellington Airport, in Wellington, New Zealand, Monday, May 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Charlotte Graham-McLay)
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Farewell Eagles… Hobbit Sculptures Removed from Wellington Airport

A sculpture of an eagle from the Hobbit films, ridden by the wizard Gandalf, hangs over the food court area of Wellington Airport, in Wellington, New Zealand, Monday, May 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Charlotte Graham-McLay)
A sculpture of an eagle from the Hobbit films, ridden by the wizard Gandalf, hangs over the food court area of Wellington Airport, in Wellington, New Zealand, Monday, May 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Charlotte Graham-McLay)

For more than a decade, a pair of Hobbit-inspired eagle sculptures have cast a watchful eye over visitors at New Zealand's Wellington Airport.

But the giant birds will be unfastened from the ceiling on Friday to make way for a new mystery exhibit, airport authorities said.

According to BBC, the eagles appear as messengers in JRR Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, which were adapted to film by New Zealand's Sir Peter Jackson.

The spectacular New Zealand landscapes featured in Jackson's films are a consistent draw for tourists, who are greeted at the airport by the eagle sculptures.

“It's not unusual to see airborne departures from Wellington Airport, but in this case, it will be emotional for us, “Wellington Airport chief executive Matt Clarke said in a statement.

The giant eagles will be placed in storage and there have not been long-term plans for them.

Each eagle weighs 1.2 tons with a wingspan of 15 meters. Riding on the back of one of the birds is a sculpture of the wizard, Gandalf.

Made of polystyrene and with an internal steel skeleton, each eagle has hundreds of feathers, the longest one measuring 2.4 meters.

While the iconic eagles will soon be gone, not all is lost for fans of the franchise: Smaug the Magnificent, the dragon in The Hobbit, will continue to be displayed at the check-in area.

The eagles were unveiled in 2013, around the time of the release of The Hobbit trilogy. The giant sculptures were produced by Wētā Workshop, the New Zealand-based company that made costumes and props for The Lord of the Rings franchise.

“We're working with Wētā Workshop on some exciting plans for a unique, locally themed replacement to take their place,” Clarke said. “We'll unveil what's next later this year so keep watching the skies.”