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Prominent Personalities to Discuss Outlook for Arab Media Sector at AMF’s 19th Edition

A man holds the daily Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper fronted by a picture of President Donald Trump, at a coffee shop in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. File photo: Amr Nabil,AP
A man holds the daily Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper fronted by a picture of President Donald Trump, at a coffee shop in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. File photo: Amr Nabil,AP
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Prominent Personalities to Discuss Outlook for Arab Media Sector at AMF’s 19th Edition

A man holds the daily Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper fronted by a picture of President Donald Trump, at a coffee shop in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. File photo: Amr Nabil,AP
A man holds the daily Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper fronted by a picture of President Donald Trump, at a coffee shop in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. File photo: Amr Nabil,AP

The Dubai Press Club (DPC) has announced the agenda for the 19th edition of the Arab Media Forum (AMF), set to be held virtually next week.

The Forum will bring together prominent regional and international media personalities and industry leaders to discuss the outlook for the region’s media sector.

It will be held on Wednesday under the patronage of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.

Organized under the theme ‘Arab Media: The Future is Digital’, the event will explore strategies to advance the industry’s digital transformation and assess how the sector can take advantage of new opportunities and technologies to accelerate its growth.

President of Dubai Press Club and Chairperson of AMF’s Organizing Committee Mona Al Marri said she looked forward to listening to perspectives on the massive transformations sweeping the globe and various developments impacting the political and economic landscape, including the global pandemic.

Key speakers at this year’s Arab Media Forum include Egyptian Prime Minister Dr. Mostafa Madbouly, Dr. Nayef Falah Mubarak Al-Hajraf, Secretary General of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), Egypt’s Minister of State for Information Dr. Osama Haikal, and Michael Friedenberg, President, Reuters News.

In a session titled ‘Reshaping the Arab Media,’ Abdulrahman Al-Rashed, Journalist and Chairman of Al Arabiya’s Editorial Board, will discuss the impact of regional events on Arab media. Al-Rashed’s session, to be moderated by Sky News Arabia TV Presenter Chantal Saliba, will also share his insights on global media development in the post-COVID-19 period.

Author, reporter and columnist Thomas Friedman will join AMF this year to discuss the prospects for peace in the Middle East and the impact of the UAE, Bahrain and Sudan’s agreements with Israel to promote the stability of the region.

In a session titled ‘Arab Media: Geopolitical Transformations’, Dr. Ali Rashid Al Nuaimi, Chairman of the Defense, Interior and Foreign Affairs Committee in the Federal National Council, Dr. Fahed Al-Shelaimi, President of the Gulf Forum for Security and Peace and Sawsan Al Shaer, Journalist and Columnist, will discuss new trends shaping Arab media.

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Varieties

Russian ‘Spy Whale’ in Norway Wasn’t Shot Dead, Likely Died of Infection

FILE - In this photo taken in April 2019 a beluga whale found in Arctic Norway is fed. (Jorgen Ree Wiig, Norwegian Directorate of Fisheries via AP)
FILE - In this photo taken in April 2019 a beluga whale found in Arctic Norway is fed. (Jorgen Ree Wiig, Norwegian Directorate of Fisheries via AP)
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Russian ‘Spy Whale’ in Norway Wasn’t Shot Dead, Likely Died of Infection

FILE - In this photo taken in April 2019 a beluga whale found in Arctic Norway is fed. (Jorgen Ree Wiig, Norwegian Directorate of Fisheries via AP)
FILE - In this photo taken in April 2019 a beluga whale found in Arctic Norway is fed. (Jorgen Ree Wiig, Norwegian Directorate of Fisheries via AP)

A beluga whale that lived off Norway’s coast and whose harness ignited speculation that it was a Russian spy, was not shot to death as claimed by animal rights groups but died of a bacterial infection, Norwegian police said Friday.
A final autopsy by Norway's Veterinary Institute “concludes that the probable cause of death was bacterial infection -- possibly as a result of a wound in the mouth from a stuck stick,” Amund Preede Revheim, head of the North Sea and Environment section of the police in south-western Norway said.
“There have been no findings from the autopsy that indicate that the whale has been shot,” he stressed, adding that the autopsy had been “made difficult by the fact that many of the whale’s organs were very rotten.” As there was no indication of foul play, there was no reason to start a criminal investigation into its death, The Associated Press quoted Preede Revheim as saying.
The tame beluga, which was first spotted in 2019 not far from Russian waters with a harness reading “Equipment St. Petersburg,” had been nicknamed "Hvaldimir,” combining the Norwegian word for whale — hval — and the first name of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
It was found floating in a southern Norway bay on Aug. 31.
In September, animal advocate groups OneWhale and NOAH filed a police report saying that the animal’s wounds suggested it was intentionally killed.
They pointed at several wounds found on the animal’s skin, including what was interpreted as a bullet hole.
“Assessments made by the Veterinary Institute and the police’s forensic technicians are that these are not gunshot wounds. X-rays of the chest and head were carried out without any projectiles or other metal fragments being detected,” police said in a statement.
Earlier, police had described a stick about 35 centimeters (14 inches) long and 3 centimeters (1 inch) wide which was found wedged in the animal’s mouth, its stomach was empty and its organs had broken down, police said. No further details were given.
The 4.2-meter (14-foot) long and 1,225-kilogram (2,700-pound) whale was first spotted by fishermen not far from the Arctic town of Hammerfest.
Its harness, along with what appeared to be a mount for a small camera, led to media speculation that it was a “spy whale.” Experts say the Russian navy is known to have trained whales for military purposes. Media reports also have speculated that the whale might have been trained as a therapy animal.
There was no immediate reaction from OneWhale or NOAH.