Trio Night Kicks off the New Year in Riyadh

Fireworks lit up the sky above Riyadh for New Year's Eve. (Reuters)
Fireworks lit up the sky above Riyadh for New Year's Eve. (Reuters)
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Trio Night Kicks off the New Year in Riyadh

Fireworks lit up the sky above Riyadh for New Year's Eve. (Reuters)
Fireworks lit up the sky above Riyadh for New Year's Eve. (Reuters)

The Saudi capital saw a legendary evening to bid farewell to the year 2021. The concert was held on the Boulevard Theater in Riyadh, in the presence of a large audience.

A total of 14 singers from the Arab world participated in the Riyadh Trio Night.

The celebration, which is the first of its kind in the Arab world, saw the appearance of Mohammed Abdo, Abdullah al-Rowaished, Angham, Fahad al-Kubaisi, Assala, Majid al-Muhandis, Ahlam, Nawal El Kuwaitia, Rashid al-Majid, Nabil Shuail, Ali Ben Mohammed, Walid Chami, Aseel Abu Baker, Asma Lamnawar.

The Egyptian orchestra led by maestro Walid Fayed added its innovative touch to the celebration as well.

Abdulmajid Abdullah made an unexpected appearance that turned the stadiums into a festival with all attendees clapping.

Governor of the General Entertainment Authority Turki Al-Sheikh described the night as “historical” and extended his thanks to all the participants.

The fireworks lit up the sky of Riyadh in celebration of the new year.

Saudi musician Diya Azzony told Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper that Saudi Arabia is witnessing an annual development, namely during the entertainment seasons and public events. This supports artists of all fields and musical talents.

Taking good care of talents is a key part of the development of the artistic sector, especially the musical sector, said Azzony.

He added to the newspaper that there has been an increase in the number of artists and musical instruments' players, and development in the event organizing companies in a way that creates job opportunities, increases productivity in this field, and enriches the artistic movement.

General manager at Music Home KSA Prof. Ayman Tayseer told Asharq Al-Awsat that the future of arts is promising in the Kingdom, adding that this sector is witnessing significant changes.

Tayseer noted that the musical and artistic talents will find the opportunities awaiting them upon completing their training.



EU Monitor: 2024 'Virtually Certain' to Be Hottest Year on Record

Weather extremes in October included deadly flooding in Spain. JOSE JORDAN / AFP
Weather extremes in October included deadly flooding in Spain. JOSE JORDAN / AFP
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EU Monitor: 2024 'Virtually Certain' to Be Hottest Year on Record

Weather extremes in October included deadly flooding in Spain. JOSE JORDAN / AFP
Weather extremes in October included deadly flooding in Spain. JOSE JORDAN / AFP

This year is "virtually certain" to be the hottest in recorded history with warming above 1.5C, EU climate monitor Copernicus said Thursday, days before nations are due to gather for crunch UN climate talks.
The European agency said the world was passing a "new milestone" of temperature records that should serve to accelerate action to cut planet-heating emissions at the UN negotiations in Azerbaijan next week, AFP said.
Last month, marked by deadly flooding in Spain and Hurricane Milton in the United States, was the second hottest October on record, with average global temperatures second only to the same period in 2023.
Copernicus said 2024 would likely be more than 1.55 degrees Celsius above the 1850-1900 average -- the period before the industrial-scale burning of fossil fuels.
This does not amount to a breach of the Paris deal, which strives to limit global warming to below 2C and preferably 1.5C, because that is measured over decades and not individual years.
"It is now virtually certain that 2024 will be the warmest year on record and the first year of more than 1.5C above pre-industrial levels," said Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) Deputy Director Samantha Burgess.
"This marks a new milestone in global temperature records and should serve as a catalyst to raise ambition for the upcoming Climate Change Conference, COP29."
Wild weather
The UN climate negotiations in Azerbaijan, which will set the stage for a new round of crucial carbon-cutting targets, will take place in the wake of the United States election victory by Donald Trump.
Trump, a climate change denier, pulled the US out of the Paris Agreement during his first presidency -- and while his successor Joe Biden took the United States back in, he has threatened to do so again.
Meanwhile, average global temperatures have reached new peaks, as have concentrations of planet-heating gases in the atmosphere.
Scientists say the safer 1.5C limit is rapidly slipping out of reach, while stressing that every tenth of a degree of temperature rise heralds progressively more damaging impacts.
Last month the UN said the current pace of climate action would result in a catastrophic 3.1C of warming this century, while all current climate pledges taken in full would still amount to a devastating 2.6C temperature rise.
Global warming is not just about rising temperatures, but the knock-on effect of all the extra heat in the atmosphere and seas.
Warmer air can hold more water vapor, and warmer oceans mean greater evaporation, resulting in more intense downpours and storms.
In a month of weather extremes, October saw above-average rainfall across swathes of Europe, as well as parts of China, the US, Brazil and Australia, Copernicus said.
The US is also experiencing ongoing drought, which affected record numbers of people, the EU monitor added.
Copernicus said average sea surface temperatures in the area it monitors were the second highest on record for the month of October.
C3S uses billions of measurements from satellites, ships, aircraft and weather stations to aid its calculations.
Copernicus records go back to 1940 but other sources of climate data such as ice cores, tree rings and coral skeletons allow scientists to expand their conclusions using evidence from much deeper in the past.
Climate scientists say the period being lived through right now is likely the warmest the earth has been for the last 100,000 years, back at the start of the last Ice Ages.