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Saudi Film Festival to be Organized by Saudi Cinema Association as of 2022

An actor poses with a replica of a vintage cinema camera as visitors enter an invitation-only screening, at the King Abdullah Financial District Theater, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Wednesday, April 18, 2018. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil)
An actor poses with a replica of a vintage cinema camera as visitors enter an invitation-only screening, at the King Abdullah Financial District Theater, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Wednesday, April 18, 2018. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil)
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Saudi Film Festival to be Organized by Saudi Cinema Association as of 2022

An actor poses with a replica of a vintage cinema camera as visitors enter an invitation-only screening, at the King Abdullah Financial District Theater, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Wednesday, April 18, 2018. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil)
An actor poses with a replica of a vintage cinema camera as visitors enter an invitation-only screening, at the King Abdullah Financial District Theater, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Wednesday, April 18, 2018. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil)

The committee responsible for organizing the Saudi Film Festival has decided to assign all the rights, mechanisms, and commitments of the coming editions of the festival to the Saudi Cinema Association as of the 8th edition scheduled on June 9-2, in partnership with the King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture (Ithra), and with the support of the film committee at the Ministry of Culture.

The agreement was signed on April 16 by the chairman of the board of directors at the Culture and Arts Association Dammam, Abdulaziz Ismail, and chairman of the board of directors at the Saudi Cinema Association Ahmed Al Mulla at the headquarters of the Culture and Arts Association Dammam.

The Association, in partnership with the Dammam Literary Club, organized the first seven editions of the Festival, since its debut in 2008.

The Saudi Film Festival is one of the programs carried on by the national initiative for developing local filmmaking aimed at creating opportunities for the Saudi talents, celebrating best productions, and supporting the Kingdom’s goal to establish a specialized cinema association.
The Saudi Cinema Association was founded in 2021, as a body specializing in filmmaking and cinema productions.

Hana Al-Omair, chairwoman of the new Saudi Cinema Association, hailed the major role played by the Culture and Arts Association Dammam, and how it created a prestigious event that the Association will keep promoting, in addition to improving the filmmaking and cinema industry in Saudi Arabia, and preserving the history and archive of the Saudi Film Festival.

“Today, we have placed the Saudi Film Festival in its new cinema-focused frame and left it in good hands that have always been eager to promote it. The Culture and Arts Association Dammam, in cooperation with the King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture and the Culture Ministry, managed to grow this festival and support it until it reached its current position,” said Ismail.

“The festival is known worldwide as the top incubator of talents in the Kingdom and the Arabian Gulf region. Behind these huge efforts stand many great names that dedicated their time and potentials to the festival since its launch and are ready to further support it in its new aspect in cooperation with the cinema association…This makes us happy and reassured that the festival will keep advancing,” he added.

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Varieties

Colombia Approves Plan to Cull Roaming Hippos Linked to Pablo Escobar

FILE - Hippos float in the lagoon at Hacienda Napoles Park, once the private estate of drug kingpin Pablo Escobar who imported three female hippos and one male decades ago in Puerto Triunfo, Colombia, Thursday, Feb. 4, 2021. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara, File)
FILE - Hippos float in the lagoon at Hacienda Napoles Park, once the private estate of drug kingpin Pablo Escobar who imported three female hippos and one male decades ago in Puerto Triunfo, Colombia, Thursday, Feb. 4, 2021. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara, File)
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Colombia Approves Plan to Cull Roaming Hippos Linked to Pablo Escobar

FILE - Hippos float in the lagoon at Hacienda Napoles Park, once the private estate of drug kingpin Pablo Escobar who imported three female hippos and one male decades ago in Puerto Triunfo, Colombia, Thursday, Feb. 4, 2021. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara, File)
FILE - Hippos float in the lagoon at Hacienda Napoles Park, once the private estate of drug kingpin Pablo Escobar who imported three female hippos and one male decades ago in Puerto Triunfo, Colombia, Thursday, Feb. 4, 2021. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara, File)

Colombian officials on Monday authorized a plan to cull dozens of hippos roaming freely through a region in the center of the country, where they threaten villagers and displace native species years after notorious drug lord Pablo Escobar brought in the first ones.

Environment Minister Irene Vélez said previous methods to control their population have been expensive and unsuccessful, including neutering some of the animals or moving them to zoos. Vélez said up to 80 hippos would be affected by the measure. She did not say when hunting would begin.

“If we don’t do this we will not be able to control the population,” Vélez said. “We have to take this action to preserve our ecosystems.”

Colombia is the only country outside of Africa with a wild hippo population.

The hippos are the descendants of four brought to the country in the 1980s by Escobar as he built a private zoo in Hacienda Nápoles, a gigantic ranch in the Magdalena River valley with a private landing strip that served as his rural abode.

A study published by Colombia’s National University estimated that around 170 hippos were roaming freely in the country in 2022.

Recently, hippos have been spotted in areas that are more than 100 kilometers (60 miles) north of the ranch, The Associated Press reported.

Environmental authorities in Colombia say the mammals pose a threat to villagers who have encountered them in farms and rivers. They also compete for food and space against local species such as river manatees.

Despite the challenges, the hippos have also become a tourist attraction, with residents of villages surrounding Hacienda Nápoles offering hippo spotting tours and selling hippo-themed souvenirs.

The hippos are also one of the main attractions at the Nápoles ranch, which was confiscated by Colombia’s government as it seized Escobar’s properties. It now functions as a theme park, featuring swimming spools, water slides and a zoo that includes several other African species.

Animal welfare activists in Colombia have long opposed proposals to kill the hippos, arguing they deserve to live. They say that addressing the problem through violence sets a poor example for a country that has gone through decades of internal conflict.

Andrea Padilla, a senator and animal rights activist who helped draft a law against bullfights in Colombia, described the plan to cull the hippos as a “cruel” decision, and accused government officials of trying to take the easy way out.

“Killings and massacres will never be acceptable,” Padilla wrote on X. “These are healthy creatures who are victims of the negligence” of government entities.

Over the past 12 years, spanning three presidential administrations, Colombia has tried to neuter some of the hippos in a bid to reduce their population. But the initiatives have had limited scope due to high costs that come with capturing the dangerous animals and performing surgeries on them.

Because Colombia’s hippos come from a limited gene pool and could carry diseases, taking them back to their natural habitat in Africa has been considered unfeasible.

Varieties

World's Oldest Gorilla Living in Captivity Celebrates her 69th Birthday at Berlin Zoo

Fatou, the oldest of Berlin's zoo and also believed to be the world's oldest gorilla, eats vegetables to celebrate her 69th birthday in Berlin, Germany, Monday, April 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)
Fatou, the oldest of Berlin's zoo and also believed to be the world's oldest gorilla, eats vegetables to celebrate her 69th birthday in Berlin, Germany, Monday, April 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)
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World's Oldest Gorilla Living in Captivity Celebrates her 69th Birthday at Berlin Zoo

Fatou, the oldest of Berlin's zoo and also believed to be the world's oldest gorilla, eats vegetables to celebrate her 69th birthday in Berlin, Germany, Monday, April 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)
Fatou, the oldest of Berlin's zoo and also believed to be the world's oldest gorilla, eats vegetables to celebrate her 69th birthday in Berlin, Germany, Monday, April 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)

Fatou, the world's oldest gorilla living in captivity, celebrated her 69th birthday with a feast Monday, munching on cherry tomatoes, beets, leeks and lettuce at the Berlin Zoo.

But no birthday cake, because sugar isn't healthy for the aging primate, The Associated Press reported.

Fatou, a western lowland gorilla, arrived in what was then West Berlin in 1959. She was believed to be about 2 years old at the time, though her exact birth date isn't known — April 13 is her designated birthday. Gorillas can live for around 35-40 years in the wild and longer in captivity.

Fatou became the zoo’s oldest resident in 2024, following the death of Ingo the flamingo. The bird was believed to be at least 75 and had lived at the zoo since 1955.

Fatou was likely born in the wild in western Africa, but the story goes that a French sailor took her out of Africa and bartered her to cover his bar tab in Marseille, France, according to the Guinness World Records. A French animal trader then reportedly sold her to the zoo.

These days, Fatou lives in an enclosure of her own and prefers to keep her distance from the zoo’s other gorillas in her old age. She's lost her teeth and she suffers from a touch of arthritis and hearing loss.

But Christian Aust, the Berlin Zoo's primate supervisor, said that she's friendly with the zookeepers, if still a bit stubborn.

At 69 years old, she's earned it. Alles Gute zum Geburtstag, Fatou.

Varieties

Monster Typhoon in the Pacific Ocean Is Bearing Down on Group of Remote US Islands

This satellite image provided by the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) shows Super Typhoon Sinlaku in the Pacific Ocean, Monday, April 13, 2026. (NOAA via AP)
This satellite image provided by the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) shows Super Typhoon Sinlaku in the Pacific Ocean, Monday, April 13, 2026. (NOAA via AP)
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Monster Typhoon in the Pacific Ocean Is Bearing Down on Group of Remote US Islands

This satellite image provided by the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) shows Super Typhoon Sinlaku in the Pacific Ocean, Monday, April 13, 2026. (NOAA via AP)
This satellite image provided by the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) shows Super Typhoon Sinlaku in the Pacific Ocean, Monday, April 13, 2026. (NOAA via AP)

A dangerous super typhoon in the Pacific Ocean is barreling toward a group of remote US islands.

Super Typhoon Sinlaku is expected to make landfall Tuesday in the Northern Mariana Islands and bring destructive winds, widespread heavy rain and flooding, the National Weather Service said Monday.

Power outages on the islands could be lengthy, forecasters warned.

Guam, a US territory with American military installations and about 170,000 residents, also could see damaging winds and is under a tropical storm warning. The US Coast Guard issued flood and high wind warnings over the weekend.

The tropical typhoon — the strongest on Earth so far this year — was producing sustained winds of 173 mph (278 kph) on Monday as it neared the islands of Rota, Tinian and Saipan, according to the Joint Typhoon Warning Center.

While it's expected to weaken slightly over the next few days, Sinlaku should cross near the islands as a Category 4 or 5 typhoon.

About 50,000 people live on the three islands, with most on Saipan, known for its laid-back resorts, snorkeling, and golf as well as the capital of the Northern Mariana Islands.

Saipan was the site of one of World War II’s bloodiest battles in the Pacific, in which more than 50,000 Japanese and American soldiers and local civilians died.

In Guam, where Typhoon Mawar knocked out power for days in 2023, US military officials warned personnel to prepare for the storm and shelter in place. The military controls about one-third of the land on the island, a critical hub for US forces in the Pacific.

President Donald Trump on Saturday approved emergency disaster declarations for Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands, allowing for additional help with emergency services.

A super typhoon is a name given to the strongest tropical cyclones that brew in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, where Earth’s most intense storms usually form.

Monitored by the Joint Typhoon Warning Center in Guam, super typhoons are the equivalent of category 4 or 5 hurricanes in the Atlantic, with winds of at least 150 mph (240 kph). There have been more than 300 super typhoons identified since the warning center started using that name nearly 80 years ago.