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Saudi Arabia Celebrates Eid Al-Fitr with Theater Shows

A picture taken on March 21, 2016 shows employees working at the main hall of the Saudi Cultural Center in Dammam, some 400 km eastern of the capital Riyadh. (STRINGER/AFP/Getty Images)
A picture taken on March 21, 2016 shows employees working at the main hall of the Saudi Cultural Center in Dammam, some 400 km eastern of the capital Riyadh. (STRINGER/AFP/Getty Images)
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Saudi Arabia Celebrates Eid Al-Fitr with Theater Shows

A picture taken on March 21, 2016 shows employees working at the main hall of the Saudi Cultural Center in Dammam, some 400 km eastern of the capital Riyadh. (STRINGER/AFP/Getty Images)
A picture taken on March 21, 2016 shows employees working at the main hall of the Saudi Cultural Center in Dammam, some 400 km eastern of the capital Riyadh. (STRINGER/AFP/Getty Images)

The special theater shows enlisted in the Eid Al-Fitr Celebrations Program 2022 organized by the General Entertainment Authority (GEA) in Riyadh kicked off on Wednesday. The program, launched in Jeddah, Dammam, and Abha, includes comedy and dramatic performances.

The three-day program started on Wednesday with the ‘Big Night’ play at Riyadh’s Baker Al Shidi Stage, in Boulevard Riyadh City, starred by Mohammed Abdul Rahman Touta, Nicole Saba, Mahmoud Abdul Ghani, Mohamoud al-Laithi, and Mirhan Hassan.

The play revolves around a couple who got married after 19 years of engagement. On their wedding night, the media and TV channels invade their house after they discover that an archaeological route passes by their bedroom. Then, the ministry of antiquities hires security guards to protect the bedroom and the route.

Jeddah hosted the play ‘Ellembi in Age of Ignorance’ at the Cultural Club Theater. Starred by Mohammed Saad, Sami Maghawri, and Dina Mohsen, the play tells the story of Ellembi, who struggles to marry Princess Karawana. After she rejects him, he resorts to magic, which turns his life upside down in a comic performance full of funny scenes.

In Damam, the Theater of Al-Asala Colleges hosted the ‘Halalhom, Dalalhom’ play starred by Ahmed al-Onan, Zahra Arafat, Ahmed Iraj, Fahad al-Binai, Mohammad Ramadan, Iman al-Husseini, Abdullah al-Badr, Wahid Abdullah, and Amer al-Kaabi. The play revolves around a family of four siblings, 3 boys and a girl, living in the house of their grandfather who raised them. The characters face neglect and carelessness, which deteriorates their social and mental state.

The King Khalid University Theater, Abha, hosted the ‘Tar Bileija’ play starred by Rashed al-Shamrani, Abdullah Asiri, Aziz Bahis, Nadia Ghazi, Motaab al-Maliki, and Abdullah Nayef. It discusses the life of celebrities in a sarcastic style and sheds light on a number of causes and personal practices among those who gained fame by coincidence.

The four plays ran from 9:00 pm until after midnight, over three days and ended on Friday.

As part of the Eid Al-Fitr Celebrations Program 2022, the General Entertainment Authority (GEA) organized diverse activities including virtual platforms aimed at promoting social interaction among all categories to enhance happiness, bring more joy, and celebrate Eid Al Fitr.

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Varieties

First Leather Bag Made from T-Rex Cells Fails to Sell at Paris Auction

This photograph shows the first "T-Rex leather" bag on display ahead of its auction at the Hotel Drouot auction venue in Paris on June 9, 2026. (Photo by STEPHANE DE SAKUTIN / AFP)
This photograph shows the first "T-Rex leather" bag on display ahead of its auction at the Hotel Drouot auction venue in Paris on June 9, 2026. (Photo by STEPHANE DE SAKUTIN / AFP)
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First Leather Bag Made from T-Rex Cells Fails to Sell at Paris Auction

This photograph shows the first "T-Rex leather" bag on display ahead of its auction at the Hotel Drouot auction venue in Paris on June 9, 2026. (Photo by STEPHANE DE SAKUTIN / AFP)
This photograph shows the first "T-Rex leather" bag on display ahead of its auction at the Hotel Drouot auction venue in Paris on June 9, 2026. (Photo by STEPHANE DE SAKUTIN / AFP)

A leather bag made from Tyrannosaurus rex cells failed to sell on Thursday, the Paris auction house Drouot said, commenting that bids were well below expected.

Auctioneers Giquello had touted the "one-of-a-kind" piece to sell for more than $500,000 but bids barely broke the $150,000 mark, said the Drouot house where the sale took place.

Unveiled in the spring in Amsterdam, the bag was created from traces of collagen from the femur of a T-Rex found in the US state of Montana 25 years ago.

"In recent years, we've developed techniques -- biotechnologies that allow us to instruct a cell culture to produce, so to speak, genuine T-Rex skin in the laboratory," Iacopo Briano, a paleontology expert associated with the sale, recently told AFP.

He noted the material differs from vegan leather, which is mostly made from plastic.

"In this case, it's derived from a cell culture, so it's 100 percent skin. And at the same time, it comes from an animal that went extinct 67 million years ago!" he said.

With no precedent to go on, Alexandre Giquello, whose auction house is organizing the sale, explained they had to "come up with a price" that would reflect both the amount of investment required to create the bag and its rarity.

Giquello estimated the value at between 300,000 and 500,000 euros ($346,000 to $576,000).

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Antarctic Peninsula Sees Record High June Temperatures

(FILES) This handout photograph released by The British Antarctic Survey on April 8, 2026, shows Emperor Penguins on Antarctica on November 13, 2010. (Photo by PETER BUCKTROUT / BRITISH ANTARCTIC SURVEY / AFP)
(FILES) This handout photograph released by The British Antarctic Survey on April 8, 2026, shows Emperor Penguins on Antarctica on November 13, 2010. (Photo by PETER BUCKTROUT / BRITISH ANTARCTIC SURVEY / AFP)
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Antarctic Peninsula Sees Record High June Temperatures

(FILES) This handout photograph released by The British Antarctic Survey on April 8, 2026, shows Emperor Penguins on Antarctica on November 13, 2010. (Photo by PETER BUCKTROUT / BRITISH ANTARCTIC SURVEY / AFP)
(FILES) This handout photograph released by The British Antarctic Survey on April 8, 2026, shows Emperor Penguins on Antarctica on November 13, 2010. (Photo by PETER BUCKTROUT / BRITISH ANTARCTIC SURVEY / AFP)

Temperatures in the Antarctic Peninsula have reached a record-breaking high of 15.4C for June, and ice is melting at abnormal rates during the current winter, climate scientists told AFP on Thursday.

Esperanza Base, an Argentine research station located in the north of the peninsula, recorded the unprecedented figure on June 6.

The previous highest temperature on record for that month -- 13.3C -- dates back to 1998. The current heat also significantly exceeds Esperanza's June average of -6.2C.

Such a figure is "very unusual for this time of year," Jose Luis Stella, a climatologist at Argentina's National Meteorological Service, told AFP.

Argentine bases Marambio and San Martin also recorded unequalled temperatures between June 5 and 6.

Marambio recorded 11.8C, surpassing a previous high of 9.2C and its June average of -10.7C.

San Martin meanwhile saw 9.4C compared to its previous 7.8C record and June average of -5.6C.

The northern Antarctic heatwave is not an isolated event, University of Groningen professor Raul Cordero told AFP.

"It confirms a trend," he said, warning that "these kinds of events will continue to occur with increasing frequency" if global warming is not derailed.

Thomas Caton Harrison, a polar climate scientist at the British Antarctic Survey, believes a combination of factors including climate change resulted in the current heat.

"There is credible evidence that climate change is playing a role, but the effect is complex in this region," he said.

"Because Antarctica sees such big swings in temperature, we have to collect lots of data over many years to build a picture of the underlying climate."

Both specialists agree that regional temperatures have been rising for years and are already showing visible effects.

"A surprising amount of precipitation has been falling as rain rather than snow," Caton Harrison said.

"This has implications for polar ecosystems such as penguin colonies," he said, adding that "it poses a challenge to my colleagues working on Antarctic bases because a lot of liquid rain has been falling and creating runoff and ice."

Esperanza Base has been recording above-zero temperatures daily for three consecutive weeks.

This trend has caused "large areas in the far north of the white continent to remain free of snow," according to Cordero, who called it "an unusual scene in the Antarctic landscape during winter."

Varieties

Japan Flagship Rocket Carrying 6 Satellites Successfully Lifts Off

An H3 rocket carrying small satellites lifts off from the Tanegashima Space Center in Tanegashima, southwestern Japan, 12 June 2026. EPA/ Jiji Press)
An H3 rocket carrying small satellites lifts off from the Tanegashima Space Center in Tanegashima, southwestern Japan, 12 June 2026. EPA/ Jiji Press)
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Japan Flagship Rocket Carrying 6 Satellites Successfully Lifts Off

An H3 rocket carrying small satellites lifts off from the Tanegashima Space Center in Tanegashima, southwestern Japan, 12 June 2026. EPA/ Jiji Press)
An H3 rocket carrying small satellites lifts off from the Tanegashima Space Center in Tanegashima, southwestern Japan, 12 June 2026. EPA/ Jiji Press)

Japan's flagship H3 rocket carrying six small satellites lifted off Friday, live footage showed.

Friday's launch comes after the H3 rocket failed to launch a geolocation satellite into orbit in December due to engine failure.

"The second stage combustion, action control and trajectory are all normal," the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) said in a live YouTube broadcast, about six minutes after lift-off.

The satellites loaded onto the rocket include Tokyo University of Science's "Umitsubame" which observes the Earth and other targets with a high-performance camera, and Shizuoka University's "Shiraito" that is testing space debris capture technology, JAXA said.