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People Flock to Saudi Arabia's First Int'l Tea Exhibition

People flock to Saudi Arabia's first tea exhibition. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
People flock to Saudi Arabia's first tea exhibition. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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People Flock to Saudi Arabia's First Int'l Tea Exhibition

People flock to Saudi Arabia's first tea exhibition. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
People flock to Saudi Arabia's first tea exhibition. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Tea is one of the most consumed drinks globally after water, and it is one of the essential traditional drinks in many countries, including Saudi Arabia.

Saudis consider tea a part of their long-standing heritage after it was introduced into the Kingdom nearly a hundred years ago.

Alongside Saudi coffee, tea is a staple at all social occasions.

Saudis’ love for tea was reflected in the tremendous public turnout at the International Tea Colors, which coincides with International Tea Day.

The event was the first hosted by Saudi Arabia that celebrated tea and its baked goods.

The organizers were keen to ensure there were adequate spaces within the halls of the Riyadh International Fair to display the brands and tea products to the public.

Several events will be held on the sidelines of the exhibition, including a tasting and evaluation platform competing for the best dish of sweet and savory snacks accompanying tea.

Shivanka, a Sri Lankan who is an avid tea drinker, specializes in experimenting with tea crops of all kinds and determining their quality.

He said he has been working in this profession for nearly 20 years.

He drinks about 800 cups of tea a day to get used to its taste and distinguish between the different types to determine the best quality.

Shivanka has been working in Saudi Arabia with a company specializing in tea for nearly 15 years. He indicated that Saudis have a distinct palate in tea, so he works hard to ensure that his evaluation is accurate to provide the best possible quality.

Hamad al-Enzi stated that he has enjoyed drinking tea daily for nearly 30 years.

Enzi, touring the exhibition, said that he drinks tea daily and wanted to attend the show and learn more about tea and its types and production details.

He also wanted to learn about the different companies in Saudi Arabia that produce tea.

According to World Bank, Saudis consume eight billion cups of tea annually, and the per capita consumption of tea in the Kingdom in 2020 ranked first in the Arab world with 1.2 kilograms, exceeding consumption per capita globally by 0.2 kilograms.

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Victory for Prince Harry as Murdoch Papers Admits Wrongdoing by Sun 

Britain's Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex steps out of a car, outside the Rolls Building of the High Court in London, Britain June 7, 2023. (Reuters)
Britain's Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex steps out of a car, outside the Rolls Building of the High Court in London, Britain June 7, 2023. (Reuters)
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Victory for Prince Harry as Murdoch Papers Admits Wrongdoing by Sun 

Britain's Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex steps out of a car, outside the Rolls Building of the High Court in London, Britain June 7, 2023. (Reuters)
Britain's Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex steps out of a car, outside the Rolls Building of the High Court in London, Britain June 7, 2023. (Reuters)

Prince Harry settled his privacy claim against Rupert Murdoch's UK newspaper group on Wednesday after the publisher admitted unlawful actions at its Sun tabloid for the first time, bringing the fiercely-contested legal battle to a dramatic end.

In a stunning victory for Harry, 40, the younger son of King Charles, News Group Newspapers (NGN), publisher of The Sun and the now-defunct News of the World, also admitted it had intruded into the private life of his late mother, Princess Diana.

Harry's lawyer, David Sherborne, said the publisher had agreed to pay the prince substantial damages. A source familiar with the settlement said it involved an eight-figure sum.

Harry had been suing NGN at the High Court in London, accusing its newspapers of unlawfully obtaining private information about him from 1996 until 2011.

The trial to consider the royal's case, and a similar lawsuit from former senior British lawmaker Tom Watson, was due to start on Tuesday but following last-gasp talks, the two sides reached a settlement, with NGN saying there had been wrongdoing at The Sun, something it had denied for years.

"NGN offers a full and unequivocal apology to the Duke of Sussex for the serious intrusion by The Sun between 1996 and 2011 into his private life, including incidents of unlawful activities carried out by private investigators working for The Sun," Sherborne said.

"NGN further apologizes to the Duke for the impact on him of the extensive coverage and serious intrusion into his private life as well as the private life of Diana, Princess of Wales, his late mother, in particular during his younger years."

ACCOUNTABILITY

NGN has paid out hundreds of millions of pounds to victims of phone-hacking and other unlawful information gathering by the News of the World, and settled more than 1,300 lawsuits involving celebrities, politicians, well-known sports figures and ordinary people who were connected to them or major events.

But it had always rejected any claims that there was wrongdoing at The Sun newspaper, or that any senior figures knew about it or tried to cover it up, as Harry's lawsuit alleges.

Harry said his mission was to get the truth and accountability, after other claimants settled cases to avoid the risk of a multi-million-pound legal bill that could be imposed even if they won in court but rejected NGN's offer.

He said the reason he had not settled was because his lawsuit was not about money, but because he wanted the publishers' executives and editors to be held to account and to admit their wrongdoing.