MBC Group Inaugurates New Offices in Riyadh

The MBC headquarters in Riyadh (Asharq AL-Awsat)
The MBC headquarters in Riyadh (Asharq AL-Awsat)
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MBC Group Inaugurates New Offices in Riyadh

The MBC headquarters in Riyadh (Asharq AL-Awsat)
The MBC headquarters in Riyadh (Asharq AL-Awsat)

MBC Media Group inaugurated its new headquarters in Riyadh during a huge ceremony attended by Acting Minister of Media Majed al-Qasabi and several prominent figures, including media professionals and officials.

Chairman of the Board of Directors of MBC Group Waleed al-Ibrahim said during the ceremony that the Group now launches new headquarters from the homeland, adding that they have always carried this dream since Saudi Arabia introduced its first channel, MBC 1, in London in 1991.

He expressed his happiness over the remarkable development that Saudi Arabia is witnessing under the wise leadership of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz, and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

He also highlighted the unlimited support being extended by the leadership for the sectors of culture, creativity, media, and entertainment.

"We are working with all determination to make MBC Group one of the most prominent international media organizations in the world," he said, adding that the Group will be stronger in Saudi Arabia.

He announced that MBC will take its projects to the new levels it has always tried to reach.

Ibrahim thanked the UAE government and its people for their support during the Group's time in Dubai. He said the shifting of the headquarters is "moving from one home to another."

Referring to MBC's upcoming strategy, Ibrahim explained that in the previous stages, the Group sought to reach Arab viewers, and it is now looking forward to becoming one of the most prominent international media organizations.

"We are working with determination to make MBC Group one of the most prominent international media organizations. The coming years will witness global activities that draw their story from the Arab history."



Trump to Release 80,000 Pages on JFK Assassination 

Newly-elected President Kennedy posed for first pictures at his White House desk, Jan. 21, 1961, before plunging into a busy round of conferences. (AP)
Newly-elected President Kennedy posed for first pictures at his White House desk, Jan. 21, 1961, before plunging into a busy round of conferences. (AP)
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Trump to Release 80,000 Pages on JFK Assassination 

Newly-elected President Kennedy posed for first pictures at his White House desk, Jan. 21, 1961, before plunging into a busy round of conferences. (AP)
Newly-elected President Kennedy posed for first pictures at his White House desk, Jan. 21, 1961, before plunging into a busy round of conferences. (AP)

President Donald Trump plans to release about 80,000 pages of material related to the 1963 assassination of President John F. Kennedy on Tuesday, seeking to honor his campaign promise to provide more transparency about the shock event in Texas.

"It's a lot of stuff, and you'll make your own determination," Trump told reporters about the pages on Monday. Trump signed an order shortly after taking office in January related to the release, prompting the US Federal Bureau of Investigation to find thousands of new documents related to the Kennedy assassination in Dallas.

Kennedy's murder has been attributed to a sole gunman, Lee Harvey Oswald. The Justice Department and other federal government bodies reaffirmed that conclusion in the intervening decades. But polls show many Americans believe his death was a result of a conspiracy.

Experts doubt the new trove of information will change the underlying facts of the case, that Lee Harvey Oswald opened fire at Kennedy from a window at a schoolbook deposit warehouse as the presidential motorcade passed by on a Dallas highway.

"People expecting big things are almost certain to be disappointed," said Larry Sabato, the director of the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia, who authored a book about the assassination.

He said some of the pages could simply be the release of previously published material that had a few words redacted.

Trump has also promised to release documents on the assassinations of civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr. and Senator Robert Kennedy, both of whom were killed in 1968.

Trump has allowed more time to come up with a plan for those releases.

Trump's secretary of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the son of Robert Kennedy and nephew of John F. Kennedy, has said he believes the Central Intelligence Agency was involved in his uncle's death, an allegation the agency has described as baseless.

Kennedy Jr. has also said he believes his father was killed by multiple gunmen, an assertion that contradicted official accounts.

One revelation the documents could contain is that the CIA was more aware of Oswald than it has previously disclosed. Questions have remained about what the CIA knew about Oswald's visits to Mexico City six weeks before the assassination. During that trip, Oswald visited the Soviet embassy.

"People have been waiting for decades for this," Trump said. "It's going to be very interesting."