King Salman Sponsors Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Cup

Saudi Arabia's King Salman - SPA
Saudi Arabia's King Salman - SPA
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King Salman Sponsors Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Cup

Saudi Arabia's King Salman - SPA
Saudi Arabia's King Salman - SPA

Under the patronage of King Salman, the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques’ Cup is set to take place this weekend at King Abdulaziz Racecourse in Riyadh.

Governor of Riyadh, Prince Faisal bin Bandar bin Abdulaziz, will attended the event and crown the winners, as directed by King Salman.

There will be two different races with a prize of 1.5 million Saudi riyals for each.

The races continues on Saturday with the Diriyah Cup with the winner qualifying for one of the races that is part of the Saudi Cup.

This year’s event is of particular importance as it grants the winner direct qualification for the most valuable race in the world, the Saudi Cup.

The qualifying races for the Saudi Cup will be held on Friday, and they will be followed by the 1351 Turf Sprint, NEOM Cup, Manifa Cup, Riyadh Sprint Cup, and the Saudi Derby.

Horses from the GCC will also be allowed to participate in the most prestigious tournaments.



Barcelona Will Raise Tourist Tax for Cruise Passengers

FILE PHOTO: Tourists and residents drink on a street in Gracia neighborhood during a heatwave of the summer, in Barcelona, Spain August 19, 2023. REUTERS/Bruna Casas//File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Tourists and residents drink on a street in Gracia neighborhood during a heatwave of the summer, in Barcelona, Spain August 19, 2023. REUTERS/Bruna Casas//File Photo
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Barcelona Will Raise Tourist Tax for Cruise Passengers

FILE PHOTO: Tourists and residents drink on a street in Gracia neighborhood during a heatwave of the summer, in Barcelona, Spain August 19, 2023. REUTERS/Bruna Casas//File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Tourists and residents drink on a street in Gracia neighborhood during a heatwave of the summer, in Barcelona, Spain August 19, 2023. REUTERS/Bruna Casas//File Photo

Barcelona will raise the tourist tax for cruise passengers visiting the city for less than 12 hours, the mayor said in an interview published on Sunday.
Jaume Collboni said the current tourist tax for stopover cruise passengers was 7 euros ($7.61) per day. He did not say by how much the tax would be increased, reported Reuters.
"We are going to propose..substantially increasing the tax for stopover cruise passengers," he told El Pais newspaper.
"In the case of stopover cruise passengers (less than 12 hours) there is intensive use of public space without any benefit for the city and a feeling of occupation and saturation. We want to have tourism that is respectful of the destination."
He said tourists, not local tax payers, should pay for local projects like air-conditioning schools.
The proposal will have to be agreed with the Catalan regional government, Collboni said.
In recent weeks, anti-tourism activists have staged protests in popular holiday destinations across Spain, such as Palma de Mallorca, Malaga and the Canary Islands, saying visitors drive up housing costs and lead to residents being unable to afford to live in city centers.
Another protest is planned in Palma de Mallorca, the capital of the largest Balearic Island on Sunday evening.
Collboni announced last month that the city will bar apartment rentals to tourists by 2028, an unexpectedly drastic move as it seeks to rein in soaring housing costs and make the city liveable for residents.