MiSK Launches Interactive Platform for Discussing Future of Technology in Saudi Arabia

The MiSK Academy launches an interactive platform for discussing future of technology in Saudi Arabia. (MiSK Academy Twitter)
The MiSK Academy launches an interactive platform for discussing future of technology in Saudi Arabia. (MiSK Academy Twitter)
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MiSK Launches Interactive Platform for Discussing Future of Technology in Saudi Arabia

The MiSK Academy launches an interactive platform for discussing future of technology in Saudi Arabia. (MiSK Academy Twitter)
The MiSK Academy launches an interactive platform for discussing future of technology in Saudi Arabia. (MiSK Academy Twitter)

MiSK Academy, an arm of the Misk Foundation established by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, launched MiSK Academy Forum “1 Hour panel Talk”, a platform for periodic discussion between a group of experts and specialists in various topics in different fields, including technology, leadership and digital media.

The aim of the forum is to facilitate the transfer of expertise and raise awareness in the field of digital media and equip youths who are interested in media with the information they need to develop the sector in the country.

The panel discussion, entitled “The Future of Animation in Saudi Arabia”, was held at Prince Sultan University and hosted by the CEO of Manga Productions Essam Bukhary, filmmaker and director Ayman Jamal, whose movie Bilal was listed among of the top 10 animation films for 2018 and designer, director and animator Malek Najjar, who directed the series Masaamir (Nails), and Omar bin Dahlous, a painter and the art director of You Brand.

More than 100 people were in attendance, including motion graphic filmmakers and those interested in the media field. The discussion included an evaluation of local experiences, presented the challenges faced by animators and studied creative solutions to solve those problems. The panel also discussed the animation market, its future and the best schools in this field

The MiSK Academy is working on launching a number of educational and developmental programs with the aim of training Saudi youths and equipping them with the skills they need to help the Kingdom move towards becoming a digital economy. These include technical, financial technology and creative digital media programs. So far, more than 9,000 have been trained, with the career development reaching up to 80 percent.



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.