Asharq Al-Awsat to Have Special Coverage on International Women’s Day

SRMG’s CEO Jomana Alrashid
SRMG’s CEO Jomana Alrashid
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Asharq Al-Awsat to Have Special Coverage on International Women’s Day

SRMG’s CEO Jomana Alrashid
SRMG’s CEO Jomana Alrashid

An all-women team of journalists and media practitioners is set on Monday to take over Asharq Al-Awsat’s editorial content and press coverage, including special interviews, op-eds and dedicated articles, to mark International Women’s Day.

In addition, “By women, for all” initiatives are set to be launched by the media platforms, under the Saudi Research and Marketing Group (SRMG), namely Asharq Al-Awsat, Arab News, Sayidaty and Hia Magazines, and Asharq News.

The initiatives come in line with Saudi Vision 2030, and in the context of the Sustainable Development Goals, signaling the importance of women’s active and effective participation in public life.

They also reflect SRMG’s long-established commitment and support towards women empowerment and inclusion in Saudi Arabia and the Middle East and North Africa region.

“The Arab world in general and Saudi Arabia in particular are rich in stories that demonstrate the pivotal role women play in our everyday lives, business, society, education, healthcare and beyond,” SRMG’s CEO Jomana Alrashid said.

“This year, we celebrate International Women’s Day, across our media platforms, with remarkable women, each in her respective area of expertise… as well as with our female colleagues who are qualified to assume executive roles; and take on managerial and career positions within the group. Simultaneously, we pay tribute to distinguished Arab women who play an important role in the public and private history of our countries and communities,” she said.

“We are thrilled and privileged to witness the unwavering commitment and steadfast support of Saudi Arabia's youthful and visionary leadership to women’s causes. More than ever, Saudi women have now become an integral part of the growth, prosperity and advancement of our country. We at SRMG are fully prepared to play our part,” she added.

Some of the women’s issues tackled by the various SRMG platforms on International Women’s Day include the roles of governments and private institutions in advancing women’s issues, exceptional female journalists and their journeys to success, women in public, women in business, women entrepreneurs, and women-owned and women-run businesses.

The coverage also includes topics on women Medical Doctors and nurses, women in healthcare – especially those on the frontline fighting pandemics and infectious diseases, women’s contributions in “Cultural and Creative Industries,” and women in the world of beauty, luxury, fashion and design.



First Major US Winter Storm of Year Hammers Mid-Atlantic States

 A person walks down a street covered in snow following a winter storm Monday, Jan. 6, 2025, in St. Louis. (AP)
A person walks down a street covered in snow following a winter storm Monday, Jan. 6, 2025, in St. Louis. (AP)
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First Major US Winter Storm of Year Hammers Mid-Atlantic States

 A person walks down a street covered in snow following a winter storm Monday, Jan. 6, 2025, in St. Louis. (AP)
A person walks down a street covered in snow following a winter storm Monday, Jan. 6, 2025, in St. Louis. (AP)

The first major winter storm of the new year barreled into the US mid-Atlantic states on Monday, closing down federal offices and public schools in Washington, DC, after dumping a foot of snow in parts of the Ohio Valley and Central Plains.

More than five inches (12.7 cm) had fallen in the country’s capital by midday on Monday, according to the US National Weather Service, with up to 12 inches in some surrounding areas of Maryland and Virginia. The snow was forecast to continue before the system pushes out to sea on Monday evening.

Severe travel disruptions were expected across the storm's path, and officials urged drivers to stay off the roads if possible. Governors in several states, including Kansas, Kentucky, Arkansas, West Virginia, Virginia and Maryland, have declared states of emergency.

In the wake of the storm, dangerously frigid Arctic air was filling the void, bringing freezing rain and icy conditions to a swath of the country stretching from Illinois to the Atlantic coast. The unusually cold temperatures are expected to linger for the rest of the week.

The Central Plains, where the storm dumped heavy snow over the weekend, were already in a deep freeze. Parts of Kansas experienced bitter cold wind chills, with values from 5 to almost 25 degrees Fahrenheit below zero (minus 15 to 32 degrees Celsius) overnight. The cold air will persist, with daytime highs only in the mid teens to lower 20s.

The airport in Kansas City recorded 11 inches (28 cm) of snowfall, the highest for any storm in more than 30 years, the National Weather Service said. The Missouri State Police said it had responded on Sunday to more than 1,000 stranded motorists and 356 crashes, including one fatality.

In Washington, even as the storm struck, Congress met to formally certify Republican Donald Trump's election as president. But federal offices in the nation's capital were closed.

In the city's Meridian Hill Park, hundreds gathered for a massive snowball battle, organized by the so-called Washington DC Snowball Fight Association. The combatants - many wearing ski goggles for protection - fired volleys of frozen projectiles, as one dog tried to catch the ammunition in its mouth.

"I did not come here to make friends!" Jack Pitsor, who lives across the street from the park, shouted with a laugh before launching a snowball toward enemy lines.

School districts in numerous states shut down on Monday due to the storm, including public schools in Indianapolis, Cincinnati, Washington and Philadelphia.

The storm also left more than 330,000 homes and businesses in the central and southern US without power on Monday, data from PowerOutage.us showed.

As of 1:30 p.m. EST (1830 GMT), nearly 1,900 flights within, into and out of the United States had been canceled, according to the FlightAware.com tracking service. Amtrak canceled dozens of trains on the busy Northeast Corridor line between Boston and Washington.

The three airports serving the D.C. area - Reagan National, Baltimore/Washington International and Dulles - were all open, with crews working to clear airfields of snow, but were seeing many flights delayed or canceled.

Virginia State Police responded to 300 car crashes between midnight and 11 a.m., while the Maryland State Police received 123 crash reports between 1 a.m. and 11 a.m., spokespeople for the two agencies said.