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‘Umm Kulthum and the Golden Era’ to Open in Saudi Arabia

Mona Khashoggi with the cast of the play “Umm Kulthum and the Golden Era” during rehearsals in London (Mona Khashoggi)
Mona Khashoggi with the cast of the play “Umm Kulthum and the Golden Era” during rehearsals in London (Mona Khashoggi)
    London - Abeer Mishkhas
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‘Umm Kulthum and the Golden Era’ to Open in Saudi Arabia

Mona Khashoggi with the cast of the play “Umm Kulthum and the Golden Era” during rehearsals in London (Mona Khashoggi)
Mona Khashoggi with the cast of the play “Umm Kulthum and the Golden Era” during rehearsals in London (Mona Khashoggi)

Three years after the musical “Umm Kulthum and the Golden Era” launched at London's Palladium theatre, producer Mona Khashoggi was able to achieve her dream of having the musical tribute performed in Saudi Arabia.

Ithra Theater in Dhahran will be showing Khashoggi’s play starting March 7 and until March 17.

Finding success in one of London’s most prestigious theaters had prompted Khashoggi to seek performing the musical in the Arab world, which happened in Dubai last year.

Asharq Al-Awsat interviewed Khashoggi about the new show and its protagonists.

She explained that one of the most important changes this time around is the character of the main singer and the performer playing Umm Kulthum in her adulthood. Before, the grownup Umm Kulthum was performed by singer Lubna Al-Kuntar.

“This time, the team is different. We have the Egyptian singer Agfan Afifi who will play the character of the adult Umm Kulthum,” Khashoggi told Asharq Al-Awsat.

“Singer Jennifer Grout, an American Muslim who studied Quran recitation and classical Arabic, will play the role of singer Munira Al-Mahdia and perform some of Umm Kulthum's songs,” she added.

Actress Maha Khleifi will join the cast to play the role of Umm Kulthum’s mother.

Meanwhile, Jordanian actor Hani Dahshan will play the roles of the trio Muhammad Al-Qasabji, Dr. Al-Hafnawi, Umm Kulthum's husband, and the musician Muhammad Abdel-Wahhab.

Actor Walid Hammad will play the roles of Ahmed Rami and Sheikh Abu Al-Ela Muhammad.

“I titled the show (Umm Kulthum and the Golden Era) for an important reason,” said Khashoggi.

“Through it, I wanted to celebrate giants such as Muhammad al-Qasabji, Muhammad Abd al-Wahhab, and Tahia Carioca (..) as well as the personality of singer Munira al-Mahdia,” she added.

As for the songs that the musical presented before, they will remain the same. They consist of a selection of some of Umm Kulthum’s most famous songs.

Moreover, the storyline of the musical will not change. It follows the early childhood and humble beginnings of Umm Kulthum until she transformed herself into the Star of the Orient.

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Varieties

Delhi Restricts Vehicles, Office Attendance in Bid to Curb Pollution

Children ride a bicycle across a field on smoggy winter morning in New Delhi on December 17, 2025. (Photo by Arun SANKAR / AFP)
Children ride a bicycle across a field on smoggy winter morning in New Delhi on December 17, 2025. (Photo by Arun SANKAR / AFP)
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Delhi Restricts Vehicles, Office Attendance in Bid to Curb Pollution

Children ride a bicycle across a field on smoggy winter morning in New Delhi on December 17, 2025. (Photo by Arun SANKAR / AFP)
Children ride a bicycle across a field on smoggy winter morning in New Delhi on December 17, 2025. (Photo by Arun SANKAR / AFP)

Authorities in India's capital Delhi rolled out strict measures on Wednesday in an attempt to curb pollution, including a ban on vehicles not compliant with latest emission control norms and regulating attendance in private and government offices.

The air quality index (AQI) in the Delhi region, home to 30 million people, has been in the 'severe' category for the past few days, often crossing the 450-mark. In addition, shallow fog in parts of the city worsened visibility that impacted flights and trains.

This prompted the Commission for Air Quality Management to invoke stage four, the highest level, of the Graded Response Action Plan for Delhi and surrounding areas on Saturday.

The curbs ban the entry of older diesel trucks into the city, suspend construction, including on public projects, and impose hybrid schooling, Reuters reported.

Kapil Mishra, a minister in the local government, announced on Wednesday that all private and government offices in the city would operate with 50% attendance, with the remaining working from home.

Additionally, all registered construction workers, many of them earning daily wages, will be given compensation of 10,000 rupees ($110) because of the ban, Mishra said at a press conference in Delhi.

On Tuesday, the government enforced strict anti-pollution measures for vehicles in the city, banning vehicles that are not compliant with the latest emission control standards.

"Our government is committed to providing clean air in Delhi. We will take strict steps to ensure this in the coming days," Delhi's Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa said late on Tuesday.

Pollution is an annual winter problem in Delhi and its suburbs, when cold, dense air traps emissions from vehicles, construction sites and crop burning in neighboring states, pushing pollution levels to among the highest in the world and exposing residents to severe respiratory risks.

The area, home to 30 million people, gets covered in a thick layer of smog with AQI touching high 450-levels. Readings below 50 are considered good.

Varieties

Saudi Ministry of Defense Showcases Media Heritage at Jeddah Book Fair 

The pavilion traces the evolution of military publishing, from early traditional printing through technological and editorial transformations to its modern form. (SPA)
The pavilion traces the evolution of military publishing, from early traditional printing through technological and editorial transformations to its modern form. (SPA)
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Saudi Ministry of Defense Showcases Media Heritage at Jeddah Book Fair 

The pavilion traces the evolution of military publishing, from early traditional printing through technological and editorial transformations to its modern form. (SPA)
The pavilion traces the evolution of military publishing, from early traditional printing through technological and editorial transformations to its modern form. (SPA)

The Saudi Ministry of Defense is participating in the Jeddah International Book Fair, featuring a pavilion that documents a key aspect of its cultural and media history, reported the Saudi Press Agency on Wednesday.

The pavilion traces the evolution of military publishing, from early traditional printing through technological and editorial transformations to its modern form as a trusted reference for defense-related content.

The participation builds on the ministry’s presence at national cultural events. It marks its debut at the Jeddah Book Fair, expanding the reach of its documentary content to a broader audience interested in military media history.

Varieties

Orange Frog Size of Pencil Tip Discovered in Brazil Forests

Tiny toadlet measuring less than 14 mm in length (Luiz Fernando Ribeiro)
Tiny toadlet measuring less than 14 mm in length (Luiz Fernando Ribeiro)
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Orange Frog Size of Pencil Tip Discovered in Brazil Forests

Tiny toadlet measuring less than 14 mm in length (Luiz Fernando Ribeiro)
Tiny toadlet measuring less than 14 mm in length (Luiz Fernando Ribeiro)

Scientists have found a new orange toad species in Brazil that is so small it fits on the tip of a pencil, highlighting the need for more conservation efforts in the country’s mountainous forest areas.

The toad species, measuring less than 14mm, was found deep in the cloud forests of the Serra do Quiriri mountain range in the southern Brazilian Atlantic Forest, according to the Independent.

Researchers have named the new species Brachycephalus lulai in honor of Brazil’s president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

Cloud forests typically are found at altitudes between 1,000 and 2,500m and a layer of clouds at the canopy level is common year-round.

Until now, around two million animal species have been discovered in the world, with estimates suggesting that the Earth is home to around eight million of them, meaning at least six million remain yet undiscovered.

For decades, researchers have been combing the southern Brazilian Atlantic Forest to find and catalogue new species.

The region is known to be home to micro-endemic frogs and toads that are only found in small, restricted areas of the forest and are vulnerable to extinction.

In the latest study, researchers document the discovery of tiny frogs with a striking orange body and distinctive green and brown freckles.

The males were found to measure between 9 and 11mm, and females between 11 and 14mm.

They are among the smallest four-legged animals on Earth, capable of fitting fully on the tip of a pencil, researchers say.

Scientists identified the new species by its unique mating call, consisting of two short bursts of sound, unlike those of other known Brachycephalus in the area.

Researchers also conducted CT X-ray scans to look at the skeletal structure and DNA analysis to confirm what they had was indeed a new species.

Comparing DNA samples of the toad with those of other species, they found that it is most closely related to two species that live in the Serra do Quiriri.

Following the discovery, scientists immediately called for conservation efforts to protect the toad species and its relatives.

“Through this tribute (the act of naming a new species), we seek to encourage the expansion of conservation initiatives focused on the Atlantic Forest as a whole, and on Brazil's highly endemic miniaturized frogs in particular,” researchers wrote in the study published in the journal PLOS One.

Caption: Tiny toadlet measuring less than 14 mm in length (Luiz Fernando Ribeiro)