عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Varieties

Saudi Literature Commission Participates in London Book Fair

Saudi Literature Commission Participates in London Book Fair
TT
TT

Saudi Literature Commission Participates in London Book Fair

Saudi Literature Commission Participates in London Book Fair

The Saudi Literature, Publishing, and Translation Commission participates in this year London Book Fair with a pavilion where Saudi publishers and their counterparts from around the world may hold cultural dialogues and exchange experiences.
The fair, held at Olympia London between May 12 and 14, is an opportunity for the commission to boost Saudi literary publishers and agents’ presence internationally.
Commission CEO Dr. Mohammed Hasan Alwan stressed that the Saudi pavilion was shown significant interest by the public and industry people, adding that the commission has introduced many initiatives and programs aimed at developing the publishing industry and enhancing cultural activity; one such initiative is lending support to Saudi literary publishers and agents globally, SPA reported.
The commission exhibits books in its pavilion, and showcases the Literary Agent Initiative, the Publishing House Leadership Program, and the Tarjim (translate) Initiative, which contribute to supporting and developing this vital sector in the Kingdom, and strengthening the role of workers in the industry, which is a driver of the Saudi culture.
The commission also reviews the Riyadh International Book Fair, one of the largest cultural forums in the Kingdom, which hosts a country as a guest of honor every year to celebrate its culture through literary events.
The Literary Agent Initiative aims to help literary agents secure the best opportunities for authors and facilitate their literary journey, the Tarjim Initiative contributes to enriching Arabic content with highly valuable material translated from various languages, while the Publishing House Leadership Program seeks to create an attractive investment environment by empowering participating publishing houses and enhancing their competitive capabilities locally and globally.

Most Viewed

 
 
Varieties

Air Pollution from Fires Linked to 1.5 Million Deaths a Year

The study was released a week after Ecuador declared a national emergency due to forest fires. Galo Paguay / AFP/File
The study was released a week after Ecuador declared a national emergency due to forest fires. Galo Paguay / AFP/File
TT
TT

Air Pollution from Fires Linked to 1.5 Million Deaths a Year

The study was released a week after Ecuador declared a national emergency due to forest fires. Galo Paguay / AFP/File
The study was released a week after Ecuador declared a national emergency due to forest fires. Galo Paguay / AFP/File

Air pollution caused by fires is linked to more than 1.5 million deaths a year worldwide, the vast majority occurring in developing countries, a major new study said on Thursday.
This death toll is expected to rise in the coming years as climate change makes wildfires more frequent and intense, according to the study in The Lancet journal.
The international team of researchers looked at existing data on "landscape fires", which include both wildfires that rage through nature and planned fires such as controlled burns on farming land.
Around 450,000 deaths a year from heart disease were linked to fire-related air pollution between 2000 and 2019, the researchers said.
A further 220,000 deaths from respiratory disease were attributed to the smoke and particulates spewed into the air by fire, AFP said.
From all causes around the world, a total of 1.53 million annual deaths were associated with air pollution from landscape fires, according to the study.
More than 90 percent of these deaths were in low and middle-income countries, it added, with nearly 40 percent in sub-Saharan Africa alone.
The countries with the highest death tolls were China, the Democratic Republic of Congo, India, Indonesia, and Nigeria.
A record amount of illegal burning of farm fields in northern India has been partly blamed for noxious smog that has recently been choking the capital New Delhi.
The authors of the Lancet study called for "urgent action" to address the huge death toll from landscape fires.
The disparity between rich and poor nations further highlights "climate injustice", in which those who have contributed the least to global warming suffer from it the most, they added.
Some of the ways people can avoid smoke from fires -- such as moving away from the area, using air purifiers and masks, or staying indoors -- are not available to people in poorer countries, the researchers pointed out.
So they called for more financial and technological support for people in the hardest-hit countries.
The study was released a week after UN climate talks where delegates agreed to a boost in climate funding that developing countries slammed as insufficient.
It also came after Ecuador declared a national emergency over forest fires that have razed more than 10,000 hectares in the country's south.
The world has also been battered by hurricanes, droughts, floods and other extreme weather events during what is expected to be the hottest year in recorded history.