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Saudi Arabia’s Aseer Launches Interactive Map to Explore Tourist Destinations

Saudi Arabia’s Aseer Launches Interactive Map to Explore Tourist Destinations
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Saudi Arabia’s Aseer Launches Interactive Map to Explore Tourist Destinations

Saudi Arabia’s Aseer Launches Interactive Map to Explore Tourist Destinations

The Aseer Region Development Authority has launched an interactive digital map for Aseer Summer Season 2026 in southwestern Saudi Arabia, enabling visitors to explore tourist destinations, events, and experiences across the region's governorates, the Saudi Press Agency said on Saturday.

The map provides updated information on tourism routes and activities, helping users plan their trips and discover available options.

The launch coincides with the start of Aseer Summer Season 2026, inaugurated by Governor of Aseer Region and Chairman of the Aseer Region Development Authority Prince Turki bin Talal bin Abdulaziz.

The season is being held with the support of the Ministry of Tourism and the Saudi Tourism Authority, and in partnership with the National Events Center.
Aseer Summer Season 2026 aims to attract more than three million visitors through over 100 events and experiences across several governorates and destinations in the region. The program features cultural, artistic, entertainment, sports, and family-oriented activities.
The interactive map is part of the authority's efforts to enhance the visitor experience by providing easy access to information on tourist destinations, activities, and events throughout the region.
The interactive map can be accessed through the Discover Aseer platform at: https://discoveraseer.com/map

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French Police Raid House for Drugs and Find a Picasso

Staff members pose next to Pablo Picasso's 'Buste de femme', during a media preview by Sotheby's in central London on June 11, 2026, to highlight masterpieces from the Lewis Collection, estimated to be worth some 200 million pounds (267 million USD). (Photo by JUSTIN TALLIS / AFP)
Staff members pose next to Pablo Picasso's 'Buste de femme', during a media preview by Sotheby's in central London on June 11, 2026, to highlight masterpieces from the Lewis Collection, estimated to be worth some 200 million pounds (267 million USD). (Photo by JUSTIN TALLIS / AFP)
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French Police Raid House for Drugs and Find a Picasso

Staff members pose next to Pablo Picasso's 'Buste de femme', during a media preview by Sotheby's in central London on June 11, 2026, to highlight masterpieces from the Lewis Collection, estimated to be worth some 200 million pounds (267 million USD). (Photo by JUSTIN TALLIS / AFP)
Staff members pose next to Pablo Picasso's 'Buste de femme', during a media preview by Sotheby's in central London on June 11, 2026, to highlight masterpieces from the Lewis Collection, estimated to be worth some 200 million pounds (267 million USD). (Photo by JUSTIN TALLIS / AFP)

A police raid looking for drugs at a house in a Paris suburb turned up a painting by Pablo Picasso, prosecutors said Saturday, according to AFP.

"This discovery was made during a search carried out as part of an investigation into drug trafficking," said the public prosecutor's office of Creteil, south-east of Paris.

They had opened an investigation into theft and dealing in stolen goods, the statement added.

On Friday, four people were brought before a court for an immediate hearing in connection with the case, the office said.

According to newspaper Le Parisien, which first reported the story, the search was carried out on Monday by investigators in Champigny-sur-Marne, a town east of Paris.

As well as the Picasso, the police seized cannabis resin, luxury clothing and several thousand euros in cash, the newspaper said.

The Creteil prosecutor's office said the painting had been authenticated as a work by the Spanish painter, but did not specify which painting it was.

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Iceland Resumes Whale Hunt Amid Protest

FILED - 23 August 2019, Iceland, Reykjavik: FILE PHOTO - The whaling ships Hvalur 9 (L) and Hvalur 8 are docked in the harbor. Photo: Steffen Trumpf/dpa
FILED - 23 August 2019, Iceland, Reykjavik: FILE PHOTO - The whaling ships Hvalur 9 (L) and Hvalur 8 are docked in the harbor. Photo: Steffen Trumpf/dpa
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Iceland Resumes Whale Hunt Amid Protest

FILED - 23 August 2019, Iceland, Reykjavik: FILE PHOTO - The whaling ships Hvalur 9 (L) and Hvalur 8 are docked in the harbor. Photo: Steffen Trumpf/dpa
FILED - 23 August 2019, Iceland, Reykjavik: FILE PHOTO - The whaling ships Hvalur 9 (L) and Hvalur 8 are docked in the harbor. Photo: Steffen Trumpf/dpa

One of Iceland's two remaining whaling ships set out this week to hunt the giant mammals after a two-year hiatus, local media and campaigners reported on Saturday.

Iceland is one of only three countries that still openly permit whaling, alongside Norway and Japan -- despite international opprobrium from the public and animal welfare organizations.

A protester chained himself to the mast of the vessel before it left the port of Reykjavik on Friday. He climbed down in the evening and was escorted away by police, RUV media said.

"It is so disheartening to see Iceland's whaling boat leave port to begin another season of whale slaughter despite overwhelming evidence that there is no humane way to kill a whale," Joanna Swabe of the Humane World for Animals NGO said after the second vessel headed out to sea.

"These ocean giants will very likely endure an agonizing death for meat that virtually no one in Iceland wants to eat," she told AFP.

Iceland cancelled its whale hunt in 2024 and 2025, partly because economic woes had cut demand and the industry was not deemed sufficiently profitable.

The International Whaling Commission banned the commercial killing of whales in 1986 amid alarm at the declining stock of the marine mammals.

Iceland and Norway are the only two countries still openly practicing commercial whaling in defiance of the moratorium.

Japan hunts the ocean giants for what it claims is "scientific" purposes, even if most of the meat ends up on the market for consumption.

Iceland's Marine and Freshwater Research Institute has recommended a reduction in the number of whales harpooned this season, which runs from mid-June to mid-September.

The 2026 annual number of fin whales killed should not exceed 150 animals, a 28-percent drop on the recommended annual catch for the period 2018-2025, it said.

The fin whale is the second largest animal on Earth after the blue whale.

The Institute set an annual quota of 168 animals for the minke whale hunt this year, a 23-percent drop.

The government is due this autumn to table a bill on banning whaling altogether.

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2 Arrested in Spain over Exotic Animal Trafficking Network

A dog drinks water in Palma de Mallorca on June 20, 2026, on the eve of the start of the first official heatwave of this summer. (Photo by Jaime REINA / AFP)
A dog drinks water in Palma de Mallorca on June 20, 2026, on the eve of the start of the first official heatwave of this summer. (Photo by Jaime REINA / AFP)
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2 Arrested in Spain over Exotic Animal Trafficking Network

A dog drinks water in Palma de Mallorca on June 20, 2026, on the eve of the start of the first official heatwave of this summer. (Photo by Jaime REINA / AFP)
A dog drinks water in Palma de Mallorca on June 20, 2026, on the eve of the start of the first official heatwave of this summer. (Photo by Jaime REINA / AFP)

Two people have been arrested and eight others placed under investigation in Spain over their alleged involvement in a network trafficking exotic animals, police said on Saturday.

According to AFP, the Guardia Civil said it launched an investigation in late 2025 after receiving information about suspected wildlife crimes in the southern province of Seville.

The probe led investigators to intercept a suitcase at Seville's San Pablo Airport containing several animals protected under international wildlife trade regulations that were allegedly being transported without the required documentation.

During searches of five homes and three industrial premises in Seville, officers seized 256 animals covered by international wildlife trade controls or other conservation measures.

Among the animals seized were savannah monitors, a large species of lizard native to sub-Saharan Africa that is commonly traded in the exotic pet market.

Officers also recovered red-eyed tree frogs found in the rainforests of Central America, spectacled caimans, a species of crocodilian native to Latin America, and an albino green iguana, a rare color variant prized by collectors.

Police also found 61 dogs and 28 cats which they believe were being bred for illegal sale.

Officers seized 56,965 euros in cash from one property, which investigators suspect was linked to the alleged trafficking operation.

Investigators suspect the group relied on employees of parcel delivery companies who facilitated the transport of live animals and falsified documentation.