We have all heard the expression “a heart of gold,” used to describe a kind person held in high regard. But can adding a crinkled piece of real gold on top of a juicy burger launch it to new culinary heights and force food lovers to hold the once-humble patty in high regard too?
This week, a tweet by a well-known Saudi journalist went viral due to its delicious subject — a SR5,000 burger served at The Ritz-Carlton, Jeddah.
The five-star hotel located in the Al Hamra District is known for its hospitality around the world but now it is making waves in Saudi Arabia for one of its more costly menu items.
One staff member told Arab News that there is indeed demand for this high-priced dish.
“It is called the Royal Burger due to its high price,” the staff member, who asked not to be named, said.
The burger is made with high-end ingredients such as Kobe beef, black truffle, foie gras, gruyere cheese, wild mushrooms, caviar and flaked gold leaf.
The world of fine dining is no stranger to the use of edible gold leaf, but it is usually reserved for desserts and sweet treats.
Since ancient times, Far Eastern cultures and civilizations have used edible gold in their dishes, saving the luxury metal for the most special of occasions.
If the gold leaf is what really makes this burger expensive, then it is readily available online — from specialty gold distributors, auction sites and even Amazon.com — if you wish to whip up a decadent dish at home.
Despite the staff member’s statement that the burger had garnered fans at the hotel, there have been some quizzical reactions on Twitter.
“I wonder how this person will feel in a few hours after the SR5,000 is digested,” one user tweeted.
Another said: “People, please stop these stupid comments, these royal foods are available all over the globe!”
“This is haram, go and help the poor, the world is witnessing famines,” another user commented.
• [email protected]
Decadent ‘Royal Burger’ sells for SR5,000 at Jeddah hotel
Decadent ‘Royal Burger’ sells for SR5,000 at Jeddah hotel
Greek lawyers call for further investigation into 2023 deadly shipwreck
- “The case file contains serious gaps and omissions,” they said in a statement, adding that the captain and the crew of the coast guard vessel monitoring the migrant ship had been summoned by the court, but not the coast guard officials supervising them
ATHENS: Greek lawyers representing the survivors and victims of a deadly 2023 shipwreck said on Monday a naval court needed to examine more evidence after a preliminary investigation failed to shed light on the case.
Hundreds died on June 14, 2023, when an overcrowded fishing trawler, monitored by the Greek coast guard for several hours, capsized and sank in international waters off the southwestern Greek coastal town of Pylos.
A local naval court, which opened a criminal investigation last year, has concluded a preliminary investigation and referred the case to a chief prosecutor, the lawyers said on Monday, adding they had reviewed the evidence examined by the court so far.
“The case file contains serious gaps and omissions,” they said in a statement, adding that the captain and the crew of the coast guard vessel monitoring the migrant ship had been summoned by the court, but not the coast guard officials supervising them.
Evidence, including the record of communications between the officials involved in the operation, was not included in the case file, they added.
“The absence of any investigation into the responsibilities of the competent search and rescue bodies and the leadership of the Greek coast guard is deafening,” they said.
The chief prosecutor will decide if and how the probe will progress.
Under Greek law, prosecutors are not allowed to comment on ongoing investigations.
The vessel, which had set off from Libya, was carrying up to 700 Pakistani, Syrian and Egyptian migrants bound for Italy. Only 104 people were rescued and 82 bodies found.
Greece’s coast guard has denied any role in the sinking, which was one of the deadliest boat disasters in the Mediterranean Sea.
Saudi Arabia chairs first meeting of Council of Arab Cybersecurity Ministers in Riyadh
- Head of Kingdom’s National Cybersecurity Authority says aim of Saudi proposal to establish council is to safeguard vital regional interests and foster cooperation
- Participants include senior officials and ministers in Arab League states, and the organization’s secretary-general, Ahmed Aboul Gheit
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia, represented by Majid Al-Mazid, governor of the National Cybersecurity Authority, chaired the inaugural session of the Council of Arab Cybersecurity Ministers in Riyadh on Monday.
The participants included senior officials and ministers responsible for cybersecurity in member states of the Arab League, as well as Ahmed Aboul Gheit, the organization’s secretary-general.
In his opening speech, Al-Mazid emphasized the Kingdom’s commitment to enhancing Arab security through collaboration in the cybersecurity sector, the Saudi Press Agency reported.
He added that the Saudi proposal that led to the establishment of the council was rooted in a vision for safeguarding the vital interests of the region and fostering cooperation among Arab nations.
Al-Mazid said cybersecurity is not only a pillar of national security but essential for ensuring prosperity, development and stability across the Arab world.
“The Arab leaders’ support for the establishment of this council is a clear affirmation of the importance of cybersecurity in creating a secure and prosperous future for our countries,” he added.
Al-Mazid thanked King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for their support and guidance in promoting Arab cooperation and enhancing regional security.
Aboul Gheit underscored the sense of urgency required in efforts to strengthen joint Arab efforts relating to cybersecurity, particularly in the face of evolving global threats and challenges.
He said that collective action will be key to building a resilient and secure cybersecurity framework for the region, expressed confidence that the council will prove to be a vital addition to Arab national security systems, and commended Saudi Arabia for its leadership in launching the initiative.
The council reviewed a number of working papers submitted by member states and made several key decisions during its inaugural session. One of the primary outcomes was the initiation of efforts to develop an Arab Cybersecurity Strategy, with the aim of providing a unified approach to challenges across the region.
The council also approved plans for member states to conduct joint cyber-related exercises, and the operational structure and mechanisms of the council were formalized.
Iraq says to eliminate pollutant gas flaring by end of 2027
- The office of Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani in a statement Monday evening pointed to “a rise in the level of eliminating gas flaring” in the country
BAGHDAD: Iraqi authorities on Monday announced that the energy-rich country would eliminate the polluting practice of gas flaring by the end of 2027, a statement from the prime minister’s office said.
Gas flaring during the production or processing of crude is intended to convert excess methane to carbon dioxide, but the process is often incomplete, resulting in further methane release.
Iraq has the third highest global rate of gas flaring, after Russia and Iran, having flared about 18 billion cubic meters of gas in 2023, according to the World Bank.
The office of Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani in a statement Monday evening pointed to “a rise in the level of eliminating gas flaring” in the country.
The office said that the current rate of elimination stood at 67 percent, with the aim of raising that rate to 80 percent by the end of 2025.
It added that the country aims to fully eliminate gas flaring by the end of 2027, compared to the previous administration’s target of 2030.
In 2017, Iraq joined a World Bank-led initiative aiming to end gas flaring globally by 2030.
Gas flaring is cheaper than capturing the associated gas, processing and marketing it.
In an April report, Greenpeace Middle East and North Africa said gas flaring “produces a number of cancer-linked pollutants including benzene.”
Iraq is considered by the United Nations to be one of the five countries most vulnerable to some impacts of climate change.
In recent years, it has suffered increasingly from droughts and further desertification, with the country gripped by dust storms much of the year.
Defense minister acknowledges Israel killed Hamas leader in Iran
- The comments by Israel Katz appeared to mark the first time that Israel has admitted killing Ismail Haniyeh
- Katz said the Houthis leadership would meet a similar fate to that of Haniyeh
JERUSALEM: Israel’s defense minister has confirmed that Israel assassinated Hamas’ top leader last summer and is threatening to take similar action against the leadership of the Houthi group in Yemen.
The comments by Israel Katz appeared to mark the first time that Israel has admitted killing Ismail Haniyeh, who died in an explosion in Iran in July.
Israel was widely believed to be behind the blast, and leaders have previously hinted at its involvement.
In a speech Monday, Katz said the Houthis would meet a similar fate as the other members of an Iranian-led alliance in the region, including Haniyeh.
He also noted that Israel has killed other leaders of Hamas and Hezbollah, helped topple Syria’s Bashar Assad, and destroyed Iran’s anti-aircraft systems.
“We will strike (the Houthis’) strategic infrastructure and cut off the head of the leadership,” he said.
“Just like we did to Haniyeh, Sinwar, and Nasrallah in Tehran, Gaza, and Lebanon, we will do in Hodeida and Sanaa,” he said, referring to Hamas and Hezbollah leaders killed in previous Israeli attacks.
The Iranian-backed Houthis have launched scores of missiles and drones at Israel throughout the war, including a missile that landed in Tel Aviv on Saturday and wounded at least 16 people.
Israel has carried out three sets of airstrikes in Yemen during the war and vowed to step up the pressure on the militant group until the missile attacks stop.
New conflict in northeast Syria could bring ‘dramatic consequences’, UN envoy says
- Turkiye regards the YPG as an extension of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militants who have fought an insurgency against the Turkish state and are deemed terrorists by Ankara, Washington and the European Union
BEIRUT: Tensions in northeast Syria between Kurdish-led authorities and Turkish-backed groups should be resolved politically or risk “dramatic consequences” for all of Syria, the United Nations envoy for the country Geir Pedersen told Reuters on Monday. Hostilities have escalated between Syrian rebels backed by Ankara and the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces in the northeast since Bashar Assad was toppled on Dec. 8.
Syrian armed groups seized the city of Manbij from the SDF on Dec. 9 and could be preparing to attack the key city of Kobani, or Ayn Al-Arab, on the northern border with Turkiye.
“If the situation in the northeast is not handled correctly, it could be a very bad omen for the whole of Syria,” Pedersen said by phone, adding that “if we fail here, it would have dramatic consequences when it comes to new displacement.” The SDF — which is spearheaded by the Kurdish YPG — has proposed to withdraw its forces from the area in exchange for a complete truce. But Turkiye’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, speaking alongside Syria’s de facto new leader Ahmed Al-Sharaa on Sunday in Damascus, said the YPG should disband totally.
Turkiye regards the YPG as an extension of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militants who have fought an insurgency against the Turkish state and are deemed terrorists by Ankara, Washington and the European Union.
Pedersen said a political solution “would require serious, serious compromises” and should be part of the “transitional phase” led by Syria’s new authorities in Damascus. Fidan said he had discussed the YPG presence with the new Syrian administration and believed Damascus would take steps to ensure Syria’s territorial integrity and sovereignty. Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Monday the country will remain in close dialogue with Sharaa. Kurdish groups have had autonomy across much of the northeast since Syria’s war began in 2011, but now fear it could be wiped out by the country’s new Islamist rule. Thousands of women rallied on Monday in a northeast city to condemn Turkiye and demand their rights be respected.
Pedersen said Sharaa had told him in meetings in Damascus last week that they were committed to “transitional arrangements that will be inclusive of all.”
But he said resolving tensions in the northeast would be a test for a new Syria after more than a half-century of Assad family rule.
“The whole question of creating a new, free Syria would be off to a very, extremely ... to put it diplomatically, difficult start,” he said.
