RIYADH: Saudi Arabia recorded 27 new COVID-19 related deaths on Tuesday, raising the death toll to 4,739.
The Ministry of Health also said 539 new confirmed cases were reported in the Kingdom in the past 24 hours, bringing the total number of people who have contracted the virus since the pandemic began to 334,187, of which 10,906 remain active cases, and 1,005 in critical condition.
The cities with the highest number of cases include Jeddah with 61, Makkah with 53, Madinah with 46 and both Hafouf and the capital Riyadh with 35 each.
The ministry also announced that 696 new patients had recovered from COVID-19, bringing the total number of recoveries in the Kingdom to 318,542.
The pandemic has affected almost 33.4 million people globally and total mortality rate has passed one million.
Saudi Arabia confirms 27 COVID-19 deaths, 539 new cases
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Saudi Arabia confirms 27 COVID-19 deaths, 539 new cases
- 696 new patients had recovered from the virus in the past 24 hours
India poses serious threats to regional peace, Pakistan tells OIC envoys
- Tensions surged after India blamed Pakistan for deadly attack on tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir on Apr. 22
- Several countries such as US, UK, Iran, China, Saudi Arabia, UAE and others have called on both sides to show restraint
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations (UN) Ambassador Asim Iftikhar briefed the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Group of Ambassadors about Islamabad’s ongoing tensions with New Delhi on Thursday, state-run media reported, informing them that New Delhi poses serious threats to regional peace and security.
Tensions have surged between the two countries following a deadly attack on tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir on Apr. 22 that New Delhi has said Pakistan was involved in. Islamabad denies the charges and has said it will participate in any credible and transparent investigation of the assault.
Several countries such as China, Saudi Arabia, Iran, UK, US and others have called upon both India and Pakistan to exercise restraint and avoid a military confrontation. Pakistan has vowed to give a “strong” response to any aggression after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave the military freedom to respond to the Kashmir attack during a closed-door meeting earlier this week.
“He informed the participants that India, through its politically motivated, irresponsible and highly provocative behavior, has posed serious threats to regional peace and stability,” Radio Pakistan said on Thursday.
The state-run media said OIC members expressed full support and solidarity with Pakistan, calling for “de-escalation through diplomatic engagement” and urging the resolution of the Kashmir dispute in accordance with UN Security Council and OIC resolutions.
India and Pakistan both claim the entire disputed Kashmir region but administer only parts of it. New Delhi accuses Islamabad of funding militants in the valley which Islamabad denies.
On Wednesday, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif urged US Secretary of State Marco Rubio during a phone call to impress upon New Delhi to “act responsibly” amid fears of a military confrontation breaking out between nuclear-armed neighbors.
Pakistani state media had also reported that a “timely” response by the Pakistan Air Force on Wednesday had “forced” four Indian Rafale jets to retreat after payrolling near the two nations’ de facto border.
Police arrest 400 in Istanbul: lawyers group
There was no immediate comment on the detentions from city authorities
ISTNABUL: Police arrested more than 400 people in Istanbul on Thursday, with parts of Turkiye’s biggest city paralyzed in a bid to prevent May Day demonstrations, a lawyers group said.
On Wednesday city authorities closed metro, bus and ferry services in the metropolis and arrested 100 people who were allegedly planning to protest in the city’s central Taksim Square, where demonstrations have been banned since 2013.
This year’s May Day comes as the government is embroiled in a showdown with the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CPH), following the detention of its presidential candidate Ekrem Imamoglu.
Imamoglu, who is Istanbul’s mayor, is the biggest political rival of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
“The number of arrests that have been reported to us exceeds 400,” the Istanbul branch of the CHD lawyers group wrote on X on Thursday.
There was no immediate comment on the detentions from city authorities.
AFP journalists witnessed several dozen people arrested in neighborhoods on the European side of the city.
Several thousand people assembled in sanctioned protests called by labor unions on the Asian side of the city, according to local media and an AFP journalist.
On Wednesday, rights group Amnesty International urged Turkiye to lift the ban on demonstrations in Taksim.
“The restrictions on May Day celebrations in Taksim Square are based on entirely spurious security and public order grounds and... must be urgently lifted,” said Dinushika Dissanayake, an Amnesty’s specialist on Europe.
As happens every year, the square has been sealed off with metal barriers for several days, with a heavy police presence.
Bollywood stars gather in Mumbai for India’s first global entertainment summit
- WAVES 2025 speakers include A-listers Anil Kapoor, A.R. Rahman and CEOs of YouTube, Netflix
- Saudi Arabia’s entertainment sector is on show at summit, focused on e-sports and gaming ecosystem
NEW DELHI: India’s first global entertainment summit began in Mumbai on Thursday, bringing together the country’s biggest Bollywood stars, from legendary actor Shah Rukh Khan to renowned actress Deepika Padukone, and industry leaders from around the world.
The World Audio Visual and Entertainment Summit, or Waves, is organized by the Indian Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.
About 100,000 participants from 100 countries will join the four-day summit at the Jio World Convention Centre in Mumbai, featuring a lineup of India’s A-list celebrities and creatives, such as Anil Kapoor, A.R. Rahman and Alia Bhatt.
Its plenary sessions will feature prominent speakers in the media and entertainment industry, including Netflix’s CEO Ted Sarandos, YouTube’s CEO Neal Mohan, and Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani.
“Today, artists, innovators, investors and policymakers from more than 100 countries have gathered under one roof in Mumbai. In a way, the foundation of a global ecosystem of global talent and global creativity is being laid here today,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi said during the opening ceremony.
“Waves is a global platform that belongs to all the artists, all the creators, where every artist, every youth will connect with the creative world with a new idea.”
Bollywood movie star Shah Rukh Khan, who is also a member of the Waves advisory board, said the summit is “a catalyst for creators, innovators, disruptors and dreamers at the confluence of heart and technology.”
“Here, industry leaders unite to chart the future, drive bold innovation and champion Indian creativity on the world stage,” Khan said.
Waves seeks to position India as a global hub for media, entertainment and digital innovation by highlighting the country’s talents in various media and entertainment fields, including films, gaming, comics, artificial intelligence and other emerging tech.
“Waves aims to unlock a $50 billion market by 2029, expanding India’s footprint in the global entertainment economy,” the Prime Minister’s Office said in a statement.
International participation at the summit includes Saudi Arabia, with a delegation led by Saudi Esports Federation chairman, Prince Faisal bin Bandar, displaying the Kingdom’s entertainment sector achievements and ambitions, particularly in gaming and e-sports.
“Saudi Arabia and India recognize that the future belongs to nations investing not only in infrastructure, but in building ecosystems where technology, creativity, and talent intersect. Under the leadership of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Prime Minister Modi, our countries are uniquely aligned in this belief,” Prince Faisal wrote in an op-ed published by the Delhi-based English daily, Indian Express.
“Saudi Arabia is excited to collaborate with India and other innovators to shape a future where gaming and e-sports reflect the diversity and ambition of the Global South.”
Turkiye stresses opposition to decentralization in Syria
- Ankara sees decentralization demands by Syria’s Kurds as a threat because of what it says are their cross-border links to Kurdish militants in Türkiye
- “Turkiye does not accept any initiative that targets Syria’s territorial integrity,” a Turkish Foreign Ministry source said
ANKARA: Türkiye rejects any plans that undermine the central government in Syrian Arab Republic or threaten its sovereignty and territorial integrity, Turkish sources said, responding to demands from Kurds for Syria to adopt a decentralized system of government.
Türkiye backed rebels against former President Bashar Assad for years and is seen as the closest foreign ally of Syria’s new Islamist leaders, vowing to help them rebuild and stabilize a country devastated by 14 years of war.
Ankara sees decentralization demands by Syria’s Kurds as a threat because of what it says are their cross-border links to Kurdish militants in Türkiye, while it looks to end a decades-old conflict with the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militia.
Rival Syrian Kurdish parties, including the dominant Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in the northeast, agreed at a meeting on Saturday on a common political vision for the country’s Kurdish minority and decentralization, a call rejected by Syria’s leadership.
Turkish sources elaborated on comments by President Tayyip Erdogan, who said on Wednesday that decentralization demands in Syria were “nothing more than a raw dream.”
“Turkiye does not accept any initiative that targets Syria’s territorial integrity, that will damage its sovereignty, or that allows weapons to be carried by others not in the Syrian central authority,” a Turkish Foreign Ministry source said.
Türkiye, a NATO member, views the US-backed SDF as a terrorist organization.
Ankara welcomed a March deal between the SDF and Damascus to merge Kurdish-led governing bodies and security forces with the central government, but said it must also ensure the dismantling of the YPG militia spearheading the SDF, and of the SDF’s chain of command.
PROVIDING ‘SPACE’
The source said Türkiye had provided “the necessary space” for Damascus to address Türkiye’s concerns over Kurdish militants in Syria. Ankara has previously warned of military action if its concerns are not alleviated.
A Turkish defense ministry source said on Wednesday that demands for autonomy could harm Syria’s sovereignty and regional stability.
“We cannot consent to the disintegration of Syria’s territorial integrity and the deterioration of its unitary structure under any guise,” the source told a briefing in Ankara.
“We are against autonomous region and/or decentralized rhetoric or activities, just as is the new Syrian administration.”
Late on Wednesday, Turkish Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Oncu Keceli said all regional countries must contribute to Syria’s security and stability, calling on Israel to halt “its air strikes that harm the unity and integrity of Syria.”
Israel has been mounting air strikes inside Syria, which Türkiye has called an unacceptable provocation to harm Syria’s unity in the post-Assad era. Ankara has been a fierce critic of Israel since it launched the Gaza war.
Ankara also wants all Western sanctions imposed on Syria to be fully lifted and for US troops stationed in the northeast to withdraw.
Paramilitary shelling hits Sudan’s presidential palace: army source
- RSF used “long-range artillery” launched from their holdout position in Al-Salha
- They targeted the army’s General Command headquarters in central Khartoum
KHARTOUM: Sudan’s presidential palace in central Khartoum was shelled by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces on Thursday, a military source said, the second such attack on the capital in a week.
The RSF, at war with the army for two years, used “long-range artillery” launched from their holdout position in Al-Salha, located south of Khartoum’s twin city of Omdurman, the source told AFP on condition of anonymity.
There were no immediate reports of casualties.
On Saturday, the RSF targeted the army’s General Command headquarters in central Khartoum, also using long-range artillery fire, according to a military source.
The attacks come weeks after the army pushed the RSF out of central Khartoum, which the paramilitary had swept through early in the war.
In a major military offensive in March, army forces regained control of the presidential palace, the airport and other strategic areas in the capital.
But the RSF still clings to its last pockets of control in southern and western Omdurman.
Since April 2023, the war in Sudan has killed tens of thousands, uprooted 13 million and created the world’s largest hunger and displacement crises.
The conflict has effectively divided the country in two with the army holding the center, east and north while the RSF controls nearly all of Darfur and parts of the south.
