Latest news with #DHAHRAN
Arab News
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Arab News
From ‘What If?' to ‘Wow!' at children's festival
DHAHRAN: The inaugural Children's Festival being held under the theme 'What if?' at the King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture is designed to 'inspire imagination, encourage connection, and make space for discovery,' an official told Arab News recently. Nouf Al-Jama, the head of learning at Ithra, added: 'The program invites children to express themselves, engage with their surroundings, and experience culture in new and exciting ways.' The event, which began on July 7 and runs until July 26 between 4 p.m. and 11 p.m., blends creativity, learning, play and discovery. The festival features 50 diverse activities including live performances, interactive stations, creative zones, workshops and a book fair, to encourage critical and creative thinking. • The Children's Festival's artistic zones invite kids and their families to explore color, motion, and self-expression. • The five-day Children's Book Fair runs until July 19 and includes 20 local and international publishing houses. • South Korea is this year's guest of honor, offering a window into its culture through stories and illustrations. The artistic zones invite children and their families to explore color, motion, and self-expression. One such experience combines rhythm and culinary arts, transforming everyday kitchen utensils into instruments of sound and joy. '(The festival) gives children the freedom to express themselves and feel heard — whether through painting in the interactive art space, uncovering clues in the museum adventure, or stepping onto the open mic stage,' said Al-Jama. The sessions have experts from local and regional institutions including the King Salman Global Academy for Arabic Language, Abu Dhabi Children's Library, House of Wisdom in Sharjah, and King Abdulaziz Public Library. Parents and guardians are invited to join workshops, engage in conversations with other parents and build memories. 'It is this sense of togetherness, where children and families learn and grow side by side, that makes the festival so special,' Al-Jama added. With schools closed and summertime in full swing, local children are immersing themselves in the festival. 'The response so far has been incredibly encouraging. From the very first day, we have seen families arriving early and staying for hours, moving from one experience to the next. 'Children have embraced the festival with curiosity and confidence,' she said of the opening week. Additionally, the five-day Children's Book Fair at Ithra runs until July 19, and includes 20 local and international publishing houses specializing in literature for children and young adults. South Korea is this year's guest of honor, offering a window into its culture through stories and illustrations. 'It is part of Ithra's ongoing efforts to support the next generation by using culture as a tool for exploration, growth, and shared experience,' Al-Jama said.
Arab News
6 days ago
- Health
- Arab News
Opinion: Tackling childhood obesity starts at home
DHAHRAN: Here, Dr. Hanan Al-Shaikh discusses child obesity in a mini opinion piece for Arab News. Al-Shaikh is chair of the Women and Children's Health Department at Johns Hopkins Aramco Healthcare in Saudi Arabia. The received wisdom about the causes of obesity is that genetics has the strongest influence. This seems to provide comfort to parents of large children: It's not my fault; it's written in their DNA. This is nonsense. Children are not born obese; obesity is induced by their environment. Yes, a child's genetics can make them more susceptible to overeating, but are they the ones buying the food and cooking the meals? Sorry, parents, but it is time to take responsibility for your children's waistlines. You and you alone have the strongest influence on whether your children become overweight or obese. You choose what they eat and determine how much they exercise. Your own choices around diet and physical exertion set the example they will follow. A recent forecast published in leading medical journal The Lancet suggests that Saudi Arabia will have one of the highest child obesity rates in the world by 2050. Separate research suggests that obesity costs the country almost $227 billion a year. It is human nature to seek excuses for big problems by focusing on factors outside of one's control. Yes, genetics plays a role in obesity. No, we cannot stop our children from seeing billboards advertising fried chicken buckets. Yes, the heat makes it harder to exercise outdoors for many months of the year. It is also human nature to confer responsibility for big problems on others, particularly the state. The government needs to crack down on fast food advertising, encourage schools to raise physical activity levels, and so on. These things may be true. But most of us retain the absolute power to choose what we eat and how much we exercise – even if we pretend we do not – and many factors are well within our control. One of these is the role that parents have in teaching their children how to eat and exercise in their earliest years. Nothing influences a young child more than the actions of their parents, and roughly speaking, the first seven years of a child's life are crucial for instilling lifelong habits for healthy eating and exercise. Once a child becomes overweight or obese, it is incredibly hard for them to shed the weight. Some obese children may need surgery; most will need months, if not years, of treatment. The burden on the child, the parents, and the healthcare system is huge. Prevention rather than intervention is key. Sadly, some kids who visit the paediatric wellness clinic at our hospital tell us they get as many as eight hours of screen time per day, eat chocolate and popcorn for lunch, and drink more than a can of soda daily. These are terrible habits that will almost certainly cross over into their adult lives. It is time for parents to stop blaming influences outside their control and, instead, play a leading role in the fight against child obesity.
Saudi Gazette
15-06-2025
- Business
- Saudi Gazette
Saudi Aramco shares rise as oil surges 7% on geopolitical fears
Saudi Gazette report DHAHRAN — Saudi Aramco shares rose 1.76% in the first trading session of the week on the Saudi Stock Exchange (Tadawul), supported by a sharp rise in oil prices following the escalation of hostilities between Israel and Iran. Aramco closed at SR25.40, up from SR24.96 in the previous session, with trading volume reaching approximately 28.7 million shares and a total value of nearly SR728 million. Oil markets surged on Friday after both Israel and Iran exchanged missile strikes, raising concerns about possible disruptions to energy exports from the region. Brent crude futures rose $4.87, or 7.02%, to settle at $74.23 a barrel after spiking over 13% intraday to $78.50 — the highest since January 27. US West Texas Intermediate crude jumped $4.94, or 7.62%, to $72.98 a barrel, after briefly hitting $77.62, its highest level since January 21. Both benchmarks recorded their largest single-day gains since Russia's 2022 invasion of price spike followed Israel's announcement of a broad military campaign targeting Iranian nuclear facilities, ballistic missile factories, and top military vowed a harsh retaliation, warning that its response would escalate if Israeli operations US President Donald Trump urged Iran to return to nuclear negotiations, warning that future attacks were being planned and emphasizing that the U.S. would retaliate forcefully if National Iranian Oil Refining and Distribution Company said refining and storage operations remained unaffected.
Saudi Gazette
03-06-2025
- Business
- Saudi Gazette
Saudi Aramco completes $5 billion bond issuance
Saudi Gazette report DHAHRAN — Saudi Aramco has announced the completion of a $5 billion issuance of bonds across three tranches under its Global Medium Term Note Program. According to Aramco, the tranches include $1.5 billion in senior notes maturing in 2030 with a coupon rate of 4.750 percent, $1.25 billion in senior notes maturing in 2035 with a coupon rate of 5.375 percent, and $2.25 billion in senior notes maturing in 2055 with a coupon rate of 6.375 percent. The transaction was priced on May 27, 2025, and the notes were listed on the London Stock Exchange. Aramco's Executive Vice President of Finance and CFO Ziad Al-Murshed said that the strong demand for Aramco's new bond offering, as reflected in the diversified orderbook, is a testament to global investors' confidence in Aramco's financial resilience and robust balance sheet. "Pricing the offering with no new issuance premium across all tranches clearly reflects Aramco's unique long-term credit proposition. We remain committed to our disciplined approach towards capital management as we continue to execute our growth strategy," he said.
Arab News
27-03-2025
- Business
- Arab News
Saudi Arabia returns to London Design Biennale with ‘Good Water' pavilion
DHAHRAN: Saudi Arabia will participate at the London Design Biennale 2025 with 'Good Water,' an exhibition exploring the hidden costs and economies of water, running from June 5-29 at Somerset House. Commissioned by the Architecture and Design Commission, the pavilion is curated by a multidisciplinary design collective comprising Alaa Tarabzouni, Aziz Jamal, Dur Kattan and Fahad bin Naif. Drawing on their backgrounds in architecture, design and the arts, they will challenge conventional notions of access, distribution and the perceived value of water. Sumaya Al-Sulaiman, CEO of the Architecture and Design Commission, said: 'Saudi Arabia's return to the London Design Biennale marks another chapter in our commitment to design as a tool for dialogue and cultural exchange. We look forward to engaging in conversations on creativity, innovation, and systems thinking during our fourth participation in the event.' The exhibition responds to this year's biennale theme 'Surface Reflections,' by inviting visitors to reconsider their relationship with water. At the heart of the Saudi pavilion is a sabeel, a traditional water fountain deeply rooted in Saudi culture that provides complimentary water to anyone who passes by. It is seen as a symbol of hospitality and generosity. The sabeel, within this context, represents a paradox. While it offers water freely, the reality is that no water is truly free, the exhibition argues. Every drop is made possible through a network of labor, energy and infrastructure — whether extracted through costly desalination, bottled and imported or transported through vast water systems requiring maintenance and oversight. The cost is absorbed by governments, corporations, and workers, yet the long-term impact is shared by all. In this showcase, 'Good Water' repositions the sabeel not just as a gesture of goodwill, but as a question: Who pays for 'free' water? What does it truly cost? 'The pavilion uses familiar elements to draw attention to water's hidden economies,' said the participants Tarabzouni, Jamal, Kattan and bin Naif in a joint statement. 'It encourages visitors to drink with awareness, to acknowledge the price, and to recognize that while the cost of good water may be borne by someone else, it ultimately affects everyone. By relocating the sabeel to the London Design Biennale—where water scarcity is not an immediate concern—we reframe it as an object of scrutiny, making the invisible visible and the passive active.' In 2023, Saudi Arabia participated at the 4th London Design Biennale with a pavilion titled 'Woven' by Ruba Alkhaldi and Lojain Rafaa.
