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JEDDAH: Riyadh adrenaline junkies can now enjoy a thrilling new amusement ride at Winter Wonderland.
“Sky Loop”, the world’s longest mobile roller coaster, launched at the theme park on Wednesday. With a height of 52 m and a speed of 110 kph, the roller coaster consists of a group of carts moving along a spiral track, through a sharp ascension and crazy overturns. Sky Loop stands out from other roller coasters by its track designs that are full of twists and turns known as the “Cobra Roll.” Ali Al-Mezhar, a 25-year-old Saudi civil engineer, said the Sky Loop’s speed thrilled him the most.
• With a height of 52 m and a speed of 110 kph, the roller coaster consists of a group of carts moving along a spiral track, through a sharp ascension and crazy overturns.
• The Riyadh Season has been one the most prominent entertainment destinations in the Kingdom since its launch in 2021 under the slogan ‘Imagine More.’
“I asked: ‘What is this amazing speed?’ My friend, who is a mechanical engineer and rode with me, said that the propulsion system used in this roller coaster is similar to the propulsion system in jet planes,” Al-Mezhar told Arab News. “No wonder that when we boarded the ride, they put on protective glasses. Of course, it is recommended to ride on an empty stomach to avoid vomiting,” he added. Rawan Al-Daur, a Riyadh-based diabetic educator, describes herself as a daring thrill-seeker, and said the Sky Loop was nothing like the roller coasters she has enjoyed in the past. “It was such an awesome ride. It accelerated my adrenaline and it gave me the level of scare that I was looking for, it was the scariest ride I’ve ever been on,” she said. “I went on all the scary rides the other day at Winter Wonderland to mentally prepare myself for skydiving. Sky Loop’s thrill is on a whole other level, unlike the roller coasters I tried in the past,” she added. Bassam Al-Qahtani, a Saudi network and communications engineer, had always wanted to ride a roller coaster with Sky Loop’s thrill factor. “The roller coaster was so exciting, and I’ve been craving this level of fear in roller coasters. It is indescribable; from the moment I reached the peak and I saw the world shrink from way up high,” Al-Qahtani told Arab News. Abdullah Al-Aqeel, a 31-year-old Saudi engineer, applauded the high-quality development of the entertainment sector in the Kingdom, adding that he enjoyed seeing Riyadh’s famous landmarks from the peak of the roller coaster. “It was such an enjoyable experience in all aspects. What makes it really special is its placement in the theme park; you can see all the city’s landmarks, in particular, the King Abdullah Financial District and King Fahd Road,” he said. In its first 100 days, Riyadh Season attracted 10 million visitors and 1 million tourists to its sites and events. Turki Al-Sheikh, president of the General Entertainment Authority, tweeted about the number of visitors on Saturday: “With the support, guidance, and planning of the Crown Prince, #RiyadhSeason exceeds 10 million visitors and a million tourists in 100 days.” The Riyadh Season has been one the most prominent entertainment destinations in the Kingdom since its launch in 2021 under the slogan “Imagine More.” Its activities are being held on an area of 5.4 million sq m, and it consists of 14 recreational areas distributed throughout the capital: Boulevard Riyadh City, Via Riyadh, Combat Field, Al-Athriyah, Riyadh Oasis, The Groves, Riyadh Winter Wonderland, Riyadh Front, Al-Murabba, Riyadh Pulse, Riyadh Safari, Al-Salam Tree, Khalouha and Zaman Village.
JEDDAH: A carnival-style parade on Wednesday marked the opening of a Jeddah park to visitors as part of the Red Sea port city’s annual festival of activities.
Entertainers in colorful costumes led a procession that included stilt walkers and unicyclists during an inauguration ceremony for Prince Majid Park attended by Jeddah Gov. Prince Saud bin Abdullah bin Jalawi.
A host of artistic, cultural, and recreational events have been lined up to entertain Jeddah Season 2022 crowds.
Prince Majid Park in Al-Rabwah district is one of the city’s main attractions and will be welcoming visitors free of charge. Activities and entertainment will include live performances, diverse cultural folklore, recreational events for children, shopping booths, a carnival area for challenges and games, a horror house experience, and a cultural celebration week.
Prince Majid Park in Al-Rabwah district is one of the city’s main attractions and will be welcoming visitors free of charge. Activities and entertainment will include live performances, diverse cultural folklore, recreational events for children, shopping booths, a carnival area for challenges and games, a horror house experience, and a cultural celebration week.
Covering an area of 140,000 square meters, the park, that cost nearly SR80 million ($21 million) to build, can accommodate 54,000 people. Visitors are greeted by a 30-meter-high interactive fountain that dances and sways to the sound of music and there is also a 9,730-square-meter children’s play area.
The 900-meter-long pedestrian pathways and 1,800 meters of routes for cyclists and scooters are decorated with 918 trees and 382 palm trees as part of efforts to satisfy one of the Saudi Vision 2030 goals to increase the amount of green and recreational spaces.
Faisal Al-Shaalan, founder of the shop Gharsa, has set up an educational and agricultural booth in the park to introduce children to the concept of planting.
“I turned it into a cultural business project to spread the concept of the importance of agriculture and its impact on the internal and external environment,” he told Arab News.
“It is necessary to make the children harness their energies into something that benefits the environment and them. They need to make a physical and intellectual effort. Parents must find useful hobbies for them, including agriculture,” Al-Shaalan said.
On the character-building aspect of the hobby, he added: “What distinguishes planting is that it makes the child take responsibility to follow up and water the plants and take care of them, which develops the child’s sense of responsibility.”
The park has an open theater that accommodates more than 1,000 spectators, and an events area covering 5,624 square meters.
Saudi artist Meead Anwar Abulata, said: “I’m glad to be participating in Jeddah Season alongside other Saudi painters to offer the park’s visitors a captivating live art show.”
One of Abulata’s live paintings portrayed a lady in a dress with hues of blue. “In the painting, I mimic the shades of deep blue waters on the ballerina’s dress to convey the relationship between the deep sea and the depth and fluidity of women’s emotions.
“It also expresses that the sea is deep and contains secrets and surprises, like the endless potential and ambition of women and what they provide in today’s Saudi Arabia,” she added.
The park will also be hosting an international bazaar featuring accessories and products reflecting the cultures of various countries, in addition to service areas, restaurants, and cafes.
Jeddah Season is part of the Saudi Seasons initiative, launched to enrich the lives of people in the Kingdom and promote the country as an important world tourist destination.
The annual festival aims to highlight the city’s rich heritage and culture through a total of 2,800 activities in nine zones over the event period.
Being held under the title, Our Lovely Days, the second Jeddah Season follows on from the success of Riyadh Season that recorded more than 15 million visits over five months.
Jeddah Season offers 70 interactive experiences, more than 60 recreational activities, seven Arab and two international plays, marine events, a circus, four international exhibitions, and a host of other services for families.
Its nine zones will hold events related to their historical and cultural aspect of their location and function. Tickets are available at https://jeddahseason.sa/index.html.
JEDDAH: The head of Saudi Arabia’s counter-extremism center received a delegation of international religious leaders on Thursday in Riyadh, where he gave a speech focusing on the importance of understanding the changes in the world, empowering women, keeping abreast of communication developments, and formulating joint strategies to combat extremism.
Dr. Mansour Al-Shammari, who is secretary-general of the Global Center for Combating Extremist Ideology (Etidal), also said in his speech that humanity knew nothing but tolerance, coexistence, and acceptance of the other and rejected everything that divided and did not bring people together.
The world was going through transformations and changes that were not without the escalation of the intensity of extremist rhetoric, the repercussions of a post-pandemic reality, and new conflicts that multiplied economic and social challenges, he said.
Humanity knew nothing but tolerance, coexistence, and acceptance of the other and rejected everything that divided and did not bring people together.
Dr. Mansour Al-Shammari, Secretary-general, Etidal
“Therefore, these unconventional variables require an unconventional and more flexible approach than before, based on partnership in dealing with these global challenges unrelated to religion, race, culture or place.”
He discussed the cooperation necessary to confront extremist organizations' exploitation of rapid and successive technical developments in communications and seize these organizations’ polarizing recruitment operations.
“The developments in communication, especially concerning social media platforms, allow the rapid spread of extremist content, mainly targeting the youth. This requires concerted efforts and the development of joint strategies when dealing with these challenges, as we also emphasize the empowerment of women to practice their main role in developing the strategy based on the belief of women's role in society.”
Rabbi Moshe Lewin, vice president of the Conference of European Rabbis and a special adviser to the chief rabbi in France, said: “I am very impressed with Etidal and the extent of professionalism in counteracting extremism, and this should be the case in all nations in our world, and the presence of such a center in Saudi Arabia is greatly important.”
The president of the Foundation for Islam in France, Sheikh Ghalib bin Al-Sheikh Al-Hussein, described Saudi Arabia as “a pioneer” in its efforts to undermine terrorist acts and extremist ideologies.
Al-Shammari stressed that Etidal supported fruitful global cooperation to build international capacity to deal with the phenomenon of extremist ideologies.
He affirmed the importance of promoting the values of coexistence between civilizations and people of all races, nationalities, and ethnicities.
Etidal is tasked with fighting extremism and seeks to build cooperative strategies that enhance the values of global coexistence and renounce violence.
JEDDAH: Saudi students picked up six prizes at the Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair 2022, in Atlanta, Georgia, equalling their record haul for the 16th year in a row.
ISEF 2022 saw the participation of pre-college students from over 80 countries in the biggest competition showcasing innovation in scientific research and advancement.
Abdullah Al-Ghamdi won two prizes in energy, Dana Al-Aithan was awarded a prize in chemistry, Tahani Adel in materials, Maria Al-Ghamdi in chemistry, and Yousef Khoja in embedded systems.
The Kingdom was represented by the King Abdulaziz and His Companions Foundation for Giftedness and Creativity (Mawhiba) and the Ministry of Education.
Mawhiba announced 19 winners of its special prizes from all over the world.
• Abdullah Al-Ghamdi won two prizes in energy, Dana Al-Aithan was awarded a prize in chemistry, Tahani Adel in materials, Maria Al-Ghamdi in chemistry, and Yousef Khoja in embedded systems.
• Thirteen students from the US, India and China were awarded scholarships to study for bachelor’s degrees at King Fahd University for Petroleum and Minerals in chemistry, embedded systems, energy, physics and astronomy, robotics, and materials science.
Six students — three Saudis and three Americans — were also granted scholarships to participate in an international enrichment program organized by Mawhiba.
Thirteen students from the US, India and China were also awarded scholarships to study bachelor's at King Fahd University for Petroleum and Minerals in chemistry, embedded systems, energy, physics and astronomy, robotics, and materials science.
Mawhiba Secretary-General Dr. Saud bin Saeed Al-Mathami said that he is encouraging innovative students around the world to create sustainable solutions to the world’s problems and to preserve these resources for future generations.
Al-Mathami expressed his hopes that the students’ talent, ideas, and creativity would contribute to the extraordinary renaissance that the Kingdom was witnessing during this auspicious era.
He stressed that the Kingdom took pride in the students, saying the country had harnessed its great potential to qualify them to compete effectively in international forums so that Saudi Arabia could take its proper position among the countries of the world.
“When the crown prince said that the Saudis’ strength was like that of the Tuwaiq mountain, unbreakable, Mawhiba saw in his words a road map for its initiatives.
“Our talented students are the true wealth of Saudi Arabia and the solid building blocks of our society. They are the real future that we are looking forward to, and their familiarity in all disciplines and specializations will push forward the Saudi Vision 2030.
“The talented students excelled in all disciplines related to energy, climate change, medicine, biosciences, space, medical and environmental engineering, organic materials industry, technology, innovation, information engineering, and artificial intelligence.
"They underwent extensive training for long hours and rigorous testing under the supervision of competent committees to honor Saudi Arabia in international forums.”
Al-Mathami explained that Mawhiba’s students were the kernel of the upcoming Saudi economy and said their talent confirmed the strength of the presence of the Saudi identity in all fields. He added that their confidence and knowledge were the foundation of their success.
On the sidelines of ISEF 2022, Mawhiba held a symposium titled “The Journey of Talented Students in Science Education Leading Collective Intelligence to Advance the Global Society,” presented by Michio Kaku, professor of theoretical physics at New York College, who emphasized that countries that invest in the minds of young people towards invention will have strong, growing economies.
BANGKOK: Thailand will be seeking to revive security ties with Saudi Arabia, a top official said on Friday, as the Thai foreign minister is scheduled to visit Riyadh next week.
Bilateral ties stalled in the 1980s and were renewed in late January, following Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha’s visit to Riyadh, which was the first top leadership meeting between the two countries in over three decades.
The two governments have since signed cooperation agreements to promote trade, investment, and labor recruitment, but defense ties have not been discussed yet.
Thai Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai, who is also Thailand’s deputy prime minister, is scheduled to visit Saudi Arabia on May 15-18. His delegation will include representatives from government agencies and the private sector.
The two governments have since signed cooperation agreements to promote trade, investment, and labor recruitment, but defense ties have not been discussed yet.
“There has been an ongoing attempt for a cooperation on security areas as organizations involving security matters of the two countries have not had a chance to meet in more than 30 years,” Darm Boontham, director-general of the Department of South Asia, Middle East, and African Affairs of the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs, told Arab News.
“We might be able to see the first step,” he added, referring to the foreign minister's visit. “There have been discussions and drafting on the framework on security cooperation, one important area is military cooperation and exchanging intelligence.”
In a press conference on Thursday evening, Boontham said Thai officials would discuss a planned visit of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to Bangkok, which Thailand hopes will be in the coming months.
Pramudwinai is expected to meet his Saudi counterpart Prince Faisal bin Farhan and the investment, tourism, and energy ministers.
Since the restoration of diplomatic ties, the two countries have already restarted people-to-people exchanges.
Saudia, the flag carrier of Saudi Arabia, resumed commercial flights between Riyadh and Bangkok in late February. Thai Airways has announced it will start flying from Bangkok to Jeddah in July.
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman received a phone call from King Abdullah II of Jordan, the official Saudi Press Agency reported on Friday. King Abdullah called to inquire about King Salman’s health, and wished him continued health and wellness. The crown prince expressed his thanks to the Jordanian monarch for his sincere sentiments.