https://arab.news/vhgwy
JUBA, South Sudan: A journalists’ union in South Sudan asserted Friday that six staffers with the national broadcaster are detained in connection with footage apparently showing the country’s president urinating on himself during an event.
The South Sudan Broadcasting Corporation footage aired in December and was widely shared online. It showed 71-year-old President Salva Kiir standing during the national anthem and then looking down at what appeared to be a spreading stain before the camera turned away.
BREAKING: Six #SouthSudan journalists have been detained in #Juba for alleged link with viral video footage showing President Kiir urinating on himself last year, the union of journalists confirmed. The six work for the state-run broadcaster. pic.twitter.com/zjdd9s22bN
— Mwangi (@MwangiMaina_) January 6, 2023
The Union of Journalists of South Sudan in a statement called for a speedy conclusion to the investigation into the staffers it said are in the custody of the National Security Service. The statement said the staffers are suspected of having knowledge of the public release of “a certain footage.”
“If there is a prima facie case of professional misconduct or offense then let authorities expedite an administrative or legal process to address the issue in a fair, transparent and in accordance with the law,” union chair Oyet Patrick Charles said.
Calls to the NSS rang unanswered. Officials with the president’s office, and the national broadcaster refused to comment.
Kiir has been South Sudan’s only president since the country won independence from Sudan in 2011. The presidential election was recently postponed again, this time to late 2024, amid the slow implementation of a 2018 peace deal ending a five-year civil war.
LONDON: A video of Saudi TikTok influencer Qaied Al-Majd went viral on Thursday after he completed one of the social media platform’s biggest challenges, winning SR4 million ($1.1 million) within minutes.
A TikTok LIVE battle between Al-Majd and Pakistani influencer Youssef on Wednesday generated views from over 950,000 followers, who paid the sum as they cheered for the streamers, Al-Arabiya reported.
Users, who said the battle lasted five minutes, speculated that the platform would receive the lion’s share of the prize money, which is almost SR2.6 million, leaving Al-Majd with SR700,000.
Youssef, who was competing with Al-Majd, is likely to receive SR500,000.
TikTok LIVE battles are real-time competitions in which streamers challenge each other, and the winner is decided by followers, who, while watching the battle, send virtual coins that winners can exchange for money.
ضخ مشاهدي #تيك_توك في السعودية قبل قليل نحو 4 مليون ريال سعودي في جولة دعم مدتها 5 دقائق..والرابحون 3 فقط هم :
تطبيق توك توك : 2.6 مليون ريال
قعيد: 700 ألف ريال
يوسف: 500 ألف ريال
السؤال: ثم ماذا ؟!.. ماهي فائدة المتابعين عجيب هذا التوك توك ! pic.twitter.com/GR3hg9xm5z
The hefty sums won by the two TikTokers were viewed differently by social media users, with some celebrating the event, while others condemned it.
Noura Al-Tamimi expressed her pride in a tweet, saying: “Our son has smashed it. Well deserved.”
ولدنا يفوز بطرق الخشوم يستاهل كل خير #قعيد_المجد pic.twitter.com/cSmIsLkyrV
Another Twitter user wrote: “May you joyfully dance tomorrow and every day. Only happiness suits this face.”
ترقص فرح بكرة وكل يوم باذن الله
يارب هالوجة مايليق فيه الا الفرح .#قعيد #قعيد_المجد pic.twitter.com/e4lZsyQdXH
However, Abdulrahman Al-Thuwaibi was dismayed, writing: “(Foolish) followers remain and expand, and these are the most important element in the system as they were the ones who made those (influencers) famous. Things then developed and (followers) started paying (influencers) to support them — you never know, they could hire them in the future.”
المتابع (الاحمق) باقي ويتمدد وهو اهم فرد في المنظومة فهو من جعلهم مشاهير ثم تطور الوضع واصبح يدفع لهم ليستمروا ولا تستبعد بكره يشغلونه بخدمتهم
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واذا دخل تويتر كتب :
لا تجعلوا من الحمقى مشاهير
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ياحبيبي مافيه احمق منك https://t.co/I8lXbLxoLk
Another social media user, Dr. Waleed Al-Zamel, believed society was failing its youth. He wrote in a tweet: “Society does not understand the needs of the youth in order to respond to them, but rather it is in conflict with them. Blaming the youth alone will not be enough. What could make a difference is to understand the language of the youth and how they think. Then we try to harness their energies to serve the country.”
المجتمع لم يفهم احتياجات فئة الشباب لكي يستجيب لها بل هو في صراع معهم.. لوم الشباب وحدة لن يكون كافي.. المهم أن نفهم لغة الشباب وكيف يفكرون؟ ثم نحاول تسخير طاقاتهم لخدمة الوطن! https://t.co/ZQmGYrhx7l
Arab News couldn’t independently verify the accuracy of what has been shared on social media, and TikTok has not replied to attempts to get further clarification.
JEDDAH: Sky News Africa correspondent Yousra Elbagir unexpectedly found her uncle among crowds of Sudan evacuees arriving in Jeddah.
Video footage shared by Sky showed Elbagir spotting her relative during live coverage at King Faisal Naval Base in Jeddah. He was standing among others who had been evacuated from the war-torn country.
Elbagir was looking for one more person to interview when she exclaimed: “Oh my God, that is my uncle.”
She hurried to the man, whose name is Mohsin, and they embraced as he held the Saudi flag.
Mohsin said he had left Sudan on Wednesday but was too tired to speak on camera when requested to by Elbagir.
Saudi ship Amana transported 1,687 people from Port Sudan to King Faisal Naval Base on Wednesday, said the Kingdom’s Foreign Ministry.
The total number of people evacuated by Saudi Arabia from Sudan has reached 2,351, of whom 119 are Saudi citizens with the remainder of the total made up of 67 nationalities.
LONDON: Amazon UNIVERSITY Esports, the world’s premiere e-sports competition for university students, and streaming platform Shahid announced on Thursday their latest collaboration to unite e-sports and broadcast TV.
The two organizations unveiled their new partnership that combines the two popular entertainment areas to offer an enhanced experience for young users of both platforms.
Mario Perez, CEO of MENATech, the AUE project host in the region, highlighted how the new partnership has the potential to benefit both industries.
“E-sports and streaming platforms are growing significantly in the MENA region, thanks to an increasingly young population and an increasingly virtual world. Due to this, this partnership empowers two ecosystems with great potential,” he commented.
Natasha Matos-Hemingway, chief commercial and marketing officer at Shahid, pointed out how the collaboration aligns with the Kingdom’s National Gaming and Esports Strategy, the government’s vision to establish the country as the world’s foremost gaming hub by 2030.
She explained how the strategy is a demonstration of the Kingdom’s government’s willingness to back the sector, and that “through collaborations of this kind, we are confident that we can help contribute to the ambitious National Gaming and Esports Strategy, which aims to make Saudi Arabia a global center for gaming and esports by 2030.
“This collaboration is a positive step forward for both Shahid and Amazon UNIVERSITY Esports; we cannot wait to see what the future holds for esports in the GCC and MENA region,” she added.
Amazon UNIVERSITY Esports is a worldwide collegiate league developed by Amazon, GGTech, and NUEL that runs leagues for university students in 16 countries spanning Europe, Latin and North America, and the Middle East.
The organization said since its launch in Saudi Arabia, it has had a huge growth in the number of players and teams, participating universities, and organizing competitions and events, making it one of the leading players in the esports field in the region.
Thanks to the numerous e-sports events held in the country, Saudi Arabia’s gaming sector has grown at a fast rate.
With a population of almost 40 million in the Kingdom, with more than half under the age of 25, gaming revenues have also been on the rise.
Along with Saudi Arabia and the UAE, the Middle East and North Africa region’s esports revenue is expected to exceed $5 billion by 2025.
LONDON: A Russian court on Thursday fined the Wikimedia Foundation, which owns Wikipedia, two million roubles ($24,510) for not deleting what it said was “banned content” related to the Russian military, Interfax reported.
It said this was the seventh fine imposed on Wikimedia in 2023 for not removing prohibited information. The fines now total 8.4 million roubles.
The latest penalty was for not removing an article about a military unit that contained “classified military information” about its location, composition and equipment, including information related to the progress of what Russia calls its special military operation in Ukraine.
Wikimedia did not immediately respond to a request for comment. It has previously said information that Russian authorities complained about was well-sourced and in line with Wikipedia standards.
Wikipedia is one of the few surviving independent sources of information in Russia since a state crackdown on online content intensified after Moscow invaded Ukraine last year.
“We are not blocking Wikipedia yet, there are no such plans for now,” Interfax quoted digital affairs minister Maksut Shadaev as saying last week.
LONDON: Arab News added a further four medals from the 2023 Indigo Design Awards, a prestigious recognition of exceptional creativity and design talent from around the world.
The leading English-language daily received a total of four awards — one gold, two silver, and one bronze — across various categories, taking the total to nearly 100 since its rebranding in 2018.
Its SIMEC fishing special was awarded gold in the infographics for graphic design category, while Arab News’ special cover for the Qatar World Cup 2022 won bronze in the magazine and newspaper design class.
In addition, the newspaper’s Saudi animal kingdom project received two silver medals in both categories for its outstanding design.
The SIMEC fishing special project, created for the Saudi International Marine Exhibition and Conference, was a showcase of Saudi Arabia’s stunning marine life. With its sophisticated graphics and detailed structure, it took readers on a journey to explore the hidden depths of the Arabian Sea.
The animal kingdom project was created as a complementary print page for the Rewinding Arabia deep dive and aimed to celebrate the Kingdom’s rich and diverse animal life through an interactive design.
Designed to offer Arab News readers a special front-page cover wrap that could serve as a souvenir of the much-anticipated sporting event, the Qatar World Cup 2022 page was not only appreciated by readers but also recognized earlier this year by the 5th International Newspaper Design Competition, where it won gold and silver medals for its ability to combine practical design with impressive attention to detail.
Arab News relaunched in 2018 with a commitment to become digital-first and design-focused. The new brand identity was reflected in its cutting-edge editorial and fresh design approach.
The Indigo Design Awards is a global platform that recognizes excellence in design across various disciplines, including digital, branding, and print. The awards celebrate creativity, innovation, and originality in design, and attract entries from leading designers, agencies, and studios from around the world.
Over the years, Arab News has been honored by multiple international design awards competitions including the Society for News Design Awards, the Society of Publication Designers Awards, and the European Newspaper Awards.
Arab News’ success at the 2023 Indigo Design Awards is a further reflection of its commitment to producing high-quality journalism and design that engages and informs its readers.
The newspaper is dedicated to providing the latest news and analysis from the Middle East and beyond, and to creating a unique and engaging reader experience.
For more information about Arab News and its award-winning design, visit https://www.arabnews.com/greatesthits