Saudi king launches building of entertainment mega-park

RIYADH - Saudi Arabia's King Salman has launched construction of an "entertainment city" near Riyadh, part of a series of multi-billion dollar projects aimed at helping the oil-dependent kingdom diversify its economy.

The project is part of a sweeping reform and investment program dubbed "Vision 2030", the brainchild of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who also attended the launch ceremony at the site on Saturday evening.

Authorities have touted the 334-square kilometer project in Qiddiya, southwest of the capital, as the kingdom's answer to Disneyland.

Its first phase, which includes high-end theme parks, motor sport facilities and a safari area, is expected to be completed in 2022, officials say.

They hope the park will draw in foreign investment and attract 17 million visitors by 2030.

The kingdom this month hosted its first public film screening in over 35 years, having lifted a decades-long ban on cinemas last year.

In February, Saudi Arabia's General Entertainment Authority said it would stage more than 5,000 festivals and concerts in 2018, double last year's figure, and pump $64 billion (53 billion euros) into the sector in the coming decade.

Saudis currently splurge billions of dollars annually to see films and visit amusement parks in neighbouring tourist hubs like Dubai and Bahrain.

The kingdom has also sought to court investors with three hi-tech "giga projects", funded in part by its sovereign wealth fund. 

Aside from Qiddiya, the kingdom has unveiled blueprints for NEOM -- billed as a regional Silicon Valley to be built from scratch -- and a reef-fringed resort destination on the Red Sea. 

Skeptics have questioned the viability of the projects, worth hundreds of billions of dollars, in an era of cheap oil. 

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Saudi King Salman embraces 'selfie' on tour across Asia

JAKARTA - Saudi Arabia's King Salman has embraced the "selfie", taking part in a number of light-hearted self-shot pictures and videos during his tour of Asia that contrast with the pomp and formality of most of the octogenarian monarch's trips abroad.

In the first days of a lengthy regional tour, the king has appeared with top-ranking officials in Indonesia and Malaysia in pictures and clips that have been shared online millions of times.

Indonesian President Joko Widodo shared on Facebook a video of himself dining with the king at the presidential palace in Bogor, near the capital Jakarta.

In the video, both men comment on the visit, the first to Indonesia by a Saudi king in nearly five decades, and give viewers a rare peek into a state event.

As Widodo holds what appears to be a phone camera, the king is seen dining on soup and using gold-colored cutlery before commenting in Arabic on his 12-day visit to Indonesia, the longest leg of his month-long tour of Asia.

"I'm very happy to be here in Indonesia and with the Indonesian people," King Salman says to the camera, as an interpreter sitting behind him translates into Bahasa Indonesia.

The king was also photographed posing for a selfie with former president Megawati Sukarnoputri and her daughter Puan Maharani, who is a member of Widodo's cabinet.

Indonesia has a high concentration of Facebook and Twitter users, and selfies are a mainstay of social media in the world's fourth most populous country.

Earlier this week, Salman was seen in a selfie posted on Twitter with Prime Minister Najib Razak of Malaysia, during the first stop on his sweep across Asia.

Though rare, Salman has made occasional appearances on social media before, including when he posed last year for a selfie in Qatar with a teen who survived cancer.

The king is travelling with an entourage of several hundred people and nearly 500 tonnes of luggage, including two gold-coloured escalators.

After Jakarta, the delegation is set to take a break in the resort island of Bali, where up to four hotels and 300 luxury cars have been booked for more than a week, according to local police and a tour agency association.

Salman is also set to visit Brunei, China, Japan, the Maldives and Jordan.

source: news.abs-cbn.com