Omoda and Jaecoo held a grand launch in Riyadh

Omoda and Jaecoo held a grand launch in Riyadh
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Omoda and Jaecoo held a grand launch in Riyadh
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Updated 31 July 2024
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Omoda and Jaecoo held a grand launch in Riyadh

Omoda and Jaecoo held a grand launch in Riyadh

Omoda and Jaecoo held a grand brand launch event on July 29 at the Fairmont Hotel in Riyadh. 

The event attracted over 250 renowned local media and industry key opinion leaders (KOL) and received significant attention from the Saudi Ministry of Investment and the Ministry of Energy. 

Several high ranking government officials were also present to witness the launch.

The event commenced with a dazzling light show, and digital hologram host made a surprise appearance to host the live event. 

This innovative approach not only provided a stunning visual and auditory experience for the audience but also showcased Omoda and Jaecoo’s commitment to future technology and fashion trends.

Omoda and Jaecoo target new generation lifestyle enthusiasts and urban elites, respectively. The former aims to explore new avenues in the smart and electric vehicle era, while the latter, with its fearless spirit of exploration, strives to break boundaries in the global off-road vehicle market.

In the Omoda series, the C5, with its "Art in Motion" design philosophy, embodies a unique and stylish crossover SUV style. 

Its exterior design combines a diamond-cut geometric matrix grille, dynamic and powerful waistline, 18-inch dual-color blade wheels, and the signature coupe SUV fastback silhouette, exuding a futuristic technological feel. 

In terms of safety, the C5's body is made of 78 percent ultra-high-strength steel and comes standard with advanced intelligent driving assistance systems, providing world-class safety and comfort for passengers.

At the event, the Omoda C5, as one of the star models in the OMODA series, showcased its distinctive and stylish crossover SUV style with its "Art in Motion" design philosophy. 

Its exterior design features a diamond-cut geometric matrix grille, dynamic and powerful waistline, 18-inch dual-color blade wheels, and a couple of SUV fastback silhouette, highlighting its futuristic technological feel. 

This model, with world-class safety capabilities, has a body made of 78 percent ultra-high-strength steel and is equipped with advanced intelligent driving assistance systems to ensure the safety and comfort of passengers.

The Jaecoo J7, equipped with the ARDIS all-terrain intelligent system, exemplifies the Jaecoo series' "From Classic to Beyond Classic" concept. 

This system endows the J7 with excellent passability on various complex terrains such as sand, mud, and off-road, ensuring Saudi users can enjoy an ultimate driving experience in any travel scenario. 

In terms of power, the J7 is equipped with a 1.6TGDI engine with a peak torque of 290N·m, paired with a 7-speed wet dual-clutch transmission, providing an excellent driving experience. All J7 models are built to extremely high safety standards, featuring an innovative energy-absorbing cage body design, over 80 percent high-strength steel, and leading ADAS systems, collectively constructing a "Beyond Classic" safety system and intelligent protection.

Omoda and Jaecoo CEO Shawn Xu delivered a strategic speech at the launch event, sharing the brand's remarkable achievements in the global market. 

In just over a year since its establishment, Omoda and Jaecoo has achieved cumulative global sales exceeding 260,000 units, with export sales in the first half of 2024 seeing a 54 percent year-on-year increase. 

This achievement not only confirms the brand's status as one of the fastest-growing automotive brands globally but also demonstrates its strong competitiveness in the global automotive market.

Behind these achievements is Omoda and Jaecoo's relentless pursuit of deep market penetration and product innovation.

In the future, Omoda and Jaecoo will continue to deepen their presence in the Saudi market, positioning it as a crucial hub for rapid advancement in the Middle East and the global market. 

As a personalized new energy vehicle brand, Omoda and Jaecoo will focus on the new energy field, offering models with various power options, including BEV, PHEV, and ICE, to meet diverse consumer needs.

Omoda and Jaecoo's global strategy extends beyond the Middle East. In Europe, the brand is expanding rapidly. 

From the launch event in Spain this February, the establishment of the first factory in Barcelona, to the market layout in Poland and Italy, Omoda and Jaecoo are not only expanding their sales and service network and supply chain system rapidly but also demonstrating their service capabilities and system construction ability in the global automotive industry. 

Additionally, the "Go Paris" tour event held during the centennial sports event in Paris further highlighted the brand's charm and determination to expand in the European market.

Looking globally, Omoda and Jaecoo view the European market as a testing ground for the survival of technology and products and as a key area for building an international brand. 

According to the "2030 Strategy" plan, the brand aims to enter over 60 countries and regions worldwide, establish more than 3,000 global sales and service networks, and lead the automotive industry trend through continuous technological innovation and product upgrades, providing global consumers with safer, greener, and smarter travel experiences.


Kuwait emir accepts resignation of oil minister

Kuwait’s Emir Sheikh Meshal Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah. (File/Reuters)
Kuwait’s Emir Sheikh Meshal Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah. (File/Reuters)
Updated 14 min 28 sec ago
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Kuwait emir accepts resignation of oil minister

Kuwait’s Emir Sheikh Meshal Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah. (File/Reuters)

RIYADH: Kuwait’s Emir Sheikh Meshal Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah has accepted the resignation of Deputy Prime Minster and Oil Minister Emad Al-Atiqi, Kuwait News Agency reported on Sunday.

Minister of Finance and Minister of State for Economic and Investment Affairs Nora Suleiman Al-Fassam was appointed as acting minister of oil.


From Dubai to LA, ube is the purple gateway to Filipino cuisine

From Dubai to LA, ube is the purple gateway to Filipino cuisine
Updated 26 min 8 sec ago
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From Dubai to LA, ube is the purple gateway to Filipino cuisine

From Dubai to LA, ube is the purple gateway to Filipino cuisine
  • Ube is a main component of many celebratory dishes, delicacies in the Philippines
  • As Filipino cooks abroad feature the tuber in their menus, they become popular internationally

MANILA: For the uninitiated, the experience of ube begins with its vividly purple hue. That is often how the tuber native to the Philippines catches the attention of foodies around the globe, as Filipino cooks turn them into the stars of a variety of snacks and desserts, from traditional rice cakes to ice creams and pastries.

From Dubai to LA, ube has featured as a novelty in Filipino-owned restaurants and shops. In the UAE’s commercial capital, visitors can find ube at Kooya Filipino Eatery, which has it in the form of a latte and milkshake, as well as a topping on halo-halo, the Philippines’ beloved shaved ice dessert.

Even in LA, Filipino-American Chef Andre Guerrero has ube milkshake on his menu at The Oinkster, which many credited as one of the first establishments to bring the purple yam into mainstream culinary consciousness in the US.

“We’re so … proud of it, and we should be; when we invite our new communities to try these brightly colored foods from our strange homeland, we’re attaching it to a good memory,” Manila-based food writer Michiko Manalang told Arab News.

For centuries, ube has been part of the Filipino table as a main component of celebratory dishes and special-occasion treats.

Often confused with the taro root, it is an indigenous staple of the Philippines that has a mellow, sweet and earthy flavor, as well as a striking hue. The root vegetable often used in desserts also conveys certain parts of Philippine culture.

Ube halaya, a rich purple jam made from boiled and mashed ube and thickened with coconut milk or condensed milk and butter, is an example. Typically served cold, the festive delicacy is believed to be more modern than widely perceived, as it would require some refrigeration.

“If someone can serve genuine ube halaya, it’s a subtle sign that they’re well-to-do,” Manalang said.

“Ube lends itself well to a lot of themes of Filipino cooking and culture. We’re a colorful bunch and we like our sweets, our rich textures,” she added. “Ube is good and fun on its own, but if I’m being honest, it’s our pride in it and our willingness to share that might be giving it and other Filipino foods that edge."

In the Philippines, local businesses have recently gotten more creative with ube on their menus, as seen in homegrown favorite Lola Nena’s ramp-up of its traditional doughnut offerings with an ube and cheese variant in May, to one of Manila’s new restaurants, TMBrew + Bistro, introducing Ube & Stracciatella Mozzarella in their menu.

Throughout the years, well-loved Filipino pastries have used ube in them, including the sweet, brioche-like pastry known as ensaymada and the dense, mooncake-like pastry of Chinese origin called hopia, said food and lifestyle writer Diane Go.

“When you think of something purple, automatically ube comes to mind, since it is a rare color in food and hard to attain the same vividness that it provides,” she said.

Ube’s eye-catching qualities have made ube a preferred gift item for travelers and migrant workers and offered an introduction to Filipino cooking, Go added.

“People, after all, eat with their eyes, which is why visual appeal is just as important. That’s why ube is usually the pasalubong (souvenir) of choice for foreigners and OFWs (Overseas Filipino Workers), and the first entryway into local cuisine.”

Ube is “considered to be a unique and important dessert item in the Philippines,” said Raymond Macapagal, an assistant professor at the University of the Philippines’ Center for International Studies.

“It can be appreciated on its own or used to give an attractive purple color to other desserts … Ube is almost exclusively used as a dessert in Philippine cuisine. However, there are more recent recipes that have tried to incorporate it into savory (dishes).”

Though ube has been gaining more ground internationally, Macapagal is optimistic that purple yam will retain its Filipino roots.

“Despite other Southeast Asian countries like Thailand having ube or purple yam products, it seems as if ube has been very well-associated with Filipino cuisine,” he said. “So as long as ube is featured in Filipino-themed meals here and abroad, ube will retain its distinct Filipino-ness.”


Morocco’s El-Idrissi smashes marathon world record

Morocco’s El-Idrissi smashes marathon world record
Updated 30 min 56 sec ago
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Morocco’s El-Idrissi smashes marathon world record

Morocco’s El-Idrissi smashes marathon world record
  • Star beats 2020 record from Japan’s Mizato Michishita by nearly 6 minutes

PARIS: Morocco’s Fatima Ezzahra El-Idrissi has smashed the world record in the women’s marathon for runners with visual impairments on the last day of the Paralympic Games.

El-Idrissi finished in 2 hours, 48 minutes and 36 seconds on Sunday, beating the previous record from Japan’s Mizato Michishita in Hofu City in December 2020 by nearly six minutes.

“I wasn’t running for a time, only for a medal,” the 29-year-old Moroccan said. “I wasn’t aiming to get the world record, just to get the gold, and now I have both.”

Compatriot Meryem En-Nourhi was just over 9 minutes behind, followed by Michishita, almost 15 minutes behind the winner.

Elena Congost thought she’d won bronze, but the Spanish runner was later disqualified for releasing the rope to her guide, Mia Carol Bruguera, before the finish.

Michishita only found out she was upgraded to bronze after doping control.

“I just couldn’t believe it,” said the Japanese runner, who said she got injured after winning the last edition in Tokyo and wasn’t certain she’d be able to race in Paris.

Tunisia’s Wajdi Boukhili won the men’s T12 marathon.

The 25-year-old Boukhili finished in 2 hours, 22 minutes and 5 seconds, ahead of Spain’s Alberto Suarez Laso and Paralympic record holder El Amin Chentouf of Morocco. All three ran season-best times.

Swiss wheelchair racers Catherine Debrunner and Marcel Hug won the women’s and men’s marathons for the T53/54 catagories.

Debrunner, the world record holder, finished in 1:41:50, more than four minutes ahead of Australia’s Madison de Rozario and the US’ Susannah Scaroni, who took silver and bronze, respectively.

Tatyana McFadden, the most decorated American wheelchair racer, was seventh, just over 12 minutes behind Debrunner. The 35-year-old leaves Paris with a silver medal from the 100 and bronze from the 4x100 universal relay.

Hug won the men’s race in 1:27:39, ahead of China’s Jin Hua and Tomoki Suzuki of Japan.

Dutch women defend gold in wheelchair basketball

The Netherlands’ women’s team defended its gold medal in wheelchair basketball with a 63-49 win over the United States in the final.

Bo Kramer contributed 23 points and Mariska Beijer 22 as the Dutch made their experience count before an appreciative crowd at a packed Bercy Arena.

Trailing 48-37 going into the fourth quarter, the American players clasped hands as they listened to coach Christina Schwab’s team-talk. Ixhelt Gonzalez lifted their hopes with 2 points on a break.


What We Are Reading Today: ‘How Do You Know?’ by Russell Hardin

What We Are Reading Today: ‘How Do You Know?’ by Russell Hardin
Updated 34 min 12 sec ago
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What We Are Reading Today: ‘How Do You Know?’ by Russell Hardin

What We Are Reading Today: ‘How Do You Know?’ by Russell Hardin

How do ordinary people come to know or believe what they do? We need an account of this process to help explain why people act as they do. You might think I am acting irrationally—against my interest or my purpose—until you realize that what you know and what I know differ significantly.

My actions, given my knowledge, might make eminently good sense. Of course, this pushes our problem back one stage to assess why someone knows or believes what they do. That is the focus of this book.


French largely satisfied with Macron’s choice of PM: Poll

French largely satisfied with Macron’s choice of PM: Poll
Updated 37 min 13 sec ago
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French largely satisfied with Macron’s choice of PM: Poll

French largely satisfied with Macron’s choice of PM: Poll

PARIS: The French are largely satisfied with the appointment of the center-right Michel Barnier as prime minister, but believe he will not last long in his new post, a poll said on Sunday.

According to the Ifop poll for the Journal du Dimanche, 52 percent of people polled said they were satisfied with the appointment of 73-year-old Barnier, a former foreign minister who acted as the European Union’s Brexit negotiator, as head of government.

By comparison, 53 percent of respondents approved the nomination of Barnier’s predecessor, Gabriel Attal, when he was appointed prime minister in early January, becoming France’s youngest-ever prime minister at 34.

The poll was released after more than 100,000 left-wing demonstrators rallied across France on Saturday to protest against the nomination of Barnier as prime minister and denounce President Emmanuel Macron’s “power grab.”

Barnier’s appointment marks a potential turning point following two months of political chaos in the wake of snap elections called by Macron that left no group close to an overall majority in the National Assembly lower house of parliament.

According to the Ifop poll, a majority of respondents see Barnier, the oldest prime minister in the history of modern France, as competent (62 percent), open to dialogue (61 percent) and likeable (60 percent).

However, the left has vowed to topple Barnier with a no-confidence motion, and 74 percent of respondents polled believe he would not last long in the post, according to the survey. Ifop polled 950 adults online on Sept. 5-6. The margin of error was up to 3.1 points.