Jordanians are looking for an atmosphere of joy in entertainment cities and parks during the holidays

Entertainment cities and public parks in Jordan witnessed, on Saturday, a remarkable turnout from families on the second day of Eid Al-Fitr, as they are the only outlet for them to entertain their children on an official holiday that will last until next Monday evening.

Jordanians usually spend the first days of Eid visiting family and relatives, while they then go out to entertain themselves and their families in parks and entertainment venues.

Entertainment cities were crowded with visitors who were looking for an atmosphere of joy for themselves and their children during the Eid holiday.

The 9-year-old girl, Sama Al-Masri, told Anadolu Agency: "We came from Amman (the capital) to Irbid to spend the Eid holiday at my grandfather's house, and it is usually the second day of Eid for us here in the toy cities."

And she continued in a childish manner: "Eid is a joy, and here we change the atmosphere and routine."

Citizen Ihsan al-Arqan (45 years old) considered, in his interview with Anadolu Agency, that "game cities are a way to entertain our children during the holiday, and an outlet before returning to school hours."

In turn, the university student Salam Jihad (19 years old) told Anadolu Agency: "I am here (Irbid) with my family, and we came from Mafraq Governorate (northeast); because there are no such places there."

And she added, "Eid is joy and entertainment, and this is why Eid differs from previous years in that all people went out without restrictions as they were in the past, and there is nothing to prevent that," referring to the stage of the Corona crisis.

The child Omar Al-Rousan (7 years old) explained to Anadolu Agency: "I am with my mother and father, and we came here to be happy because we love going to toy cities during the holiday."

For his part, Khaled Hussein (44 years), who is the director of one of the gaming cities in Irbid, confirmed to Anadolu Agency that "the movement in the gaming cities is seasons, as it is clearly active in the summer and holidays."

He added, "Today, as you can see, the movement is very active, and the reason is that the places that Jordanians go to to entertain themselves are limited, and therefore they find no outlet except for playgrounds and public parks."

Jordanians celebrate with the rest of the Arab and Islamic peoples Eid al-Fitr, which began in the Kingdom on Friday.

The arrival of Saudis and nationals from other countries to Jeddah after their evacuation from Sudan

RIYADH :  More than 150 Saudis and nationals of other countries arrived by sea in Jeddah on Saturday, in the first announced evacuation of civilians from Sudan since the outbreak of fighting between the army and the Rapid Support Forces a week ago, according to the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The ministry stated that the Saudi naval forces, in cooperation with other military branches, evacuated “91 citizens, while the number of people evacuated from brotherly and friendly countries reached about 66 people.”

She confirmed that all of these arrived in the Kingdom.

She pointed out that the foreigners are from 12 countries, namely Kuwait, Qatar, the Emirates, Egypt, Tunisia, Pakistan, India, Bulgaria, Bangladesh, the Philippines, Canada and Burkina Faso, including "diplomats and officials".

And the “Al-Ikhbariya” channel reported, earlier on Saturday, “the arrival of the first evacuation ship from Sudan, which includes 50 citizens and a number of nationals of sister countries.”

The channel showed clips showing warships upon their arrival at the port of King Faisal Naval Base in the city located in the west of the Kingdom.

The footage also showed women and children carrying small Saudi flags on board a ship, while members of the Saudi forces welcomed others as they disembarked from a ship, offering them roses and pieces of sweets.

The channel indicated that among those who arrived in Jeddah was the crew of a Saudi Airlines plane that was damaged in the fighting as it was preparing to take off from Khartoum airport on the day the clashes began on April 15th.

The channel also broadcasted what it said were "special scenes" of the evacuation process in the city of Port Sudan, in which a convoy of cars, most of them four-wheel drive, appeared, advancing on a semi-desert road, accompanied by wheels equipped with heavy machine guns.

And the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced earlier, Saturday, “the start of arranging the evacuation of Saudi citizens and a number of nationals of brotherly and friendly countries from the Republic of Sudan to the Kingdom.”

Since April 15, Sudan has been witnessing clashes between the army, led by Lieutenant General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and the Rapid Support Forces, led by Lieutenant General Muhammad Hamdan Dagalo, known as “Hamidti”, which resulted in hundreds of deaths and thousands of injuries.

On Saturday morning, the sounds of gunfire and explosions were heard again in Khartoum, after a decrease in the intensity of the fighting on Friday night, following the declaration of a temporary truce between the two fighting parties.

The operation carried out by Saudi Arabia is the first announced evacuation of civilians from Sudan since the outbreak of the clashes, noting that the Sudanese army announced on the 20th of this month the evacuation of 177 Egyptian soldiers who were present in the northern city of Meroe.

Earlier on Saturday, the Rapid Support Forces had expressed their readiness to open "all airports" in Sudan for the evacuation of foreigners, although it is not possible to know which airports are controlled by these forces.

For his part, Al-Burhan affirmed, in a statement to the army, his approval of “the request of a number of countries to facilitate and ensure the evacuation of their nationals and diplomatic missions from the country,” and “to provide the necessary assistance to secure this.”

And the statement stated that "it is expected that the process of evacuating all missions whose countries request this will begin in the coming hours."

He added that the United States, Britain, France and China will evacuate their diplomats and nationals by air "with military transport planes from Khartoum, and it is expected to start immediately."