Makkah got World’s longest calligraphic mural on road to Makkah’s Grand Mosque

Makkah got World’s longest calligraphic mural on road to Makkah’s Grand Mosque

• The Grand Mosque Road in Makkah now features the longest calligraphic painting in the world, the most recent addition to the holy city’s aesthetic appeal. 
• The 75-metre mural, created by the artist Amal Felemban, is one of a number of sculptures and installations that already beautify Makkah as part of a programme conducted by the local government to improve its aesthetic appeal and show off Saudi heritage and culture to pilgrims.
• The Makkah Municipality holds competitions for creating murals and writing Arabic calligraphy, which it claims as one of the most important literary and artistic forms connected to the Holy Quran.
• The mural exhibits a beauty that conveys the history, thoughts, and cultural heritage of humanity over the millennia.

Jeff Zients selected as next chief of staff by Joe Biden

• US President Joe Biden will appoint former COVID policy coordinator Jeff Zients as his new chief of staff, reviving a crucial position as Biden gets ready for a possible re-election campaign and deals with an investigation into his handling of classified documents.
• Since the beginning of the Biden administration in early 2021 through April of last year, Jeff Zients, who has spent the majority of his career in the private sector rather than politics, has served as the White House COVID coordinator.
• He received praise for supervising and carrying out Biden’s initiatives to increase vaccination rates among Americans, but he also drew criticism for the administration’s lack of early steps to increase testing capacity.
• Jeff Zients also worked as an economic advisor to Vice President Joe Biden’s government under President Barack Obama.