National wildlife center launches supervisory council for Ibex protected area

The initiative is part of NCW’s commitment to involving local communities and relevant stakeholders. (SPA)
Short Url
Updated 26 June 2024
Follow

National wildlife center launches supervisory council for Ibex protected area

  • Over time it has become a sanctuary for wildlife including the Arabian oryx, Arabian wolf, rock hyrax and birds such as the lappet-faced vulture, bustards and eagles

RIYADH: The first supervisory council for the Ibex protected area encompassing the governorates of Howtat Bani Tamim and Al-Hasriq has been inaugurated by Saudi Arabia’s National Center for Wildlife in collaboration with the Riyadh Region Municipality.

The initiative is part of NCW’s commitment to involving local communities and relevant stakeholders, enhancing management practices within the protected area and aligning them with global standards, reported the Saudi Press Agency.

NCW Chief Executive Mohammed Qurban said: “Establishing the council empowers our neighboring community to contribute ideas and suggestions towards enhancing protection programs and conserving biodiversity within the protected area.

“Engaging with the community promotes operational excellence, governance and efficiency, ensuring the sustainable use of our natural resources. This connection is integral, holding profound value across generations, bolstering conservation efforts, and nurturing environmental awareness among local residents.”

Located approximately 120 km south of Riyadh, the protected area covers around 1,841 sq. km and is an extension of the Tuwaiq mountains. Over time it has become a sanctuary for wildlife including the Arabian oryx, Arabian wolf, rock hyrax and birds such as the lappet-faced vulture, bustards and eagles. It also hosts numerous reptiles, amphibious species and snakes.

The protected area is additionally renowned for its diverse plant life, including herbs, acacia, Vachellia flava, Christ’s thorn jujube, and Haloxylon ammodendron trees.

The NCW has initiated several programs in the Ibex protected area, including camping, hiking trails and beekeeping. The aim is to promote ecotourism and support the local economy, as well as highlight its unique natural and cultural heritage.

Global best practices signpost local participation as a way to safeguard natural resources and enhance sustainable management, while also fostering community attachment and creating employment opportunities.


Syrian Kurdish commander in touch with Turkiye, open to meeting Erdogan

Updated 33 sec ago
Follow

Syrian Kurdish commander in touch with Turkiye, open to meeting Erdogan

BEIRUT: The commander of Kurdish forces that control northeast Syria said on Friday that his group is in direct contact with Turkiye and that he would be open to improving ties, including by meeting Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan.
The public comments represented a significant diplomatic overture by Mazloum Abdi, whose Syrian Democratic Forces fought Turkish troops and Ankara-backed Syrian rebels during Syria’s 14-year civil war.
Turkiye has said the main Kurdish group at the core of the SDF is indistinguishable from the militant Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which decided earlier this month to disband after 40 years of conflict with Turkiye.
Abdi told regional broadcaster Shams TV in an interview aired on Friday that his group was in touch with Turkiye, without saying how long the communication channels had been open.
“We have direct ties, direct channels of communication with Turkiye, as well as through mediators, and we hope that these ties are developed,” Abdi said. There was no immediate comment from Turkiye on Abdi’s remarks.
He noted his forces and Turkish fighters “fought long wars against each other” but that a temporary truce had brought a halt to those clashes for the last two months. Abdi said he hoped the truce could become permanent.
When asked whether he was planning to meet Erdogan, Abdi said he had no current plans to do so but “I am not opposed... We are not in a state of war with Turkiye and in the future, ties could be developed between us. We’re open to this.”
The Al-Monitor news website reported on Friday that Turkiye had proposed a meeting between Abdi and a top Turkish official, possibly Turkiye’s foreign minister or its intelligence chief.
A Turkish diplomatic source denied the report, saying “the claims about Turkiye and our country’s authorities” in the story were “not true,” without elaborating.
In December, Turkiye and the SDF agreed on a US-mediated ceasefire after fighting broke out as rebel groups advanced on Damascus and overthrew Bashar Assad.
Abdi in March signed a deal with Syria’s interim President Ahmed Al-Sharaa to incorporate the semi-autonomous administration of northeast Syria into the main state institutions based in Damascus.
On Thursday, Erdogan accused the SDF of “stalling” implementation of that deal.
In the interview, Abdi denied accusations that the SDF was in contact with Israel.
“People have accused us of this. In this interview, I am saying publicly that we have no ties with Israel,” he said.
But he said his group supported good ties with Syria’s neighbors. When asked if that included Israel, Abdi responded, “with everyone.”

Kabul, Islamabad to appoint envoys in apparent thaw in relations

Updated 18 min 53 sec ago
Follow

Kabul, Islamabad to appoint envoys in apparent thaw in relations

  • Relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan have long been restrained over a surge in militancy in Pakistan’s border regions
  • The decision to appoint envoys comes days after trilateral talks in China where both countries agreed to upgrade relations

ISLAMABAD: Afghanistan’s foreign ministry said on Saturday it would appoint an ambassador to Pakistan after Islamabad announced its decision to upgrade diplomatic relations by appointing an envoy to Kabul, in an apparent warming of ties between the two neighbors.

The development comes amid prolonged tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan, with Islamabad repeatedly accusing the Afghan Taliban administration of “facilitating” cross-border attacks by militant groups such as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA).

Kabul has denied the allegations and insisted that Pakistan’s security challenges are its internal issue. Relations further deteriorated after Islamabad launched in late 2023 a nationwide deportation drive targeting undocumented foreigners, the majority of whom are Afghan nationals. Pakistani authorities maintained that some of them were linked to a spate of militant attacks in the country.

Both countries have sought to improve their strained relations in recent months and Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar in April led a delegation to Kabul and later participated in trilateral talks with Chinese and Afghan foreign ministers in Beijing earlier this month.

“This elevation in diplomatic representation between Afghanistan & Pakistan paves the way for enhanced bilateral cooperation in multiple domains,” the Afghan foreign ministry said in a statement.

It came hours after Dar said on X that Pakistan-Afghanistan relations were on a positive trajectory after his “very productive visit” to Kabul last month.

“I am confident this step would further contribute toward enhanced engagement, deepen Pak-Afghan cooperation in economic, security, CT [counterterrorism] & trade areas and promote further exchanges between two fraternal countries,” he said, referring to Pakistan’s appointment of an ambassador to Kabul.

Both Pakistan and Afghanistan have yet to announce names of their respective envoys.

Earlier this month, Pakistan and Afghanistan agreed to the expansion of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), part of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), to Afghanistan after the recent trilateral meeting in Beijing, where Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said both Pakistan and Afghanistan had “clearly expressed” a willingness to elevate their diplomatic ties.

The BRI — China’s multi-trillion-dollar infrastructure plan — aims to build land and maritime trade routes linking Asia with Africa and Europe. CPEC, considered the flagship of the initiative, includes over $60 billion in Chinese investments in Pakistan’s energy, transport, and industrial sectors.


Pentagon chief warns China ‘preparing’ to use military force in Asia

Updated 27 min 33 sec ago
Follow

Pentagon chief warns China ‘preparing’ to use military force in Asia

  • US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth makes the remarks at an annual security forum in Singapore
  • Since taking office in January, Donald Trump has launched a trade war with China, sought to curb its access to key AI technologies and deepened security ties with allies

SINGAPORE: US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth warned Saturday that China was “credibly preparing” to use military force to upend the balance of power in Asia, vowing the United States was “here to stay” in the Indo-Pacific region.

The Pentagon chief made the remarks at an annual security forum in Singapore as the administration of US President Donald Trump spars with Beijing on trade, technology, and influence over strategic corners of the globe.

Since taking office in January, Trump has launched a trade war with China, sought to curb its access to key AI technologies and deepened security ties with allies such as the Philippines, which is engaged in escalating territorial disputes with Beijing.

“The threat China poses is real and it could be imminent,” Hegseth said at the Shangri-La Dialogue attended by defense officials from around the world.

Beijing is “credibly preparing to potentially use military force to alter the balance of power in the Indo-Pacific,” he added.

Hegseth warned the Chinese military was building the capabilities to invade Taiwan and “rehearsing for the real deal.”

Beijing has ramped up military pressure on Taiwan and held multiple large-scale exercises around the island, often described as preparations for a blockade or invasion.

The United States was “reorienting toward deterring aggression by communist China,” Hegseth said, calling on US allies and partners in Asia to swiftly upgrade their defenses in the face of mounting threats.

Hegseth described China’s conduct as a “wake-up call,” accusing Beijing of endangering lives with cyberattacks, harassing its neighbors, and “illegally seizing and militarizing lands” in the South China Sea.

Beijing claims almost the entire disputed waterway, through which more than 60 percent of global maritime trade passes, despite an international ruling that its assertion has no merit.

It has clashed repeatedly with the Philippines in the strategic waters in recent months, with the flashpoint set to dominate discussions at the Singapore defense forum, according to US officials.

As Hegseth spoke in Singapore, China’s military announced that its navy and air force were carrying out routine “combat readiness patrols” around the Scarborough Shoal, a chain of reefs and rocks Beijing disputes with the Philippines.

“China’s assertiveness in the South China Sea has only increased in recent years,” Casey Mace, charge d’affaires at the US embassy in Singapore, told journalists ahead of the meeting.

“I think that this type of forum is exactly the type of forum where we need to have an exchange on that.”

Beijing has not sent any top defense ministry officials to the summit, dispatching a delegation from the People’s Liberation Army National Defense University instead.

Hegseth’s hard-hitting address drew a critical reaction from Chinese analysts at the conference.

Da Wei, director of the Center for International Security and Strategy at Tsinghua University told reporters the speech was “very unfriendly” and “very confrontational,” accusing Washington of double standards in demanding Beijing respect its neighbors while bullying its own – including Canada and Greenland.

Former Senior Col. Zhou Bo, from the Center for International Security and Strategy at Tsinghua University said that training drills did not mean China would invade Taiwan, saying the government wanted “peaceful reunification.”

Hegseth’s comments came after Trump stoked new trade tensions with China, arguing that Beijing had “violated” a deal to de-escalate tariffs as the two sides appeared deadlocked in negotiations.

The world’s two biggest economies had agreed to temporarily lower eye-watering tariffs they had imposed on each other, pausing them for 90 days.

Reassuring US allies on Saturday, Hegseth said the Indo-Pacific was “America’s priority theater,” pledging to ensure “China cannot dominate us – or our allies and partners.”

He said the United States had stepped up cooperation with allies including the Philippines and Japan, and reiterated Trump’s vow that “China will not invade (Taiwan) on his watch.”

But he called on US partners in the region to ramp up spending on their militaries and “quickly upgrade their own defenses.”

“Asian allies should look to countries in Europe for a newfound example,” Hegseth said, citing pledges by NATO members including Germany to move toward Trump’s spending target of five percent of GDP.

“Deterrence doesn’t come on the cheap.”

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, also in Singapore, said the Trump administration’s “tough love” had helped push the continent to beef up its defenses.

“It’s love nonetheless, so it’s better than no love,” Kallas quipped when asked about Hegseth’s speech.


Israel blocks Ramallah meeting with Arab ministers, Israeli official says

Updated 40 min 8 sec ago
Follow

Israel blocks Ramallah meeting with Arab ministers, Israeli official says

  • Palestinian Authority official says that the issue of whether the meeting in Ramallah would be able to go ahead is under discussion
  • The move comes ahead of an international conference due to be held in New York on June 17-20 to discuss the issue of Palestinian statehood

JERUSALEM: Israel will not allow a planned meeting in the Palestinian administrative capital of Ramallah, in the occupied West Bank, to go ahead, an Israeli official said on Saturday, after media reported that Arab ministers planning to attend had been stopped from coming.

The delegation included ministers from Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, Palestinian Authority officials said. The ministers would require Israeli consent to travel to the West Bank from Jordan.

An Israeli official said the ministers intended to take part in “a provocative meeting” to discuss promoting the establishment of a Palestinian state.

“Such a state would undoubtedly become a terrorist state in the heart of the land of Israel,” the official said. “Israel will not cooperate with such moves aimed at harming it and its security.”

A Palestinian Authority official said that the issue of whether the meeting in Ramallah would be able to go ahead was under discussion.

The move comes ahead of an international conference, co-chaired by France and Saudi Arabia, due to be held in New York on June 17-20 to discuss the issue of Palestinian statehood.

Israel has come under increasing pressure from the United Nations and European countries which favor a two-state solution to the Israeli Palestinian conflict, under which an independent Palestinian state would exist alongside Israel.

French President Emmanuel Macron said on Friday that recognizing a Palestinian state was not only a “moral duty but a political necessity.”


Pakistan weekly inflation down by 0.81% as prices of essential items remain largely stable

Updated 31 May 2025
Follow

Pakistan weekly inflation down by 0.81% as prices of essential items remain largely stable

  • Annual inflation rate fell to 0.3% in April, well below the finance ministry’s estimate of 1.5-2%
  • The Pakistan Stock Exchange also recorded a 7.5% gain in May on a month-on-month basis

ISLAMABAD: Short-term inflation, measured by the Sensitive Price Index (SPI), lowered by 0.81% in Pakistan, the country’s statistics bureau said this week, as prices of most essential items remained stable.

The SPI, which comprises 51 essential items collected from 50 markets in 17 cities, is computed on a weekly basis to assess the price movement of essential commodities at a shorter interval of time to review the price situation in the country.

While the SPI for the week ending on May 29 decreased 0.81% on a week-on-week basis, it recorded an increase of 0.41% when compared to the same week last year, according to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS).

“During the week, out of 51 items, prices of 14 (27.45%) items increased, 10 (19.61%) items decreased and 27 (52.94%) items remained stable,” the PBS said.

A decrease was observed in the prices of electricity charges for Q1 (10.10%), chicken (8.51%), LPG (2.67%), sugar (0.25%), powdered milk (0.20%), vegetable ghee 2.5Kg (0.17%), wheat flour (0.09%), rice (0.07%), garlic (0.05%) and pulse moong (0.01%).

The items whose prices increased during the week included tomatoes (4.54%), potatoes (2.94%), eggs (2.19%), onions (2.17%), gur (0.77%), bananas (0.73%), mustard oil (0.34%), pulse mash (0.22%), pulse gram (0.17%), pulse masoor (0.14%) and basmati rice (0.12%).

Pakistan’s annual inflation rate fell to 0.3% in April, well below the Ministry of Finance estimate of 1.5% to 2%. The central bank forecasts average inflation to be in the range of 5.5% to 7.5% for the fiscal year ending June.

Also, the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) recorded a 7.5% gain in May on a month-on-month basis, according to the Karachi-based Topline Securities.

“This gain can be attributed to cut in policy rate by 100bps by SBP,” it said in its monthly review, citing improvement in inflation outlook and approval of first review of Pakistan’s $7 billion International Monetary Fund (IMF) program as well as the approval of another $1.4 billion under the IMF’s Resilience and Sustainability Facility.

“Average daily traded volume and value during the month stood at 566 million shares and PKR28 billion.”