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RIYADH: In two separate operations, officers from the Kingdom’s Border Guard in Jazan have thwarted attempts to smuggle a total of 320 kg of qat into the country, the Saudi Press Agency reported on Tuesday.
One of the operations included the arrest of three Ethiopian nationals for allegedly attempting to smuggle 80 kg of qat.
The three suspects also face charges of violating border security regulations.
In Al-Ardah, a sector in Jazan, land patrols thwarted the smuggling of 240 kilograms of qat.
RIYADH: International efforts to implement a two-state solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict gained momentum on Thursday, as senior diplomats gathered for a second day in Riyadh for the first meeting of a newly formed international alliance.
In his address, Saudi Deputy Minister for Multilateral International Affairs Abdulrahman Al-Rassi stressed the urgency of the initiative amid ongoing violence in Gaza, the Saudi Press Agency reported.
He criticized Israel’s violations of international and humanitarian law and expressed frustration at the international community’s response to the crisis. He noted the UN Security Council’s failure to fulfill its responsibilities and its stance against the Palestinian people’s moral and legal right to self-determination, as well as its failure to initiate a serious process for peace and prevent the expansion of regional conflict.
Al-Rassi stressed the importance of nations engaging in multilateral diplomatic efforts to achieve peace based on the two-state solution and end Israeli occupation. He referenced international law, UN resolutions and the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative as fundamental frameworks, emphasizing the so-called land for peace principle that would enable Palestinians to live freely in an independent state with East Jerusalem as its capital, based on 1967 borders.
The deputy minister renewed Saudi Arabia’s invitation to peace-loving nations to join the alliance and praised the recent decisions of several countries to recognize Palestine. He urged other countries to similarly cite their support for Palestinian rights and the alliance itself in working to accelerate the implementation of the two-state solution and achieve peace.
Israel’s continued aggression against Palestinians would only expand regional conflict and threaten global stability, Al-Rassi said, and called on permanent Security Council members to use their authority to force Israel to cease its aggression and allow unrestricted humanitarian aid to enter Gaza.
The deputy minister strongly condemned the Israeli Knesset’s decision to ban UNRWA operations, describing it as a violation of international law and a dangerous precedent that violated UN member states’ Charter obligations and thus undermined the multilateral international system.
“This is the occupying power’s latest action aimed at undermining Palestinian resilience in their homeland and attempting to forcibly displace Palestinians,” he said.
Al-Rassi reaffirmed Saudi Arabia’s support for the UN relief agency and firmly rejected Israel’s systematic targeting of it and other and humanitarian organizations, along with the ongoing endangerment of its workers.
He concluded by expressing his optimism for the initiative and said that the support shown for it at the Riyadh meeting demonstrated a genuine desire for peace and an end to the “brutal war on Gaza and occupied Palestinian territories.”
RIYADH: The Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Thursday strongly condemned a recent terrorist attack on a military base in Chad’s Lake Chad region, which left at least 40 Chadian soldiers dead.
The Ministry expressed its condolences and sympathy to the families of the victims and to the government and people of Chad, wishing those injured a swift recovery.
In a statement, the ministry reaffirmed the Kingdom’s opposition to all forms of violence and terrorism, emphasizing Saudi Arabia’s commitment to supporting international efforts to combat such threats, Saudi Press Agency reported.
The attack took place on Sunday evening on Barkaram Island in the Lake Chad basin area, which has experienced increasing militant activity in recent years.
Although no group has claimed responsibility, Chadian President Mahamat Deby has since launched a counter-mission aimed at tracking down those responsible.
Paris: The discovery of a 4,000-year-old fortified town hidden in an oasis in modern-day Saudi Arabia reveals how life at the time was slowly changing from a nomadic to an urban existence, archaeologists said on Wednesday.
The remains of the town, dubbed Al-Natah, were long concealed by the walled oasis of Khaybar, a green and fertile speck surrounded by desert in the northwest of the Arabian Peninsula.
Then an ancient 14.5 kilometer-long wall was discovered at the site, according to research led by French archaeologist Guillaume Charloux published earlier this year.
For a new study published in the journal PLOS One, a French-Saudi team of researchers have provided “proof that these ramparts are organized around a habitat,” Charloux told AFP.
The large town, which was home to up to 500 residents, was built around 2,400 BC during the early Bronze Age, the researchers said.
It was abandoned around a thousand years later. “No one knows why,” Charloux said.
When Al-Natah was built, cities were flourishing in the Levant region along the Mediterranean Sea from present-day Syria to Jordan.
Northwest Arabia at the time was thought to have been barren desert, crossed by pastoral nomads and dotted with burial sites.
That was until 15 years ago, when archaeologists discovered ramparts dating back to the Bronze Age in the oasis of Tayma, to Khaybar’s north.
This “first essential discovery” led scientists to look closer at these oases, Charloux said.
Black volcanic rocks called basalt concealed the walls of Al-Natah so well that it “protected the site from illegal excavations,” Charloux said.
But observing the site from above revealed potential paths and the foundations of houses, suggesting where the archaeologists needed to dig.
They discovered foundations “strong enough to easily support at least one- or two-story” homes, Charloux said, emphasising that there was much more work to be done to understand the site.
But their preliminary findings paint a picture of a 2.6-hectare town with around 50 houses perched on a hill, equipped with a wall of its own.
Tombs inside a necropolis there contained metal weapons like axes and daggers as well as stones such as agate, indicating a relatively advanced society for so long ago.
Pieces of pottery “suggest a relatively egalitarian society,” the study said. They are “very pretty but very simple ceramics,” added Charloux.
The size of the ramparts — which could reach around five meters (16 feet) high — suggests that Al-Natah was the seat of some kind of powerful local authority.
These discoveries reveal a process of “slow urbanism” during the transition between nomadic and more settled village life, the study said.
For example, fortified oases could have been in contact with each other in an area still largely populated by pastoral nomadic groups. Such exchanges could have even laid the foundations for the “incense route” which saw spices, frankincense and myrrh traded from southern Arabia to the Mediterranean.
Al-Natah was still small compared to cities in Mesopotamia or Egypt during the period.
But in these vast expanses of desert, it appears there was “another path toward urbanization” than such city-states, one “more modest, much slower, and quite specific to the northwest of Arabia,” Charloux said.
RIYADH: Bahrain’s King Hamad received Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Interior Prince Abdulaziz bin Saud bin Naif bin Abdulaziz at the Sakhir Palace on Wednesday.
Discussions on the close relations and security cooperation between the two countries took place during the meeting, Saudi Press Agency reported.
King Hamad acknowledged the efforts of the security coordination committee which is a part of the Saudi-Bahraini Coordination Council, and highlighted the importance of ongoing collaboration, SPA said.
Prince Abdulaziz was also received by Bahrain’s Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al-Khalifa and his Bahraini counterpart General Sheikh Rashid bin Abdullah Al-Khalifa on Wednesday.
RIYADH: Feline fanciers from across the Kingdom gathered in the capital this week for the country’s first ever International Cat Show.
Organized by the World Cat Federation, in collaboration with the Middle East Cats Association, the event was held at the Riyadh International Convention and Exhibition Center as part of the Saudi Pet and Vet Expo.
The show, which ended on Wednesday, featured more than 200 cats competing in multiple categories and provided a platform for breeders, enthusiasts and the public to share their love for their furry friends and learn about responsible pet ownership.
The judging panel was led by WCF President Anneliese Hackmann and included experts from around the world.
The competing cats, all of which were aged between three months and a year, were judged on their physical attributes, such as head structure, eye shape, profile, chin, ear placement, body proportions, tail length and coat quality.
The top three winners in each category received a certificate, trophy and a ribbon from the WCF, with the runners-up given lots of useful pet care supplies.
Competitor Sara Binsaeed told Arab News: “Life is only once, so I should try it out for once at least. It’s not important that my cat wins, but at least we tried.”
That sentiment was echoed throughout the event, with participants taking the opportunity to celebrate their pets and create lasting memories with fellow cat lovers.
The Saudi Pet and Vet Expo included a range of activities designed to entertain and educate visitors, including the My Pet in My Life competition, in which people shared stories and photos that captured the special bonds they have with their pets.
There was also an adoption booth managed by the Rahmah Association for Animal Welfare, which sought to raise awareness of the benefits of adoption and the responsibilities that come with it.
At the Mini Farm booth, visitors were able to learn about sustainable pet care practices and pick up tips on how to better understand their animals.
There were also workshops and lectures on animal health, disease prevention and advancements in veterinary care, and even a mobile grooming station.
The expo, which attracted huge crowds to its family-friendly attractions, was part of Saudi Arabia’s growing commitment to raising awareness of responsible pet ownership and improving animal welfare.
