BEIJING: Myanmar’s civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi met Friday with President Xi Jinping on a visit to friendly neighbor China as international criticism over her country’s persecution of Rohingya Muslims continues to grow.
China has studiously avoided criticizing the crisis and the official Xinhua News Agency did not say whether the issue came up in the meeting. China is also expected to push for Myanmar to restart a dam project suspended after overwhelming local opposition.
Suu Kyi is in Beijing to attend a gathering of delegates from more than 200 political parties from around the world hosted by China’s ruling Communist Party, which last month reappointed Xi to a second five-year term as its leader.
Xi also delivered a speech to the gathering’s opening ceremony and met with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, Xinhua said.
China was a longstanding friend of Myanmar during the Southeast Asian country’s isolation from the West, and has been helping shield it from criticism over the crisis that has seen more than 620,000 Rohingya flee Myanmar over the last few months.
Myanmar’s military has conducted a scorched earth campaign against the Rohingya that the UN and US describe as “ethnic cleansing.” Refugees living in squalid conditions in camps in Bangladesh have described indiscriminate attacks by Myanmar security forces and Buddhist mobs, including killings, rapes and the torching of entire villages.
Suu Kyi, who spent 15 years under house arrest during the nation’s long era of military rule, has come under widespread criticism for not speaking out against the violence, with some calling for her Nobel prize to be revoked. While Myanmar elected a new civilian government in 2015 led by Suu Kyi, the military continues to wield ultimate power.
China’s interests in Myanmar include the security along its southern border and access to natural resources.
A recently opened pipeline running through Myanmar carries oil from the Middle East and the Caucuses to China’s landlocked Yunnan province, allowing it to bypass the Malacca Strait. The pipeline starts at the Bay of Bengal in Rakhine state in western Myanmar, the epicenter of the anti-Rohingya violence.
Chinese projects have been blamed for uprooting villagers and harming the environment, factors that led Myanmar in 2011 to suspend the $3.6 billion Myitsone dam primarily funded by Chinese energy interests. The suspension remains a sore point and China is eager to see resumption of work on the project.
Although Suu Kyi’s delegation includes the country’s minister of electricity and energy, real progress on the dam issue is unlikely, said prominent Myanmar political analyst Yan Myo Thein.
“There is only a small possibility that this particular dam project will be implemented under a Suu Kyi-led government because it’s a controversial national project,” Thein said.
Instead, the two sides may discuss alternative projects such as a road serving the Kuming-Mandalay-Yangon-Kyaukphyu economic platform, he said.
On the Rohingya issue, China’s main interest is stability, which means China has leverage, Thein said.
“Myanmar has leaned toward China because of international criticism and condemnation on Myanmar over the crisis,” he said.
Myanmar’s Suu Kyi meets China’s Xi as Rohingya censure grows
Myanmar’s Suu Kyi meets China’s Xi as Rohingya censure grows
Ex-Turkiye boss Terim named Al-Shabab coach
- Terim won the 2000 UEFA Cup with Galatasary
RIYADH: Former Turkiye and Galatasaray coach Fatih Terim was appointed Al-Shabab boss on Friday.
Terim, who won the 2000 UEFA Cup with the Turkish outfit, replaces Victor Pereira in charge of the sixth place team in the Saudi Pro League.
The 71-year-old’s last job was with Greece’s Panathinaikos, but he left at the end of last season.
In Saudi Arabia, Terim will overlook a squad including Belgium winger Yannick Carrasco and Italy midfielder Giacomo Bonaventura.
Terim is set to work under Al-Shabab’s director of football, former Juventus and Czech Republic midfielder Pavel Nedved.
“Having been a player with Juventus for years, he’s also done a lot as a director of football,” Terim told reporters at Istanbul airport before flying to start his new job.
“I’m very happy to be with him, I think he was a great footballer, a great name and an important symbol,” the former AC Milan and Fiorentina boss added.
Pakistan installs first smog cleaning tower in Lahore for field testing
- Lahore, Pakistan’s second-largest city, often ranks among the most polluted places in world
- Smog towers are large-scale air purifiers that create localized zones of improved air quality
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has installed its first locally designed smog cleaning tower in Lahore, a city that frequently ranks among the most polluted in the world during the winter season, the Environmental Protection Agency of Punjab announced this week.
Smog towers are large-scale air purifiers designed to reduce pollution by filtering out fine particulate matter and other harmful pollutants. Using fans, the towers draw in polluted air, which passes through high-efficiency filters to capture PM2.5 and PM10 particles, which pose severe health risks. The cleaned air is then released back into the surrounding area, improving local air quality.
While smog towers offer potential short-term relief, their efficacy in addressing large-scale urban air pollution remains debated.
“Pakistan’s first locally designed Smog Cleaning Tower installed in Lahore,” the provincial environmental agency said in a social media post this week. “A 15-day field test will be conducted to assess its performance for further installations.”
The smog tower, located in Mehmood Booti, is capable of purifying 50,000 cubic meters of air per hour and is designed to reduce harmful PM2.5 particulate matter.
Lahore, Pakistan’s second-largest city, suffers from severe air pollution during the winter, largely due to the phenomenon of smog. A combination of vehicle emissions, industrial output and crop burning in Punjab contributes to hazardous levels of fine particulate matter, with the city often topping global rankings for poor air quality.
Residents endure weeks of poor visibility, health warnings and respiratory illnesses as the Air Quality Index (AQI) frequently exceeds 300, categorized as “hazardous” by international standards. This year, the AQI reached unprecedented levels in several cities of Punjab, rising well over 1,000.
Smog towers can create localized zones of improved air quality, especially in high-density urban areas. However, they are expensive to build and maintain, with limited coverage areas.
Turkiye to allow pro-Kurdish party to visit jailed militant leader
- Militant leader Ocalan is serving life sentence in prison on the island of Imrali
- Pro-Kurdish DEM Party meeting is the first such visit in nearly a decade
ANKARA: Turkiye has decided to allow parliament’s pro-Kurdish DEM Party to hold face-to-face talks with militant leader Abdullah Ocalan on his island prison, the party said on Friday, setting up the first such visit in nearly a decade.
DEM requested the visit last month, soon after a key ally of President Tayyip Erdogan expanded on a proposal to end the 40-year-old conflict between the state and Ocalan’s outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK).
Ocalan has been serving a life sentence in a prison on the island of Imrali, south of Istanbul, since his capture 25 years ago.
Devlet Bahceli, leader of the Nationalist Movement Party, made the call a month after suggesting that Ocalan announce an end to the insurgency in exchange for the possibility of his release.
Erdogan described Bahceli’s initial proposal as a “historic window of opportunity.” After the latest call last month, Erdogan said he was in complete agreement with Bahceli on every issue and that they were acting in harmony and coordination.
“To be frank, the picture before us does not allow us to be very hopeful,” Erdogan said in parliament. “Despite all these difficulties, we are considering what can be done with a long-range perspective that focuses not only on today but also on the future.”
Bahceli regularly condemns pro-Kurdish politicians as tools of the PKK, which they deny.
DEM’s predecessor party was involved in peace talks between Ankara and Ocalan a decade ago, last meeting him in April 2015. The peace process and a ceasefire collapsed soon after, unleashing the most deadly phase of the conflict.
DEM MPs Sirri Sureyya Onder and Pervin Buldan, who both met Ocalan as part of peace talks at the time, will travel to Imrali island on Saturday or Sunday, depending on weather conditions, the party said.
Turkiye and its Western allies designate the PKK a terrorist group. More than 40,000 people have been killed in the fighting, which in the past was focused in the mainly Kurdish southeast but is now centered on northern Iraq, where the PKK is based.
Growing regional instability and changing political dynamics are seen as factors behind the bid to end the conflict with the PKK. The chances of success are unclear as Ankara has given no clues on what it may entail.
Since the fall of Bashar Assad in Syria this month, Ankara has repeatedly insisted that the Kurdish YPG militia, which it sees as an extension of the PKK, must disband, asserting that the group has no place in Syria’s future.
The YPG is the main component of the US-allied Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
In a Reuters interview last week, SDF commander Mazloum Abdi acknowledged the presence of PKK fighters in Syria for the first time, saying they had helped fight Daesh and would return home if a total ceasefire was agreed with Turkiye, a core demand from Ankara.
Authorities in Turkiye have continued to crack down on alleged PKK activities. Last month, the government replaced five pro-Kurdish mayors in southeastern cities for suspected PKK ties, in a move that drew criticism from DEM and others.
How Saudi organizations are building a sustainable future for wildlife
- Recent initiatives underscore strong commitment to restoring ecosystems and protecting biodiversity
- Kingdom’s approach seen as proof that environmental stewardship and economic growth can coexist
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia is solidifying its position as a global leader in biodiversity preservation through a series of pioneering initiatives aimed at protecting endangered species and restoring fragile ecosystems.
From the release of endangered animals in the King Khalid Royal Reserve to the historic birth of Arabian leopard triplets, the Kingdom’s conservation efforts highlight a forward-looking commitment to safeguarding its natural heritage for generations to come.
On Dec. 23, 2024, the National Center for Wildlife (NCW) achieved a significant milestone with the release of 66 endangered animals into the King Khalid Royal Reserve, located northeast of Riyadh.
The release included 40 rhim gazelles, 10 Arabian oryx, 10 Houbara bustards and six Idmi gazelles.
This initiative, conducted in collaboration with the Imam Abdulaziz bin Mohammed Royal Reserve Development Authority, is part of a broader strategy to restore ecological balance, enhance biodiversity and promote eco-tourism.
To ensure the program’s success, some of the released animals were equipped with solar-powered tracking devices, enabling researchers to monitor their integration and behavior in the wild.
The Arabian Leopard Conservation Breeding Centre in Taif has reached a groundbreaking achievement — a rare litter of Arabian leopard triplets, two males and one female, was born earlier this month.
This marks the first recorded triplet birth of the critically endangered Arabian leopard in Saudi Arabia and only the third such occurrence in captivity worldwide over the past 30 years.
The birth is a pivotal moment for Saudi Arabia’s conservation efforts led by the Royal Commission for AlUla (RCU).
Fewer than 120 Arabian leopards remain in the wild, placing them in the critically endangered category of the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List.
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Since partnering with Panthera in 2019 under the Arabian Leopard Initiative, RCU has made significant strides in protecting this iconic species.
“When we assumed management of the Arabian Leopard breeding program in December 2020, we inherited 14 leopards and immediately began drafting strategic plans for new enclosures, team building, and breeding targets,” Abdulaziz Al-Enzy, senior manager of the RCU Breeding Center Management, told Arab News.
The initiative focuses on boosting wild populations, expanding breeding programs, and advancing research to ensure the species’ survival.
The breeding center, now home to over 32 leopards, has emerged as a global leader in conservation efforts.
“Through our KPIs, the center set an ambitious goal of producing two cubs annually,” Al-Enzy said.
“To date, it has consistently exceeded expectations: one cub in 2021, three in 2022, seven in 2023, and five in 2024.”
The center also follows strict protocols for pregnant leopards.
Al-Enzy said females are separated from males during their final trimester, and all activity around them is minimized to ensure a stress-free delivery.
Veterinary teams remain on standby to intervene in case of complications.
“We’ve achieved remarkable growth by constructing state-of-the-art open-top enclosures, the first of their kind in the Middle East for Arabian leopards, and implementing 24-hour monitoring using 200 CCTV cameras,” Al-Enzy said.
The team, according to him, ensures the leopards are healthy, safe and enriched in their environment.
Protecting the Arabian leopard is not just about saving a species—it’s about preserving ecological balance and cultural heritage.
DID YOU KNOW?
• Saudi Arabia released 66 endangered animals, including Arabian oryx, into the King Khalid Royal Reserve.
• Arabian leopard triplets were born in the Kingdom, a rare event for this critically endangered species.
• The Arabian oryx population has increased 60-fold in Saudi Arabia after being declared extinct in the wild.
• The Kingdom reintroduced cheetahs, with four cubs born in captivity after a 40-year absence.
“The Arabian leopard plays a critical role in regulating prey populations, maintaining the health of ecosystems, and is deeply rooted in Saudi Arabia’s culture," Al-Enzy said.
The ultimate goal is to reintroduce these magnificent creatures into the wild sometime in the future. However, this process is fraught with challenges.
“Leopards must be trained to hunt and acquire survival skills, and pre-release enclosures are currently being developed to prepare cubs for life in the wild.”
Genetic diversity remains a significant concern, with active collaboration between Saudi Arabia, Oman, Yemen, and the UAE to enhance breeding programs.
“To address these challenges, RCU launched a genetic exchange program in 2023, swapping male leopards with Oman’s Royal Court to strengthen genetic diversity,” Al-Enzy said.
These conservation efforts are not just about Saudi Arabia.
“We are working to save the Arabian leopard from extinction globally, which requires international collaboration and learning from others’ experiences,” Al-Enzy said.
Reintroducing captive-bred Arabian leopards to their natural habitat is a complex and long-term goal. Each cub undergoes rigorous evaluation before release, and success depends on partnerships with local and international organizations.
“We aim to save the Arabian leopard not for one country but for the world. The progress we’ve made so far is just the beginning of this long journey,” Al-Enzy said.
By combining cutting-edge breeding techniques, meticulous monitoring, and global collaboration, Saudi Arabia is setting an example for wildlife conservation efforts across the region.
Saudi Arabia is also making strides in reintroducing cheetahs, which disappeared from the Arabian Peninsula over 40 years ago. Under the National Cheetah Reintroduction Program, four cubs were born in captivity in 2024—a landmark achievement given the complexity of breeding cheetahs.
Globally, only 15 percent of wild-born cheetahs manage to reproduce in captivity, with just 20 percent of those continuing to do so.
By overcoming these odds, the National Center for Wildlife is contributing to the survival of a species that now numbers only 7,100 worldwide.
Combining habitat restoration with advanced research and breeding programs, Saudi Arabia is playing a pivotal role in ensuring the cheetah’s future.
The Arabian oryx, once extinct in the wild by 1972, symbolizes the Kingdom’s conservation triumphs.
Reintroduced into its natural habitat, the species was reclassified as vulnerable in 2011.
By 2019, the wild population had risen to 1,220, with an additional 6,000–7,000 individuals thriving in semi-captive conditions worldwide.
Saudi Arabia has reported a remarkable 60-fold increase in the oryx population, making it one of the most successful wildlife restoration programs globally.
Saudi Arabia’s conservation efforts extend far beyond individual species. The Kingdom’s integrated approach leverages cutting-edge technology, international collaborations and community engagement to achieve its goals.
Programs such as the Saudi Green Initiative and the Middle East Green Initiative, the Arabian Leopard Fund and the National Cheetah Conservation Strategy reflect a deep commitment to restoring ecosystems and protecting biodiversity.
From reintroducing onagers to the Prince Mohammed bin Salman Royal Reserve after a century-long absence to breeding endangered species at state-of-the-art facilities, the Kingdom is setting a global benchmark for conservation.
As biodiversity faces unprecedented threats worldwide, experts say Saudi Arabia’s approach demonstrates that environmental stewardship and economic growth can coexist.
These efforts not only preserve the Kingdom’s natural legacy but also offer a blueprint for global action to protect the planet’s most vulnerable species. Through innovation, dedication, and collaboration, Saudi Arabia is proving that a sustainable future for wildlife is possible.
Hosts Kuwait held by Qatar, Oman and UAE play out draw in Arabian Gulf Cup
- 101st-minute equalizer rescued point for Qatar
- Oman progress, UAE crash out
LONDON: Group A of the Arabian Gulf Cup came to its conclusion on Friday, with hosts Kuwait and Oman both securing the points they needed to progress to the semifinals.
Kuwait thought they had beaten their Gulf rivals with a goal from Mohammad Daham in the 74th minute of the match at the Jaber Al-Ahmad International Stadium in Kuwait City.
But a 101st-minute equalizer from Mohammed Muntari deep into stoppage time rescued some pride for the Qataris, who crashed out of the tournament by failing to win.
In the day’s other match, Oman faced the UAE in another crucial encounter.
The match ended in a 1-1 draw, which secured Oman’s advancement to the next stage and brought the UAE’s campaign to an end.
Al-Ahli Dubai midfielder Yahya Al-Ghassani had given the Emiratis a half-time lead, but they were pegged back by an Abdulrahman Al-Mushaifri equalizer 11 minutes from the end.
The group stages of the Arabian Gulf Cup conclude on Saturday with the final matches in Group B.
Saudi Arabia need a victory against Iraq to guarantee a semifinal spot, while already-qualified Bahrain will look to make it three wins from three when they play Yemen.
