DUBAI: Saudi Arabia has expressed deep concern and condemned the purported chemical attack on Douma in the eastern region of Syria, according to an official source at the Kingdom’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The attack killed dozens of civilians, among them women and children.
The source stressed the need to stop these tragedies and to pursue a peaceful solution based on the principles of the Geneva Declaration and UN Security Council resolutions.
The source pointed out the importance of the international community’s responsibilities toward civilians in Syria.
Saudi Arabia condemns Douma chemical attack
Saudi Arabia condemns Douma chemical attack

Putin says special attention should be paid to nuclear triad in Russia’s new arms program

- “Undoubtedly, special attention should be paid to the nuclear triad, which has been and will remain the guarantee of Russia’s sovereignty,” Putin says
MOSCOW: Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday that special attention in the country’s new arms program should be paid to the nuclear triad — land-based, sea-based and aircraft-launched weapons.
Putin’s remarks, broadcast on state television, were made at a meeting of senior officials devoted to the country’s arms industry.
“Undoubtedly, special attention should be paid to the nuclear triad, which has been and will remain the guarantee of Russia’s sovereignty and plays a key role in upholding the balance of forces in the world,” Putin said.
A total of 95 percent of weapons in Russia’s strategic nuclear forces, he said, were fully up-to-date.
“This is a good indicator and, in essence, the highest among all the world’s nuclear powers,” he told the gathering.
Saudi king, crown prince condemn shooting that killed 10 students in Austrian school

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia's King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Thursday offered condolences to Austria over a shooting attack that killed 10 and injured 11 at a secondary school, according to the Saudi Press Agency, or SPA.
In a message to Austrian President Alexander van Deir Beilin, King Salman condemned the attack as a "disgraceful criminal act" and expressed "deepest condolences and sincere sympathy" to the people of Austria and relatives of those killed, and wishes for "a speedy recovery" for those injured.
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who is also prime minister of the Kingdom, sent a similar message to the Austrian leader.

Austrian police said the shooter, armed with a shotgun and a pistol, attacked the Dreierschuetzengasse secondary school in Graz region on June 10 over still unknown reasons.
The shooter was a 21-year-old former pupil at the school in Graz region, but never finished his studies there, local media quoted a preliminary police probe as saying.

US judge says government must release Columbia University protester Mahmoud Khalil

- US District Judge Michael Farbiarz had ruled earlier that expelling Khalil from the US on those grounds was likely unconstitutional
NEW YORK: A federal judge ruled on Wednesday that the Trump administration cannot use US foreign policy interests to justify its detention of Columbia University student and pro-Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil, but said his order would not take effect until Friday.
Khalil was arrested on March 8 after the State Department revoked his green card under a little-used provision of US immigration law granting the US secretary of state the power to seek the deportation of any noncitizen whose presence in the country is deemed adverse to US foreign policy interests.
He has since been held in immigration detention in Louisiana.
Khalil was the first known foreign student to be arrested as part of Trump’s bid to deport foreign students who took part in pro-Palestinian protests that swept US college campuses after Hamas’ October 7, 2023, attack on Israel and Israel’s subsequent military assault.
Peanuts or almonds? Rice or millet? Planet-friendly grocery shopping choices go beyond cutting meat

- Plant-based proteins like legumes, beans and nuts all boast a much lower climate impact
It’s one of the most impactful climate decisions we make, and we make it multiple times a day.
The UN estimates about a third of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions, the main driver of climate change, come from food. That pollution can come from several links in the food supply chain: how farmland is treated, how crops are grown, how food is processed and how it’s ultimately transported.
Maybe you’ve already heard the short answer to minimizing your diet’s impact on the planet: eat more plants and fewer animals. The data backs up that suggestion. Emissions from meat-rich diets are four times higher than that of vegan diets.
But so much focus on meats overshadows many other food choices that also impact the environment and can contribute to global warming. Here is a look at other important grocery store decisions:
Proteins
Swapping one serving of chicken per day for beef cuts a diet’s emissions nearly in half. Ruminant animals such as cows, sheep and goats are the top drivers of emissions.
Those animals “are associated not only with nitrous oxide emissions, but they’re also related to direct methane emissions because they burp them up while they digest food,” said Marco Springmann, professorial research fellow in climate change, food systems and health at University College London.
Springmann said processed animal products have a higher impact on the planet, too: “You need 10 times the amount of milk to make one unit of cheese.” So — and this is true of most food groups — the less processed the food, the smaller the environmental impact.
Plant-based proteins like legumes, beans and nuts all boast a much lower climate impact.
Grains
The standout here is rice, and not in a good way.
“Rice uses a ton of water. It uses gobs of fertilizer. There’s flooded rice paddy fields, and that water actually breeds all kinds of bacteria, and those bacteria produce methane gas,” said eco-dietitian nutritionist Mary Purdy.
Purdy said the most planet-friendly alternative is just eating a bunch of different grains.
“The wheat, corn and soy world is very, very familiar to us because we’ve been seeing it. It’s been heavily marketed. When was the last time you saw a commercial for millet or buckwheat?” she asked.
Diverse diets, Purdy said, incentivize biodiverse agriculture, which is more resilient to erratic weather — a hallmark of climate change — and makes healthier soil.
Fruits and vegetables
When it comes to produce, minimizing impact is less about choosing between foods and more about buying based on the way that food was grown.
Conventionally grown produce “very likely is using pesticides, fertilizer, and maybe more water because the soil isn’t healthy,” said Purdy.
Purdy said organic labels, such as Regenerative Organic Certified, indicate those foods had a smaller climate impact when they were grown. The tradeoff is that organic food has a lower yield, so it requires more land use and is often more expensive.
Local and “in season” foods also have a smaller climate impact, but not just for one of the reasons you may be thinking of: emissions from international shipping. Every day, thousands of large ships transport goods, including produce, around the world, and the fuel they use is heavily polluting.
However, “it’s mostly those local emissions on trucks that are actually impactful, not the international shipping emissions,” Springmann said.
Also, food grown nearby tends to be grown in a way that fits with the local climate and is less harmful to the environment.
“We’re not trying to grow oranges in some place in a greenhouse,” Purdy said.
Butter and oil
Plants win out over animals, again. Vegetable oils are less impactful than butter or lard. Springmann also said tropical oils are healthiest in moderation, such as those from coconuts or palms, because they have a higher fat content. Plus, palm oil is associated with deforestation.
As for nut butters, almonds might be a great option for limiting carbon emissions, but they require a lot of water. One study out of Tulane University found that a serving of peanuts has an emissions footprint similar to almonds but 30 percent less impact on water use.
Don’t waste food
Throwing less food away might sound obvious, but roughly a third of food grown in the US is wasted.
Meal planning, freezing leftovers and checking the fridge before heading to the grocery store all help cut waste.
“The climate impact, the embedded water use, all of the labor and different aspects that went into producing that food, that all gets wasted if we don’t eat it,” Nicole Tichenor Blackstone, a professor at the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University.
Hattan Alsaif returns for 2025 PFL MENA 2 in Riyadh

- Saudi amateur will face three-time Lebanese MMA champion Nour Al-Fliti
- Welterweight champion Omar El-Dafrawy to face Daniele Miceli in main event
RIYADH: The Professional Fighters League on Wednesday announced the full card for PFL MENA 2, to be held at Riyadh’s Green Halls arena on Friday, July 4.
In the main event, 2024 PFL MENA welterweight champion Omar “God First” El-Dafrawy (13-5-0) returns to the city of his title win to face 2024 PFL Europe welterweight finalist Daniele “The Cyborg” Miceli (13-6-0) in the SmartCage.
The co-main event features a welterweight clash between Kuwaiti Mohammad Alaqraa (7-1-0) and Palestinian Omar “187” Hussein (11-6-0). Alaqraa, a 2024 PFL MENA finalist and current division leader, is seeking redemption after suffering the first loss of his professional career in last year’s finals. Hussein, a former PFL Europe standout, is aiming to hand Alaqraa a second defeat and make a strong statement on the Middle Eastern MMA scene.
In a highly anticipated bantamweight quarterfinal bout, Algeria’s Mokthar “Le Kabyle” Benkaci (24-9-0) will face Lebanon’s Marcel Adur (19-7-0). Both fighters are known for their explosive striking and finishing power, making this a strong contender for the most thrilling bout of the night.
Local favorite Hattan Alsaif (AM 3-0-0) returns to the SmartCage for what is likely to be another exciting amateur showcase. The rising Saudi talent faces her toughest opponent yet in Nour Al-Fliti (AM 1-1-0), a three-time Lebanese MMA champion and IMMAF Asian Championship silver medalist.
Rounding out the card, Abdulaziz Bin Moammar (AM 1-0-0) will represent the Kingdom in a catchweight 160 pound showcase amateur bout against Egypt’s Hassan Ahmed (AM 3-1-0).