Sir David Attenborough sounds fresh call to save plant life with BBC production ‘The Green Planet’ TV series

Legendary English naturalist Sir David Attenborough’s five-part BBC series “The Green Planet” premiers in the Middle East on Jan. 10. (Supplied/BBC)
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Updated 05 January 2022
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Sir David Attenborough sounds fresh call to save plant life with BBC production ‘The Green Planet’ TV series

  • Legendary English naturalist’s five-part BBC series premiers in the Middle East on Jan. 10
  • “The Green Planet” series comes as many of the planet’s ecosystems stand on the brink of collapse

BOGOTA: Towering more than 250 feet above the forest floor, the sequoia trees of California are the biggest living things on the planet.

It is while standing at the foot of one of these 3,000-year-old giants that English broadcaster and natural historian Sir David Attenborough opens his new series, “The Green Planet,” which will be broadcast in the Middle East on BBC Earth on beIN from Jan. 10.

“Plants, whether they are enormous like this one or microscopic, are the basis of all life, including ourselves,” the 95-year-old broadcaster says in the opening minutes of the first episode, titled “Tropical.”

“We depend upon them for every mouthful of food that we eat and every lungful of air that we breathe,” he continues. “Plants flourish in remarkable ways. Yet, for the most part, the secrets of their world have been hidden from us. Until now.”

The five-part BBC production claims to offer a fresh look at the extraordinary world of plants. To do this, it is said to have used an array of pioneering technologies, from robotic rigs and drone cams to moving time-lapse photography, super-detailed thermal cameras, deep-focus macro frame-stacking, ultra-high-speed photography and the latest in microscopy.

The result is a series that transforms the seemingly static world of trees and plants into a dynamic journey through a parallel universe in which plants are as aggressive, competitive and dramatic as wild animals, locked in a life-or-death struggle for food, light and procreation.

 

 

One sequence in the opening episode features time-lapse footage of leafcutter ants demolishing the succulent leaves sprouting from a branch and carting them off to their underground lair, where a giant fungus waits to feast on the mulch. The ants are rewarded for their efforts by the fungus with a steady supply of tiny mushrooms.

The sequence depicting this strange symbiosis was filmed over a period of three weeks deep in the Costa Rican rainforest, where the camera operators wrestled their heavy equipment through dense jungle, braving bouts of torrential rain.




Sir David speaking during an event to launch the UN’s Climate Change conference, COP26, in central London in February 2020. (AFP/File Photo)

According to producers, the weather was not the only challenge they had to overcome. A team filming sequences in Borneo, for example, faced their share of adversity after accidentally disturbing a nest of Asian giant hornets, resulting in some nasty stings.

Later in the series, Sir David himself fell foul of an especially prickly cactus known as cholla. Even though he was wearing a Kevlar under-glove with a welding mitt on top, the plant’s dense rosette of spines was able to pierce the protection.

In another scene from episode one, viewers encounter a species of bat that, in a similar way to the ants and their friendly fungus, exists in perfect symbiosis with a night-blooming flower. It offers the small mammals exclusive dibs on its precious nectar in exchange for their services as pollinators-in-chief.

Viewers are also introduced to a rather repulsive-looking, meter-wide parasitic plant known as the corpse flower, which imitates both the appearance and stench of rotting meat — complete with fur and teeth — to attract pollinating flies.




Behind the scences. Camera operator Oliver Mueller uses a specially built robotic camera system, known as the Triffid, to film the corpse flower (Rafflesia keithii), Borneo. (Supplied/BBC)

Covering 27 countries and produced over a period of four years, “The Green Planet” claims to provide the first comprehensive look at the world of plants since Sir David’s previous series, “The Private Life of Plants,” was broadcast 26 years ago.

“In ‘Private Life of Plants’ we were stuck with all this very heavy, primitive equipment, but now we can take the cameras anywhere we like,” Sir David said in a recent interview.

“So you now have the ability to go into a real forest, you can see a plant growing with its neighbors, fighting its neighbors, or moving with its neighbors or dying. And that, in my view, is what brings the thing to life and which should make people say, ‘Good lord, these extraordinary organisms are just like us.’”

Over the course of the series, Sir David traveled to the US, Costa Rica, Croatia and northern Europe, from deserts to mountains, rainforests to the frozen north, to create a fresh understanding of how plants live their lives, experience the seasons and interact with the animal world — including humanity.




Behind the scences. Team doctor, Dr Patrick Avery, in a canopy tram in Costa Rica with Sir David and drone pilot Louis Rummer-Downing. Patrick has just launched a drone carrying a camera, which will film David’s journey through the canopy. (Supplied/BBC)

The timing of the broadcast of “The Green Planet” could not be more critical, coming as it does just as many of the world’s ecosystems appear close to collapse, with climate change, deforestation and pollution causing ever-more extreme weather events and the loss of precious biodiversity.

In the Middle East, for instance, where temperatures regularly top 40 C for several months of the year, experts warn that climate change could soon render parts of the region uninhabitable for humans.

In response to the looming challenge, Saudi Arabia and the UAE have launched renewable-energy initiatives, embracing green fuels such as wind, solar and hydrogen power. Both nations also participated enthusiastically in COP26, the UN Climate Change Conference, in Glasgow, Scotland, in November.

The previous month, Saudi Arabia launched its Saudi Green and Middle East Green initiatives, committing the Kingdom to reaching net-zero greenhouse-gas emissions by 2060, and to planting 10 billion trees over the coming decades, rehabilitating 8 million hectares of degraded land and establishing new protected areas.




Behind the scenes. Sir David standing amoungst Giant Sequoias,Sequoiadendron giganteum, the largest trees in the world. California, USA. (Supplied/BBC)

Sir David addressed world leaders during COP26 to press home the need to drastically reduce greenhouse-gas emissions and prevent increases in global temperatures exceeding 1.5 C above pre-industrial levels.

“Perhaps the fact that the people most affected by climate change are no longer some imaginary future generations but young people alive today … perhaps that will give us the impetus we need to rewrite our story, to turn this tragedy into a triumph,” he told delegates.

“Our burning of fossil fuels, our destruction of nature, our approach to industry, construction and learning are releasing carbon into the atmosphere at an unprecedented pace and scale. We are already in trouble. The stability we all depend on is breaking.”

Sir David ought to know. During a career spanning almost seven decades, in which he has presented some of the most memorable nature documentaries ever filmed, he has witnessed this progressive destruction firsthand.




Clockwise from bottom: Khasi family using a living root bridge. Meghalaya, India; Saguaro cactus (Carnegiea gigantea), Sonoran desert, Arizona. A mature saguaro can store 5000 litres of water; and Winter in the Boreal Forests of Finland. Spruce, Pine and Birch dominate this landscape. (Supplied/BBC)

In 1937, when he was 11 years old, the population of the world stood at 2.3 billion, and the amount of carbon in the atmosphere at 280 parts per million. Today there are almost 7.8 billion people on the planet and the level of carbon in the atmosphere stands at about 415 parts per million.

Sir David joined the BBC in 1952 as a trainee producer. While working on a series called “Zoo Quest,” between 1954 and 1964, he was given his first opportunity to visit remote corners of the globe and capture footage of wildlife in its natural habitats.

He left filmmaking behind in 1965 to become the controller of BBC2, during which time he helped to introduce color television to the UK, before serving as director of programs for BBC Television.

But in 1973 he decided to quit the administrative side of television and return to making documentaries.




Clockwise from L: A Giant Sequoia, Sequoiadendron giganteum, the largest trees on Earth; flowers of the ‘7-hour flower’, Merinthopodium neuranthom, are pollinated by Underwood's Long-tongued Bat (Hylonycteris underwoodi); and Giant Water Lily, Victoria species, in the Pantanal region of Brazil. (Supplied/BBC/Paul Williams)

He soon established himself as Britain’s best-known natural history programmer, presenting the “Life on Earth” in 1979 and “The Blue Planet” in 2001.

It is as a result of this lifetime of filmmaking, and of course his gentle and instantly recognizable narration, that Sir David now stands at the forefront of issues related to conservation and the planet’s declining species — and is considered a British national treasure.

“The world has suddenly become plant-conscious,” he said recently. “There has been a revolution worldwide in attitudes toward the natural world in my lifetime. An awakening and an awareness of how important the natural world is to us all. An awareness that we would starve without plants, we wouldn’t be able to breathe without plants.”

Sir David believes the COVID-19 pandemic, and the resultant lockdowns, encouraged people to pay closer attention to the plant life around them.

 




Sir David now stands at the forefront of issues related to conservation and the planet’s declining species — and is considered a British national treasure. (AFP/File Photos)

“I think that being shut up and confined to one’s garden, if one is lucky enough to have a garden — and if not, to having plants sitting on a shelf — has changed people’s perspective and an awareness of another world that exists to which we hardly ever pay attention,” he said.

So, what does he hope audiences will take from “The Green Planet”?

“That there is a parallel world on which we depend and which, up to now, we have largely ignored, if I speak on behalf of urbanized man,” he said.

“Over half the population of the world, according to the UN, are urbanized, live in cities, only see cultivated plants and never see a wild community of plants.

“But that wild community is there, outside urban circumstances normally, and we depend upon it. And we better jolly well care for it.”


US State Dept resumes processing Harvard student visas after judge’s ruling

Updated 6 sec ago
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US State Dept resumes processing Harvard student visas after judge’s ruling

  • Under that order granted to Harvard late on Thursday, US District Judge Allison Burroughs blocked Trump’s proclamation from taking effect pending further litigation of the matter

WASHINGTON: The US State Department directed all US missions abroad and consular sections to resume processing Harvard University student and exchange visitor visas after a federal judge in Boston last week temporarily blocked President Donald Trump’s ban on foreign students at the Ivy-League institution.
In a diplomatic cable sent on June 6 and signed by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the State Department cited parts of the judge’s decision, saying the fresh directive was “in accordance with” the temporary restraining order.
Under that order granted to Harvard late on Thursday, US District Judge Allison Burroughs blocked Trump’s proclamation from taking effect pending further litigation of the matter.
Trump had cited national security concerns as justification for barring international students from entering the United States to pursue studies at Harvard.
The Trump administration has launched a multi-pronged attack on the nation’s oldest and wealthiest university, freezing billions of dollars in grants and other funding and proposing to end its tax-exempt status, prompting a series of legal challenges.
Harvard argues the administration is retaliating against it for refusing to accede to demands to control the school’s governance, curriculum and the ideology of its faculty and students.
The State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In the cable, the State Department added that all other guidance regarding student visas remained in effect, including enhanced social media vetting and the requirement to review the applicants’ online presence.


Macron calls for release of Gaza activists as thousands demonstrate in French cities

Updated 25 min 59 sec ago
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Macron calls for release of Gaza activists as thousands demonstrate in French cities

  • Tens of thousands of people staged rallies after Israel stopped the boat, the Madleen, that was carrying 12 activists, including Greta Thunberg
  • In Switzerland, several hundred people blocked train stations in Geneva and Lausanne to protest Israel’s military operations in Gaza

NICE: French President Emmanuel Macron called on Israel to quickly free activists, including Greta Thunberg, on a boat that was seized Monday as it headed for Gaza in an operation that sparked angry protests in several European cities.
Tens of thousands of people staged rallies after Israel stopped the boat, the Madleen, that was carrying 12 activists.
In France, rallies in Paris and at least five other cities were called by left wing parties. Jean-Luc Melenchon, head of the France Unbowed (LFI) party, called the seizure of the Gaza boat by the Israeli military “international piracy.”
In Switzerland, several hundred people blocked train stations in Geneva and Lausanne to protest Israel’s military operations in Gaza, media reports said.
Some 300 protesters carrying Palestinian flags occupied two tracks at Geneva’s main station for about an hour, leading to delays and cancellations, the reports said. A similar protest was staged in nearby Lausanne, where police cleared the tracks.
Macron, meanwhile, urged the immediate liberation of French nationals among the 12 activists on the vessel.
Macron had “requested that the six French nationals be allowed to return to France as soon as possible,” his office said.
France was “vigilant” and “stands by all its nationals when they are in danger,” he added. The French government had also called on Israel to ensure the “protection” of the activists. Macron also called the humanitarian blockade of Gaza “a scandal” and a “disgrace.”
Israel’s foreign ministry said earlier that “all the passengers of the ‘selfie yacht’ are safe and unharmed,” and it expected the activists to return to their home countries.
Israel has virtually sealed off Gaza as part of its military operation in the Palestinian territory since the Hamas militant group’s attacks on Israel on October 7, 2023.


UAE-based comedian Shawn Chidiac brings Dubai ‘comedy gold’ to London audience

Updated 09 June 2025
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UAE-based comedian Shawn Chidiac brings Dubai ‘comedy gold’ to London audience

  • Standup comic’s ‘Laughing in Translation’ will feature a range of accents, personas from the multicultural Gulf city
  • ‘Comedy has been the most healing part of my life,’ Chidiac says ahead of 1st solo show of his career

LONDON: For those who want to experience the hustle and bustle of Dubai without actually booking a flight, Shawn Chidiac’s stand-up comedy show in London will offer an insight into the multicultural city that provides inspiration for his jokes and stage personas.

The UAE-based comedian will perform “Laughing in Translation” live at the Shaw Theatre in London on June 15. He told Arab News that storytelling and sharing experiences with the audience are at the heart of his stand-up comedy.

Chidiac began sharing his humorous content on Instagram with the handle “Laughing in Arabic,” aiming to introduce Western satire and wit to the Arab region, where it is often unfathomable. He later changed his username to the more personal @myparents_are_divorced, which has grown to more than 645,000 followers.

The comedian’s parents are, indeed, divorced, though some people question this when they meet him. He was born in Canada to a family originally from Lebanon, which he still visits a few times a year, and he appreciates the resilience it instilled in him, which saved him from ending up “in a ditch many times,” he said.

Chidiac grew up mainly in Dubai with his mother, who at times worked two jobs and started her own business to make ends meet. In this “City of Gold” on the Arabian Gulf, home to 3.65 million people representing over 200 nationalities and speaking 150 different languages, Chidiac sharpened his wit, picked up various accents, and drew inspiration from stories from all walks of life.

Comedy has been the most healing part of my life so far and will continue to heal me in many different ways

Shawn Chidiac

The stand-up comedian tells astonishing stories about life in Dubai. His comedy is inspired by his experiences interacting with people, while his goal is to connect with audiences through shared similarities, or to educate them about his family upbringing, culture, and history.

“The inspiration comes from the people I know and see, and the things I do, and my interaction with them. So, the more interaction I have, the better it is, which is hard because I’m a massive introvert,” he told Arab News in a video call from Dubai.

His upbringing was mainly Arab, but also blends various cultures, mainly from Southeast Asia, as well as European and African countries. He discovered his talent for adopting different personas and accents at a young age when his mother heard him speaking with an Indian-English accent and asked him to perform it for her friends.

The closest he lived to Europe was Sharjah, an emirate just 10 minutes from Dubai, he said. In addition to working in a software company in the UAE, Chidiac also worked for two months in Amsterdam. In 2023, he decided to quit his 9-5 job and become a full-time content creator and stand-up comedian.

Last summer, he performed for the first time in London at Cadogan Hall alongside a group of stand-up comedians, and he recently had two performances at Dubai Opera and in Bahrain.

Shawn Chidiac performing during a show at Dubai Opera, May 2, 2025. (Courtesy: S&S)

In mid-June, he will visit London for the second time to perform his first solo show. The audience can expect to see and hear various Dubai characters and their distinct accents, such as an Egyptian salesman in a supermarket, a caring Indian father with his son, a Filipino flight attendant ensuring that seat belts are fastened, and possibly a Persian prince wearing a golden necklace secured by a golden lock.

“I’m connecting as many people as possible through (comedy stories about) my upbringing. Whoever has lived in the Gulf will have a similar story or narrative in their minds… The London audience will be experiencing it live, but in their own way and through their own lenses,” Chidiac said.

He said that UK audiences are spoiled for choice when it comes to stand-up comedy shows, and their “palate” is different from those in Dubai, where most of his audience are first-timers. Nevertheless, he said that it matters to him that they find his show “funny, whether they’re black, white, Asian, or Arab.”

I’m connecting as many people as possible through (comedy stories about) my upbringing. Whoever has lived in the Gulf will have a similar story or narrative in their minds

Shawn Chidiac

Dubai is a popular destination for British expats, with an estimated 240,000 living there and many more visiting the city or using it as a transfer hub. Chidiac is working on his British accents, including one similar to the documentary-maker David Attenborough’s and a thick Cockney version from London’s East End.

In Dubai, he operates “Comedy Kitchen,” a community project that hosts open-mic nights to support other stand-up comedians, and he plans to launch a school to train and teach media skills.

Chidiac said that being a full-time content creator and comedian during the past two years “had its ups and downs.” Still, this has provided him with a solid platform on which to thrive and give back to his family.

“It’s a very scary place to call home, but it has changed my life for the better for sure. I never, never look back with any regrets at all.

“Comedy has been the most healing part of my life so far and will continue to heal me in many different ways,” he said.

Laughing in Translation by Shawn Chidiac at the Shaw Theatre, London; 8pm, Sunday 15 June 2025


NATO chief calls for ‘quantum leap’ in defense and says Russia could attack in 5 years

Updated 09 June 2025
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NATO chief calls for ‘quantum leap’ in defense and says Russia could attack in 5 years

  • Rutte said Russia is outpacing the far bigger NATO in producing ammunition

LONDON: NATO members need to increase their air and missile defenses by 400 percent to counter the threat from Russia, the head of the military alliance said Monday, warning that Moscow could be ready to attack it within five years.

Secretary-General Mark Rutte said during a visit to London that he expects the 32 NATO members to agree to a big hike in military spending at a summit in the Netherlands this month.

Speaking at the Chatham House think tank, Rutte said Russia is outpacing the far bigger NATO in producing ammunition, and the alliance must take a “quantum leap” in collective defense.

“Wishful thinking will not keep us safe,” Rutte said. “We cannot dream away the danger. Hope is not a strategy. So NATO has to become a stronger, fairer and more lethal alliance.”

Rutte has proposed a target of 3.5 percent of economic output on military spending and another 1.5 percent on “defense-related expenditure” such as roads, bridges, airfields and sea ports. He said he is confident the alliance will agree to the target at its summit in The Hague on June 24-25.

At the moment, 22 of the 32 members meet or exceed NATO’s current 2 percent target, which was set in 2014. Rutte said he expects all to reach 2 percent by the end of this year.

The new target would meet a demand by US President Donald Trump that member states spend 5 percent of gross domestic product on defense. Trump has long questioned the value of NATO and complained that the US provides security to European countries that don’t contribute enough.

Rutte said he agreed that “America has carried too much of the burden for too long.”

Rutte said NATO needs thousands more armored vehicles and millions more artillery shells, as well as a 400 percent increase in air and missile defense.

“We see in Ukraine how Russia delivers terror from above, so we will strengthen the shield that protects our skies,” he said.

“Russia could be ready to use military force against NATO within five years,” Rutte added. “We are all on the eastern flank now.”

Rutte also held talks Monday with Prime Minister Keir Starmer and praised the UK’s commitment to increase defense spending as “very good stuff.” Starmer has pledged to boost military spending to 2.5 percent of gross domestic product by 2027 and to 3 percent by 2034.

Like other NATO members, the UK has been reassessing its defense spending since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

European NATO members, led by the UK and France, have scrambled to coordinate their defense posture as Trump transforms American foreign policy, seemingly sidelining Europe as he looks to end the war in Ukraine.

Last week the UK government said it would build new nuclear-powered attack submarines, prepare its army to fight a war in Europe and become “a battle-ready, armor-clad nation.” The plans represent the most sweeping changes to British defenses since the collapse of the Soviet Union more than three decades ago.


UK think tank calls for national strategy to tackle anti-Muslim hatred, rebuild social cohesion

Updated 09 June 2025
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UK think tank calls for national strategy to tackle anti-Muslim hatred, rebuild social cohesion

  • Polling by Savanta/ComRes showed majority of Britons hold either neutral or positive views toward Muslims
  • Equi argued that this provided a foundation for progress for building societal trust

LONDON: A new report from the think tank Equi released Monday has urged the UK government to adopt a coordinated national strategy to address anti-Muslim hatred, while warning that social division is harming trust in institutions and threatening the country’s cohesion.

Released as British Muslims marked Eid Al-Adha, the report highlighted growing levels of anti-Muslim narratives and attacks, but also pointed to polling by Savanta/ComRes that showed that the majority of Britons hold either neutral or positive views toward Muslims.

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Equi argued that this provided a foundation for progress, and said that building trust, inclusion and civic resilience must be treated as a national priority.

“Britain’s diverse and welcoming cultural identity is one of its greatest strengths. But we cannot leave social cohesion to chance,” said Prof. Javed Khan, managing director of Equi.

“Failing to address social division is not only unjust but fiscally draining, at a time when resources are scarce,” he added.

The report identified anti-Muslim hatred as a key barrier to intercommunity trust, particularly in the aftermath of flashpoints such as the 2024 summer riots.

It estimated the cost of anti-Muslim hatred last year at a minimum of £243 million ($328.9 million), including expenses linked to policing, imprisonment, and insurance claims.

The report also pointed to alienating government policies, such as Prevent, and rising misinformation as major factors eroding social trust.

Many British Muslims, it noted, feel disproportionately scrutinized and disconnected from wider society.

Among its recommendations, Equi called for a strategic program of public awareness campaigns to counter misinformation and stereotypes, combined with cross-government engagement with local authorities, faith groups and civil society organizations to help rebuild trust.

It also advocated for increased investment in youth and community initiatives that promoted shared experiences and inclusive participation as a means of strengthening intercommunity ties.

“Knowing most Britons are not getting sucked into divisive language that can destroy community relations should give us great hope. The government should use its unique platform to articulate a unifying vision for the nation; one that focuses not on responding to division, but on championing shared values like respect, equality and liberty,” Khan said.

“As Britain’s 4 million Muslims celebrated Eid, this report provides a timely and urgent reminder that with clear focus and leadership, a stronger, peaceful and cohesive UK is within reach.”