JEDDAH: More than 90 academics and experts in environmental sciences and biodiversity conservation from 10 countries participated in the first International Symposium for the Conservation of Sea Turtles in the Red Sea.
The Saudi Press Agency reported on Wednesday that the symposium, which ran from Nov. 3-6 in Jeddah and titled “Moving toward the future … enhancing the protection of sea turtles in the Red Sea through science, cooperation and innovation.” was organized by the General Organization for the Conservation of Coral Reefs and Turtles in the Red Sea (Shams).
The first-of-its-kind symposium is an important step toward cooperation between the Red Sea countries and international experts in facing environmental challenges, because it reflects an urgent regional and global desire to enhance environmental sustainability and develop effective strategies to protect sea turtles in the Red Sea, in line with international environmental obligations and preserving the natural heritage of the Kingdom.
During the four-day event, participants reviewed the latest research and discussed important issues related to the status of sea turtles in the region, as well as means to find innovative solutions to the challenges they face, through lectures, presentations and interactive workgroups.
Seven of the most prominent international speakers gave keynote speeches, during which they presented their experiences and research expertise on protecting sea turtles and made recommendations aimed at enhancing the sustainability of this vital species in its natural environment.
The conference staged 31 presentations and four workgroups that addressed various topics, including assessing the strengths and weaknesses of efforts to protect sea turtles in the Red Sea, and identifying activities and procedures that contribute to developing a comprehensive action plan for the Red Sea.
In addition, the workshops during the symposium highlighted the importance of developing an integrated strategy to protect sea turtles in their breeding sites, especially in the Ras Baridi area, which faces critical environmental challenges.
Among the conference’s main priorities and outcomes, the development of a regional action plan for the conservation of sea turtles was discussed, in addition to bilateral initiatives between the Red Sea countries to rehabilitate beaches designated for turtle nesting and provide strategic support for future development plans.
It was also agreed to strengthen partnerships with universities to provide international supervision for Saudi students, and to establish local partnerships aimed at preserving important natural environments for turtles, especially in the Four Sisters islands, which were recently discovered by the Shams team and designated as a special area requiring environmental management to protect them.
Specialists participate in international conference in Jeddah over the conservation of Red Sea turtles
https://arab.news/8us69
Specialists participate in international conference in Jeddah over the conservation of Red Sea turtles
- First-of-its-kind symposium an important step toward cooperation between Red Sea countries and international experts in facing environmental challenges
- Participants reviewed the latest research and discussed issues related to the status of sea turtles in the region
Saudi man arrested for $131m bank fraud
- Oversight and Anti-Corruption Authority announce new cases
- Includes arrests for tobacco smuggling, roadworks scam
RIYADH: A Saudi man has been arrested for illegally obtaining SR493 million ($131 million) of bank financing.
The Oversight and Anti-Corruption Authority (Nazaha) worked with the Presidency of State Security and the Saudi Central Bank to arrest Khalid Ibrahim Al-Jraiwi.
He was arrested for “working with a bank employee in deceiving the banking regulations and obtaining an illegal bank financing of SR493 million,” Nazaha said on X.
It was one of a number of criminal cases announced on Wednesday by the authority, with legal proceedings underway.
Al-Jraiwi submitting a financing request containing false property deeds and fake contracts indicating investments in those properties by government entities.
The bank employee connected to Al-Jraiwi accepted the request and sent an email to the relevant departments at the bank confirming that the documents were valid. After receiving the financing, Al-Jraiwi transferred SR100 million abroad to purchase properties, registered under the names of his relatives.
Three men from the General Directorate of Passports were also arrested for facilitating the illegal entry and exit of Al-Jraiwi in exchange for money. The accused individuals admitted the charges and have been referred to court for prosecution.
In another case, Nazaha officials cooperated with the Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority to arrest Saudi man Mohammed Ghazi Mohammed Al-Sayed and two Yemeni residents, Abdulmalik Ahmed Qaid and Abdullah Abdu Qasim, for smuggling a container of cigarettes from Jeddah Islamic Port.
The men were “caught in the act” of paying SR1.5 million to smuggle the container without paying a SR7.2 million tariff, by claiming that the cigarettes were paper tissues.
Investigations into the case are continuing ahead of the appearance of the accused in court.
The Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority also helped Nazaha arrest Sudanese man Osman Mohammed Naeem Abdulrahman for using a car and SR20,000 to pay for smuggling four tons of tobacco from Jeddah Islamic Port.
In another case, Al-Jouf Municipality official Khalaf Saleh Marzouq Al-Khaldi was arrested for receiving SR8 million from Yemeni resident Mohammed Ali Omar Al-Saqaf to issue invoices worth more than SR17.6 million for roadworks projects in the region that were not executed.
Saudi stories pique audience interest, says Bloomberg Media MD
- Visiting the Athar Festival of Creativity in Riyadh, Amit Nayak told Arab News: “We’ve seen a real appetite from our global audiences for content from here”
RIYADH: Stories and articles about Saudi Arabia and the region are among the most widely read by audiences, according to Bloomberg Media’s managing director in the Middle East and Africa.
Visiting the Athar Festival of Creativity in Riyadh, Amit Nayak told Arab News: “We’ve seen a real appetite from our global audiences for content from here.”
He said that with such a large and diverse team based in the Middle East, Bloomberg Media was able to bring local insights and perspectives to provide content based on what audiences wanted.
“We remain focused on deeply understanding our Middle Eastern audience, fostering direct relationships, and delivering trusted news and insights tailored to their needs,” he said.
“We work with leading entities across the region, such as Saudi Tourism Authority and Red Sea Global, using custom content across different platforms to help tell their stories to regional and global audiences.”
The use of smart technology has been big part of Bloomberg’s strategy for over a decade, with The Bulletin being a predominant feature on the app. Launched by Bloomberg’s Media Innovation Lab in 2018, it provides single-sentence summaries of the top three stories.
“We leverage first-party subscriber data through our AI-powered Audience Accelerator platform,” added Nayak. “This allows us to precisely target key demographics to inform machine learning models that predict the population of users on the site, enhancing campaign performance and building brand credibility.”
In 2022, Bloomberg Media Studios opened a regional studio in Dubai and earlier this year launched “Bloomberg Horizons: Middle East & Africa,” a flagship morning program.
Bloomberg News also launched the Mideast Money newsletter, which focuses on “the intersection of wealth and power, and the impact of regional sovereign investors and dealmakers in global finance.”
Evolving as a commercial team that, 10 years ago, predominantly sold advertising, Nayak said that as clients became more sophisticated and keener to reach global audiences, Bloomberg Middle East was fostering internal talent to better collaborate with them.
“We were well placed because we have invested heavily in our teams on the ground here — whether that’s expanding sales, building a client marketing team, or hosting events on the ground in the region,” he said.
Saudi national guard minister holds talks with South Korean president in Seoul
- Meeting takes place during official visit by Prince Abdullah bin Bandar to attend a military parade
SEOUL: Prince Abdullah bin Bandar bin Abdulaziz, Saudi Arabia’s minister of national guard, held talks on Wednesday with President Yoon Suk Yeol of South Korea in Seoul, during which they discussed bilateral relations and ways in which ties between their countries might be enhanced.
It came during a visit by the prince to attend a Korean Ministry of National Defense military parade, the Saudi Press Agency reported.
Prince Abdullah conveyed greetings from King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, and their best wishes for the continued progress and prosperity of the president and people of South Korea. The president passed on his own greetings and message of appreciation to the king and crown prince.
Saudi crown prince receives medical team that performed world’s first fully robotic heart transplant
Saudi crown prince receives medical team that performed world’s first fully robotic heart transplant
- The crown prince congratulated the medical team and the leadership of the hospital on the historic achievement
- Saudi medical team successfully performed world’s first fully robotic heart transplant in September 2024
RIYADH: Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Wednesday received the Saudi medical team that successfully performed the world’s first fully robotic heart transplant.
The transplant was performed at Riyadh’s King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre in September on a 16-year-old patient suffering from end-stage heart failure.
The crown prince congratulated the medical team and the leadership of the hospital on the historic achievement, praising the efforts of Saudi personnel and their ability to innovate and achieve a global precedent in the medical field.
Members of the medical team thanked Prince Mohammed for his support, while the head of the medical team, Saudi cardiac surgeon Dr. Feras Khaliel, said the reception is an incentive for the team to do more to serve humanity and the Kingdom.
Saudi Arabia leads Arab world in congratulating Trump
- King Salman wishes Trump and Americans ‘progress and prosperity’
- Leaders of Jordan and Egypt urge Trump to help bring peace
RIYADH: Arab leaders congratulated Donald Trump on Wednesday after his comprehensive victory in the US presidential election.
Saudi Arabia’s King Salman sent a cable of congratulations to Trump, wishing him success and the “American people further progress and prosperity.”
The king praised the strong historical ties between the two nations, “emphasizing the shared desire to further strengthen these bonds in all areas.”
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman also sent a cable to congratulate Trump. In a phone call later on Wednesday, the crown prince expressed the Kingdom’s aspiration to strengthen Saudi-US relations. He wished the American people progress and prosperity under Trump’s leadership.
The Republican made Saudi Arabia his first foreign visit after he took office for his first term as president in 2017. The visit underlined the importance of the historic US-Saudi partnership and cemented relations with Gulf allies.
Those countries congratulated Trump after he declared victory in a sweeping election win over Democrat Kamala Harris.
UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan offered “sincere congratulations to Trump and his running mate JD Vance.”
Skeikh Mohamed added: “The UAE and US are united by our enduring partnership based on shared ambitions for progress.
“The UAE looks forward to continuing to work with our partners in the US towards a future of opportunity, prosperity and stability for all.”
During Trump’s first term, his administration brokered the 2020 Abraham Accords deal under which Israel opened full relations with the UAE and a number of other Arab countries.
However, the devastating war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza and its expansion into Lebanon has drawn widespread condemnation of Israel from regional leaders and dominated foreign policy discussion throughout the election campaign, with Trump promising to bring fighting to an end.
Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi said he hoped Trump’s return to the White House would help bring peace to the Middle East.
“I wish him all the success and I look forward to reaching peace together, upholding regional stability and strengthening the strategic partnership between Egypt and the United States,” El-Sisi said.
Jordan’s King Abdullah II also invoked the need for the next US president to work toward peace.
“Warmest congratulations to President Donald Trump on winning the US presidential election,” he said. “Looking forward to working with you again to bolster Jordan’s longstanding partnership with the United States, in service of regional and global peace and stability for all.”
Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, the emir of Qatar, which is a key mediator in the Gaza conflict and hosts the largest US military base in the Middle East, said he looked forward to “working together again in promoting security and stability both in the region and globally.”
