Saudi Cabinet expresses support for Yemenis’ efforts against Houthis

King Salman meets with former US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in Riyadh on Tuesday. The former US official also met Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. They discussed a number of issues of common interest. (SPA)
Updated 06 December 2017
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Saudi Cabinet expresses support for Yemenis’ efforts against Houthis

RIYADH: The Saudi Cabinet has expressed hope that the uprising of Yemenis against the Iranian-backed Houthi militias will save the country from death threats, exclusion, bombings and seizure of properties.

Chaired by King Salman at Al-Yamamah Palace in Riyadh on Tuesday, the Cabinet welcomed a statement from the Arab coalition supporting legitimacy in Yemen.
The Cabinet also welcomed the statement issued by the international conference in London on the Yemen crisis and its full support for the Kingdom’s legitimate right to defend itself against threats to its security and stability. It also praised the statement, which condemned Houthi action saying that the launching of ballistic missiles at the Kingdom constitutes a threat to regional security and prolongs the conflict, and for its call for an end to such attacks.
The Cabinet renewed the Kingdom’s keenness over Yemen’s stability, its return to its Arab environment and preservation of its land, security, identity, integrity and social unity in the framework of Arab regional and global security.
On terror issues, the Cabinet expressed the Kingdom’s strong condemnation of a terror attack on a university college in Peshawar, Pakistan, and expressed the Kingdom’s support for Pakistan against terrorism and extremism.
Later, a series of memorandums of understanding for cooperation in political consultation, labor, logistics and infrastructure with Georgia, Turkmenistan, Russia, the People’s Republic of China and the UAE were approved by the Cabinet.

Board meeting
The king also chaired the 48th meeting of the Board of Directors of the King Abdulaziz Foundation for Research and Archives.
The board finalized a number of decisions concerning the working of the organization including the regulations of the National Center for Saudi Ardah in accordance with the King Abdulaziz Foundation.
The board also endorsed a memorandum of cooperation between the King Abdulaziz Foundation and Naif Arab University for Security Sciences in order to benefit from the latter’s expertise and knowledge.
The board was also briefed on a cultural project, run by the foundation under the directives of King Salman as an initiative aiming at linking young people to the history of the Kingdom as well as of the Arab Islamic history.
The board also approved other routine issues.

 

Saudi reserve records critically endangered Ruppel’s vulture

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Saudi reserve records critically endangered Ruppel’s vulture

RIYADH: King Abdulaziz Royal Reserve Development Authority has announced the sighting and documentation of a Ruppel’s vulture (Gyps rueppellii) within the boundaries of the reserve — a landmark environmental and historical event.

This is the third officially documented record of the species at national level and the first of its kind in the central and eastern regions of the Kingdom, the Saudi Press Agency reported.

The sighting carries global significance given the conservation status of the vulture, which is classified as critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, following the loss of more than 90 percent of its population throughout its original range in Africa over the past three decades.

The appearance of this rare bird in King Abdulaziz Royal Reserve adds a new entry to the limited record of its sightings in the Kingdom, which began in Aseer region in 1985, followed by a sighting in 2018, and another in AlUla in September 2025. 

Its latest recording in central and eastern Saudi Arabia is considered an important environmental indicator of the quality of natural habitats provided by the reserve.

Globally, Ruppel’s vulture faces major threats, including poisoning from pesticides, electrocution, collisions with power lines, and the loss of nesting sites as a result of urban expansion and land-use change. 

Additional challenges include the decline of carrion resulting from changes in livestock-rearing practices, illegal hunting for use in traditional beliefs, and the adverse effects of climate change on its breeding areas and migratory routes.

The vulture is primarily found in the African Sahel and is considered extremely rare in the Arabian Peninsula. Its sighting in King Abdulaziz Royal Reserve underscores the Kingdom’s leading role in conserving biodiversity and supporting the objectives of Saudi Vision 2030 for protecting ecosystems.

It also reflects the success of the authority’s efforts to protect wildlife and restore ecosystems, positioning the reserve as a safe and attractive habitat for rare and native species.