Riyadh prepares to host special meeting of World Economic Forum
Heads of state and senior executives from the public, private sectors are expected to be among the participants
The aim of the meeting is to find solutions to a host of global humanitarian, climate and economic challenges
Updated 23 April 2024
Arab News
RIYADH: Final preparations are taking place this week in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, for a special meeting of the World Economic Forum in the city on April 28 and 29.
Heads of state and senior executives from the public and private sectors are expected to be among the participants, who will discuss a range of global economic issues and developments under the theme “Global Collaboration, Growth and Energy for Development.”
The aim of the meeting is to find solutions to a host of global challenges relating to humanitarian issues, the climate and the economy. On the sidelines of the main event, the Kingdom will host exhibitions and other events to highlight the latest developments and trends in areas such as sustainability, innovation and culture.
The selection of Riyadh as host of the special meeting reflects the extensive partnership between Saudi Arabia and the WEF, officials said.
It builds upon the Kingdom’s active participation and contributions to the WEF’s Annual Meetings in Davos.
The agenda is designed to rekindle the spirit of cooperation and collaboration with various panel discussions, workshops, and networking opportunities. It represents a significant gathering of global leaders and experts dedicated to forging a path toward a more resilient, sustainable, and equitable world.
Trump freezes US-funded media outlets including Voice of America
VOA director Michael Abramowitz says he was among 1,300 staffers placed on leave this week
US media outlets were seen as critical to countering Russian, Chinese information offensives
Updated 7 min 43 sec ago
AFP
WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump’s administration on Saturday put journalists at Voice of America and other US-funded broadcasters on leave, abruptly freezing decades-old outlets long seen as critical to countering Russian and Chinese information offensives.
Hundreds of staffers at VOA, Radio Free Asia, Radio Free Europe and other outlets received a weekend email saying they will be barred from their offices and should surrender press passes and office-issued equipment.
Trump, who has already eviscerated the US global aid agency and the Education Department, on Friday issued an executive order listing the US Agency for Global Media as among “elements of the federal bureaucracy that the president has determined are unnecessary.”
Kari Lake, a firebrand Trump supporter put in charge of the media agency after she lost a US Senate bid, said in an email to the outlets that federal grant money “no longer effectuates agency priorities.”
The White House said the cuts would ensure “taxpayers are no longer on the hook for radical propaganda,” marking a dramatic tone shift toward the networks established to extend US influence overseas.
White House press official Harrison Fields wrote “goodbye” on X in 20 languages, a jab at the outlets’ multilingual coverage.
VOA director Michael Abramowitz said he was among 1,300 staffers placed on leave Saturday.
“VOA needs thoughtful reform, and we have made progress in that regard. But today’s action will leave Voice of America unable to carry out its vital mission,” he said on Facebook, noting that its coverage — in 48 languages — reaches 360 million people each week.
The head of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, which started broadcasting into the Soviet bloc during the Cold War, called the cancelation of funding “a massive gift to America’s enemies.”
“The Iranian ayatollahs, Chinese communist leaders, and autocrats in Moscow and Minsk would celebrate the demise of RFE/RL after 75 years,” its president, Stephen Capus, said in a statement.
US-funded media have reoriented themselves since the end of the Cold War, dropping much of the programming geared toward newly democratic Central and Eastern European countries and focusing on Russia and China.
Chinese state-funded media have expanded their reach sharply over the past decade, including by offering free services to outlets in the developing world that would otherwise pay for Western news agencies.
Radio Free Asia, established in 1996, sees its mission as providing uncensored reporting into countries without free media including China, Myanmar, North Korea and Vietnam.
The outlets have an editorial firewall, with a stated guarantee of independence despite government funding.
The policy has angered some around Trump, who has long railed against media and suggested that government-funded outlets should promote his policies.
The move to end US-funded media is likely to meet challenges, much like Trump’s other sweeping cuts. Congress, not the president, has the constitutional power of the purse and Radio Free Asia in particular has enjoyed bipartisan support in the past.
Advocacy group Reporters Without Borders condemned the decision, saying it “threatens press freedom worldwide and negates 80 years of American history in supporting the free flow of information.”
Gregory Meeks, the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and senior Democratic congresswoman Lois Frankel said in a joint statement that Trump’s move would “cause lasting damage to US efforts to counter propaganda around the world.”
One VOA employee, who requested anonymity, described Saturday’s message as another “perfect example of the chaos and unprepared nature of the process,” with VOA staffers presuming that scheduled programming is off but not told so directly.
A Radio Free Asia employee said: “It’s not just about losing your income. We have staff and contractors who fear for their safety. We have reporters who work under the radar in authoritarian countries in Asia. We have staff in the US who fear deportation if their work visa is no longer valid.”
“Wiping us out with the strike of a pen is just terrible.”
QUETTA: One cop was killed while five others were injured on Saturday after an improvised explosive device (IED) blast targeted an Anti-Terrorism Force (ATF) vehicle in southwestern Pakistan, a police official said.
The attack took place at the Western Bypass area of Quetta, the provincial capital of Pakistan’s restive southwestern Balochistan province. An ATF patrolling vehicle was targeted with a remote-controlled IED fitted inside a cement block, the station house officer (SHO) of Brewery Road Police Station, Mehmood Kharoti, told Arab News.
The ATF operates under the Balochistan Police and is a specialized unit responsible for countering “terrorism” and organized crime.
“One ATF [cop] Dilbar Khan was killed on the spot and five others were injured in the attack,” Kharoti said.
The police officer said the injured were shifted to a nearby hospital for treatment.
“According to the Bomb Disposal report, two kilograms of explosives were used in the attack,” he added.
No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack but suspicion is likely to fall on the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), the most prominent ethnic Baloch separatist outfit operating in the province.
The blast takes place days after BLA militants stormed the Jaffar Express train on Tuesday in a remote mountain pass in Balochistan after blowing up train tracks. The militants held over 400 passengers hostage in a day-long standoff before the military rescued them.
Pakistan security forces killed 33 insurgents, rescued 354 hostages and brought the siege to a close on Wednesday, according to army spokesperson Lt. Gen. Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry. A final count showed 23 soldiers, three railway employees and five passengers had died in the attack.
Balochistan, Pakistan’s biggest in terms of landmass, has long been the site of a low-level insurgency, with separatist groups accusing the government of exploiting the province’s natural resources while leaving its people in poverty.
Government officials deny the allegation and say they are developing the province through multibillion-dollar projects, including those backed by China.
Ramadan on patrol: Pakistani policeman balances duty with devotion in Islamabad
Constable Malik Muhammad Ikram says iftar hour is particularly ‘unpredictable’ as they are often caught up in patrolling, chasing suspects or responding to emergencies
The 47-year-old, who always wanted to contribute to the society’s betterment, says iftar and suhoor are secondary and duty comes first, for which the government pays them
ISLAMABAD: As the daylight fades and residents sit together to break their fast amid a call for Maghreb prayer in the Pakistani capital of Islamabad, the call for duty rings louder for Constable Malik Muhammad Ikram than the call to iftar, compelling him to break his fast with a date and water.
The 47-year-old, who has been serving in the Islamabad police for 18 years and is currently part of their Dolphin patrolling squad, says he is proud of efficiently discharging his duty, which takes on a different meaning in Ramadan that not only tests his endurance but also his devotion to faith.
Ikram’s duty schedule remains the same in Ramadan as any other day of the year, with an eight-hour shift varying between 7am-3pm, 3pm-11pm or 11pm-7am. But the fatigue feels different while fasting, he says.
“Indeed, performing our duties during Ramadan feels different,” he told Arab News while on duty in Islamabad’s G-6 sector within the remits of the Aabpara police station.
“Nonetheless, it is our responsibility and our profession. We can choose to work with a positive attitude or do it out of obligation, so we try to do it happily.”
Islamabad police constable, Malik Muhammad Ikram, stands guard during the holy month of Ramadan in Islamabad, Pakistan, on March 14, 2025. (AN photo)
The capital city police department doesn’t provide any formal iftar or sehri meals but offers whatever it can to on-duty staff, according to Ikram. The policemen manage to have quick sehri meals before heading out for duty on most days, and if not, they swing by a government mess or food stalls at the nearby G6 market to munch something quickly.
Ikram, who leads a team of three other cops, says the iftar hour is particularly “unpredictable” as they often break their fast with dates, water and fruit while being caught up in patrolling, chasing suspects or responding to emergency calls.
“If we’re on duty during iftar, we have to manage on our own,” he said. “If there’s a station nearby, we go there but there are times, when the Azaan is being called and we’re going for some task.”
Ikram recalls how he received an emergency call from the police control room about an accident near Zero Point just when he was about to break his fast this month and had to rush to the site to respond to the situation.
“If we are having iftar and we get a call regarding an emergency case or an accident, we have to leave everything and respond to the call,” he explained. “We also need to report our response time to the control room, letting them know how long it took us to respond after receiving the call.”
He said he was able to save a young man’s life following that call from the police control room.
“I felt really happy from the bottom of my heart,” he said, reminiscing the moments like this that remind him why he had joined the police force. “The life of the man was saved due to timely treatment.”
A police officer stands guard during the holy month of Ramadan in Islamabad, Pakistan, on March 14, 2025. (AN photo)
For a policeman, being patient is part of the job, particularly in Ramadan, as fatigue and hunger could flare up tempers that hampers their duty, according to the 47-year-old.
“We have to tolerate our anger because it’s the public,” he said. “Our profession and nature of duties are such that anger cannot work here and we have to be patient.”
Recalling another incident, he said they were stationed near a traffic signal in the G6 sector when his team signaled two youths riding a bike to stop, but they sped up and were eventually stopped after a long chase.
“We verified and found out that their bike was stolen. That’s why they tried to flee,” he said, highlighting that his team calmly handled the situation even though it could have turned tense.
Ikram says he is often assigned to the Red Zone, a high-security area housing key government buildings, embassies and key institutions, where the shift runs up to 16 hours even during Ramadan, but he accepts it as part of his calling.
The 47-year-old, whose other family members have also served in police, says he always wanted to contribute to the society’s betterment, which was the reason he joined the force.
“If there is an emergency during Ramadan, duty comes first,” he said. “I took up this profession because firstly, it’s all about Rizq (livelihood) — Allah had written our Rizq in this profession. Secondly, it was my personal choice to join the Islamabad police.”
Looking back at his years of service, Ikram says he finds fulfillment in small yet powerful moments.
“Iftar and suhoor are secondary. Duty is our responsibility, and the government pays us for it. So, duty always comes first,” he said as he picked up his radio and moved on with the routine patrol while fasting with an unwavering faith.
New Zealand romp to nine-wicket win in first Pakistan T20
Pakistan began New Zealand tour in poor fashion, managing only 91 runs after batting first
New Zealand opener Tim Seifert got Kiwis off to a flying start, scoring fiery 44 off 29 balls
Updated 16 March 2025
AFP
Christchurch, New Zealand: Pakistan slumped to a nine-wicket loss in the first Twenty20 against New Zealand in Christchurch on Sunday after failing to defend a meagre score of 91.
The tourists began the five-match series in disastrous fashion, reduced to 11-4 at the end of the fifth over after towering paceman Kyle Jamieson ran amok with the new ball.
They were eventually dismissed for their lowest score in a T20 on New Zealand soil and the home side had few problems in responding with 92-1 off just 10.1 overs.
Jamieson claimed three of the first four wickets to finish with 3-8 off four overs.
New ball partner Jacob Duffy returned later in the innings to sweep up the tail and, like Jamieson, claimed career-best T20 figures of 4-14 off 3.4 overs.
Pakistan never recovered from their top-order collapse after being sent in on a Hagley Oval pitch offering early life, with only three players reaching double figures.
Newly-installed captain Salman Agha scored 18 and put on 46 for the fifth wicket with top-scorer Khushdil Shah, who struck three sixes in his 32 off 30 balls.
Jahandad Khan scored 17 at a run-a-ball before the innings ended with eight balls still to be bowled.
Pakistan’s previous lowest T20 score in New Zealand was 101 all out in a 95-run loss in Wellington in 2016.
Opener Tim Seifert got New Zealand off to a flying start, with 44 off 29 balls, striking seven fours and one six.
Finn Allen on 29 and Tim Robinson on 18 completed the chase off the first ball of the 11th over.
The second match is in Dunedin on Tuesday.
Trump launches large-scale strikes on Yemen’s Houthis, at least 24 killed
US president warns Iran, Houthis’ main backer, against supporting armed group
Development takes place as Washington ramps up sanctions pressure on Tehran
Updated 16 March 2025
Reuters
WASHINGTON/ADEN: US President Donald Trump launched large-scale military strikes against Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis on Saturday over the group’s attacks against Red Sea shipping, killing at least 24 people at the start of a campaign expected to last many days.
Trump also warned Iran, the Houthis’ main backer, that it needed to immediately halt support for the group. He said if Iran threatened the United States, “America will hold you fully accountable and, we won’t be nice about it!”
The unfolding strikes — which one US official told Reuters might continue for weeks — represent the biggest US military operation in the Middle East since Trump took office in January. It came as the United States ramps up sanctions pressure on Tehran while trying to bring it to the negotiating table over its nuclear program.
“To all Houthi terrorists, YOUR TIME IS UP, AND YOUR ATTACKS MUST STOP, STARTING TODAY. IF THEY DON’T, HELL WILL RAIN DOWN UPON YOU LIKE NOTHING YOU HAVE EVER SEEN BEFORE!” Trump posted on his Truth Social platform.
At least 13 civilians were killed and nine injured in US strikes on Yemen’s capital Sanaa, according to the Houthi-run health ministry.
At least 11 others, including four children and one woman, were killed and 14 were injured in a US strike on the northern province of Saada, the Houthi-run Al-Masirah TV reported.
The Houthis’ political bureau described the attacks as a “war crime.”
“Our Yemeni armed forces are fully prepared to respond to escalation with escalation,” it said in a statement.
Residents in Sanaa said the strikes hit a building in a Houthi stronghold.
“The explosions were violent and shook the neighborhood like an earthquake. They terrified our women and children,” one of the residents, who gave his name as Abdullah Yahia, told Reuters.
Another strike on a power station in the town of Dahyan in Saada led to a power cut, Al-Masirah TV reported early on Sunday. Dahyan is where Abdul Malik Al-Houthi, the enigmatic leader of the Houthis, often meets his visitors.
The Houthis, an armed movement that took control of most of Yemen over the past decade, have launched scores of attacks on ships off its coast since November 2023, disrupting global commerce and setting the US military on a costly campaign to intercept missiles and drones that have burned through stocks of US air defenses.
A Pentagon spokesperson said the Houthis have attacked US warships 174 times and commercial vessels 145 times since 2023. The Houthis say the attacks are in solidarity with Palestinians over Israel’s war in Gaza with Hamas militants.
Iran’s other allies, Hamas and Hezbollah in Lebanon, have been severely weakened by Israel since the start of the Gaza conflict. Syria’s Bashar Assad, who was closely aligned with Tehran, was overthrown by rebels in December.
But throughout, Yemen’s Houthis have remained resilient and often on the offensive, sinking two vessels, seizing another and killing at least four seafarers in an offensive that disrupted global shipping, forcing firms to reroute to longer and more expensive journeys around southern Africa.
The US administration of then-President Joe Biden had sought to degrade the Houthis’ ability to attack vessels off its coast but limited the US actions.
US officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, say Trump has authorized a more aggressive approach.
Strikes across Yemen
The strikes on Saturday were carried out in part by fighter aircraft from the Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier, which is in the Red Sea, officials said.
The US military’s Central Command, which oversees troops in the Middle East, described Saturday’s strikes as the start of a large-scale operation across Yemen.
“Houthi attacks on American ships & aircraft (and our troops!) will not be tolerated; and Iran, their benefactor, is on notice,” Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth wrote on X. “Freedom of Navigation will be restored.”
Trump held out the prospect of far more devastating military action against Yemen.
“The Houthi attack on American vessels will not be tolerated. We will use overwhelming lethal force until we have achieved our objective,” Trump wrote.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said the US government had “no authority, or business, dictating Iranian foreign policy.”
“End support for Israeli genocide and terrorism. Stop killing of Yemeni people,” he said in an X post on early Sunday.
Iran’s mission to the United Nations did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
On Tuesday, the Houthis said they would resume attacks on Israeli ships passing through the Red Sea and Arabian Sea, the Bab Al-Mandab Strait and the Gulf of Aden, ending a period of relative calm starting in January with the Gaza ceasefire.
The US attacks came just days after a letter to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei from Trump was delivered, seeking talks over Iran’s nuclear program.
Khamenei on Wednesday rejected holding negotiations with the United States.
Still, Tehran is increasingly concerned that mounting public anger over economic hardships could erupt into mass protests, four Iranian officials told Reuters.
Last year, Israeli strikes on Iranian facilities, including missile factories and air defenses, in retaliation for Iranian missile and drone attacks, reduced Tehran’s conventional military capabilities, according to US officials.
Iran has denied wanting to develop a nuclear weapon. However, it is dramatically accelerating enrichment of uranium to up to 60 percent purity, close to the roughly 90 percent weapons-grade level, the UN nuclear watchdog — the International Atomic Energy Agency — has warned.
Western states say there is no need to enrich uranium to such a high level under any civilian program and that no other country has done so without producing nuclear bombs. Iran says its nuclear program is peaceful.
In an apparent sign of US efforts to improve ties with Russia, Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke on Saturday with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to inform him about the US strikes in Yemen, the State Department said.
Russia has relied on Iranian-provided weaponry in its war in Ukraine, including missiles and drones, US and Ukrainian officials say.
