OSLO: Syria’s civil war has prompted the first withdrawal of crop seeds from a “doomsday” vault built in an Arctic mountainside to safeguard global food supplies, officials said on Monday.
The seeds, including samples of wheat, barley and grasses suited to dry regions, have been requested by researchers in the Middle East to replace a collection in the Syrian city of Aleppo that has been damaged by the war.
“Protecting the world’s biodiversity in this manner is precisely the purpose of the Svalbard Global Seed Vault,” said Brian Lainoff, spokesman for the Crop Trust which runs the underground store on a Norwegian island 1,300 km from the North Pole.
The vault, which opened on the Svalbard archipelago in 2008, is designed to protect crop seeds — such as beans, rice and wheat — against the worst cataclysms of nuclear war or disease.
It has more than 860,000 samples, from almost all nations. Even if the power were to fail, the vault would stay frozen and sealed for at least 200 years.
War spurs 1st withdrawal from doomsday Arctic seed vault
War spurs 1st withdrawal from doomsday Arctic seed vault
Jordanian FM and Palestinian VP discuss Trump’s Gaza plan
- Ayman Safadi and Hussein Sheikh stressed the need to uphold the Gaza ceasefire and advance to the second phase
LONDON: Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi and Palestinian Authority Vice President Hussein Sheikh have discussed efforts to solidify the ceasefire in Gaza and stop Israeli escalation in the occupied West Bank.
In a meeting in Amman on Tuesday, the two officials stressed the need to uphold the Gaza ceasefire and advance to the second phase of the agreement based on the plan by US President Donald Trump.
They agreed that achieving stability must be linked to a clear political path leading to a just and comprehensive peace based on a two-state solution, according to the Petra news agency.
They said Gaza was an integral part of the Occupied Palestinian Territories, where Palestinians seek to establish an independent Palestinian state.
Safadi and Sheikh addressed the worsening situation in the occupied West Bank, stressing the urgent need for coordinated regional and international efforts to stop illegal Israeli actions that could escalate violence and hinder peace.
They urged Israel to honor the historical and legal status quo of Islamic and Christian holy sites in occupied Jerusalem and to remove restrictions on freedom of worship.
