Saudi Arabia's National Centre for Wildlife Development released 20 mountain goats into the Al Shukran Park of Baljurashi, in western Al Baha region.
The initiative by the region's governor, Prince Hussam bin Saud bin Abdul Aziz, is aimed at raising environmental awareness, enhancing the region's biodiversity and protecting the kingdom's endangered animal species.
The park is one of the country's largest and includes rugged mountain terrain, an ideal habitat for the goats.
The park is surrounded by mountains that have been home to ibex in the past, Prince Hussam said.
Visitors will be able to watch the goats from afar.
Also, there will be no danger to deer that roam beyond the park’s perimeters as public roads have been blocked, the prince said.
The Ministry of Transport has also placed road signs in areas where the endangered animals are likely to cross.
The release of the goats was attended by the region’s undersecretary, Abdul Moneim Al Shehri, the chief executive of the National Centre for the Development of Wildlife, Dr Muhammad Qurban, and the director of the ministry's branch in the region, Fahd Al Zahrani.
Ordinary Virtues: Moral Order in a Divided World by Michael Ignatieff
Harvard University Press
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
match info
Southampton 2 (Ings 32' & pen 89') Tottenham Hotspur 5 (Son 45', 47', 64', & 73', Kane 82')
Man of the match Son Heung-min (Tottenham)
UK’s AI plan
- AI ambassadors such as MIT economist Simon Johnson, Monzo cofounder Tom Blomfield and Google DeepMind’s Raia Hadsell
- £10bn AI growth zone in South Wales to create 5,000 jobs
- £100m of government support for startups building AI hardware products
- £250m to train new AI models
Day 3 stumps
New Zealand 153 & 249
Pakistan 227 & 37-0 (target 176)
Pakistan require another 139 runs with 10 wickets remaining
