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DCT Abu Dhabi Inaugurates Sir Bani Yas Church, Monastery

Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, the UAE Minister of Tolerance gives an interview to The Associated Press, in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, Thursday, Jan. 24, 2019. (AP Photo/Kamran Jebreili).
Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, the UAE Minister of Tolerance gives an interview to The Associated Press, in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, Thursday, Jan. 24, 2019. (AP Photo/Kamran Jebreili).
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DCT Abu Dhabi Inaugurates Sir Bani Yas Church, Monastery

Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, the UAE Minister of Tolerance gives an interview to The Associated Press, in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, Thursday, Jan. 24, 2019. (AP Photo/Kamran Jebreili).
Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, the UAE Minister of Tolerance gives an interview to The Associated Press, in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, Thursday, Jan. 24, 2019. (AP Photo/Kamran Jebreili).

The UAE saw the inauguration of a Church and Monastery on Sir Bani Yas Island, the first Christian site discovered in the UAE, following the implementation of conservation measures and site enhancements by the Department of Culture and Tourism, Abu Dhabi (DCT Abu Dhabi). The Sir Bani Yas Church and Monastery date back to the 7th and 8th centuries CE, and the site's buildings were discovered in 1992.

The discovery was followed by many excavation works that uncovered the eastern and northern quarters, the surrounding wall, and courtyard houses. In 1994, it was proved that the site's architectural scheme belongs to the church. According to the official information released Thursday, crosses made of plaster were found during excavations among few other plaster pieces that feature fine inscriptions.

Artifacts found at the site show how the inhabitants of the settlement used the sea, in addition to cattle, sheep and goats, as food sources, while glass and ceramic objects indicate that they traded widely across the Arabian Gulf.

The inauguration ceremony for the site was conducted by Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister of Tolerance. The event was attended by Mohamed Khalifa Al Mubarak, chairman of DCT Abu Dhabi, and Saif Saeed Ghobash, undersecretary of DCT Abu Dhabi, as well as conservators, archaeologists, heritage experts and clerics.

Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan said: "The Sir Bani Yas Church and Monastery site received special attention from the founding father of the UAE, the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, due to the great significance and value it holds as a historic part of the UAE's cultural heritage. He gave his directions to preserve and renovate the site and work on improving it once the first traces of Christian history in Bani Yas emerge."

"The late Sheikh Zayed played a key role in supporting archaeological excavations studies and research related to history and heritage. He welcomed archaeological expeditions in the emirate and established the Al Ain Museum to display the archaeological discoveries and artifacts from these missions and provide insight into the lifestyle of communities that resided in the region before us," he added.

DCT Abu Dhabi completed its conservation program for the site as part of a larger plan to manage the entire island. This plan provided a chance to gather data on the site and monitor its condition, as well as set policies to regulate any future excavations and research, restoration, management and conservation.

For his part, Mohamed Al Mubarak, chairman of DCT Abu Dhabi, said: "Sheltering archaeological sites is a complex undertaking that has great implications for their conservation, presentation, interpretation, and overall management. The new shelter over the Sir Bani Yas Church and Monastery is a protective measure that demonstrates DCT Abu Dhabi’s expertise in the field of heritage conservation and its commitment to the long-term protection of archaeological sites."

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Japan City Gets $3.6 Mn Donation in Gold to Fix Water System

FILE PHOTO: Factories line the port of Osaka, western Japan October 23, 2017. REUTERS/Thomas White/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Factories line the port of Osaka, western Japan October 23, 2017. REUTERS/Thomas White/File Photo
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Japan City Gets $3.6 Mn Donation in Gold to Fix Water System

FILE PHOTO: Factories line the port of Osaka, western Japan October 23, 2017. REUTERS/Thomas White/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Factories line the port of Osaka, western Japan October 23, 2017. REUTERS/Thomas White/File Photo

Osaka has received an unusual donation -- 21 kilograms of gold -- to pay for the maintenance of its ageing water system, the Japanese commercial hub announced Thursday.

The donation worth $3.6 million was made in November by a person who a month earlier had already given $3,300 in cash for the municipal waterworks, Osaka Mayor Hideyuki Yokoyama told a press conference.

"It's an absolutely staggering amount," said Yokoyama, adding that he was lost for words to express his gratitude.

"I was shocked."

The donor wished to remain anonymous, AFP quoted the mayor as saying.

Work to replace water pipes in Osaka, a city of 2.8 million residents, has hit a snag as the actual cost exceeded the planned budget, according to local media.

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Thai Cops Go Undercover as Lion Dancers to Nab Suspected Thief

People gather to watch performers outside Emsphere shopping mall on the first day of the Lunar New Year of the Horse, in Bangkok on February 17, 2026. (Photo by Lillian SUWANRUMPHA / AFP)
People gather to watch performers outside Emsphere shopping mall on the first day of the Lunar New Year of the Horse, in Bangkok on February 17, 2026. (Photo by Lillian SUWANRUMPHA / AFP)
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Thai Cops Go Undercover as Lion Dancers to Nab Suspected Thief

People gather to watch performers outside Emsphere shopping mall on the first day of the Lunar New Year of the Horse, in Bangkok on February 17, 2026. (Photo by Lillian SUWANRUMPHA / AFP)
People gather to watch performers outside Emsphere shopping mall on the first day of the Lunar New Year of the Horse, in Bangkok on February 17, 2026. (Photo by Lillian SUWANRUMPHA / AFP)

Thai police donned a lion dance costume during this week's Lunar New Year festivities to arrest a suspect accused of stealing about $64,000 worth of Buddhist artifacts, police said Thursday.

Officers dressed as a red-and-yellow lion made the arrest on Wednesday evening after receiving a report earlier this month of a home burglary in the suburbs of the capital, Bangkok, AFP reported.

Capital police said the reported break-in involved "numerous Buddhist objects and two 12-inch Buddha statues", along with evidence of repeated attempts to enter the house, according to a statement.

With few leads, police kept watch for weeks before hatching an unusual plan to join a lion dance procession at a nearby Buddhist temple.

"Officers gradually moved closer to the suspect before arresting him," police said.

A video released by police showed the festive lion dancers approaching the suspect before an officer suddenly emerged from the head of the costume and, with help from colleagues, pinned him to the ground.

Police estimated the value of the stolen items at around two million baht ($64,000).

The suspect, a 33-year-old man, has a criminal record involving drug offences and theft, police added.

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Sudan's Historic Acacia Forest Devastated as War Fuels Logging

Little is left of the once sprawling acacia forest south of Sudan's capital. Ebrahim Hamid / AFP
Little is left of the once sprawling acacia forest south of Sudan's capital. Ebrahim Hamid / AFP
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Sudan's Historic Acacia Forest Devastated as War Fuels Logging

Little is left of the once sprawling acacia forest south of Sudan's capital. Ebrahim Hamid / AFP
Little is left of the once sprawling acacia forest south of Sudan's capital. Ebrahim Hamid / AFP

Vast stretches of a once-verdant acacia forest south of Sudan's capital Khartoum have been reduced to little more than fields of stumps as nearly three years of conflict have fueled deforestation.

What was once a 1,500-hectare natural reserve has been "completely wiped out", Boushra Hamed, head of environmental affairs for Khartoum state, told AFP.

Al-Sunut forest had long served as a haven for migratory birds and a vital green shield against the Nile's seasonal floods.

"During the war, Khartoum state has lost 60 percent of its green cover," Hamed said, describing how century-old trees "were cut down with electric saws" for commercial timber and charcoal production.

Where tall acacias once cast cool shade over a wetland just upstream from the confluence of the Blue and White Nile, barren ground now lies exposed, criss-crossed by people gathering whatever wood remains.

Hamed called it "methodical destruction", though the perpetrators remain unknown and there has been no investigation.

Similar devastation is unfolding across several regions -- including western Darfur, neighboring Kordofan and the central states of Sennar and Al-Jazirah -- as insecurity and economic collapse drive unchecked logging, according to Sudan's Forests National Corporation.

According to a 2019 study by the Nairobi-based African Forest Forum, Sudan had already lost nearly half of its forested land since 1960 due to agricultural expansion, firewood collection and overgrazing.

By 2015, the country ranked among Africa's least forested nations, with around 10 percent of its territory still covered by woodland, the study said.

The report had also warned of further degradation if reforestation and sustainable management efforts were not implemented -- concerns now compounded by the ongoing conflict.

- 'Barrier' -

Aboubakr Al-Tayeb, who oversees Khartoum's forestry administration, said the damage "affects not only Khartoum, but Sudan and the wider African continent."

"The forest was home to several migratory species from Europe," he told AFP.

More than a hundred bird species, including ducks, geese, terns, ibis, herons, eagles and vultures, had been recorded in the area, alongside monkeys and small mammals.

Al-Nazir Ali Babiker, an agronomist, said the loss of tree cover could cause more severe seasonal flooding because the "forest acted as a barrier" against rising waters.

Flooding strikes Sudan every year, destroying homes, farmland and infrastructure and leaving many families with no choice but to flee to safer areas.

The war in Sudan, which erupted in April 2023, has already killed tens of thousands, displaced 11 million and shattered critical infrastructure.

Before the fighting, forests supplied roughly 70 percent of Sudan's energy consumption, primarily through charcoal and firewood, according to data from the African Forest Forum.

Al-Sunut had also been a popular leisure spot for Khartoum residents.

"We used to come in groups to study and have a good time," recalls Adam Hafiz Ibrahim, a student at Omdurman Islamic University.

Today, wood gatherers have supplanted the usual walkers. Disregarding army notices alerting them to landmines, men and women traverse the dry, open ground that now stands where the ancient forest once grew.

"We're not cutting the trees. We just pick up whatever wood's already on the ground to use for the fire," said Nafisa, a woman in her forties navigating the dry grasslands.

"We found the trees down. We collect the wood to sell to bakeries and families," said Mohamed Zakaria, a construction worker who lost his job because of the war.

Experts say that the economic hardship caused by the war combined with a lack of enforcement has encouraged logging.

"The logging continues, because those responsible for forest protection cannot access many areas," said Mousa el-Sofori, head of Sudan's Forests National Corporation.

Efforts to replant acacias are underway, Tayeb of the Khartoum forestry administration said, but seedlings grow slowly and can take years to mature.

Restoring the lost woodlands would be "long and costly", said Sofori.

"Some of these forests were centuries old," he added.