Saudi Arabia Welcomes First Arabian Oryx in 90 Years

The Arabian Oryx once thrived in the Arabian Peninsula. (AFP)
The Arabian Oryx once thrived in the Arabian Peninsula. (AFP)
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Saudi Arabia Welcomes First Arabian Oryx in 90 Years

The Arabian Oryx once thrived in the Arabian Peninsula. (AFP)
The Arabian Oryx once thrived in the Arabian Peninsula. (AFP)

Saudi Arabia's King Salman Royal Reserve in the Northern Borders Region witnessed the birth of an Arabian Oryx for the first time in 90 years.

The birth is the result of cooperation between the King Salman Royal Reserve Development Authority and the National Center for Wildlife. It comes after the release of a group of Oryxes in the reserve in March this year, as part of the reintroduction programs for endangered species in their natural habitats.

The white oryx’s return to these areas and the resumption of its natural reproduction contribute to the balance of the environment and enrich the biodiversity. It also gives a major boost to the preservation of these species, which disappeared from the region for decades due to many environmental factors, arbitrary hunting, and loss of vegetation cover.

The Arabian Oryx or white oryx is the largest land mammal in the Arabian Peninsula, an adult Oryx can weigh up to 80 kilograms. It is characterized by a white coat on most of the body except for the face and feet that are usually a dark color. It is characterized by long, straight or slightly curved horns. The horns of males are thicker and shorter than those of females, and they have broad hooves that facilitate their movement on soft sand.

The King Salman Royal Reserve is the fourth largest wildlife reserve in the world, extending over 130,700 square kms. It is a unique desert habitat and a resort to many species of plants, and endangered animals like the Arabian Oryx, black-tailed gazelle, and the Eurasian griffon.



Cologne Starts Its Biggest Evacuation Since 1945 To Defuse WWII Bombs 

One of the three unexploded bombs from the Second World War is fenced off with screens as specialists prepare to defuse them in Cologne, Tuesday, June 3, 2025. (Thomas Banneyer/dpa via AP)
One of the three unexploded bombs from the Second World War is fenced off with screens as specialists prepare to defuse them in Cologne, Tuesday, June 3, 2025. (Thomas Banneyer/dpa via AP)
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Cologne Starts Its Biggest Evacuation Since 1945 To Defuse WWII Bombs 

One of the three unexploded bombs from the Second World War is fenced off with screens as specialists prepare to defuse them in Cologne, Tuesday, June 3, 2025. (Thomas Banneyer/dpa via AP)
One of the three unexploded bombs from the Second World War is fenced off with screens as specialists prepare to defuse them in Cologne, Tuesday, June 3, 2025. (Thomas Banneyer/dpa via AP)

More than 20,000 residents were being evacuated from part of Cologne's city center on Wednesday as specialists prepared to defuse three unexploded US bombs from World War II that were unearthed earlier this week.

Even 80 years after the end of the war, unexploded bombs dropped during wartime air raids are frequently found in Germany.

Disposing of them sometimes entails large-scale precautionary evacuations such as the one on Wednesday, though the location this time was unusually prominent and this is Cologne's biggest evacuation since 1945. There have been bigger evacuations in other cities.

Authorities on Wednesday morning started evacuating about 20,500 residents from an area within a 1,000-meter (3,280-foot) radius of the bombs, which were discovered on Monday during preparatory work for road construction. They were found in the Deutz district, just across the Rhine River from Cologne's historic center.

As well as homes, the area includes 58 hotels, nine schools, several museums and office buildings and the Messe/Deutz train station.

It also includes three bridges across the Rhine, among them the heavily used Hohenzollern railway bridge, which leads into Cologne's central station and is being shut during the defusal work itself.

Shipping on the Rhine will also be suspended.

The plan is for the bombs to be defused during the course of the day. When exactly that happens depends on how long it takes for authorities to be sure that everyone is out of the evacuation zone.