One Million Trees Planted at Saudi Arabia's Rawdat Al-Khafs

The King Abdulaziz Royal Reserve Development Authority has completed the planting of one million trees in Rawdat Al-Khafs. (SPA)
The King Abdulaziz Royal Reserve Development Authority has completed the planting of one million trees in Rawdat Al-Khafs. (SPA)
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One Million Trees Planted at Saudi Arabia's Rawdat Al-Khafs

The King Abdulaziz Royal Reserve Development Authority has completed the planting of one million trees in Rawdat Al-Khafs. (SPA)
The King Abdulaziz Royal Reserve Development Authority has completed the planting of one million trees in Rawdat Al-Khafs. (SPA)

Saudi Arabia's King Abdulaziz Royal Reserve Development Authority, in cooperation with the National Center for Vegetation Cover and Combating Desertification (NCVC), has completed the planting of one million trees in Rawdat Al-Khafs, located south of the reserve.

The first phase of planting 500,000 trees in the northern and southern parts of Rawdat Al-Khafs was completed in August 2022 and the remaining 500,000 trees were planted in 2023.

Through this initiative, the authority seeks to support national efforts to realize the objectives of the Saudi Green Initiative by increasing vegetation cover, combating desertification and preserving natural resources to achieve sustainable environmental and economic development and improve the quality of life.

The planting of the trees in the reserve comes within the agreement signed between the authority and NCVC on the sidelines of the International Exhibition and Forum on Afforestation Techniques in May 2022.

The King Abdulaziz Royal Reserve is one of the seven royal reserves in Saudi Arabia. It is known for its broad geographical scope, which includes Al-Tanhat, Al-Khafs, and Noura parks, and parts of the Al-Summan plateau and the Al-Dahna desert, covering approximately 28,000 sq. km.



Baby Born on Packed Migrant Boat off Canary Islands 'Doing Well'

A migrant holds a newborn baby as a woman lies inside a rubber boat with other migrants who were rescued off the island off the Canary Island of Lanzarote in Spain, in this handout picture obtained on January 8, 2025/File Photo
A migrant holds a newborn baby as a woman lies inside a rubber boat with other migrants who were rescued off the island off the Canary Island of Lanzarote in Spain, in this handout picture obtained on January 8, 2025/File Photo
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Baby Born on Packed Migrant Boat off Canary Islands 'Doing Well'

A migrant holds a newborn baby as a woman lies inside a rubber boat with other migrants who were rescued off the island off the Canary Island of Lanzarote in Spain, in this handout picture obtained on January 8, 2025/File Photo
A migrant holds a newborn baby as a woman lies inside a rubber boat with other migrants who were rescued off the island off the Canary Island of Lanzarote in Spain, in this handout picture obtained on January 8, 2025/File Photo

A baby girl, who was born on a packed migrant dinghy headed for Spain's Lanzarote island in the Canaries, was being treated in hospital along with her mother and both were in good condition, medical and regional government authorities said on Thursday.

The pair were being treated with antibiotics and monitored by a pediatric team, Dr Maria Sabalich, emergency coordinator of the Molina Orosa University Hospital in Lanzarote, told Reuters.

"The mother and child are safe," she said. "They are still in the hospital, but they are doing well."

The Spanish coastguard said the boat carrying the pregnant mother had embarked from Tan-Tan, a province in Morocco about 135 nautical miles (250 km) southeast of Lanzarote.

Upon discharge from hospital, the mother and infant will be received at a humanitarian center for migrants, before likely being moved to a reception center for mothers and young children on another island, Cristina Ruiz, a spokesperson for the Spanish government in the Canaries capital Las Palmas, told Reuters.

The latest arrivals add to the thousands of migrants that strike out for the Canaries from the western African coast each year on a perilous sea voyage that claims thousands of lives.

Thanks to good weather, the rescue operation was straightforward, Domingo Trujillo, captain of the Spanish coastguard ship that rescued the migrants - a total of 60 people including 14 women and four children - told Spanish wire service EFE.

"The baby was crying, which indicated to us that it was alive and there were no problems, and we asked the woman's permission to undress her and clean her," he said. "The umbilical cord had already been cut by one of her fellow passengers. The only thing we did was to check the child, give her to her mother and wrap them up for the trip."

Overnight, the Canary Islands' rescue services recovered two more boats, bearing a total of 144 people.

Trujillo said the crews were exhausted but proud of their work.

"Almost every night we leave at dawn and arrive back late," he said. "This case is very positive, because it was with a newborn, but in all the services we do, even if we are tired, we know we are helping people in distress."