Oil Spill Affects 12 km of Oman Coast, Masirah Unaffected
Oil pollution is affecting about 12 kilometres (7.46 miles) of coastline near Oman's Ras Madraka, while Masirah Island remains unaffected, state news agency ONA said on Saturday after efforts to tackle a spill from a leaking tanker have made progress.
Oil began reaching Oman's coast on Wednesday after spreading at sea for weeks, Reuters reported.
The Environment Authority said response operations were under way and the offshore slick was moving towards open waters.
Saudi Arabia Condemns Terrorist Attack in Dera Ismail Khan, Reaffirms Support for Pakistan
Saudi Arabia on Monday condemned a terrorist attack that targeted a security checkpoint in the Dera Ismail Khan district of northwestern Pakistan, killing and injuring several people.
In a statement, the Saudi Foreign Ministry said, "the Kingdom categorically rejects all forms of terrorist and extremist acts", reaffirming its support for Pakistan and its efforts to maintain its security and stability.
Saudi Arabia also extended its sincere condolences to the families of the victims, as well as to the Pakistani government and people.
On Saturday, a suicide bomber detonated an explosives-laden vehicle at a roadside police checkpoint in Dera Ismail Khan, a district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, northwestern Pakistan, killing at least 11 people and wounding about 30 others, officials said.
Local police chief Safdar Baloch said most of those killed and wounded were security personnel and passersby.
Following the bombing, gunmen opened fire on an ambulance attending the scene of the attack as it was transporting casualties from the blast site, killing two rescue workers, according to Pakistan's state broadcaster.
Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif condemned the attack, offered condolences to the victims’ families.
Zardari described the targeting of civilians and law enforcement personnel as “highly condemnable” and called for intensified action against the Pakistani Taliban, which he accused of carrying out “heinous and brutal acts” with foreign support.
King Mohammed VI: Saudi Security is an Integral Part of Morocco’s Security
Morocco’s King Mohammed VI, on his own behalf and on behalf of the Moroccan people, has condemned the repeated attacks carried out by the terrorist Houthi militias against Saudi Arabia.
The attacks targeted civilian and economic facilities, vital installations, cities, and residential areas.
The King affirmed on Sunday that what further deepens the condemnation is that the attacks have not been confined to targeting facilities and civilians. Rather, they have extended to desperate and criminal attempts to target the two holiest sites in Islam, revered by Muslims around the world: Makkah and Madinah.
In two cables addressed to Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister, the Moroccan King said: “Out of loyalty to the bonds of faith, history and shared destiny, and the strong ties of brotherhood that personally unite us, as well as our two families and our two brotherly peoples, I address you at this critical juncture facing your dear country, when our historical responsibility, religious values and strategic considerations require us all to stand united in defense of truth, sovereignty, security and the sacred sites of the Muslim Ummah.”
“These despicable attacks and desperate attempts to undermine the security, stability and well-being of the proud Saudi people are not merely an assault on the brotherly Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, its people and the Umrah performers there; they are also a blatant assault on the sentiments of more than 1.8 billion Muslims across the world. They also constitute a flagrant violation of the values and principles upon which the noble Islamic faith is founded, including peace, tolerance, and the sanctity of blood, honor and sacred sites,” he said.
“We express our condemnation of these criminal acts, for which the terrorist Houthi militias, as well as those who stand behind them, finance and arm them, bear full responsibility. We consider them all accountable before Allah Almighty, history and international law, with the international sanctions that should follow accordingly,” the Moroccan king said.
“The security and stability of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, like those of the other Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states, are an integral part of the security of the Kingdom of Morocco. Any attack on Saudi Arabia is an attack on Morocco, because we consider standing with our brothers in Saudi Arabia and in the brotherly Arab Gulf states to be standing for truth and legitimacy, while defending their vital interests is defending our shared strategic interests,” King Mohammed VI added.
He also affirmed his country's steadfast support for Saudi Arabia in confronting the risks it faces as a result of the actions of terrorist and separatist militias and the regional powers backing them, which target the security of their neighbors and the wider region with a short-sighted and destructive approach.
He indicated that these actions seek to undermine the security of the entire region, disrupt the stability enjoyed by its countries, and threaten vital maritime routes of paramount importance to the global economy and the security of international maritime navigation.
The King stressed that such attacks “constitute a flagrant violation of international law and relevant UN provisions, foremost among them Resolution 2216 (2015), which calls on the militias to withdraw, surrender their weapons and cease violence, and Resolution 2722 (2024), which calls on them to immediately cease attacks on maritime navigation.”
