Politics
India mega-zoo in spotlight again over animal acquisitions

Leading wildlife protection experts have urged India to suspend all imports of the world’s most endangered species, endorsing long-running concerns by conservationists about mass acquisitions by mega-zoo Vantara.
The facility in western Gujarat state, officially known as the Green Zoological Rescue and Rehabilitation Centre, is run by the son of Asia’s richest man.
It has scooped up tens of thousands of animals in recent years, and was subject to an Indian Supreme Court review that cleared it of any wrongdoing.
But experts from the world’s top wildlife watchdog — the secretariat overseeing the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) — have warned Vantara may have imported highly endangered species in violation of international rules.
In a report published ahead of CITES talks this month, they found a “large number of imports… appear to be inconsistent” with rules protecting so-called Appendix I species, the world’s most threatened animals.
They recommended serious reforms to ensure Vantara does “not inadvertently become a driver of illegal harvest of wild animals”.
Vantara and India’s environment ministry did not respond to AFP requests for comment.
Experts have repeatedly sounded the alarm on Vantara’s massive animal intake. The facility claims to have 150,000 animals, though CITES officials said closer to 47,000 were reported during a September visit.
“This report raises more questions than it answers,” said Mark Jones, head of policy at wildlife group Born Free.
“Why the discrepancies in numbers? Why import so many animals from so many species across the world… Who is supplying these animals, and how can we be sure they’re not being traded for profit?”
‘Really, really shocking’
CITES examined a laundry list of allegations involving endangered animals, including the world’s most endangered great ape — the Tapanuli orangutan.
AFP earlier this year reported that Vantara had acquired a Tapanuli orangutan from the United Arab Emirates that originated in Indonesia.
CITES prohibits trade in the world’s most endangered species, but there are exceptions, including for “captive-bred” animals.
The Tapanuli orangutan, like many of Vantara’s rarest acquisitions, was given this designation.
But multiple experts told AFP there are no captive breeding programmes for the species in Indonesia, home to all the estimated 800 Tapanuli orangutans left in the world.
Similar cases involving cheetahs from Syria, a gorilla from Haiti, and bonobos from Iraq are among those questioned by CITES.
The report “is evidence of Vantara’s problematic acquisitions,” said Panut Hadisiswoyo, founder and chairman of the Orangutan Information Centre in Indonesia.
He has been lobbying, so far unsuccessfully, for the return of several orangutans in Vantara, including a smuggled animal intercepted in India and handed to the facility.
The CITES report says Vantara has acquired more than 2,000 Appendix I animals and nearly 9,000 from less endangered species.
“It’s really, really shocking, the number is huge,” Panut said.
“Vantara is exploiting legal loopholes and undermining Appendix I.”
‘Exemplary action’
The CITES report acknowledges Vantara’s world-class facilities, but urges India to review its import procedures, bolster capacity, and more closely scrutinise permits.
Independent wildlife trade expert Daniel Stiles said the report was “a true examination” of Vantara.
“We’ll see if anything changes for the better.”
CITES has asked India to report back on its progress, and it could face measures, including trade suspension, if it does not fully address the concerns.
The findings are “deeply concerning and damaging to India’s conservation credibility”, warned K Yoganand, a longtime conservation expert in India and Southeast Asia.
“Restoring India’s global standing, damaged by the irregularities surrounding these imports, will require exemplary action.”
Politics
Dubai introduces new public safety laws, fines up to AED2m

DUBAI: Dubai has announced the implementation of a new public safety law introducing stricter regulations for public spaces and events, with fines ranging from AED500 ($136) to AED1 million ($272,000), authorities said.
Under the legislation, repeat violations within one year could result in fines of up to AED2 million, officials added.
The new law, which takes effect across the emirate on June 1, sets out enhanced safety requirements for public venues and gatherings.
The rules were issued by Dubai’s Ruler, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum.
According to the regulations, public venues and events must ensure safe entry and exit routes, adequate lighting, and capacity limits to prevent overcrowding.
Event organisers will be required to provide firefighting equipment, emergency evacuation plans, first aid facilities, and trained security personnel.
Compliance with safety instructions at public venues has been made mandatory.
The law also requires adherence to designated swimming times at beaches and prohibits access to restricted areas.
Possession of explosives or fireworks without a permit is banned, as is the use and transport of hazardous or flammable materials.
Politics
India let Iran warship dock the day US sank another off Sri Lanka, say officials

India has allowed an Iranian warship to dock as a humanitarian gesture, Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said on Saturday, after the US sank another Iranian navy vessel off neighbouring Sri Lanka.
The Lavan docked at India’s southern port of Kochi on Wednesday, the same day the US submarine struck Iranian navy frigate Dena, after an urgent request from Tehran, an Indian government source told Reuters.
US President Donald Trump has said destroying the Iranian navy is one aim of the war he and Israel launched against the Islamic Republic a week ago.
The Lavan – an amphibious landing vessel, according to the US Naval Institute’s online news site – and two other ships “were coming in for a fleet review and then they got, in a way, caught on the wrong side of the events,” Jaishankar told the annual Raisina Dialogue event.
“I think we really approached it from the point of view of humanity, of other than whatever the legal issues were,” he said. “I think we did the right thing.”
At least 87 people were killed in the US attack on the Dena in Sri Lanka’s exclusive economic zone, 19 nautical miles off the coast, outside its maritime boundaries.
India received the docking request for the Lavan on February 28, the day the Iran war started, the source said late on Friday, adding that the request “was urgent as the vessel had developed technical issues”.
Its 183 crew members have been accommodated at naval facilities in Kochi, said the source, who asked not to be identified citing confidentiality.
The Dena was on its way back from a naval exercise organised by India, according to the drill’s website and Sri Lankan officials.
Sri Lankan authorities said on Friday that they were escorting the Iranian naval ship Booshehr to a harbour on the eastern coast and moving most of its crew to a navy camp near Colombo.
Politics
Iran apologises to Gulf but strikes escalate, war surges across region

- Iran to suspend strikes on neighbours unless attacks from them.
- Putin calls for immediate halt to Iran conflict.
- Iran envoy says 1,332 Iranian civilians killed in war.
Israel and Iran traded attacks on Saturday as the war entered a second week, while the Islamic Republic made an unusual apology to neighbouring states for its “actions”, apparently seeking to calm regional anger at Iranian strikes on Gulf civilian targets.
“I personally apologise to neighbouring countries that were affected by Iran’s actions,” Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said, urging them not to join US-Israeli attacks on Iran.
He said Iran’s temporary leadership council had agreed to suspend attacks on nearby states unless strikes on Iran originated from their territory.
Hours later, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said their drones struck a US air combat centre at Al Dhafra Air Base, near Abu Dhabi, capital of the United Arab Emirates. Reuters could not independently verify that report.
Huge explosions were heard in several parts of the Iranian capital, state media reported.
Gulf states hit by drones and missiles
The US-Israeli war on Iran has already spilled beyond Iran’s borders, as Tehran has responded by hitting Israel and Gulf Arab states hosting US military installations and Israel has launched fresh attacks in Lebanon.
The UAE, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia have all reported drone and missile attacks over the past week.
Gulf states voiced immediate outrage that their civilian infrastructure — hotels, ports and oil facilities — were struck despite their having had no part in the US-Israeli attacks.
How far Pezeshkian’s statement reflects a decision to back off by Iran, or if it should be read as a warning that Tehran remains ready to strike across the region, is not yet clear, with some strikes still reportedly directed at Gulf states on Saturday morning.
Iran had mended fences with its Gulf neighbours in recent years, including with former regional arch-rival Saudi Arabia — a diplomatic campaign that imploded as the Revolutionary Guards launched a blitz of drones and missiles over the past week.
No deal without surrender, says Trump
While Gulf states host US military bases, they had told Washington they would not allow these to be used for any attacks on Iran.
Iran’s apparent strategy of maximum chaos has driven up the costs of the conflict by raising energy prices, hurting global business and logistics links and shaking trust in the stability of a critical region for the world’s economy.
Pezeshkian’s remarks come as diplomatic prospects for an end to hostilities appear bleak, with US President Donald Trump demanding Tehran’s “unconditional surrender”.
“There will be no deal with Iran except UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER!” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform on Friday.
“After that, and the selection of a GREAT & ACCEPTABLE Leader(s), we, and many of our wonderful and very brave allies and partners, will work tirelessly to bring Iran back from the brink of destruction, making it economically bigger, better, and stronger than ever before,” he added.
The US-Israeli attacks have killed at least 1,332 Iranian civilians and wounded thousands, according to Iran’s UN ambassador, Amir Saeid Iravani.
Iranian attacks have killed 11 people in Israel, and at least six US service members have been killed.
Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed his condolences to Pezeshkian over the numerous civilian casualties resulting from “the armed Israeli-American aggression against Iran” and called for an immediate halt to hostilities, the Kremlin said.
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