Two brown Himalayan bears neglected at a Pakistani zoo arrived on Thursday in Jordan after US music icon Cher took up the cause of an Asian elephant at the same zoo.
Their plight has shed light on the intricate diplomacy involved in animal welfare and the star power that can make rescues possible. Pakistani authorities are sensitive to suggestions that animals in their custody were being mistreated.
Female bear Suzie and her companion Bubloo were offloaded from a Qatari passenger plane into the cargo terminal of Amman airport. They arrived in white cages and had a shell shocked appearance after the one stop flight from Pakistan.
The media was asked to leave the airport as soon as they landed, indicating the sensitivity of the operation.
Jordanian veterinarian Abdelrahman Muayyad was waiting to take the bears to a minimum three-week quarantine on the outskirts of Amman. They will be tranquilised and then examined on their arrival into quarantine.
"Jordan is a new place for them and definitely they will see stress and some nervousness," Mr Muayyad told The National.
Once out of quarantine, the bears will be moved to Al Mawa for Nature and Wildlife, a sanctuary near the famed Roman ruins of Jerash, north of Amman.
There are already a total of 10 brown Syrian and black Asian bears at the reserve but Suzie and Bubloo will be kept separate from them.
Last month Kaavan, a 36-year old widowed elephant, made it from Islamabad Zoo to a wildlife sanctuary in northern Cambodia. Once there, he mingled with its species for the first time since his mate died in 2012.
Kaavan’s journey to a less lonely existence involved years of effort by popstar Cher.
She met Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan in November and thanked him “for making it possible for me to take Kaavan to Cambodia”.
Suzie the bear suffered from a botched operation to remove a tumour from her chest earlier this year.
The bear was critically ill before Four Paws International, an animal support organisation in Vienna, again operated on the 17-year old.
Mr Muayyad said the Jordanian keepers of Suzie and Bubloo will help them manage their stress levels and give them toys to take their minds away “from thinking of escape”.
“We will provide them with enough food and toys to reduce nervous signs they may have,” said Mr Muayyad, who has a pet rabbit called Mukhles (loyal).
The bears arrived to a relatively cold climate by Jordanian standards of around 5 degrees Celsius. Jordanian summer is scorching and the country is arid.
There will be heated dens waiting for them near Jerash, and in the summer they will have access to their own private swimming pool.
“Bears can surprisingly manage in any temperature orbit,” Mr Muayyad said.
Four Paws transported the two bears to Jordan. The organisation also helped set up the sanctuary near Jerash, together with the Princess Alia Foundation, overseen by King’s Abdullah’s elder half-sister Alia.
Pakistani authorities had reportedly been reluctant to let the two bears, and the elephant Kaavan, leave Pakistan for fear of damage to their image.
Jordan has good relationships with Pakistan and princess Sarvath, the wife of former Jordanian crown prince Hassan, uncle of the king, has strong links to Pakistan.
Jordan, which has a population of 10 million people, is not known to be an animal friendly country. Street cats go hungry in Amman and may die from parasitic diseases that could be easily treated or prevented, veterinarians say. Farm animals, especially donkeys, are malnourished and overworked.
But members of the royal family have keen interest in horses and have promoted animal welfare. Donor funding for animal shelters helped somewhat mitigate in the last two decades animal maltreatment, but it remains perceived as fairly common.
The Wall Street Journal reported last year that the US government stopped supplying Jordanian authorities with bomb-detecting dogs after two dogs died in Jordanian custody.
One dog died from poisoning by insecticide and another from a heat stroke. The ban also covered Egypt, where US officials observed similar neglect and maltreatment of the highly trained dogs.
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England v South Africa Test series:
First Test: at Lord's, England won by 211 runs
Second Test: at Trent Bridge, South Africa won by 340 runs
Third Test: at The Oval, July 27-31
Fourth Test: at Old Trafford, August 4-8
Lewis Hamilton in 2018
Australia 2nd; Bahrain 3rd; China 4th; Azerbaijan 1st; Spain 1st; Monaco 3rd; Canada 5th; France 1st; Austria DNF; Britain 2nd; Germany 1st; Hungary 1st; Belgium 2nd; Italy 1st; Singapore 1st; Russia 1st; Japan 1st; United States 3rd; Mexico 4th
Best Foreign Language Film nominees
Capernaum (Lebanon)
Cold War (Poland)
Never Look Away (Germany)
Roma (Mexico)
Shoplifters (Japan)
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Three-day coronation
Royal purification
The entire coronation ceremony extends over three days from May 4-6, but Saturday is the one to watch. At the time of 10:09am the royal purification ceremony begins. Wearing a white robe, the king will enter a pavilion at the Grand Palace, where he will be doused in sacred water from five rivers and four ponds in Thailand. In the distant past water was collected from specific rivers in India, reflecting the influential blend of Hindu and Buddhist cosmology on the coronation. Hindu Brahmins and the country's most senior Buddhist monks will be present. Coronation practices can be traced back thousands of years to ancient India.
The crown
Not long after royal purification rites, the king proceeds to the Baisal Daksin Throne Hall where he receives sacred water from eight directions. Symbolically that means he has received legitimacy from all directions of the kingdom. He ascends the Bhadrapitha Throne, where in regal robes he sits under a Nine-Tiered Umbrella of State. Brahmins will hand the monarch the royal regalia, including a wooden sceptre inlaid with gold, a precious stone-encrusted sword believed to have been found in a lake in northern Cambodia, slippers, and a whisk made from yak's hair.
The Great Crown of Victory is the centrepiece. Tiered, gold and weighing 7.3 kilograms, it has a diamond from India at the top. Vajiralongkorn will personally place the crown on his own head and then issues his first royal command.
The audience
On Saturday afternoon, the newly-crowned king is set to grant a "grand audience" to members of the royal family, the privy council, the cabinet and senior officials. Two hours later the king will visit the Temple of the Emerald Buddha, the most sacred space in Thailand, which on normal days is thronged with tourists. He then symbolically moves into the Royal Residence.
The procession
The main element of Sunday's ceremonies, streets across Bangkok's historic heart have been blocked off in preparation for this moment. The king will sit on a royal palanquin carried by soldiers dressed in colourful traditional garb. A 21-gun salute will start the procession. Some 200,000 people are expected to line the seven-kilometre route around the city.
Meet the people
On the last day of the ceremony Rama X will appear on the balcony of Suddhaisavarya Prasad Hall in the Grand Palace at 4:30pm "to receive the good wishes of the people". An hour later, diplomats will be given an audience at the Grand Palace. This is the only time during the ceremony that representatives of foreign governments will greet the king.
Adele: The Stories Behind The Songs
Caroline Sullivan
Carlton Books
Temple numbers
Expected completion: 2022
Height: 24 meters
Ground floor banquet hall: 370 square metres to accommodate about 750 people
Ground floor multipurpose hall: 92 square metres for up to 200 people
First floor main Prayer Hall: 465 square metres to hold 1,500 people at a time
First floor terrace areas: 2,30 square metres
Temple will be spread over 6,900 square metres
Structure includes two basements, ground and first floor
THE BIO
Born: Mukalla, Yemen, 1979
Education: UAE University, Al Ain
Family: Married with two daughters: Asayel, 7, and Sara, 6
Favourite piece of music: Horse Dance by Naseer Shamma
Favourite book: Science and geology
Favourite place to travel to: Washington DC
Best advice you’ve ever been given: If you have a dream, you have to believe it, then you will see it.
Last five meetings
2013: South Korea 0-2 Brazil
2002: South Korea 2-3 Brazil
1999: South Korea 1-0 Brazil
1997: South Korea 1-2 Brazil
1995: South Korea 0-1 Brazil
Note: All friendlies
Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Teaching in coronavirus times
ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates flies direct from Dubai to Rio de Janeiro from Dh7,000 return including taxes. Avianca fliles from Rio to Cusco via Lima from $399 (Dhxx) return including taxes.
The trip
From US$1,830 per deluxe cabin, twin share, for the one-night Spirit of the Water itinerary and US$4,630 per deluxe cabin for the Peruvian Highlands itinerary, inclusive of meals, and beverages. Surcharges apply for some excursions.
Quick pearls of wisdom
Focus on gratitude: And do so deeply, he says. “Think of one to three things a day that you’re grateful for. It needs to be specific, too, don’t just say ‘air.’ Really think about it. If you’re grateful for, say, what your parents have done for you, that will motivate you to do more for the world.”
Know how to fight: Shetty married his wife, Radhi, three years ago (he met her in a meditation class before he went off and became a monk). He says they’ve had to learn to respect each other’s “fighting styles” – he’s a talk it-out-immediately person, while she needs space to think. “When you’re having an argument, remember, it’s not you against each other. It’s both of you against the problem. When you win, they lose. If you’re on a team you have to win together.”
War 2
Director: Ayan Mukerji
Stars: Hrithik Roshan, NTR, Kiara Advani, Ashutosh Rana
Rating: 2/5
