Indian woman among 26 passengers injured in Saudi airport attack

Agencies
June 12, 2019

Riyadh, Jun 12: An Indian woman was among the 26 people injured in a missile attack by Yemen's rebel Houthi militia on Saudi Arabia's Abha International Airport on Wednesday, a spokesperson of the Saudi-led Arab coalition involved in the war in Yemen said.

The attack took place in the morning, state-run Saudi Press Agency reported, citing a statement given by Col Turki Al-Maliki.

A projectile fired by the Houthi militia hit the arrival hall at Abha International Airport in southwestern Asir province, he said, adding that 26 passengers of different nationalities were injured by the projectile, including three women (from India, Yemen and Saudi Arabia) and two Saudi children.

Eight of the moderately injured were transferred to a hospital for treatment, while 18 were treated at the site for minor injuries. There was also some physical damage to the airport lounge, the report said.

Civil aviation authorities later said that airport operations and air traffic have resumed.

Col Al-Maliki said that the military and security forces were working to determine the type of projectile used in the attack and added that the "Iran-backed Houthi militia said that it used a cruise missile".

"The Houthis claimed through its media full responsibility for the attack, which constitutes a clear recognition for targeting civilians and civilian objects that are subject to special protection under international humanitarian law, thus could amount to a war crime of targeting civilians and civilian objects in a systematic manner," he said.

The Yemeni government said that only military action will end Houthi terrorism, Al-Arabiya TV reported.

Palestine, Egypt and Djibouti also condemned the missile strike.

Bahraini Foreign Minister Khalid bin Ahmed Al-Khalifa in an Arabic Twitter post said that the "Houthi attack on Abha airport is an act of terrorism and a serious escalation on the use of Iranian weapons", according to Arab News.

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News Network
January 27,2020

New Delhi, Jan 27: The government on Monday issued the preliminary information memorandum for 100 per cent stake sale in national carrier Air India. As part of the strategic disinvestment, Air India would also sell 100 per cent stake in low cost airline Air India Express and 50 per cent shareholding in joint venture AISATS, as per the bid document issued on Monday.

Management control of the airline would also be transferred to the successful bidder.

The government has set March 17 as the deadline for submitting the Expression of Interest (EoI).

EY is the transaction adviser for Air India disinvestment process.

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Agencies
July 2,2020

With the launch of the Emirates Mars Mission less than a couple of weeks away, the spacecraft that will carry the UAE's Hope Probe to outer space has already been fuelled, it was announced today.

At a virtual briefing by the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC) today, the media was informed that scientists are busy giving finishing touches to the Hope Mars Mission, which will give mankind a complete picture of the Martian atmosphere once the UAE's indigenous probe reaches the Red Planet's orbit in 2021.

As the monitoring continues, final charging of the batteries is also ongoing, scientists said.

The space engineers averred that with this mission, the momentum in the region for space awareness will continue not only among young Emiratis but also among other youngsters in the Arab world.

The Hope Probe is scheduled to take off from Japan's Tanegashima Space Centre on July 15 at 00:51:27 UAE time.

The first Arab space mission to the Red Planet remained on track despite the challenges arising from the Covid-19 pandemic.

The spacecraft will provide the first global pictures of the Martian atmosphere and data will be shared freely with over 200 research centres across the world. It will help answer key questions about the global Martian atmosphere and the loss of hydrogen and oxygen gases into space over the span of one Martian year.

450 engineers, technicians and experts are involved in the project.  This comprises of 12,000 tasks in 6 years and entails 5.5 million working hours.

It includes 200 new technologies and 15 scientific partnerships with global universities and institutions.

The spaceship will travel 495 million km. It has a cruise speed of 121,000km/hour.

MBRSC is responsible for the execution and supervision of all stages of the design, development and launch of the Hope Probe. The UAE Space Agency is funding and supervising procedures and necessary details for the implementation of this project. After its launch in mid-July and following a journey of several months, the probe is expected to enter the Red Planet's orbit in 2021, coinciding with the Golden Jubilee of the Union.

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Agencies
August 2,2020

Kuwait, Aug 2: Kuwait has barred entry of foreign passengers from over 30 countries including India and China.

A circular from the Director General Civil Aviation, State of Kuwait directed all airlines operating at Kuwait International Airport to adhere to the instructions in this regard.

"Based on the decision of the Health Authority in State of Kuwait, no foreign passenger coming from the down listed countries will be allowed to enter the State of Kuwait," the circular read.

These include- India, Iran, China, Brazil, Colombia, Armenia, Bangladesh, Philippines, Syria, Spain, Singapore, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Iraq, Mexico, Indonesia, Chile, Pakistan, Egypt, Lebanon, Hong Kong, Italy, North Macedonia, Moldova, Panama, Beirut ,Serbia Montenegro, Dominican Republic and Kosovo.

The circular stated that such restriction will also include the passengers were present 14 days before the date of travel until further notice.

The ban was announced the same day Kuwait began a partial resumption of commercial flights according to Khaleej Times, which quoted authorities stating that Kuwait International Airport would run at about 30 per cent capacity from Saturday, gradually increasing in coming months.

According to the latest data from Johns Hopkins University, Kuwait has reported 67,448 cases of coronavirus while the fatalities related to the virus stand at 453.

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