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King starts Gulf tour with UAE visit

December 4, 2016

Riyadh, Dec 4: Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman arrived in Abu Dhabi on Saturday, kick-starting his tour of four Gulf states.

King

During this visit, King Salman will hold wide-ranging talks with high-ranking officials from the UAE, Qatar, Kuwait and Bahrain.

“King Salman will meet with Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) leaders and high-ranking Gulf officials to review relations and ways of enhancing them in all fields, and he will also discuss regional and international issues of common interest,” said a statement released by the Royal Court on Saturday.

The statement confirmed that the king would attend the 37th GCC summit, to be held in Bahrain later this week.

The statement added that “based on the king’s keenness to communicate with GCC leaders in serving the people and enhancing brotherly bonds among Saudi Arabia and other GCC states, the Saudi monarch started the GCC tour.”

The king’s visit has added significance as it comes a couple of days before the GCC summit in Bahrain.

The king’s visit also coincides with the visits to the UAE of Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, French President Francois Hollande, Kurdish President Masoud Barzani and Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic.

On arrival in Abu Dhabi on Saturday, King Salman was received at the airport by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum, vice president and prime minister of the UAE and ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, Abu Dhabi crown prince and deputy supreme commander of the UAE Armed Forces, and several Cabinet members.

An official reception was held for King Salman at the airport, where the Saudi national anthem was played, accompanied by a 21-gun salute.

The king then shook hands with high-ranking UAE officials, including rulers and ministers, while Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid and Sheikh Mohammad bin Zayed welcomed Saudi officials accompanying the king.

Welcoming the visit of King Salman to the Gulf states, Ibrahim Al-Qayid, founding member of the Riyadh-based National Society for Human Rights, said: “Saudi Arabia and the UAE, as well as the Kingdom and the GCC, have a strong bilateral relationship, one which has grown even closer these days.”

Al-Qayid added: “King Salman’s visit will be an opportunity to hear and exchange important perspectives on Middle East issues, including Syria, Yemen, the Middle East peace process, Iraq, Daesh, Iran, and above all, terrorism.”

Saudi Arabia and the UAE are close allies, signing a protocol earlier this year to establish a coordination council.

The council is led by Saudi Arabia’s Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, and Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, who is the UAE deputy prime minister and minister of presidential affairs.

The decision to create the council came after similar agreements between Saudi Arabia and other countries such as Jordan and Turkey.

During this trip, the king is accompanied by several members of the royal family, ministers and top officials.

Prominent among them are Prince Khaled bin Fahd bin Khaled bin Mohammed, Prince Mansour bin Saud bin Abdul Aziz, Economy and Planning Minister Adel Fakeih, Commerce and Investment Minister Majid Al-Qassabi, Culture and Information Minister Adel Al-Toraifi and Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Nizar bin Obaid Madani.

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News Network
May 6,2020

A massive fire engulfed a residential tower in UAE's Sharjah last night. The building has been identified as one Abbco Tower in Al Nahda.

According to the latest inputs, Sharjah Civil Defence teams rushed to the spot and evacuated all residents. 

Firefighters managed to douse the blaze after several hours. The building in question is reportedly a 48-storey structure. Officials are yet to reveal the cause of the fire.

All residents of the building were evacuated while seven incurred minor injuries during the evacuation and were treated at local hospitals, reported the United Arab Emirates' local media.

More details are awaited as this is a developing story.

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News Network
April 16,2020

Dubai, Apr 16: Saudi Arabia reported 518 new cases of coronavirus, bringing the total number of infections in the country to 6380, the Ministry of Health announced on Thursday.

According to the ministry of health, the number of recoveries today were 59, making total of recoveries in the kingdom 990, with 71 critical cases in intensive care.

The ministry also confirmed 4 deaths, bringing the total number of deaths in the kingdom to 83.

Saudi Arabia imposed a 24-hour curfew and lockdown on the cities of Riyadh, Tabuk, Dammam, Dhahran and Hofuf and throughout the governorates of Jeddah, Taif, Qatif and Khobar. This week the curfew was extended until further notice by king Salman

Overall, Saudi Arabia has reported one of the lowest rates of infections in the region, with around 6000 cases in a population of over 30 million.

Private sector support

Saudi Arabia has allocated SR50 billion (Dhs49 billion)to support the private sector as part of its package of initiatives approved by King Salman on Wednesday aimed at mitigating economic repercussions from the coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

The package targets small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and economic activities that have been most affected by the pandemic.

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News Network
April 27,2020

Dubai, Apr 27: Saudi Arabia has reported 1,289 new Covid-19 cases on April 27, its Ministry of Health tweeted.

Of the newly diagnosed cases, Jeddah recorded 294 infections, followed by Makkah (218) and Madinah (202).

The ministry also confirmed five additional coronavirus-induced deaths, spiking the total death toll to 144.

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Since the outbreak of the virus strain in the Chinese city of Wuhan late last year, Saudi Arabia has reported a total of 18,811 Covid-19 infections.

As many as 2,531 patients have till now recovered from the virus.

Oman
The sultanate registered 51 new Covid-19 cases on April 27, including 37 nationals and 14 expatriates, spiking the total number of infections to 2,049, Oman News Agency tweeted.

Meanwhile, 10 coronavirus-related deaths have been confirmed in the country.

Qatar
The Ministry of Public Health has reported 957 Covid-19 cases among the 3,420 people tested in the last 24 hours.

As many as 85,709 people have been tested for the virus across the country.

The total number of Covid-19 infections since the outbreak has now risen to 11,244.

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