Saudi king opens key projects in Alkhobar

November 29, 2016

Riyadh, Nov 29: Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman on Monday inaugurated a number of key development projects in Alkhobar in Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province.

salman

They include hospital developments with hundreds of new beds for patients as well as environment, water and agriculture projects.

Speaking on the occasion, the king said: “I am very pleased to be among you today to celebrate these projects that will serve our country and citizens.”

The king said that the Kingdom is blessed with security, tranquility and prosperity and that “our citizens come together as one.”

Health Minister Tawfiq Al-Rabiah highlighted health projects, which include a children and maternity hospital in Dammam with a capacity of 500 beds, Saud bin Jalawi Hospital in Al-Ahsa with a capacity of 300 beds, King Faisal General Hospital in Al-Ahsa with a capacity of 200 beds and Al-Omran General Hospital with a capacity of 100 beds.

King Salman and attendees later watched a visual presentation about the ministry’s programs. The king then inaugurated the health projects as well as environment, water and agriculture projects.

The Saudi Cabinet, chaired by King Salman at Al-Aziziyah Palace in Alkhobar Monday, condemned the recent deadly terrorist attacks in Turkey and Egypt.

The Cabinet also underlined the need to ensure more legitimacy and accountability in using social media networks, which will go a long way in curbing extremism and terrorism.

The Cabinet expressed sorrow over the explosion that killed and wounded several innocent people outside the governor’s office in the southern Turkish city of Adana.

In another incident, a bomb blast in the southeastern Turkish province of Sirnak killed at least two children and wounded several. Another target of terror was the Sinai in Egypt, where more than 12 soldiers were killed, reportedly by Daesh.

The Cabinet reaffirmed the Kingdom’s stand and solidarity with Egypt and Turkey in the fight against terrorism, expressing its sincere condolences and sympathy to the families of the victims and wishing a speedy recovery for the wounded.

At the outset of the Cabinet session, King Salman thanked Allah for “the development, growth and prosperity” of the Kingdom, especially the Eastern Province, stressing that “the nation is proceeding on right track to achieve prosperity for citizens and for the nation.”

King Salman briefed the Cabinet on the results of his meeting with the king of Sweden, the telephone call received from King Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa of Bahrain, and the invitation received from Bahrain to participate in the GCC summit.

Adel Al-Toraifi, minister of culture and information, said in a statement that the Cabinet commended various scientific and economic conferences hosted by the Kingdom during the past weeks. He also appreciated the first conference organized on the social media that called for legitimate control and use of the social networks “to fight extremism and terrorism.”

The Cabinet also underlined the Kingdom’s hosting of 14th International Arab Conference for Mineral Resources, and the accompanying exhibition under the theme “Arab Mineral Resources, Strategic Resources and Promising Investment Opportunities.”

The Cabinet lauded the signing of the pact for implementing a nutrition program to counter malnutrition in Hodeidah region of Yemen at a cost of $10 million.

The agreement was signed by KSRelief in Rome with the World Food Program that would address the risk of acute malnutrition for children under five. The Cabinet noted that emergency food aid is being provided for more than 464,000 beneficiaries in Hodeidah for the last six months.

The Cabinet commended the efforts that led to the arrest of a man who shot at soldiers in Tabuk, and seven other suspects in connection to the case. One soldier was killed in the shootout. The Cabinet also expressed its appreciation for “the high skills and the capabilities of security agencies that led to the foiling of several terror plots and plans.”

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News Network
March 16,2020

Cairo, Mar 16: Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman said G20 summit will work to combat coronavirus and coordinate efforts to ease its economic burdens, state news agency SPA said on Sunday.

In a phone call with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Salman discussed international efforts to fight the flu-like disease, saying the next G20 summit, which will be hosted by the Kingdom, will work on finding medical solutions, SPA added.

The G20 Summit is an annual gathering of representatives of the world's largest economies.

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News Network
January 10,2020

Dubai, Jan 10: Iran denied on Thursday that a Ukrainian airliner that crashed near Tehran had been hit by a missile, Iranian government spokesman Ali Rabiei said in a statement, according to state TV.

"All these reports are a psychological warfare against Iran. All those countries whose citizens were aboard the plane can send representatives and we urge Boeing to send its representative to join the process of investigating the black box".

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News Network
January 8,2020

Dubai, Jan 8: A Ukrainian airliner crashed soon after taking off from Tehran's Imam Khomeini airport on Wednesday, killing all 176 people aboard, Iran's state television and Ukraine's leaders said.

The Boeing 737 belonging to Ukraine International Airlines crashed near the airport and burst into flames. Ukraine's embassy in Iran, citing preliminary information, said the plane had suffered engine failure and the crash was not caused by "terrorism".

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said there were no survivors.

"My sincere condolences to the relatives and friends of all passengers and crew," Zelenskiy said in a statement, adding that Ukraine was seeking to establish the circumstances of the crash and the death toll.

Iranian TV said the crash was due to technical problems but did not elaborate. State broadcaster IRIB said on its website that one of the plane's two black boxes - the flight data recorder and the cockpit voice recorder - had been found.

Iranian media quoted an Iranian aviation official as saying the pilot of the airliner did not declare an emergency.

There was no official word from Ukraine International Airlines. It was the Kiev-based airline's first fatal crash.

"The fire is so heavy that we cannot (do) any rescue... we have 22 ambulances, four bus ambulances and a helicopter at the site," Pirhossein Koulivand, head of Iran's emergency services, told Iranian state television.

Ukraine's prime minister and Iranian state TV said 167 passengers and 9 crew were on board. Iranian TV said 32 of those on board were foreigners.

Television footage showed debris and smouldering engine parts strewn across a field, and rescue workers with face masks retrieving bodies of the victims.

According to air tracking service FlightRadar24, the plane that crashed was Flight PS 752 and was flying to Kiev. The plane was three years old and was a Boeing 737-800NG, it said.

The model's twin engines are made by CFM International, a U.S.-French venture co-owned by General Electric and France's Safran.

Modern aircraft are designed and certified to cope with an engine failure shortly after take-off and to fly for extended periods on one engine. However, an uncontained engine failure releasing shrapnel can cause damage to other aircraft systems.

A spokesman for Boeing said the company was aware of media reports of a plane crash in Iran and was gathering more information. The plane manufacturer grounded its 737 MAX fleet in March after two crashes that killed 346 people.

The 737-800 is one of the world's most-flown models with a good safety record and which does not have the software feature implicated in crashes of the 737 MAX.

Under international rules overseen by the United Nations, Iran is responsible for leading the crash investigation.

Ukraine would be involved and the United States would usually be accredited as the country where the Boeing jet was designed and built. France, where the engine maker CFM has half its activities, may also be involved.

There was no immediate word on whether the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board would be involved in the probe amid escalating tensions between the U.S. and Iran. The NTSB usually invites Boeing to give technical advice in such investigations.

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