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Turkish military attaché to Kuwait held in Dammam

July 18, 2016

Jeddah, Jul 18: Saudi authorities in Dammam have detained Turkey's military attaché to Kuwait upon request of the Turkish government, Al Arabiya online news reported Sunday midnight.

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Quoting Saudi sources, Al Arabiya said the military officer, Mikael Ihsanoglu, was to board a plane at Dammam Airport on his way to the city of Dusseldorf, Germany, passing through Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

The detention request comes as the Turkish government launched a massive crackdown against participants of a bloody coup attempt that began on Friday.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called on the Turkish people to go out on the streets and stop the coup plotters, which they did. The coup attempt faltered on Saturday as loyal troops rallied behind Erdogan.

Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman had congratulated Erdogan for his success in quelling the power grab attempt.

A statement by the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) on Sunday said King Salman telephoned Erdogan and "congratulated him on Turkey's return to normalcy and expressed Saudi Arabia’s welcoming of the security and stability restored by the leadership of his excellency (Erdogan) and the continuation of the activities of the Turkish government.”

Erdogan "thanked the King Salman for his sincere feelings and keen interest in what is happening in Turkey, praising the distinguished relations between the two brotherly countries," said the statement.

On Sunday, Turkey's justice minister said more than 6,000 military personnel and judges have been detained and under investigation for their alleged role in the coup plot.

Turkey's state-run Anadolu Agency reported that 70 generals and admirals, including former air force commander Gen. Akin Ozturk, have been detained as part of ongoing investigations.

Citing the office of the governor of Ankara, Anadolu also said149 police personnel have been detained in the capital .

Of the generals and admirals brought before court, 11 have been put under arrest so far as of Sunday night. The rest are awaiting processing.

Dogan news agency, meanwhile, reported 42 police officers have been dismissed from duty in the southeastern province of Batman.

The new death toll from Friday's failed coup attempt in Turkey is 294.

A Turkish official says more than 190 citizens, most of them military, were killed and more than 1,400 people were wounded in Friday's failed coup attempt.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity in line with government rules, said the fatalities excluded "terrorists" in reference to those who acted against the government.

At last count, government officials said at least 104 conspirators were killed in the unrest.

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News Network
April 28,2020

Riyadh, Apr 28: The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Saudi Arabia crossed the critical 20,000-mark on Tuesday with the discovery of 1,266 new cases. Eight new deaths were also recorded during the last 24 hours, bringing the virus-related death toll to 152.

Twenty-three percent of the new cases are of Saudi nationals, while 77 percent are of non-Saudi residents, Saudi Press Agency (SPA) quoted the ministry spokesman Dr. Muhammad Al-Abdel Ali as saying.

Out of the total 20,077 cases till Tuesday, 17,141 cases are active, he added. A total of 118 cases are currently critical, the spokesman said.

Out of the 1,266 new cases, 327 were reported in Makkah, 273 in Madinah, 262 in Jeddah, and 171 in Riyadh. There were 58 cases in Jubail, 35 in Dammam, 32 in Taif, 29 in Tabuk and 18 in Al-Zulfi. Additionally, nine cases were recorded in Khulais; eight in Buraidah; seven in Al-Khobar; five in Hufof; four each in Qatif and Ras Tanura; three in Adhum; two each in Al-Jafr, Al-Majaridah, Yanbu, Bisha and Diriyah; and one each in Abha, Khamis Mushayt, Baqeeq, Dhahran, Dhalum, Sabiya, Hafr Al Batin, Hail, Sakaka, Wadi Al-Dawasir and Sajr, the spokesman said.

The Kingdom saw a spike in cases when the health ministry began its field-testing efforts nearly two weeks ago, targeting suspected infection cluster areas. Since then, there has been a steady increase in daily cases.

Till Monday, around 1 million people were screened in various neighborhoods throughout the Kingdom.

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Agencies
June 20,2020

Riyadh, Jun 20: Saudi Arabia will end a nationwide curfew and lift restrictions on businesses from Sunday morning after three months of lockdown to curb the spread of coronavirus, state news agency SPA quoted a source in the interior ministry as saying on Saturday.

The curfew will be lifted as of 6 AM local time on Sunday. Restrictions will remain, however, for religious pilgrimages, international travel and social gatherings of more than 50 people.

The kingdom introduced stringent measures to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus in March, including 24-hour curfews on most towns and cities.

In May, it announced a three-phase plan to ease restrictions on movement and travel, culminating in the curfew completely ending on June 21.

The number of coronavirus infections has risen in recent weeks following a relaxation of movement and travel restrictions on May 28.

The kingdom has recorded 154,223 cases of COVID-19 and a total of 1,230 deaths, the highest in the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council.

Saudi Arabia plans to limit numbers at the annual haj pilgrimage to prevent a further outbreak of coronavirus cases, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters earlier this month.

Some 2.5 million pilgrims visit the holiest sites of Islam in Mecca and Medina for the week-long haj, a once-in-a-lifetime duty for every able-bodied Muslim who can afford it. Saudi Arabia asked Muslims in March to put haj plans on hold and suspended the umrah pilgrimage until further notice.

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Agencies
July 28,2020

Dubai, Jul 28: Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank (ADCB) (ADCB.AD) is letting go hundreds of employees, sources said, the latest in a round of lay-offs by regional banks as pressure mounts to cut costs amid lower oil prices and the coronavirus crisis.

The UAE’s third-biggest lender is laying off 400 employees, two sources familiar with the matter said, after it had committed to not cutting staff because of the crisis.

In a statement, a spokesman said ADCB had pursued efficiency over the last decade by managing out its lowest underachievers after regular reviews, while ensuring talent was deployed in high-growth areas, such as digital banking.

“A certain number of redundancies are therefore expected every year in the normal course of business,” the bank spokesman added.

The sources said the cuts would involve ADCB’s consumer business and several in top management were among those being let go. One source said the bank was looking to close 20 branches.

In March, ADCB had declared, “No employee will be made redundant during 2020 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.”

UAE banks have been hit by government measures to rein in the spread of the virus, forcing many businesses to shut temporarily.

Last week, Dubai’s largest bank, Emirates NBD, reported a slump of 58% in profits. In June, sources told Reuters the bank started a new round of hundreds of lay-offs.

In May, ADCB reported a fall of 84% in first-quarter net profit as it took impairments of $292 million on debt exposure to troubled hospital operator NMC Health and payments group Finablr.

It was a major lender, with an exposure of about $981 million, to NMC Health, which went into administration this year after months of turmoil following questions over financial reporting.

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