Voting delayed for Filipinos in Jeddah

April 12, 2013

Voting_Filipinos

Riyadh/Jeddah, Apr 12: The overseas absentee voting among Overseas Filipino Workers starting tomorrow in Riyadh and the Eastern Province has been delayed in Jeddah because the ballot boxes and other election documents are yet to arrive.

The voting in Riyadh and the Eastern Province will continue until May 13.

Consul Leo Tito L. Ausan Jr., in charge of the electoral process at the Philippines Consulate in Jeddah, told Arab News that the Consulate has received the PCOS (precinct count optical scan) machines but that the ballot boxes are still awaited.

In Riyadh, Ambassador Ezzedin H. Tago said the embassy has made all arrangements to conduct the first automated elections.

“In preparation for the election, the embassy organized training for poll officers to handle the Automated Election System (AES),” Tago told Arab News.

He said the embassy received eight PCOS machines from the Philippines and that it is 100 percent ready to conduct the elections for the senatorial and party-list polls.

Aside from the eight PCOS machines, the embassy also received ballots and paraphernalia for automated elections.

The mission in Riyadh is one of seven foreign-service posts that will adopt the automated election system this year.

Tago invited all registered overseas voters to exercise their right to vote to select the next leaders of the country.

The automated elections follow the training of personnel who will serve as members of the Special Board of Election Inspectors, Special Ballot Reception and Custody Group and Special Board of Canvassers.

The embassy has invited all Filipinos to visit its website (www.philembassy-riyadh.org) and Facebook page to see if their names are there on the Certified List of Overseas Voters for Riyadh.

The list for Riyadh is also printed and posted at the embassy premises and registered voters may check the number of their precincts before proceeding to the precincts where they should vote.

In Jeddah, a total of 30 personnel are being trained to handle the poll management.

In Riyadh, there are 53,396 registered Filipino voters — the largest overseas voter bloc in the Middle East region.

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coastaldigest.com news network
June 29,2020

Dubai, Jun 29: Saeed bin Ahmed Al Lootah, a pioneering Emirati businessman and the founder of the world's first Islamic bank, is no more. He breathed his last on June 28.

Born in 1923, Saeed was instrumental in setting up the Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB) in 1975 to provide the community with a Sharia-compliant alternative to conventional banking.

He established several companies, organisations and societies, including the Dubai Consumer Cooperative. He also established the Islamic Education School in 1983 and the Dubai Medical College for Girls in 1986.

In 1992, Haj Saeed established the first College of Pharmacology in Dubai. Later he launched the Dubai Centre for Environmental Research, the Dubai Specialised Medical Centre, and the Medical Research Labs for health control and research into medicinal herbs and Islamic (Nabawi) medicine. He also set up an orphanage.

Saeed bin Ahmed Al Lootah was a self-made businessman who progressed from being a seafarer and trader to an accomplished tutor, author, economist, banker, entrepreneur, businessman and visionary community leader.

According to details available on the S.S. Lootah Group website, his "fervent adherence to the core values of education, cooperation and economy" helped empower "people to excel at everything they do".

"He realised the need to build permanent houses and ventured into construction. His 'capital' at that time were his skills, knowledge and hard work," the website said.

He laid the foundation of S.S.Lootah Contracting Company as a joint venture with his brother Sultan in 1956. "With the enduring values of education, cooperation and economy set as the foundations of his work, Haj Saeed started a number of businesses as well as not-for-profit education and research ventures, with an aim to serve the people of the UAE.

"Thanks to his vision and leadership, our home grown ventures continue to demonstrate unique values that extend well beyond its functional benefits - creating greater economic, social and environmental benefits for people in UAE and beyond."

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, took to Twitter on Sunday to offer his respects.

Sheikh Mohammed said: "He was a trader who started with nothing. His touch is visible in several aspects of the Dubai economy."

Calling the deceased a "wise and smart man", Sheikh Mohammed said: "May Allah bless his soul and grant his family the strength to endure and persevere."

Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, also paid his respects. "He combined economic leadership with charitable work. He launched charitable educational institutions and sponsored many orphans. His memory will live on. May Allah have mercy on him and grant his family patience."

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Agencies
August 8,2020

Beirut, Aug 7: A devastating explosion that destroyed much of Beirut might have been the result of a missile attack or bomb, Lebanese President Michel Aoun said, as the death toll from the blast rose to 154.

More than 2,700 tons of ammonium nitrate had been sitting in a port warehouse for six years, but there have been conflicting accounts about why Lebanese authorities decided to empty the shipment of explosive material. The vessel carrying the flammable cargo was heading from Georgia to Mozambique when it stopped in the Lebanese port to load up on iron, according to the ship’s captain.

By Friday, 19 suspects had been arrested and Lebanon’s former director general of customs Chafic Merhy had been questioned by military police.

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News Network
April 27,2020

Riyadh, Apr 27: The government of Saudi Arabia has signed a SR995 million (approx. Dh972m) contract with China to provide Covid-19 tests for nine million people in the Kingdom.

The Saudi Press Agency, SPA, reported that the decision came "as a result of a phone call made today (Sunday) between the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and Chinese President Xi Jinping."

The contract includes providing necessary equipment and supplies, making available of 500 Chinese specialists and technicians who are specialised in performing tests, establishing six large regional laboratories throughout the Kingdom; including a mobile laboratory with a capacity of performing 10,000 tests per day. Saudi cadres will also be trained to conduct daily tests and comprehensive field tests, under the new agreement

The contract was co-signed by the National Unified Procurement Company and Chinese company Huo-yan Laboratories by Dr. Abdullah Al Rabeeah, Advisor at the Royal Court, on behalf of the Government of Saudi Arabia, and Chinese Ambassador to the Kingdom Chen Weiqing, as a representative of the Chinese Government.

The contract is one of the largest contracts that will provide diagnostic tests for the novel Coronavirus.

Tests were also purchased from several other companies from the United States, Switzerland and South Korea, bringing the number of available tests to 14.5 million, covering around 40 percent of Saudi Arabia's population, SPA added.

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