Indian pays Rs 36 lakh to rescue compatriot in Saudi Arabia

Riyadh, Jul 20: Saudi Arabia's King Salman has been admitted to a hospital in the capital, Riyadh, for medical tests due to inflammation of the gallbladder, the kingdom's Royal Court said Monday in a statement carried by the official Saudi Press Agency.

The statement said the 84-year-old monarch is being tested at the King Faisal Specialist Hospital. The brief statement did not provide further details.

King Salman has been in power since January 2015. He is considered the last Saudi monarch of his generation of brothers who have held power since the death of their father and founder of Saudi Arabia, King Abdulaziz.

King Salman has empowered his 34-year-old son, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, as his successor. The crown prince's assertive and bold style of leadership, as well as his consolidation of power and sidelining of potential rivals, has been controversial.

With the support of his father, Prince Mohammed has transformed the kingdom in recent years, opening it up to tourists and eroding decades of ultraconservative restrictions on entertainment and women's rights as he tries to diversify the Saudi economy away from reliance on oil exports.

The prince has also detained dozens of activists and critics, overseen a devastating war in Yemen, and rounded up top members of the royal family in his quest for power.

The Saudi king has not been seen in public in recent months due to social distancing guidelines and concerns over the spread of the coronavirus inside the kingdom, which has one of the largest outbreaks in the Middle East.

He has been shown, however, in state-run media images attending virtual meetings with his Cabinet and held calls with world leaders.

King Salman, who oversees Islam's holiest sites in Makkah and Medinah, was a crown prince under King Abdullah and served as defense minister. For more than 50 years prior to that, he was governor of Riyadh, overseeing its evolution from a barren city to a teeming capital.

Iraq’s deputy parliament speaker Hassan Karim al-Kaabi on Saturday described the move as provocative and in violation of international law.

Kaabi also called on the Iraqi government to take swift measures to halt such actions.

The Embassy’s move to fire in a residential area in the heart of Baghdad is an unacceptable act and another challenge for the Arab country, adding to the mass of its provocations and illegal actions in Iraq, he noted.

According to Iraqi media, the US tested a patriot missile system inside Baghdad’s heavily fortified Green Zone.

Anti-US sentiments have been running high in Iraq since Washington assassinated top Iranian commander Qassem Soleimani and the second-in-command of the Iraqi popular mobilization units, Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, in January.

Following the attack, Iraqi lawmakers unanimously approved a bill on January 5, demanding the withdrawal of all foreign troops.

Baghdad and Washington are currently in talks over the withdrawal of American troops. Iraqi resistance groups have vowed to take up arms against US forces if Washington fails to comply with the parliamentary order.

Abu Dhabi: A senior Hindi teacher at Sunrise School in Abu Dhabi has died of coronavirus, it has been confirmed. Anil Kumar, 50, passed away on Sunday morning, May 24.

The sad and shocking demise of Mr Kumar, a senior Hindi teacher of Sunrise School on May 24, has left the entire Sunrise family in a pall of gloom, read a statement.

“The management, administrators, other faculty members, students and the school as a whole is struck with intense sorrow and is speechless.

“The bond that he had developed over the years, just as how we have with each faculty, makes the loss unbearable. The entire SEPS family is shaken and finds it hard to come to terms with this most saddening news.

“Anil Kumar was a very inspiring teacher. He always brought a creative aspect to the classes he handled and would make it an enjoyable class to attend to. Mr. Anil Kumar had a great way of motivating his students to do their best, and pushed them to be the best they could be. He was a great strength and support to the Department of Hindi, always willing to scaffold and mentor students and teachers. He was a very approachable man, warm and friendly at heart and that is something I will truly miss about Mr. Anil.

“Mr Anil Kumar has left behind his wife and two children. Mrs. Rajini, his wife is also a member of the school family. She is a faculty of the maths department. Our prayers and sincere condolences to each and every one of the family. May God give the strength to endure and face this most challenging phase of their life.”

It is learnt Mr Kumar fell ill with COVID-19 and had been in hospital since May 7.