Saudi Arabia affirms the only solution for Syria is a political one

Agencies
May 2, 2018

Jeddah, May 2: Saudi Arabia on Tuesday renewed its support for the Syrian crisis, saying the only solution is through a political route, during a meeting of the Council of Ministers chaired by King Salman.

The Cabinet stressed its support for alleviating the suffering of the Syrian people who are subjected to horrific war crimes.The Kingdom has sought international efforts to find peaceful solutions since the beginning of the conflict to spare the Syrian people the human tragedy they are experiencing today.

At the beginning of the Cabinet meeting, King Salman briefed the Council on the outcomes of a telephone conversation held with the President of Colombia, Juan Manuel Santos, and the results of his meeting with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Director General of the World Health Organization Dr. Tidros Adhanom.

The Council was then briefed on a number of reports on regional and international developments and on the statement made by the Kingdom’s delegation at the High-Level Meeting on Peacebuilding and Sustaining Peace in the United Nations General Assembly. The delegation stressed that the basic pillars are building and maintaining peace and achieving justice. The statement also shed light on the Kingdom’s initiatives as part of its continuous efforts to resolve disputes peacefully, and to emphasized the necessity for the UN to play a more effective role in building and maintaining peace.

The Minister of Culture and Information, Dr. Awad Al-Awad, said that the Council of Ministers also discussed the outcomes of the Supporting the Future of Syria and the Region Conference in Brussels and announced the Kingdom’s donation of $100 million through the King Salman Center for Relief and Humanitarian Action.

The Cabinet expressed the Kingdom’s strong condemnation of the twin suicide bombings in the Afghan capital, Kabul, on Monday, reiterating the Kingdom’s solidarity with Afghanistan in its fight against terrorism and extremism. The ministers also extended condolences to the families of the victims, the government and the people, wishing them a speedy recovery.

Dr. Al-Awad said that the Council of Ministers has agreed to establish diplomatic relations between Saudi Arabia and the Principality of Monaco at the level of a non-resident ambassador and to authorize the Minister of Foreign Affairs or his deputy to sign a protocol.

The government also approved the flour mill production system, the food security strategy and the implementation plan.

Finally, the Cabinet decided to approve the Independent Schools initiative by transferring 25 public schools to the private sector. The supervisory committee for the education sector will implement this initiative in accordance with the provisions of the supervisory committees’ work rules for the target sectors.

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News Network
January 12,2020

Tehran, Jan 12: Iranian police dispersed students chanting “radical” slogans during a Saturday gathering in Tehran to honour the 176 people killed when an Ukrainian airliner was mistakenly shot down, Fars news agency reported.

News agency correspondents said hundreds of students gathered early in the evening at Amir Kabir University, in downtown Tehran, to pay respects to those killed in the air disaster. The tribute later turned into an angry demonstration.

The students chanted slogans denouncing "liars" and demanded the resignation and prosecution of those responsible for downing the plane and allegedly covering up the accidental action.

Iran said Saturday that the Ukraine International Airlines Boeing 737 was “unintentionally” shot down on Wednesday shortly after taking off from Tehran's main airport. All 176 people on board died, mostly Iranians and Canadians, many of whom were students.

Fars, which is close to conservatives, said the protesting students chanted “destructive” and “radical” slogans. The news agency said some of the students tore down posters of Qasem Soleimani, the Iranian general killed on January 3 in a US drone strike on Baghdad.

Fars published pictures of demonstrators gathered around a ring of candles during the tribute and a picture of a torn poster bearing the image of a smiling Soleimani. It said that police "dispersed" them as they left the university and blocked streets, causing a traffic jam.

In an extremely unusual move, state television mentioned the protest, reporting that the students shouted "anti-regime" slogans.

A video purportedly of the protest circulated online showing police firing tear gas at protesters and a man getting up after apparently being hit in the leg by a projectile. It was not possible to verify the location of the video, or when it was filmed.

Iran's acknowledgement on Saturday that the plane had been shot down in error came after officials had for days categorically denied Western claims that it had been struck by a missile. The aerospace commander of Iran's Revolutionary Guards accepted full responsibility.

But Brigadier General Amirali Hajizadeh said the missile operator acted independently, shooting down the Boeing 737 after mistaking it for a "cruise missile".

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News Network
May 25,2020

May 25: A total of 241 Indians including 136 people who were jailed in Kuwait would return to the country soon, a senior minister said on Sunday.

The other 105 people were stranded in Bangladesh, Law Minister Ratan Lal Nath said.

"Altogether 136 people from Tripura and Assam, who are at present in jail in Kuwait for violating that country's laws, would be deported. They will reach Guwahati between May 27 and June 4 in a special flight," Nath told reporters.

He said the matter has been officially informed by the Kuwaiti government, but the reason for their imprisonment is not known.

"We had requested the Kuwaiti authorities to drop the Tripura residents here. However, they informed us that the flight would land in a single airport," the minister added.

Nath said 105 residents of Tripura, who are stranded in different places of Bangladesh will return to the state through the Agartala-Akhaura integrated check post on May 28.

"They would be taken to institutional quarantine and swabs of all the passengers would be collected for COVID-19 test," Nath said.

If the report of their samples tests negative, they would be allowed to leave the facility and remain under 14 days of home quarantine. And those who test positive would be hospitalized, he said.

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News Network
May 10,2020

Dubai, May 10: Kuwait will enact a "total curfew" from 4pm (1300 GMT) on Sunday through to May 30 to help to curb the spread of the new coronavirus, the Information Ministry said on Twitter on Friday.

Further details of the curfew will be announced soon, it said.

Kuwait on April 20 expanded a nationwide curfew to 16 hours a day, from 4pm to 8am, and extended a suspension of work in the public sector, including government ministries, until May 31.

On Friday the Gulf state announced 641 new coronavirus cases and three deaths, bringing its total number of confirmed cases to 7,208, with 47 deaths.

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