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January 5, 2006 |
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***** The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz, conducted here this afternoon an inspection tour of the development projects of King Abdul Aziz International Airport; the expansion and the renovation of the pilgrims' complex terminals Project. Crown Prince Sultan bin Abdul Aziz, the Deputy Premier, Minister of Defense and Aviation and Inspector General was present during the tour. On arrival, the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques was received at the exhibition held especially on this occasion at the protocol reception Lounge by Chairman of the General Authority for Civil Aviation Engineer Abdullah Mohamed Nur Rahimi, and a number of officials. The King, then, toured the exhibition and was briefed on the general plan for the airport which will be implemented in three phases. In its first phase, the Airport will accommodate between 25 to 30 million passengers. This phase will be completed in 1429 AH. On completion of its third phase in 1431 AH, the Airport will have a capacity of 80 million passengers. The King also watched the maquette of the Airport's new terminals, its commercial area, the village of air freight and expansion and renovation of the pilgrimage terminals project and affiliated mosques. During the tour, the King listened to a full explanation from the President of the General Authority for Civil Aviation. The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques was accompanied on his tour by a number of Princes and senior officials. The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz received at his residence in Rawdhat Khuraim today the Governor of Rimah Governorate Ibrahim bin Abdulrahman bin Muammar, heads of governmental departments and centers in the governorate and a group of citizens who came to greet and congratulate the king on safe arrival. The audience was attended by a number of princes and officials. They all had luncheon at the King's banquet. The General Presidency for the Affairs of the Two Holy Mosques in Makkah and Madinah has executed a number of development and improvement projects in some locations inside the holy Mosque in Makkah. These projects include construction of 14 meters wide-stairs between Al-Masaa and the first expansion next to Al-Qararah escalators to facilitate the worshippers' movement; intensification of warning and guidance signs; renovation of some of the special needs persons slopes in the northern courtyards; installation of 113 shelves for the holy Quran on the columns of the ground and First floors, replacement of the pipes specified for the courtyards and expansion of the escalators' entrances leading to the parking area of buses in the Western courtyards. The Director-General of the Department of projects and studies at the Presidency, Eng Abdul-Mohsen Bin Abdul- Rahman Bin Humaid explained that there is a number of futuristic projects to be implemented by the Presidency including a project for air conditioning the first Saudi expansion and the Masa'a, and the construction of a building for Training and Managerial Development. "The implementation of these projects is based on the directives of the leadership which aimed to exert maximum efforts for the convenience of worshipers, and it is been followed up by Sheikh Saleh Bin Abdul-Rahman Al-Hussein and his Deputy President for the affairs of the Holy Mosque of Makkah Sheikh Dr. Mohammed Bin Nasser Al-Khuzeim. As many as 65,873 heads of sacrificial meat sheep and 978 heads of camels and cows have been distributed to pilgrims, the poor and through charitable societies in various regions of the Kingdom within the framework of the Kingdom's program of benefiting from sacrificial meat administered by Islamic Development Bank. The bank's President Dr. Ahmed Bin Mohammed Ali said that frozen sacrificial meat will be distributed to the poor in 23 countries in Asia and Africa. He expressed his appreciation of and thanks to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz and the Crown Prince for supporting this great Islamic project. A number of pilgrims have lauded the large-scale services and top attention given by the government of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Abdullah Bin Abdul-Aziz and his Crown Prince Sultan Bin Abdul-Aziz to ease further performance of Hajj rituals by millions of pilgrims who gather every year in Makkah, Madinah and the holy places from all corners of the world. These services cover health, safety, security, telecommunications, electricity, water, foodstuffs, transportation, guidance on Hajj rituals and others, which are provided by the concerned governmental bodies, especially delegated to serve pilgrims during the Hajj season. In statements to the Saudi Press Agency, the pilgrims said the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has won the privilege and honor of serving the Two Holy Mosques in Makkah and Madinah. They singled out the gigantic expansion works and development projects at the holy sites completed by the Saudi government to enable the pilgrims to perform their religious rituals in ease and comfort as well as provide ample accommodation for millions of worshippers not only during the Hajj season but also throughout the year. They praised the completion of the first phase of the Jamarat bridge, which ease the movement of pilgrims and resolved the problem of over-crowding. Secretariat of the League of Arab States condemned the policy of Israeli settlement in the Palestinian territories. This stressed that this policy is responsible for the slowdown and the current stalemate peace efforts in the region. This came in a memo circulated to the Arab countries, as was the demand from these countries move to the regional and international forums to address the Israeli settlement policy in the occupied Palestinian territories. It warned the Secretariat of the Arab League, warned against the continuation of the Israeli authorities to confiscate Arab land in the West Bank, which would frustrate the efforts for the resumption of peace negotiations between the Palestinians and Israelis. The Sultanate and Bahrain reaffirmed support and enhancement of their cooperation in the various fields, according to a joint statement issued on the conclusion of the first meeting of the Omani-Bahraini Joint Committee. The meeting continued for two days under the chairmanship of Yousuf bin Alawi bin Abdullah, minister responsible for foreign affairs and Sheikh Khalid bin Ahmed bin Mohammed Al Khalifa, Bahraini foreign minister. The two sides reiterated the significance of bilateral relations and cooperation in political, economic, educational, developmental and social spheres as aspired by the wise leaders and the citizens of the two countries. The two sides reviewed a number of Arab and Islamic issues of concern in the light of the regional and international developments and their consequences on the conditions in the Middle East. The two sides agreed to hold the second meeting of the joint committee in the Sultanate next year. President Ali Abdullah Saleh announced that the coming period would witness new measures to make procedures of investment easy Addressing Yemeni people on the occasion of Eid al-Adha, president Saleh said that there are measures to merge the investment and free zones authorities in a single body. He said that the investment file would receive all care by relevant authorities in order to better climate of investment and to insure joint interests for investor and the nation. "Next year will be full of achievements in different fields," he said. He said that priorities would be centered on setting up strategic projects in energy, industry, roads, dams, oil and gas such as Yemeni Liquid National Gas project. He called to continue efforts of enhancing role of the local authority and granting it further financial and administrative powers. "Coming stage needs for gathering efforts of all who are in power or opposition to build the nation," he said. He called on all to look foreword optimistically. " Officials should shoulder their responsibility and do their duties perfectly and honestly to sever nation and people, and the opposition should also shoulder its responsibility too and do its role in serving national interests firstly," he said. "I say many times, the nation for all, and we are responsible," he said. He highly appreciated support offered by friendly and brotherly countries to improve development process in Yemen in donors -conference which was held last November, particularly countries of Gulf Cooperation Council that affirmed their concern to boost ties and partnership with Yemen to achieve joint interest and to serve security and stability in the region. He announced support for the outcomes of the 17th round of the GCC which was held in Riyadh, particularly decision of establishing a joint Gulf program for using atomic energy for peaceful propose, expressing desire of Yemen to participate in the program within unified frame instead of working separately in this field. He expressed deep sadness for tragic situations in Palestine, Iraq, Lebanon, Somali and Afghanistan. "We are worry about miserable developments in these countries," he said. He renewed call of Yemen for all parties in these countries to adopt dialogue as it way to pass all disputes and fulfill peace and stability as well as fail plots targeting unity of their nations and interests. The Secretary General of the Arab League Amr Moussa spoke of the situation in the Middle East and its negative effect on the security and stability in the region, starting with the Arab-Israeli conflict, through to the Palestinian-Palestinian dispute and the strife in Iraq and the Lebanese crisis ending with the war currently raging in Somalia. He stressed the need to see the 2007 re-evaluation of attitudes and policies towards the Arab key issues and how to deal with them and the major international powers to re-evaluate their policies with regards to the issues of the region. Moussa said at his annual meeting with representatives of the media that regarding the Arab-Israeli conflict that there is one point of view and Arab attempts to revive the Arab peace initiative are vital. He aid that 1990s approach no longer works and there must be a return to the Security Council. He criticized Israeli contradictions when it comes to their approach on the subjects of willingness to show positive signs for the resumption of the peaceful political process with the Palestinians, the release of prisoners and Palestinian funds being withheld. On Lebanon, Moussa explained that the Arab League initiative on the current political crisis in Lebanon is still open and has the support of Arab and Lebanese parties, pointing out that the Arab League will continue its work and efforts. In response to a question about dialogue between the Arab League and the United States, especially in light of the recent developments in the region, Moussa said that there is always a need to have open dialogue between the two. U.S. President George W. Bush mourned the death of the 3,000th U.S. soldier in Iraq, the White House said, but cautioned war weary Americans that no quick end was in sight to the fight against terrorism, according to Reuters. "The president believes that every life is precious and grieves for each one that is lost," said White House spokesman Scott Stanzel. "He will ensure their sacrifice was not made in vain." Head of the Future Bloc in Parliament MP Saad Hariri pledged to block attempts to turn Lebanon into a conflict zone that serves the interests of other countries, and said the international tribunal to try the suspects in Prime Minister Rafic Hariri's assassination will soon be created despite attempts to scuttle it. In a statement on the occasion of Eid Al-Adha and the holidays, MP Hariri also said he hoped that 2007 will witness the end of a series of assassinations and will bring stability, and full sovereignty and independence to Lebanon. He stressed that the coincidence of Islamic and Christian holidays at the same time, this year, symbolize the unity of the Lebanese and their coexistence regardless of internal and external bids to render one group or sect victorious over the others. Head of the Future Bloc also made clear that the creation of an international tribunal will soon materialize with the support of the Lebanese who have prevailed over terrorism and pressure. He added, the court will protect Lebanon against further assassinations. The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) announced a resumption of air aid deliveries to the country, where it is struggling to feed half a million people affected by floods. The UN Common Air Services (UNCAS) which is managed by WFP, resumed humanitarian flights into Somalia with a plane leaving Nairobi for Hargeisa in northern Somalia carrying humanitarian workers and cargo. "WFP hopes to resume all its air operations using airdrops and helicopters in Somalia as soon as possible and is in contact with authorities on the ground in an attempt to achieve this," according to the news release. More than 100 national staff in Somalia operating from 15 offices across the country are continuing to distribute food to victims of the floods and other vulnerable people. Tornado fighter jets are regularly being scrambled to monitor passenger planes flying into British airspace, the head of the RAF has revealed. Air Chief Marshal Sir Glenn Torpy, the Chief of the Air Staff, said counter-hijacking operations by the RAF have been launched every month since the September 11 attacks. Sir Glenn said: "The Tornados have been launching pretty regularly for any aircraft that appear to be behaving oddly: for instance, where airline pilots fail to communicate with flight control or take an unexpected route. "We're pretty acutely aware of the short time that we have to respond to these incidents. If there is any doubt at all about an aircraft, we launch the Tornados." Last month an RAF fighter was called upon to shadow a plane flying from Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris to Detroit in the US. Sir Glenn said the pilot of the North West Airlines plane asked to divert to Prestwick, near Glasgow, because of fears over a passenger's behaviour. The RAF was alerted and a Tornado F3, which was already airborne, shadowed the aircraft as it flew into the airport. French Defense Minister Michele Alliot-Marie paid a visit to Lebanon to review the movement of French troops deploying to a UN peacekeeping force in the south. She told reporters on arrival at Beirut airport that the aim of her visit was "to assure the Lebanese authorities of France's support" for Lebanon and its post-war reconstruction. The mission would also "strengthen cooperation" between the Lebanese and French armed forces, she said. The number of people killed by floods and landslides in western Indonesia jumped to 193 on Friday as rescuers reached remote villages, delivering food and medicine to thousands of people displaced by torrential weeklong rains. Boats and helicopters were used to ferry aid to survivors in Aceh province, located on Sumatra island's northern tip, where the death toll climbed to 146, said Jabad, an official in the area who goes by only one name. At least 47 others were killed in neighbouring North Sumatra province, said Edy Sofyan, the provincial spokesman. Authorities said more than 400,000 people were forced from their homes as result of the flooding. Vandals set fire to about 400 cars overnight and police said they arrested more than 250 people, as violence marred France's New Year celebrations. However, a police spokesman said there were fewer problems than in 2005, when youths attacked trains in the Paris region and southeast of the country. 25,000 police were on duty throughout the country during the night, including 4500 in Paris, where the authorities banned fireworks and firecrackers. Police said that they had arrested 258 people nationwide by early morning, including two children aged eight and 10 who set fire to dustbins in the eastern city of Strasbourg. Three children aged between 10 and 12 were arrested in a Paris suburb after they were caught carrying cans of petrol. In the capital itself, almost 400,000 people welcomed in the New Year on the Champs Elysees and at the foot of the Eiffel Tower, where no serious incidents were reported. Russia has assumed the rotating Presidency of the Security Council for the month of January, and Russian Ambassador Vitaly Churkin met with the Secretary-General in his role as the new Council President. The Security Council held its first consultations for the year, on its programme of work and Ambassador Churkin intends to hold a press after those consultations, to discuss the Council's work over the month. Sultan Qaboos bin Said has issued Royal Decree No. 1/2007 on endorsement of the state budget for the fiscal 2007. Article (1) of the decree endorses the general state budget for the fiscal year 2007 as per the tables annexed to the decree. Article (2) of the decree empowers all ministries and government units with enforcement of the provisions of the royal decree each within its prerogatives. Article (3) says that this Royal decree shall be published in the Official Gazette and takes effect from January 1, 2007. The Chief of Staff of the Israeli Army, General Dan Haltos held meetings with army commanders to discuss the findings of an internal investigation conducted by the army on the failures of the war in Lebanon. It is expected that this will have the participation of about 600 high-ranking officer in this business, which is being held in an air force base in the north of the country. General Haltos will hold discussions with the leaders of the army in the light of the results achieved. Saddam Hussein was buried in his native village. In a sparsely attended ceremony in Awja, in the Tikrit region north of the capital, the former Iraqi leader was laid to rest in a family plot. Egyptian Ambassador to Lebanon Hussein Darrar announced Tuesday that Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa was ready to resume mediation efforts in Lebanon provided that Lebanese politicians show some "flexibility" in their positions. |