Category: General

Bethlehem – Ma’an – On Monday morning, the occupation forces arrested the sister of the head of the Hamas political bureau, Ismail Haniyeh.

The occupation forces stormed the house of Ismail Haniyeh’s sister in Tel Saba in the Negev and arrested her.

Source: Maan News Agency

Dhaka, The King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSrelief) distributed 400 food baskets to 2,000 individuals yesterday from the neediest families in Bangladesh. The assistance is part of the Ramadan food basket project “Etaam” in Bangladesh for the year 1445 AH.

The initiative is part of Saudi Arabia’s humanitarian and relief projects introduced by KSrelief to help needy people everywhere.

Source: Saudi Press Agency

Riyadh: According to the National Center for Meteorology, moderate and torrential thundershowers, accompanied by dust-stirring winds would still be forecast for some parts of Najran, Jazan, Asir, Baha, Makkah, Madinah, Qassim, and Riyadh regions, while light and moderate rain would be forecast for some parts of Eastern, Hail and Tabuk Regions and the fog formations would be seen in some parts of these regions.

Winds over the Red Sea would be northeasterly to northwesterly in the northern part, registering a speed of 10 to 30km/h and southwesterly to northwesterly in the central part, registering a speed of 10 to 35km/h and southeasterly to southwesterly in the southern part, registering a speed of 12 to 32km/h, reaching 60km/h with thunderstorms. In the Arabian Gulf, the wind will be northwesterly to westerly in the central and northern parts, registering a speed of 10 to 30km/h, reaching 60km/h with thunderstorms.

Source: Saudi Press Agency

Hebron – Ma’an – Ma’an’s correspondent in Hebron learned, from informed sources, that Brigadier General Tayseer Abdul Karim Al-Fakhouri has been appointed Deputy Governor of Hebron.

Brigadier General Al-Fakhouri served as Deputy Director of the General Intelligence Service for Hebron Governorate, before he was appointed Deputy Governor of Hebron.

Source: Maan News Agency

Ramallah – Ma’an – The Jerusalem Governorate Electricity Company completed the project of “laying ground high-voltage cables” and removing high-voltage overhead lines at a distance of 900 meters in the town of Turmus Ayya, north of the city of Ramallah.

The company confirmed that the project aims to increase the reliability of electrical current, improve electrical quality, and improve the voltage reaching the region.

The company indicated that the implementation of the new project in the northern Ramallah area, which will serve the towns of Turmus Ayya, Al-Mughayir and Abu Falah, comes within the framework of the business strategy drawn up by the General Administration of the Jerusalem Company with the aim of providing the best and highest quality services to the company’s subscribers in the various concession areas.

The cost of the project amounted to approximately 350 thousand shekels.

Source: Maan News Agency

Damascus, An Israeli act of aggression targeted on Monday afternoon the Iranian consulate building in Mezzeh neighborhood in Damascus.

SANA reporter said that the aggression caused massive destruction to the building and damage to neighboring buildings.

The army air defenses repelled some of the Israeli agression’s missiles.

Source: Syrian Arab News Agency

Makkah: The many intricate geometric details that adorn the Grand Mosque of Makkah, including its domes, create a visually stunning pattern that delights the eye. Their precise design is derived from the rich Islamic heritage, but incorporates contemporary aspects as well.

During the third Saudi expansion of the mosque, 22 domes were constructed, 12 of which made of movable glass, six of fixed glass, on the second floor, and other four fixed domes over the central halls of the second floor.

The 12 movable glass domes are located above the rear and central courtyards; they measure 28.5×17 meters, an external height of 8.75 meters, and a weight of approximately 300 tons.

The internal and external facades are made of marble and glass, the latter for openings. The external surfaces are made of colored mosaic, and the internal ceilings are made of wood inlaid with precious stones.

The glass domes open via a central control unit to provide natural ventilation when the temperature is suitable and automatically i
n case of fire to release smoke.

The six fixed glass domes that are located on the second floor measure 9×14 meters, have an internal height of 35.5 meters, and weigh some 20 tons each.

The four fixed domes that are located above the central halls on the second floor have an outer diameter of 16.6 meters, an internal height of 9.6 meters, an external height of 13.6 meters, and they weigh 25 tons each.

Source: Saudi Press Agency

National News Agency correspondent in Nabatieh reported that the air attack on the town of Hounin this afternoon led to the serious injury of citizen A. Abbas after the enemy raid targeted an area near his house, causing him to be injured with flying shrapnel. He was rushed to a nearby hospital for immediate treatment.

Source: National News Agency – Lebanon

Riyadh: According to the National Center for Meteorology, strong winds will blow and moderate to heavy rain accompanied by hail may fall in parts of Najran, Jazan, and Asir regions, and may extend to Al-Baha.

Light to moderate rain may fall in the southern parts of the Eastern Region and Riyadh.

Dust-stirring winds that limit visibility will blow in parts of the Eastern Region, Riyadh and Qassim.

Winds over the Red Sea will be westerly to northwesterly, at speeds of 20-40 km/h in the northern and central parts, and southwesterly to northwesterly, at speeds of 15-45 km/h in the southern part. Waves will range from one to two meters in the northern and central parts, and from half a meter to two and a half meters in the southern part; the sea will be calm to choppy.

In the Arabian Gulf, winds will be southeasterly to northeasterly, reaching 20-50 km/h. Waves will range from one to two and a half meters; the sea will be calm to choppy.

Source: Saudi Press Agency

Muscat: His Majesty Sultan Haitham bin Tarik has sent a cable of congratulations to President Bassirou Diomaye of the Republic of Senegal on the occasion of winning the presidential elections of his country.

In the cable, His Majesty the Sultan expressed his heartfelt sentiments to President Bassirou Diomaye, wishing him success in leading the people of Senegal towards further progress. His Majesty also wished the bilateral relations further development and prosperity.

Source: Oman News Agency

Ramallah – Ma’an – The Palestinian Center for Development and Media Freedoms (MADA) announced the results of its annual report on media freedoms in Palestine during the past year 2023.

This came during a press conference held today, Monday, at the Mada Center headquarters, where the Chairman of the Center’s Board of Directors delivered the conference speech, with the participation of A. Jihad Harb, Member of the Board of Directors, and Mr. Sherine Al-Khatib, Acting Director of the Center, and a number of journalists and media institutions.

First, Dr. Hanania welcomed the audience and asked them to recite Al-Fatiha for the souls of the civilian martyrs, including the martyrs of the media movement who rose since the beginning of October 7 in the Gaza Strip.

He reviewed the number of violations during the year 2023 committed by all parties that occurred this year under circumstances that can be described as bloody on media freedoms, and indicated that the Mada Center, despite all the challenges and obstacles,
is still keen to continue performing its role and completing its mission that it was established from. He postponed it, and stressed again the importance of approving the right to access information law, hoping that the new government would work to approve it as soon as possible. He also sent a message to all Palestinian factions and organizations to give priority to the public interest and to work seriously to end the division to achieve unity and victory.

For her part, Al-Khatib reviewed the results of the annual report on media freedoms in Palestine for the year 2023, referring to the efforts of the Mada Center since its establishment to shed light on the violations practiced against media freedoms in Palestine from all sides, which crossed all borders during the past year with the martyrdom of 103 journalists in Palestine. Gaza Strip in the crimes of the Israeli occupation against media freedoms.

It showed that violations of media freedoms increased during the year 2023 by 40% compared to the year befor
e 2023, as Mada documented a total of 848 violations against media freedoms in Palestine (the occupation forces and authorities committed a total of 715 violations (84.3%), while the means of communication committed There were a total of 62 violations (7.3%), while the various Palestinian parties in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip committed 71 violations (8.3%) of the total documented violations, indicating that the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip was one of the main reasons for the increase in the number of violations as a result of atrocities. committed by the occupation forces in the last quarter of the year, especially those committed in the Gaza Strip, which increased by 72% compared to the year 2022.

She pointed out that the Israeli violations came within 21 types, and as in previous years, most of them occurred within the types that are dangerous to media freedoms and to the lives of journalists, which are (murder, physical injuries, preventing coverage and targeting to prevent coverage, arrest, closin
g and destroying media institutions, in addition to bombing and destroying Journalists’ homes), which constituted 74% of all Israeli violations.

The report indicated that the 103 murders of journalists constituted 14.4% of the total Israeli violations, followed by physical attacks, which amounted to 141 attacks, in about 64% of which the occupation forces resorted to using live ammunition and lethal means against journalists during field coverage.

The report also showed a decrease in the number of documented social media violations during the year 2023, as a total of 62 violations were monitored out of the total number of violations, representing 7%, of which the ‘Meta’ company occupied 89%.

However, this decrease does not indicate an improvement in the policy of social media sites regarding Palestinian content. Rather, it is due to the inability to monitor it in the last quarter of the year after the start of the war, due to its high incidence among journalists in the Gaza Strip.

The report also revealed
a slight increase in the number of documented Palestinian violations of 13 types during the past year, 2023, as it documented a total of 71 violations committed by Palestinian parties in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, representing 8% of the total documented violations, compared to 55 violations documented in the previous year, 2022.

The report indicated that physical attacks topped Palestinian violations in number, amounting to 10 attacks, followed by arrests of journalists, with 9 violations. The report also showed that Palestinian violations in the West Bank witnessed an increase during the year 2023 by 26% over the previous year in 2022, and violations in the Gaza Strip increased slightly by 5 points over the previous year.

Source: Maan News Agency

Damascus, Foreign and Expatriates Minister, Fayssal Mikdad, accompanied by a delegation of the ministry, visited on Monday the chancery of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Damascus to check on the safety of its staff in the wake of the brutal Israeli terrorist aggression that targeted the Iranian Consulate building in Damascus.

During the visit, Minister Al- Mikdad made a telephone call with Iranian Foreign Minister, Hossein Amir Abdollahian, in which he expressed Syria’s strong condemnation of this fascist aggression against the diplomatic building, and the Syrian Arab Republic’s standing by the Islamic Republic of Iran in the face of the attacks it is being exposed to, these attacks that express a state of the hysteria to which the Zionist entity is going through as a result of its miserable failure in its war against the Palestinian people in Gaza.

For his part, Minister Abdullahian expressed his thanks and appreciation to Minister Mikdad for his quick initiative to stand alongside his brothers in the Ira
nian embassy in Damascus, which represents a strong message of support and stresses once again that Syria and Iran stand together in the face of Israeli barbarism that has exceeded all limits.

In a press statement at the conclusion of the visit, Mikdad stressed that the Israeli occupation entity will not be able to affect the relations between Iran and Syria, expressing his condemnation of the Israeli terrorist attack that targeted the Iranian consulate building.

‘We, at the Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran, affirm once again that Israel cannot affect the relationship between the Syrian Arab Republic and the Islamic Republic of Iran.’ Mikdad said.

He added ‘We have said for a long time that ‘Israel,’ the racist entity, is a symbol of terrorism in this world, and the massacres committed by the Zionists, especially in Gaza Strip, indicate that they are not human, and indicate that they are fighting people wherever they are, and this matter is also reflected in those who support ‘Israel’, especially in
the United States of America.’

Mikdad described the Israeli attack that targeted the Iranian consulate building in Damascus as heinous terrorist act that led to the martyrdom of a number of innocent people, indicating that targeting embassies is prohibited under international law, and we strongly condemn this criminal act carried out by the Zionist enemy.

For his part, Iran’s ambassador in Damascus, Hussein Akbari, affirmed that the Israeli attack on the Iranian consulate reflects the reality of the Zionist entity, which does not recognize any international laws and does everything inhumane to achieve what it wants.

Akbari stressed that Iran continues to stand by the resistant peoples and is not afraid of the crimes and attacks of the usurping Zionist entity, noting that there is a responsibility on international institutions and organizations to stop Zionist crimes that violate international law.

Source: Syrian Arab News Agency