Category: General

Riyadh, Mohammed Al Nasfan, a Saudi squash team player, ranked eleventh internationally at the England World Junior and Youth Squash Championship, which was held in Birmingham, UK, from January 4 to 8, with the participation of 256 players representing 28 countries, it was reported here today.

Executive Director of the Saudi Squash Federation Khaled Al-Saad praised Al Nasfan for his outstanding achievement, given that Saudi Arabia is making its debut in this distinguished tournament, which saw the participation of several world top players.

Source: Saudi Press Agency

Riyadh, Minister of Islamic Affairs, Call and Guidance Sheikh Dr. Abdullatif bin Abdulaziz Al Al-Sheikh received here today Mufti of Akkar in the Republic of Lebanon Dr. Zaid Bakkar Zakaria, and his accompanying delegation, which is currently visiting the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

During the meeting, they discussed a number of issues of common interest, especially those related to serving Islam, spreading moderation, and confronting extremism.

Source: Saudi Press Agency

Riyadh, Director of the Community Support Department at King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSrelief) Dr. Hana Omar met here today with Ambassador of the Kingdom of Sweden to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Petra Menander, and her accompanying delegation.

During the meeting, they discussed issues of common interest related to the humanitarian and relief affairs.

Source: Saudi Press Agency

Riyadh, Minister of Islamic Affairs, Call and Guidance Sheikh Dr. Abdullatif bin Abdulaziz Al Al-Sheikh received here today Head of the Islamic Sheikhdom, Head of Scholars, and Grand Mufti of Bosnia and Herzegovina Dr. Husein Kavazovic, who is currently visiting the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

During the meeting, they discussed a number of issues related to the situations of Muslims in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and bilateral cooperation in the Islamic fields between the ministry and the sheikhdom in light of the memorandum of understanding signed between the two countries.

Source: Saudi Press Agency

Khartoum, King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSrelief) distributed on Friday 1,000 food baskets in the Republic of Sudan, benefiting 4,830 people.

This comes as part of the emergency food aid provided by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, through the KSrelief, to those affected by the floods and the most needy families in the Republic of Sudan.

Source: Saudi Press Agency

Manama, Under the patronage of His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Crown Prince and Prime Minister, the University of Bahrain (UoB) will hold a graduation ceremony for its 24th batch of students from January 19 to 29.

The UoB President Dr. Jawaher Shaheen Al Mudhahka affirmed that HRH the Crown Prince and Prime Minister’s patronage of the ceremony is an important incentive for the university and its graduates who take pride in graduating from the most prestigious higher education establishment in the Kingdom of Bahrain.

Dr. Al Mudhahka said that the university had formed many committees to follow up on the details of the ceremony, being one of the major events awaited by the students in coronation of their academic march.

Source: Bahrain News Agency

Manama, Under the patronage of Social Development Minister, Osama bin Ahmed Khalaf Al-Asfoor, the Bahraini Catalysts Disabilities Association (BCDA) has organised a conference entitled “Successes of People of Determination”.

Social Development Ministry’s Sahar Rashid Al-Mannai and BCDA Chairman, Riyadh Al-Marzouq, attended the conference in which a number of NGOs and dignitaries participated.

Addressing the conference, the Undersecretary affirmed that the kingdom attaches great interest to people with special needs, being among the pillars of the comprehensive development process, led by His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, and supported by His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince and Prime Minister, in order to preserve and optimise their gains, as well as provide them with comprehensive protection so that they enjoy full equality with their peers in society.

She also commended the humanitarian and developmental efforts of the Bahraini Catalysts Disabilities Association.

She also praised the theme of the conference aiming to open up wider horizons for people of determination, as well as highlight their success stories.

Source: Bahrain News Agency

Riyadh, Sebastien Loeb recorded a dramatic stage victory for Bahrain Raid Xtreme in the Dakar Rally today after another classic battle with Carlos Sainz and overall leader Nasser Al Attiyah in Saudi Arabia.

Loeb and Fabian Lurquin in their BRX Prodrive Hunter won the 346km eighth stage from Al Duwadimi to Riyadh by 2 mins 11 secs from Al Attiyah and Mathieu Baumel to climb to fourth place in the overall rankings.

Sainz and Lucas Cruz had led the stage for much of the day, but dropped two places when they collected a five-minute penalty after finishing in their Audi for speeding in a restricted zone.

The result saw nine-time World Rally Champion Loeb continuing his rise up the rankings following a series of earlier setbacks, while Al Attiyah extended his outright advantage to 1hr 3mins 46secs over Toyota team-mate, South African Henk Lategan.

For the fourth day in a row, three Prodrive Hunters finished in the top ten, with Guerlain Chicherit and Alex Winocq clocking the sixth best time and Vaidotas Zala with Paulo Fiuza in tenth spot.

Loeb’s second stage win, and the third for BRX following Chicherit’s victory last Tuesday, gave the Frenchman another World Rally-Raid Championship points boost as the power of the Prodrive Hunter again shone through.

Starting off through stony valleys, the stage broke out across the dunes up to the refuelling station, with the rest of the route setting a tough test of navigation along fast tracks and long valley sections.

It became the scene of another gripping Dakar battle between the world’s best drivers, with Loeb setting the early pace before Sainz grabbed the initiative and Al Attiyah stayed in the hunt to keep the outcome uncertain to the finish.

With tomorrow being a rest day, the crews will enjoy some well-earned relaxation before the Dakar action returns with the 358km ninth stage on Tuesday.

There will be little rest, however, for the remainder of the 67-strong BRX team in Saudi. They will work round the clock to prepare the three Prodrive Hunters, each running on EcoPower fuel, created by Coryton, which reduces greenhouse gas emissions by 80% compared to petrol.

Source: Bahrain News Agency

Baghdad, The Minister of Interior, Abdul Amir Al-Shammari, announced that the organizational matters of the Gulf 25 will be reviewed, stressing that what happened yesterday “will not be repeated.”

Al-Shammari said in a press conference that the Prime Minister directed a comprehensive analysis of what happened at the Gulf 25 opening ceremony.

For his part, the head of the Iraqi Football Assossation, Adnan Darjal, said: We are keen to correct what happened yesterday at the opening of the Gulf 25 tournament.

Source: National Iraqi News Agency

The people of Jedeedat Al-Shatt district in Diyala governorate demonstrated to protest against the deterioration of the electricity situation in the district.

NINA correspondent stated that dozens of residents of Jedeedat Al-Shatt district, southwest of Baquba, took the street in a peaceful demonstration and blocked Baquba / Baghdad road, protesting against the deterioration of the electricity file, calling on the government agencies to do justice to the district and to work on the programmed cut-off, similar to the rest of the Diyala regions

Source: National Iraqi News Agency

A source in Hilla Central Prison announced today, Friday, the death of an inmate from Nineveh Governorate, who was sentenced to life imprisonment according to the Anti-Terrorism Law, as a result of illness complications.

He said, “One of those convicted according to Article 4 of the Anti-Terrorism Law died today, Friday, as a result of illness complications.

He added that the police transferred the body to the forensic medicine office to find out the cause of death

Source: National Iraqi News Agency

A media source from the Najaf Civil Defense Directorate announced that a young girl was recovered as a result of the collapse of her family’s dilapidated house, but she died after arriving at the hospital.

The Directorate’s media pointed out that “the girl from the Milad neighborhood in the north of the governorate, and the house collapsed as a result of the repercussions of heavy rains on the governorate, and she was transported alive by civil defense cadres with a severe head injury, but she died upon her arrival at the hospital.”

Source: National Iraqi News Agency