UAE, Bahrain back Kingdom

MANAMA/RIYADH: Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates on Wednesday pledged their full support to the action taken by Saudi Arabia to secure its southern borders.

The backing from the two Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries came following a meeting between UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al-Nahyan and his Bahraini counterpart Sheikh Khaled bin Ahmed Al-Khalifa in Manama.

Meanwhile, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah received a message from Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh on Wednesday, the Saudi Press Agency said.

The agency said Yemeni Foreign Minister Abu Bakr Al-Qirbi handed over the message to King Abdullah during a meeting at the king’s Janadriya ranch. It did not say anything about the content of the message.

The news agency said the meeting was attended by Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal, Intelligence Chief Prince Muqrin and Yemeni Ambassador to Riyadh Muhammad Ali Al-Ahwal.

The meeting took place a day after Saudi Arabia gave ultimatum to Yemeni infiltrators to leave the Kingdom’s territory within 24 hours or face death. “They have 24 hours to surrender, or we will destroy them,” said Prince Khaled bin Sultan, assistant minister of defense and aviation, on Tuesday.

Prince Khaled said 73 Saudi soldiers were killed, 470 wounded and 26 went missing since fighting broke out in November between Saudi forces and Yemeni infiltrators.

This is the first time the Kingdom has given a death toll for the fighting between Saudi forces and Yemeni intruders, which began more than a month and a half ago. On Nov. 3, rebels killed a Saudi border guard and occupied two villages inside Saudi territory.

Prince Khaled said Saudi forces would remain in the area until the last intruder is expelled. “What we are doing now is bringing things to normal. We have also made arrangements to prevent infiltration and other crimes,” the minister told reporters.

The annual GCC summit, which was held in Kuwait City last week, had reaffirmed its support to Saudi Arabia against any attempt to undermine its security and sovereignty.

“We are fully behind Saudi Arabia against the cross-border assaults launched by armed infiltrators against the Saudi territories,” the communiqué issued at the end of the summit said. They also extended full backing to the unity, security and stability of Yemen.

Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah opened the summit on Dec. 14 voicing full support for Saudi Arabia in its fight against the infiltrators.

“We renew our strong condemnation of these aggressions (against Saudi Arabia) and declare full support for whatever actions Saudi Arabia takes to defend its territory,” the emir said.

Source : Arab News

ICC decision not helpful: Kingdom

P.K. Abdul Ghafour, Arab News

JEDDAH: Saudi Arabia yesterday expressed its strong dissatisfaction over the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) decision to issue an arrest warrant for Sudan’s President Omar Bashir on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity. The Kingdom said it would only complicate the Darfur problem rather than solving it.

The Council of Ministers, chaired by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah, reaffirmed Saudi Arabia’s support for Sudan, saying Riyadh would stand by Khartoum to confront “whatever undermines its sovereignty, stability and territorial integrity.”

The Kingdom urged the relevant parties to continue their efforts to counter the aftermath of the ICC decision. “We call upon the UN Security Council to shoulder its responsibility toward preserving Sudan’s peace and stability,” the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) quoted the Cabinet as saying.

Culture and Information Minister Abdul Aziz Khoja said the Cabinet also approved new regulations on sales of residential, commercial, office, service and industrial plots and buildings.

“It has banned the sale of such real estate properties or announcements about them in the local and foreign media or marketing them in the Kingdom or displaying them at exhibitions, except after receiving approval from the relevant committee,” the new law said.

The Cabinet set up a committee at the Ministry of Commerce and Industry to look into applications for real estate development, set out conditions for the technical and financial qualifications of developers as well as conditions for consumer rights and management of joint benefits.

“The committee will also work out conditions for the declaration of sold real estate properties and the mechanism to protect consumers from the sale of a single property to a number of people by developers and middlemen,” SPA said, quoting the Cabinet decision.

The Cabinet also decided to implement the Saudi Construction Code on an experimental basis for two years. The code aims at achieving public safety and protecting public health by ensuring the strength and stability of buildings and institutions and creating a healthy atmosphere, adequate ventilation and light, conserving the use of water and energy and safeguarding people and property from danger.

The Cabinet expressed the Kingdom’s support for Lebanon in its endeavor to maintain stability, peace and national unity. The Kingdom welcomed the upcoming joint summit of Arab and Latin American countries in Qatar on March 31 and hoped Latin American countries would support Arab causes, especially the establishment of a Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital.

Kingdom will attend Cairo meet on Gaza

Arab News

JEDDAH: Saudi Arabia will participate in an international conference to be held in Cairo on March 2 to mobilize fund for the reconstruction of Gaza.

Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal will lead the Saudi delegation, which will include Finance Minister Ibrahim Al-Assaf and Yousuf Al-Bassam, deputy chairman and managing director of Saudi Fund for Development.

“The Kingdom’s participation in the conference comes in line with its continuous support for the Palestinian cause,” an official source told the Saudi Press Agency. Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah has offered $1 billion for Gaza reconstruction.

Meanwhile, the US government plans to offer some $900 million to help rebuild the Gaza strip following Israel’s December-January military incursion, the New York Times reported yesterday.

The aid will be provided through United Nations and nongovernmental organizations, the Times reported, citing unnamed administration officials.

Washington considers Hamas, the group which has ruled Gaza since June 2007, a terrorist organization, and avoids any direct contact with them.

Kingdom offers aid to Lankan charity

Mohammed Rasooldeen, Arab News

RIYADH: The Kingdom has donated SR75,000 to the Islamic Center for the Physically Handicapped (ICPH) in Sri Lanka.

Saudi Ambassador in Colombo Abdulaziz Al-Jammaz handed the check to ICPH Director Jiffry Haniffa at a simple function held at the Saudi mission in Colombo. The handing over was also attended by Omar Hashim, director of the Independent Television Network and adviser to the IPCH.

Al-Jammaz said the Ministry of Islamic Affairs made the donation in recognition of the center’s work among disabled children. He added that the money would go toward the center’s newly opened wing for mentally challenged children.

Thanking the Kingdom’s generosity, Haniffa said the wing hosts 34 mentally challenged children, including 15 girls. “The donation will be used to upgrade the section and to take more inmates from a waiting list of 150,” he said, adding that the lack of funds has prevented the center from taking in more children.

The IPCH is the only center in the island serving Sri Lanka’s 1.6 million Muslim population. It currently cares for 174 children, including 98 boys. Children who pass from this center find lucrative jobs in the private and public sectors. “Some of them have attained excellent results in public examinations,” said Haniffa, adding that the center runs solely on donations from Muslim philanthropists and Islamic organizations from all parts of the world.

A major chunk of the donations comes from Saudi Arabia, said Haniffa. “We also get a sizable amount annually from Sri Lankan Muslims living in the country and abroad during the holy month of Ramadan,” he added.

Meanwhile, the Saudi Embassy in Colombo has been shifted to a spacious location in Horton Place, Colombo’s diplomatic area.

Riyadh Al-Kheneini, deputy chief of mission, told Arab News that the move was long awaited to offer speedy services to visitors.

The embassy on an average issues 200 visas each day. These include visas for Umrah, Haj, employment, business and visit.

“A good number of Sri Lankan expatriates in the Kingdom also make use of the online facility to obtain visas for their close relatives,” he said.