RIYADH: As part of a regional initiative to step up war on drugs, the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), which includes Saudi Arabia, announced plans here yesterday to set up a major center to combat drug trafficking. This center will help to map out future strategies for checking the drug trade, prevent transactions of dirty money, and foil drug trafficking attempts in the Gulf region. “This regional center, called Gulf Center for Criminal Intelligence, is being set up with the help of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC),” said a statement released by the GCC General Secretariat. The center, it said, “would improve co-operation among the member states by exchange of information on drug trafficking.”
RIYADH: The body of an Indian woman has been stranded for the last 72 hours at King Khaled International Airport (KKIA) in Riyadh on account of a disruption in Air India (AI) flights due to a Riyadh-bound AI plane catching fire in Mumbai on Friday. The Indian carrier, on the other hand, has announced it is paying SR390 (5,000 Indian rupees) to the 229 passengers of the Riyadh-bound plane as a token of support and compensation.
RIYADH: Family members and detainees of the Somaishi Deportation Center here confirmed to Arab News on Monday that Mohammed Saquib, 45, passed away in the center’s clinic. Saquib, described by his inmates as mentally challenged and suffering from tuberculosis, was rushed to the deportation center’s clinic on Sunday night where he passed away. Arab News reported on Friday that Saquib and another inmate identified only as Siyaram, 60, were in an alarming state of physical and mental deterioration.
RIYADH, 25 August 2007 — Osama Al-Kurdi, a Shoura Council member, has been chosen as the deputy chairman of the Inter-Parliamentarians for Social Services (IPSS) following its meeting in Seoul. Al-Kurdi, who is a versatile scholar and social scientist, was selected by the IPSS general assembly, which seeks to set up a legal and institutional framework to promote social services around the globe.
The King Abdul Aziz City for Science and Technology (KACST) has warned against a hoax e-mail claiming that Mars will look as large as the moon to the naked eye on Aug. 27 and that it will be as if there are “two full moons in the sky.” “It is misleading news… There is no astronomical event to occur as claimed. Rather, a full lunar eclipse will take place on Aug. 28,” said Dr. Zaki Mustafa, head of KACST’s Astronomy Department.
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia formally established diplomatic ties with Kosovo following the signing of the protocol accord for diplomatic relations by Khalid A. Al-Nafisee, permanent representative of Saudi Arabia to the United Nations, and Avni Spahiu, Kosovo ambassador to the United States, at the UN office on Friday. A close ally, the Kingdom has also been one of the top donors to Kosovo, which broke away from Serbia and declared its independence in February 2008.