— Developing story.
Saudi aid agency KSrelief provides medical and food assistance in Yemen
RIYADH: The King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSrelief) has helped a Yemeni prosthetics center provide medical services to 536 people in October.
The Prosthetics and Rehabilitation Center in Taiz Governorate provided various medical services Yemeni beneficiaries who have lost limbs, the Saudi Press Agency said.
During the project, 1,757 services were provided including measuring, manufacturing, fitting, delivering and maintaining artificial limbs and prosthetics, in addition to rehabilitation and physiotherapy services.
KSRelief also signed a deal with a Yemeni civil-society organization to provide shelter for the neediest families affected by floods and torrents in Hadhramaut.
Australia out for 104 against India after Starc digs in
- Jasprit Bumrah was India’s chief destroyer with 5-30, Harshit Rana chipped in with 3-48
- India have won their last two Border-Gavaskar trophy series against Australia in Australia
PERTH: Mitchell Starc hit a defiant 26 to keep Australia in touch on day two of the opening Test at Perth, with the hosts all out for 104 at lunch on Saturday to trail India by 46.
Australia lost Alex Carey and Nathan Lyon during an intense session on a lively deck before Starc and Josh Hazlewood dug in.
They reached three figures courtesy of a dogged last-wicket holdout by the pair — their 25-run stand was the longest of the Australian innings. Hazlewood was not-out seven.
Jasprit Bumrah was India’s chief destroyer with 5-30, his 11th five-wicket haul in Tests. Harshit Rana chipped in with 3-48.
Australia resumed on 67-7, trailing by 83, after an astonishing 17 wickets fell on a chaotic opening day when India were all out for 150.
Home hopes rested on Carey as he began on 19, but after nudging two from Rana he came up against an irrepressible Bumrah.
Coming round the wicket, the Indian captain made Carey play and he nicked to wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant.
Lyon (5) did well to hang around for 16 fiery balls before gloving a short one from Rana to KL Rahul in the slips.
That brought Hazlewood to the crease and it seemed only a matter of time before India were batting again, but he and Starc gamely stuck around, bringing up the 100 to huge cheers from the crowd.
It was an intelligent innings by Starc, who doggedly faced 112 balls and protected Hazlewood to add crucial extra runs before holing out Rana to Pant.
India have won their last two Border-Gavaskar trophy series in Australia.
Perth is the first of five Tests in the series.
Orchestra conductor mourns childhood home’s destruction in Israel’s southern Lebanon offensive
- Destruction of Lubnan Baalbaki’s childhood home in October came during Israel’s offensive in Lebanon
- Baalbaki’s family home in Odaisseh, designed by his late father, held more than just personal memories
BEIRUT: Lubnan Baalbaki, the conductor of the Lebanese Philharmonic Orchestra, watched on his phone screen as an aerial camera pointed to a village in southern Lebanon. In seconds, multiple houses erupted into rubble, smoke filling the air. The camera panned right, revealing widespread devastation.
He zoomed in to confirm his fears: His family’s house in the border village of Odaisseh, where his parents are buried, was now in ruins.
“To see your house getting bombed and in a split second turned into ash, I don’t think there is description for it,” Baalbaki said.
The destruction of his childhood home in October came during Israel’s offensive in Lebanon. The aim, Israel says, is to debilitate the Hezbollah militant group, push it away from the border and end more than a year of Hezbollah fire into northern Israel.
The Israeli military has released videos of controlled detonations in areas along the border, saying it is targeting Hezbollah facilities and weapons.
But the bombardment has also wiped out entire residential neighborhoods or even villages. The World Bank in a recent report said over 99,000 housing units have been “fully or partially damaged” by the war in Lebanon.
Baalbaki’s family home in Odaisseh, designed by his late father, renowned Lebanese painter Abdel Hamid Baalbaki, held more than just personal memories. It held a collection of Abdel Hamid’s paintings, his art workshop and over 1,500 books. All were destroyed along with the house.
What cut even deeper, Baalbaki said, was the loss of the letters his parents exchanged during his father’s art studies in France. Only a few remain as digital photos.
“The language of passion and love they shared was filled with poetry,” Baalbaki said.
In a book of poems and photographs his father created for his wife following her sudden death in a car accident, the first page reads, “Dedication to Adeeba, the partner of my most precious days, the love bird that left its nest too soon.”
Abdel Hamid painstakingly designed his wife’s tombstone. Later, he was laid to rest beside her in the garden next to the house. For their son, watching his childhood home go up in smoke brought back the pain of losing them.
It was a moment he had feared for months.
Hezbollah began firing missiles into Israel on Oct. 8, 2023, in solidarity with Hamas in Gaza. Israel responded with airstrikes and shelling. For nearly a year, the conflict remained limited.
After the war dramatically escalated on Sept. 23 with intense Israeli airstrikes on southern and eastern Lebanon as well as Beirut’s southern suburbs, Baalbaki and his siblings frequently checked satellite images for updates on their village.
On Oct. 26, explosions in and around Odaisseh triggered an earthquake alert in northern Israel. That day, videos circulated online, one of which showed their home being obliterated.
Until a few days before that, the satellite images showed their house still standing.
Now, Baalbaki said, he is resolved to honor his father’s dream.
“The mourning phase started to turn to determination to rebuild this project,” he said.
When the war is over, he plans to rebuild the house as an art museum and cultural center.
T20 Blind Cricket World Cup kicks off in Pakistan today sans India’s participation
- Pakistan’s blind cricket team to take on South Africa in Lahore today
- India failed to secure clearance from government to travel to Pakistan
ISLAMABAD: The fourth T20 Blind Cricket World Cup will kick off today, Saturday, with Pakistan set to face South Africa in the eastern city of Lahore, state-run media reported days after India pulled out of the tournament.
The T20 Blind Cricket World Cup is scheduled to be held in Pakistan from Nov. 23-Dec. 3. As per Radio Pakistan, the tournament will feature blind cricket teams from Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, South Africa, Nepal and Afghanistan.
“In the Fourth edition of the Blind Cricket T20 World Cup, the opening match will be played between South Africa and Pakistan in Lahore today,” Radio Pakistan said.
India was also scheduled to take part in the tournament but the Cricket Association for the Blind in India (CABI) announced on Wednesday that its blind cricket team was withdrawing from the event, citing its failure to secure clearance from New Delhi to travel to Pakistan.
Political tensions between nuclear-armed neighbors India and Pakistan have restricted cultural exchanges and bilateral sports events between the two nations.
Both countries have fought three wars, two of them over the Muslim-majority Himalayan region of Kashmir, which they both claim in full but rule in part.
India withdrew its blind cricket team from the tournament with a little over three months left before the start of the 2025 Champions Trophy, which is also set to be held in Pakistan in February/March next year. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) informed the International Cricket Council (ICC) this month that India will not travel to Pakistan for the tournament.
The ICC informed the PCB of the BCCI’s decision, following which Pakistan demanded an explanation from the cricket governing body. Pakistan has repeatedly insisted it will not agree for the tournament to be shifted to another country and has insisted India travel to Pakistan for the Champions Trophy.
Pakistan hosted last year’s Asia Cup but all of India’s games were played in Sri Lanka under a “hybrid” hosting model for the tournament. Several months later, Pakistan traveled to India for the 50-over World Cup.
KSrelief continues humanitarian outreach in Jordan, Afghanistan and Lebanon
- KSrelief provided medical services and distribution of basic needs to individuals
RIYADH: The King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSrelief) continues its humanitarian activities in Jordan, Afghanistan and Lebanon with the provision of medical services and distribution of basic needs to individuals.
At Jordan’s Zaatri Camp, the Saudi aid agency provided medical services to 2,738 patients during the second week of November. General practitioners treated 657 patients, internists saw 125 patients dealing with diabetes, hypertension and asthma.
The pediatric clinic examined 270 children, while the emergency department attended to 297 patients. Meanwhile, dentists attended to 183 patients
The gynecology clinic served 182 women while ear, nose, and throat doctors clinic treated 57 patients for conditions such as sinusitis, pharyngitis, tonsillitis, and otitis media.
The ophthalmology clinic assisted 51 patients and provided them with medications. The cardiology clinic received 27 patients, and the diagnostic radiology clinic conducted examinations for 25 patients.
Other medical services provided also included laboratory tests, x-rays and vaccinations.
In Afghanistan, 200 shelter kits and 200 tents have been handed out for the benefit of 1,200 individuals as part of a project for returnees from Pakistan to Afghanistan and those affected by flooding.
In Lebanon, KSrelief distributed 530 purchase coupons to orphans and people with disabilities in Akkar region, Beirut, central and western Bekaa and Armoun.
The coupons allow recipients to buy winter clothing of their choice from approved stores.
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