BEIJING: Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs Prince Faisal bin Farhan met Iraq’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Dr. Fuad Hussein in Beijing on Friday.
The two sides affirmed their strong fraternal relations and discussed ways to enhance and develop them across various fields.
They also exchanged views on recent regional and international developments, foremostly the situation in Gaza and the continuing efforts to address it.
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Saudi foreign minister meets Iraqi counterpart
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Saudi foreign minister meets Iraqi counterpart
- The two sides affirmed their strong fraternal relations
EU delegation reviews Saudi efforts to combat extremism
- Global Center for Combating Extremist Ideology’s secretary-general, Mansour Al-Shammari, received the delegation and addressed several topics of mutual interest in combating extremism
- EU members were briefed on the center’s strategy and its efforts to combat extremist ideology as well as mitigate its impact and messages
RIYADH: Members of the EU’s Political and Security Committee, including its chair, Delphine Pronk, paid an official visit to the Global Center for Combating Extremist Ideology in Riyadh.
The center’s secretary-general, Mansour Al-Shammari, received the delegation and addressed several topics of mutual interest in combating extremism.
The EU members were briefed on the center’s strategy and its efforts to combat extremist ideology as well as mitigate its impact and messages, the Saudi Press Agency reported on Tuesday.
They also learned about the community initiatives and international partnerships that promote the principles of tolerance and a culture of moderation.
The meeting was attended by EU Special Representative for the Gulf Luigi Di Maio, European External Action Service Managing Director for the Middle East and North Africa Helene Le Gal, EU Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Christophe Farnaud and Saudi Ambassador to the EU Haifa Al-Jedea.
Earlier, the EU delegation visited the Gulf Cooperation Council’s headquarters in Riyadh and met Secretary-General Jasem Al-Budaiwi to discuss mutual interests and joint efforts to address global challenges.
Topics included regional issues such as Israel, Gaza, Lebanon, Gulf security, Iran, maritime security in the Red Sea, Iraq, Sudan, the Horn of Africa and Russia’s aggression against Ukraine.
The delegation also met Saudi Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and Climate Envoy Adel Al-Jubeir to discuss climate change, environmental cooperation and strengthening joint efforts in these areas. They also reviewed recent foreign policy developments in Europe and the Middle East.
Saudi Arabia clinches 3rd-term presidency of Arab States Aviation Security Committee
JEDDAH: Saudi Arabia has been awarded the presidency of the Aviation Security Committee for a third consecutive term following a unanimous vote by member states.
The announcement was made during the recent 40th committee meeting held at the Arab Civil Aviation Organization’s headquarters in the Moroccan capital, Rabat.
The result underscores the Kingdom’s pivotal role and constructive efforts in dealing with regional and global developments in the aviation industry, according to the Saudi Press Agency.
It also underlines the Kingdom’s international standing in forums related to civil aviation and its engagement in specialized international organizations in the field.
Commenting on the reappointment, the General Authority of Civil Aviation’s executive vice president Mohammed Al-Fozan – who also serves as chairman of the Cooperative Aviation Security Program in the Middle East – underlined the significance of enhancing collaborative Arab efforts in aviation transportation security.
He also spoke of the importance of maintaining continuous communication to uphold the highest safety standards.
The vice president explained that Saudi Arabia, a member of ACAO since its creation in 1996, has been working to support the international organization’s efforts through active participation, coordination, and involvement in its corporate structures, the executive council, and its technical committees.
He assured that the Kingdom will continue its efforts to develop and support the Arab League-affiliated organization, enhance its international leadership role, and collaborate with stakeholders to strengthen the industry.
The Kingdom’s civil aviation sector saw a 17 percent annual increase in the first half of 2024 as it reached 62 million passengers, driven by rising domestic and international travel demand.
According to GACA, the period also saw 446,000 flights, a 12 percent rise compared to 2023.
Additionally, air cargo traffic at the country’s airports surged by 41 percent, reaching 606,000 tonnes during the same period.
These developments support Saudi Arabia’s aviation goals, which include tripling annual passenger numbers to 330 million, expanding connectivity to over 250 destinations from its 29 airports, and increasing air freight capacity to 4.5 million tons annually by 2030.
According to GACA, Saudi Arabia remains committed to supporting global civil aviation through various programs and initiatives.
This includes deploying experts to work with specialized bodies, hosting the permanent headquarters of the International Civil Aviation Organization’s CASP-MID, and housing the permanent hub of the Regional Safety Oversight Organization for the Middle East and North Africa.
SPA also highlighted the Kingdom’s $1 million contribution to ICAO under the “No Country Left Behind” initiative.
Death toll from Hindu-Muslim clashes sparked by mosque survey rises to six in India
- Street battles broke out in a bid to block a team of surveyors from the government from entering the Shahi Jama Masjid in Sambhal
- Hindu activist groups have laid claim to several mosques they say were built over Hindu temples during Muslim Mughal rule
Lucknow, India: The death toll from violent protests in India sparked by a survey into whether a centuries-old mosque was built on a Hindu temple has risen to six, an official said Tuesday.
Around 20 police officers were also wounded during the violence on Sunday in Sambhal in India’s northern state of Uttar Pradesh, district magistrate Chirag Goyal told AFP.
Street battles broke out in a bid to block a team of surveyors from the government’s Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) from entering the Shahi Jama Masjid in Sambhal.
The six Muslim men were killed by gunfire — with Goyal saying they were shot by fellow protesters.
“The six killed were caught in crossfire by rioters using homemade pistols,” he said. “The police only fired tear gas and rubber bullets.”
Two people were initially reported dead on Sunday, but more details emerged later, while others later died of their wounds.
Goyal said 25 people had been arrested following the violence.
Hindu activist groups have laid claim to several mosques they say were built over Hindu temples during the Muslim Mughal empire centuries ago.
The survey in Sambhal was ordered by a local court, after a petition from a Hindu priest this month claimed it was built on the site of a Hindu temple.
Within hours the court ordered a survey of the mosque, a decision protested by local Muslim residents.
The first survey was undertaken on November 19. A second survey four days later, which included taking photos and video of the mosque’s features, triggered the violence.
The hilltop Shahi Jama Masjid was built in 1526 during the rule of Mughal emperors Babur and Humayun, according to historians, with renovations during the 17th century.
Hindu nationalist activists were emboldened earlier this year when Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated a grand new Hindu temple in the northern city of Ayodhya, built on grounds once home to the centuries-old Babri mosque.
That mosque was torn down in 1992 in a campaign spearheaded by members of Modi’s party, sparking sectarian riots that killed 2,000 people nationwide, most of them Muslims.
Some Hindu campaigners see an ideological patron in Modi.
Calls for India to more closely align the country’s officially secular political system with its majority Hindu faith have rapidly grown louder since Modi was swept to office in 2014.
It has made the country’s roughly 210-million-strong Muslim minority increasingly anxious about their future.
Israeli military says it is hitting Hezbollah targets in Beirut on a large scale
CAIRO: The Israeli army said on Tuesday it was attacking Hezbollah targets in Lebanese capital Beirut on a large scale.
At least ten simultaneous Israeli strikes pounded Beirut’s southern suburbs on Tuesday, as a spokesman for the Israeli military said the air force was carrying out “a widespread attack” on Hezbollah targets there.
The strikes, filmed by Reuters journalists, were the largest simultaneous attack across Beirut’s southern suburbs so far, and came after the Israeli military issued evacuation orders for 20 locations in the area, its largest such warning yet.
Germany says Lebanon ceasefire ‘within reach’
Baerbock said a proposed ceasefire in the conflict in Lebanon was “within reach“
FIUGGI, Italy: Germany’s Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said Tuesday that an agreement on a proposed ceasefire in the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon was “within reach.”
“A ceasefire and steps toward a political solution along the lines of UN Resolution 1701 are within reach thanks to direct US and French mediation,” Baerbock told reporters on the sidelines of a G7 foreign ministers meeting in Italy.
FIUGGI, Italy: Germany’s Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said Tuesday that an agreement on a proposed ceasefire in the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon was “within reach.”
“A ceasefire and steps toward a political solution along the lines of UN Resolution 1701 are within reach thanks to direct US and French mediation,” Baerbock told reporters on the sidelines of a G7 foreign ministers meeting in Italy.
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