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KARACHI – In implementation of the directives of King Abdullah, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, and under direct supervision of Prince Naif Bin Abdul Aziz, Second Deputy Premier and Minister of Interior, who is also Supervisor of Campaign of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques for Relief of Pakistani people, the first cargo plane donated by the campaign arrived at Karachi International Airport on Thursday.
The plane laden with dates and milk was received by Saudi Ambassador to Pakistan Abdulaziz Bin Ibrahim Al-Ghadeer and a number officials.
The Saudi leadership, the ambassador said, has been keen on supporting the Pakistani people, and it continues sending various kinds of aid since the start of floods disaster in Pakistan. – SPA

ISLAMABAD – A Saudi medical team airplane landed here Tuesday to operate the field hospital which was built in accordance with the directives of King Abdullah, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, to provide assistance to the flood-hit people.
The team was received by Saudi Ambassador to Pakistan Abdulaziz Bin Ibrahim Al-Ghadir, Director General of Emergency and Field Medicine Committee in the Ministry of Health Tariq Al-Arnus and a number of military officials from Saudi Armed Forces’ Medical Service.
Both, Saudi Embassy in Islamabad and Consulate General in Karachi are working round-the-clock to serve the affected and provide them with aid and assistance in accordance with the directives of the Saudi government, the ambassador said. – SPA

JEDDAH: The National Committee for Lawyers plans to organize a national meeting in Jeddah in October. The major topic of discussion would be the King Abdullah Project to develop legal facilities and the Court of Grievances.

It will also discuss how the reforms will affect the courts, the relation between the lawyers and the security departments, the impact on human rights and the future of commercial courts and importance of the spreading the culture of law abiding, said Majed Qarub, chairman of the committee at the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

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RIYADH – Military personnel will receive pay raises this month of up to 30 percent of their basic salaries, Lt. Gen. Nasser Bin Abdul Aziz Al-Arfaj, Secretary General of Military Service Council, said Tuesday.
The plan approved Monday by the Cabinet is so structured that lower-ranking personnel will receive higher percentage of increases, said Lt. Gen Al-Arfaj, who explained that as the rank goes up, the percentage of the raise goes down.
Military staff in the rank of private, who currently receive SR2,160, will now get SR2,800. Increases, which will be provided this month, will given to all military staff including those serving in the Ministry of Defense, National Guard, Ministry of Interior, Presidency of the General Intelligence and Royal Guard, Lt. Gen. Al-Arfaj said.
Those at the rank of lieutenant general will be paid the same as those in the Excellent Grade in the civil service pay scale and those at the rank of general will receive the same pay as ministers. Those matters were resolved earlier and the Council of Military Service issued the decision that was approved by the Council of Ministers, he said.
The pay raises are not related to an anti-terrorism allowance given to military sectors involved in fighting terrorism and those embracing deviant thought, he added.
As per the King’s order, the pay raise proposal was discussed by the Council of Military Service, which reviewed the matter for eight months, and the minister of finance and chairman of the Council for Military Service were also directed to study this issue.
The wage increase would be the second for the army since 2008 when Saudi Arabia offered state employees a 15 percent wage hike spread out over a three-year period.
The rise in wages is likely to at least match the 5.1 percent inflation rate of 2009, said John Sfakianakis, chief economist at Banque Saudi Fransi.
“Wage increases in general have not matched the rises in inflation over the past few years and barely covered inflationary rates of the past five years,” he said.
Lt. Gen. Al-Arfaj has expressed his gratitude to King Abdullah, in his capacity as the Supreme Commander of the military, for his generous gesture. – Okaz/SG

JEDDAH: Second Deputy Premier and Minister of Interior Prince Naif met with Secretary-General of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) Professor Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu at his office here Tuesday and highlighted Saudi Arabias efforts to send relief for Pakistans flood victims.

He also commended the efforts of the 57-member OIC in following up the issues of Muslims in various parts of the world.

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JEDDAH: The Council of Ministers on Monday night decided to change the power supply from 127/220V to 230/400V in two phases over 25 years. It also decided to increase the salaries of military officers.

The change in the voltage of power supply in new regions and for new subscribers would start with the implementation of the decision, Culture and Information Minister Abdul Aziz Khoja said.

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MAKKAH – Dr. Abdullah Bin Abdulmohsin Al-Turki Secretary General of the Muslim World League (MWL), met on Monday callers and presidents of Islamic centers and societies participating in the 19th forum for the call committee in Africa. The committee is chaired by Prince Bandar Bin Salman Bin Mohammed Al-Saud, Adviser to King Abdullah, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques. At the meeting attended by Dr. Ibrahim Abu Aba’a, the head of guidance administration at the National Guard, Dr. Al-Turki underscored the importance of cooperation for the service of Islam and its call. He noted that Islam is an international mission and it does not differentiate people on the bases of race, religion or color. Dr. Al-Turki called for confronting campaigns launched against Islam and Muslims. He reiterated the support of the Kingdom to any Islamic work that serves Islam and Muslims. Dr. Al-Turki said the Saudi leadership is keen on the unity of the Muslims and their cooperation and properly understanding Islam and its goals, adding that the MWL will be ready to cooperate with the call committee in Africa. – SPA

RIYADH – Vienna will host the first Arab-European Young Leaders Forum in November this year, said Dr. Johannes Wimmer, Ambassador of Austria, while addressing as a guest speaker at World Assembly of Muslim Youth (WAMY) 8th annual party in Riyadh, Sunday.

About 50 ambassadors, 120 diplomats representing various international embassies based in Riyadh and more than 100 philanthropists and WAMYs donors attended the Iftar party.

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JEDDAH – The Council of Ministers chaired by King Abdullah, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, approved on Monday an unannounced increase of the pay scale for the military staff from the rank of private to major general.
The Council has also approved the change of nation-wide voltage power (127/220 V) in new areas that are yet to be connected to (230/400V). Current subscribers in areas where (127/220 V) power was introduced 25 years ago will have their voltage power converted to the new (230/400V) within 10-15 years.
The Saudi Electricity Company (SEC) will bear the expenses of changing the power plants and transformers, the Council stated.
During the meeting, the King was assured about the services the relevant ministries are providing to the visitors of the Two Holy Mosques in this holy month of Ramadan. The Monarch urged the ministers to provide all services possible to the faithful to help them perform their religious duties with ease.
On the international arena, the Council condemned the Israeli aggression against the Palestinians and the Aqsa Mosque, which in turn would affect the course of peace negotiations.
The Council also condemned the spate of attacks in Iraq last week which killed over 60 people and injured hundreds, calling all Iraqis to unite against violence and terrorism aimed to destabilize the already war-torn country. The Council also expressed its sorrow over the terrorist attack in Somalia which killed many Somali parliament members. – SPA

JEDDAH – The General Court in Jeddah witnessed a limited response Monday from people who are entitled to SR1 million compensation checks King Abdullah ordered for families of people who lost their lives in the Jeddah flood disaster.

The first people arrived after 12 noon and only 12 requests were referred to judges in preparation for issuing the checks. One woman among those seeking the checks was deeply saddened by her loss.

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