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RIYADH: The World Assembly of Muslim Youth (WAMY), a major Islamic charity of Saudi Arabia, has downsized its operation in the US, Canada and in many other Western countries because of the stringent restrictions imposed by the respective governments on the fundings of Islamic aid organizations.

The WAMY, an UN-recognized NGO, had a “symbolic presence in the US, while it has closed its offices in Canada,” according to Saleh Al-Wohaibi, WAMYs secretary-general. Al-Wohaibi, however, said that the WAMY values its partnership with the US and will continue to work with the community stakeholders in that country.

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RIYADH: Doctors in Sri Lanka have found 23 nails in the body of a tortured housemaid who returned to Colombo from Riyadh, Sri Lankan Embassy sources told Arab News on Tuesday.

“We have received this complaint from the Foreign Ministry in Colombo, who said the maid has been allegedly tortured by her sponsor,” a senior diplomat from the Sri Lankan mission in Riyadh told Arab News. “We are looking for the sponsor. We were able to track down the Saudi recruitment agent in Riyadh and we will summon the sponsor to discuss this issue,” the official said.

Doctors at the Kamburipitya Base Hospital in the Matara district, 140 km from Colombo, said the nails had been hammered into the maids body. Dr. Kamal Weeratunge, who was treating the maid, claimed the nails had been heated up before they punctured her skin.

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JEDDAH: “Interacting and communicating more with Saudis is one of my primary duties here,” said Thomas Duffy, the consul general and principal officer at the United States Consulate General in Jeddah. Development of Saudi society amazing, says US diplomat

Duffy, who assumed duties on the June 29, will also be overseeing the return to normal levels the visa issuances from Jeddah.

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RIYADH: A non-Muslim diplomat praised Islam and extolled the role of millions of fellow Indians of Islamic faith during an iftar party hosted by Indias Jamia Millia Islamia Alumni Association, Riyadh chapter (JMIAA), and said that Islam is the only religion in the world that offers “30 days of fasting for introspection.”

R.N. Vats, second secretary at Indian Embassy, said Islam is a universal religion for “inspiring countless individuals” to lead lives of honesty, integrity and morality.

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JEDDAH – Saudi Arabia deports about 30,000 Indian nationals every year for violating the countrys rules and regulations, an Indian diplomat in the Kingdom told a media outlet.

Most violations are related to visa and residency permits (Iqama) “as part of the normal law enforcement process”, said R.N. Vats, second secretary at the Embassy of India in Riyadh, in an email statement to Arabian Business.

Saudi authorities conduct regular checks on the houses and workplaces of foreign workers to ensure local residency laws are followed. Violators are arrested and placed in deportation centers across the Kingdom, where they are fingerprinted and cleared from any suspected criminal activities before they are sent back home in coordination with their respective embassies.

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JEDDAH – Several Saudi ambassadors on Sunday paid rich tributes to Dr. Ghazi Al-Gosaibi and lauded him as one of the most professional and dynamic ambassadors of the Kingdom.
Dr. Gosaibi, they said, contributed significantly in defending and supporting Saudi diplomacy abroad in support of the Arab and Islamic affairs internationally.
The ambassadors said Dr. Gosaibi played a very positive role in explaining the Saudi efforts to help establish peace and security, both regionally and globally. The ambassadors also recalled Dr. Gosaibi’s role in the promotion of cross-cultural peaceful co-existence and cross-cultural dialogues.
Dr. Gosaibi died at the King Faisal Specialist Hospital in Riyadh after a long illness. He was 70. Dr. Gosaibi was born in Hofuf in the Eastern Province on March 2, 1940. He was minister of labor since 2005.
Dr. Gosabi was one of the most well-known Saudi novelists. Among his most celebrated novels are: Sheqqat Al-Hurryyah, Al-Usfouryyah, and Sa’adat Al-Wazeer.
Ali Assiri, the Saudi Ambassador to Lebanon, described Dr. Gosaibi as an ambassador who represented his country extremely well internationally and who also participated positively in promoting Saudi initiatives to establish peace in the Middle East and to achieve the aspirations of the Palestinian people as well as to combat terrorism domestically and internationally.
Ambassador Assiri also stated that Dr. Gosaibi was one of the most faithful and well-known men of this country and that he will be mourned, not only in the Kingdom, but across the entire Arab World as well.
Assiri said Dr. Gosaibi worked very hard to strengthen Saudi-British relations when he was ambassador in London.
Dr. Abdullah Al-Bosairi, Saudi Ambassdor to Bangladesh said Dr. Gosaibi was a shrewd diplomat who certainly left a very positive image of himself and one who served his country well.
He said Dr. Gosaibi was appointed ambassador to London during a very critical period of history and, while there, Al-Gosaibi received the respect of all members of the local diplomatic community for his relentless efforts in support of the Arab and Islamic affairs. “Dr. Gosabi was an icon of Saudi diplomacy abroad,” he said.
Faisal Bin Trad, Saudi Ambassador in New Delhi, said that Dr. Gosaibi devoted his entire life in the service of his country, bearing huge responsibility during his very long political career.
Ambassador Faisal added that Dr. Al-Gosaibi served his Arab and Islamic nation and had many contributions to peace and stability.
He added that he had represented his country well in defending the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people in Arab and international conferences.
“Not only have we lost a diplomat,” Ambassador Faisal said, “we also have lost a personality that combined diplomacy with arts and administration.” – Okaz/SG

Around 175 million Pakistanis celebrate their countrys independence day with thankfulness to Almighty Allah for giving them this homeland after immense sacrifices.

The emergence of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, now the sixth most populous nation in the world, was a tremendous achievement of the Muslims of British-ruled India. It was made possible by the dedicated leadership of the head of the Muslim League, Quaid-e-Azam Mohammed Ali Jinnah.

The Muslims wanted a country in which they could live their lives in accordance with their religious and cultural traditions and prosper economically which otherwise would not have been possible under the majority Hindu community when the British left.

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Sri Lankan national stabbed to death by a group of robbers for laptop in Riyadh

RIYADH: An Asian worker was stabbed to death for a laptop by a group of robbers in the capital last week.

A diplomat from the Sri Lankan Embassy confirmed 39-year-old Mohammed Azwers death to Arab News on Friday. The victim was a domestic aide working for a prince in his palace in the city.

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Beijing – Two prestigious Chinese universities have asked the office of the Saudi cultural attaché here to approve establishing chairs, for studying civilizations and religions, in the name of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz.

This anouncement was made by Saudi Cultural Attaché in China Dr. Salih Al-Saqri in a statement at the end of the Saudi Cultural Days, a five-day event in Beijing.

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JEDDAH: The number of overstayers is steadily coming down if foreign diplomats and travel executives are to be believed.

According to them, the number, which peaked in 2008, has declined during the last six months of this year. They give credit to factors such as the system of fingerprinting and stricter Umrah rules.

An executive of a foreign airline, which regularly carries passengers from the deportation center in Jeddah, said his company was losing up to 35 percent of its business on this account. Speaking on condition of anonymity, he said the trend started earlier this year with less demand from the deportation center every passing month.

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