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NAJRAN – The work of the Najran mayoralty is under the spotlight after the collapse of part of an iron fence surrounding King Fahd Park in Saqam Forest in Najran injured a number of citizens.

First Lieutenant Muhammad Al-Sharani, spokesman of the Civil Defense in Najran, said the hurt picnickers were rushed by Red Crescent ambulances to Najran General Hospital.

He said a team from the safety section at the Civil Defense was assigned to inspect the fence and write a detailed report on the incident and on the safety measures at the park.

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JEDDAH – The Najran region, in the southwest of the Kingdom, is making great strides in its development, including a new 500-bed medical city, said Prince Mishal Bin Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz, the Emir of Najran. The medical city will eliminate the need for citizens of the region to travel to specialist hospitals across the country for treatment, the prince said in an exclusive telephone interview. “The issue has already been discussed with the Minister of Health to provide the medical city with well-qualified staff and services to gain the trust of the public,” he said.

And the medical city for the prince is just one drop in the bucket of the development of the region. The expansion of the Najran Regional Airport including new runways will be finished within two months to allow the airport to receive more national air traffic, he said, adding that he hoped the airport would be able to receive international flights in the future.

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NAJRAN – The Environmental Health Administration at the Najran Mayoralty is investigating allegations that an abattoir here was planning to cut up the carcass of a camel – which had been dead for 10 hours – and to sell the meat to the public.

The cutting up of the dead she-camel allegedly took place at the Abul Saud Slaughterhouse located in the north of the city.

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RIYADH – The Supreme Judiciary Council has approved the establishment of commercial courts in Riyadh, Jeddah and Dammam and judiciary circuits within the General Courts consisting of three judges to look into commercial cases in Makkah, Madina, Hail, Buraidah, Tabuk, Abha, Najran, Baha, Arar and Sakaka.

Sheikh Abdullah Al-Yahya, Secretary General, said the Council reviewed the study conducted by the Courts Administration recommending the timetable to set up specialized commercial courts as part of the judicial reforms process initiated by King Abdullah, Cusdodian of the Two Holy Mosques.

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JEDDAH – The annual Open School examinations for Indian students will start Mar. 25, C.P. Joy, headmaster of the Open School facility of the International Indian School Jeddah, announced here Wednesday.

The exams will be held in 14 examination centers in the Western Region including Yanbu Royal Commission, Yanbu Cement Co., Al-Leith, Makkah, Madina, Al-Baha, Samta, Abha, Khamis, Jizan, Mohayl, Bisha, Najran and Jeddah. Children from Taif, Shoiba and other nearby areas will appear for examinations in Jeddah, Joy said. The examinations will continue till Mar. 29, and results will be announced by the end of April. – SG

RIYADH: Minister of Health Dr. Abdullah Al-Rabeeah assured the public that they should not be overly worried about the spread of Al-Khurma fever. The spread of the disease is still very limited since its discovery in 1994, Al-Rabeeah said on Sunday at a workshop held to formulate a nationwide plan to combat the illness. The event was also attended by Minister of Agriculture Dr. Fahd Balghunaim.

The minister of health said the workshop was organized under the instructions of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah. He added that the ministry has set up a national committee made up of officials from several government departments to take measures to combat the illness.

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JAZAN: Mujahedeen forces in Jazan have foiled an attempt to smuggle 45 kg of hashish into the Kingdom, according to the spokesman for the forces in the province, Khaled Qaziz.

He said the Mujahedeen were able to seize the drugs following a gunfight with traffickers in a mountainous area in Bani Malik. None of the Mujahedeen forces were injured in the incident, he added.

One of the smugglers died in the fighting while another who was seriously injured was taken to hospital for treatment.

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JAZAN: Prince Khaled bin Sultan, assistant minister of defense and aviation for military affairs, said Tuesday that Saudi Arabia would not negotiate with Yemeni intruders. Well not negotiate with infiltrators and saboteurs. We talk only to the Yemeni government, he said.

Prince Khaled made the comments while talking to reporters who mentioned that Yemeni intruders wanted to negotiate an end to the fighting that began Nov. 3. Our condition is very clear: They should go back beyond our borders and stop their groupings, the prince said. He estimated the number of intruders at 100 to 200. Some of them tried to enter the Kingdom through Jabiriya and all of those were killed.

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JEDDAH – A medical team at King Abdulaziz Hospital and Oncology Center in Jeddah successfully removed a 10 kg tumor from the womb of a Saudi woman this week.

“The patient had initially had a sample of the tumor taken at a hospital in the city of Najran. She was then transferred to the King Abdulaziz Hospital and Oncology Center where many complex surgical procedures have already been completed in removing tumors,” said Dr. Ihab Al-Hussaini, head of the surgical team. “The patient was suffering from a tumor which filled her abdominal cavity, placing pressure to the left of the colon, the left kidney, urethra and the left ovary.”

He said all these organs were removed because the tumor had infected them and their surrounding areas.

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MAKKAH: A tourism expert has stressed the significance of promoting the potentials of winter tourism in the Makkah province in particular and in the Kingdom in general.

Winter tourism is as important as summer tourism and will certainly attract a large number of domestic and Gulf tourists, and will help the tourism industry thrive through out the year, Luay Qunaitah, chairman of the Tourism Promotion Committee at the Taif Chamber of Commerce and Industry, told Arab News on Saturday.

The pleasant winter weather in the Makkah province is a favorable factor for tourism, Qunaitah said. He, however, added that the proper organization of tourism programs and early publicity campaigns are essential factors in attracting tourists.

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