Air Strikes Kill 5 Rescue Workers near Syria's Aleppo

Two air strikes and at least one rocket attack staged overnight against an opposition-held area west of Aleppo killed five rescue workers, who appeared to have been knowingly targeted, a monitoring group and colleagues nearby reported.

The raids hit a center for the Syrian Civil Defence, known as the “White Helmets”, in the town of Atareb, some 25 km (15 miles) west of Aleppo.

The recent weeks have witnessed grave escalation in fighting in Aleppo province, as a partial truce brokered the United States and Russia in February has all but collapsed.

The Civil Defence corps work as first responders in opposition-held territory where medical infrastructure has broken down.

“The targeting was very precise,” Radi Saad, a Civil Defence worker based in northwestern Syria, told Reuters via internet.

“They were in the center and ready to respond. When they heard warplanes in the area they did not think they would be the target.”

It was unclear whether Syrian or Russian warplanes had launched the raids, he said. There was no immediate comment from the Syrian government.

Another Civil Defence member, Ahmad Sheikho, said five rescue workers had died and two were seriously wounded. Ambulances and cars belonging to doctors were also damaged.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a British-based monitoring group, said at least five had been killed, confirming that the center appeared to have been deliberately targeted.

The observatory also reported government air strikes and rebel bombardments in Aleppo city killing dozens of people in the last few days.

In the past 24 hours, fighting in Aleppo has killed at least 30 people including at least eight children, the Observatory added.

Air Strikes Kill 5 Rescue Workers near Syria's Aleppo

The New Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia entered a new era yesterday with the approval of an ambitious plan that includes almost all sectors. It aims, in particular, to diversify the economy and utilise new sources of income other than oil by 2030.

The economic reform plan known as “Saudi Vision 2030” was approved by the Saudi Arabian Council of Ministers in a session during which the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz called on male and female citizens to work together to realise the plan which he described as “ambitious”. King Salman also stressed that since coming to power he has pursued “comprehensive development emanating from our religious fundamentals, investing our country’s capabilities and potentialities, benefiting from our country’s location, and its characteristics of resources and advantages to achieve a better future for the country and its people along with adherence to our pure religion and maintaining the originality of our society and its basic fundamentals.” He also expressed his hope that Saudi Arabia would become a “model for the world”.

On his part, the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Nayef bin Abdulaziz said that everyone in Saudi Arabia must get involved in implementing the ““Saudi Vision 2030” that will come to fruition with the help of Allah the Almighty in the coming years.”

The Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman outlined the new plan and stressed that it represents a road map for achieving Saudi Arabia’s goals for development. Prince Mohammed bin Salman added that “Vision 2030”

is a starting point for a stronger and better Saudi that will achieve everybody’s ambitions. He continued by saying that the aim of “Vision 2030” is not to lower the price of oil; rather, it aims to take advantage of the abilities that are not being made use of.

Prince Mohammed bin Salman also explained that a number of programmes will be announced in the coming months. The first of these programmes will concern national transformation which will seek to achieve the goals of the plan in the services sector.

The Deputy Crown Prince also talked about the company Aramco which he said would be part of the “Saudi Vision 2030” and added that the plan includes the sale of less than 5 percent of Aramco shares through an initial public offering (IPO) in order to achieve a number of objectives, the most notable being transparency. He also mentioned that “People used to be unhappy that files and data of Aramco are undeclared, unclear and not transparent. Today they will be transparent. If Aramco gets IPO-ed that means it has to announce its statements of accounts”.

The New Saudi Arabia

Canada Confirms Its First Sexually Transmitted Zika Case

Health officials in Canada confirmed the first case of a Zika virus infection that was contracted locally through sex.

A resident in Ontario, who was not further identified, is believed to have contracted the virus from a sexual partner who came down with Zika after traveling to an affected country, according to a statement from Public Health Agency of Canada and Ontario’s Ministry of Health.

The outbreak of Zika in Brazil, first detected last year, has been linked to 4,863 confirmed and suspected cases of microcephaly, a condition defined by unusually small heads that can lead to serious developmental problems in babies.

The Zika virus, transmitted mainly through the bite of certain infected female mosquitoes, is spreading rapidly across many countries in the Americas, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), which declared the outbreak a global health emergency.

The WHO has identified Zika cases in Argentina, Chile, France, Italy and New Zealand as likely caused by sexual transmission, and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is also examining cases of possible sexual transmission.

Along with the new case transmitted locally through sex, Canada has confirmed 55 Zika infections, all related to travel to other countries. The mosquitoes known to transmit the virus have not established themselves in Canada.

The World Health Organization has said there is strong scientific consensus that Zika can also cause Guillain-Barre, a rare neurological syndrome that causes temporary paralysis in adults.

The connection between Zika and microcephaly first came to light last fall in Brazil, which has now confirmed more than 1,100 cases of microcephaly that it considers to be related to Zika infections in the mothers.

There is no treatment or vaccine for Zika infection.

International efforts are being spent to contain the Zika virus and unveil its hidden truths. For instance, Google announced back in January that its engineers were working with U.N. child agency UNICEF to build a platform that aims to map and predict potential outbreaks of the Zika virus, linked to birth defects among children in Brazil.

Alphabet Inc’s Google said in a statement it was providing a $1 million grant to the United Nations Children’s Emergency Fund to help their volunteers on the ground, mostly in Latin America, adding that it was also prominently surfacing information about the virus in its search engine.

Canada Confirms Its First Sexually Transmitted Zika Case

Opinion: Awaiting Repair

“Moderate Arabs” or the vast majority of Arab countries were natural allies of the United States; both with regards to bilateral relations or positions on international conflicts. Arab countries provided it with energy, regulated oil prices through OPEC and gave it land and naval bases in Qatar and Bahrain.

Egypt, the largest of these countries, sided with Washington entirely and did away with the most important strategic Soviet stronghold outside the Soviet Union. It was in both Arab and American interests to liberate Kuwait and to prevent the international oil system from being negatively affected.

Arab governments have ignored attacks and campaigns wielded against them in Morocco, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Jordan in order to maintain harmonious world order in almost complete accordance with mutual understanding with America. Soviet threats did not scare them and neither did the Iranian policies and threats that came after.

The primary factor in the continuation of the general Arab position was the principle and the irreversibility of promises, along with a list of interests, of course, and the Arab fear of communism. This pyramid of relationships and partnerships did not suffer from any strategic imbalance except when Barack Obama came onto the scene. This can be seen from the renunciation of the Palestinian cause and the unprecedented intervention in the affairs of Egypt whilst it is suffering from an existential ordeal. It can also be seen in its treatment of the Gulf Cooperation Council as a strange organisation that does not have the right to intervene and is not important as a result of the US shift towards Iran that is accompanied by the president’s praise of Iranian pragmatism.

The structural collapse of the US-Arab relationship brought about by Obama was not repaired by his casual approach to the situation. He even abandoned usual diplomatic language to present his famous principle and his conclusion that the Arabs have no one to blame but themselves.

Obama did not let down America’s adversaries in the Arab world, but rather its allies. He wondered around pleasing Russia, Iran and Iraq. A country like America has the right to search for new friends anywhere, but it is not fitting that that is done at the cost of the security and integrity of previous friendships.

Opinion: Awaiting Repair

Saudi Deputy Crown Prince Says Kingdom Can Give up Oil in 2020

Al Arabiya News Channel interviewed on Monday Saudi Arabia’s Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman who discussed the Kingdom’s newly-adopted Vision 2030 roadmap, promising an end to Riyadh’s dependence on oil revenue by 2020.

While talking to Prince Mohammad, Al Arabiya News Channel’s General Manager Turki Al-Dakhi raised a number of subjects including plans to put oil giant Aramco’s shares in an initial public offering, the Saudi public investment fund, tourism, a Green Card scheme, expats, defense and further details on the Saudi Vision.

His highness explained that Saudi Arabia will be selling less than 5 percent of oil giant Aramco’s shares via a partial IPO as part of the new strategy, highlighting that it is set to be the “biggest IPO in history.”

He said he expected Aramco to be valued at more than $2 trillion, and expressed his desire to transform it into a holding company with an elected board, adding that subsidiaries of the company would also be sold by IPO.

“The 5 percent is from the parent company,” he said. Aramco is the world’s leading oil producing company, with about 10 million barrels per day of output, or about 10 percent of global production.

With the partial IPO, Saudi Arabia’s economy will be investment-driven, turning the kingdom into a “global player,” said the prince.

He added: “The kingdom can live in 2020 without any dependence on oil … The Saudi addiction to oil has disturbed development of many sectors in past years.”

“We plan to set up a $2 trillion sovereign wealth fund… part of its assets will come from the sale of a small part of Aramco,” the prince said.

He said the fund would comprise current Saudi fiscal assets of around $600 billion, in addition to revenues from the sales of Aramco shares and state-owned real estate and industrial areas estimated to be worth $1 trillion.

“We restructured the fund. We included new assets in the fund, Aramco and other assets, and we fixed the problems of the current assets that the public investment fund owns, both in terms of companies and other projects,” he added.

“Initial data say the fund will have control over more than 10 percent of global investment capacity.”

GREEN CARD, TOURISM AND EXPATS

When asked about the awaited topic of the Green Card for expatriates in the kingdom, the deputy crown prince said the scheme “will be ready within five years.”

“The Green Card will allow Muslims and Arabs to live in Saudi Arabia for a long time and will be a source for revenue for the government,” he added.

Prince Mohammed also unveiled Saudi goals to open up for all tourists, “within our beliefs and values,” accentuating the importance of fortifying culture and entertainment in the kingdom.

As for the kingdom’s plans to establish the world’s biggest Islamic museum, Prince Mohammed said: “How can the kingdom be the holiest site for Muslims and have no Islamic museum?”

TRANSPARENCY AND SUBSIDIES

The prince said the Aramco IPO would be a key player in advancing transparency in the kingdom.

“In this day and age, no country can afford to not be transparent.

“There are a lot of benefits to the Aramco proposal, and the most important one and the major one is transparency.

“People in the past used to be upset that Aramco’s files and data are not announced, unclear and not transparent. If Aramco is listed in the market, this means it must announce its lists, it must declare every quarter.

“It will become under the supervision of all Saudi banks and all Saudi analysts and thinkers. Or rather, all world banks and all research and planning centers in the world will intensively observe Aramco.”

The prince had previously said that Saudi Arabia is set to limit the impact of subsidy cuts on citizens.

The proposed system being developed by the Saudi government would provide cash to low and middle income Saudis who rely on subsidies.

He said the planned lifting of subsidies, as part of the Saudi Vision for 2030, will be implemented on everyone, “including princes and government ministers. This is a promise.”

The deputy crown prince also confirmed in the interview a government aim to reduce Saudi unemployment from 11.6% to 7%

DEFENSE

On the topic of Saudi Arabia’s military spending, the prince asked: “How could we be the world 3rd largest spender on arms, but we don’t have a military industry?”

He then announced plans to set up a holding company for military industries that would be fully owned by the government at first and listed later on the Saudi bourse.

“We are now about to establish a holding company for the military industries 100 percent owned by the government that will be listed later in the Saudi market …We expect it to be launched by end of 2017 with more details,” the prince added.

SAUDI VISION

The prince said the Saudi Vision 2030 has no links to oil prices.

“The Saudi Vision 2030 was going to be implemented regardless of oil price,” he said, in references to prices plunging to a 12-year low of $32 a barrel in January.

“The Vision doesn’t require high-spending but restructuring.”

Explaining the roadmap, he said it mainly focuses on the kingdom’s strengths, being its religion and Arab heritage, Saudi investment ability and location.

Asked on the development of the King Salman bridge over the Red Sea, announced last week in an agreement with Egypt, Prince Mohammad said the crossing “will link Europe and Asia and will provide vast building and investment opportunities.”

He said the bridge will help move billions’ worth of cargo across the Red Sea.

He added: “All infrastructure projects within Saudi Arabia still stand and will be implemented.”

Prince Mohammed, who is spearheading the roadmap, had previously said that National Transformation Plan – part of the Saudi Vision 2030 – will include asset sales, tax increases, spending cuts, changes to the way the state manages its financial reserves, an efficiency drive, and a much bigger role for the private sector.

Saudi Deputy Crown Prince Says Kingdom Can Give up Oil in 2020

Saudi Arabia Approves ‘Vision 2030’ Today

Saudi Arabia’s cabinet approved on Monday an economic reform plan — named “Vision 2030” — that aims to minimize the gulf nation’s reliance on oil as a source of revenue and diversify the economy.

Under the chairmanship of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, the Saudi Cabinet devoted its session on Monday to look into the draft of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia s Vision 2030 on which the Council of Economic Affairs and Development issued the decision No. (3-31/37) dated on 12/7/1437 AH.

The cabinet also decided that The Council of Economic Affairs and Development shall set the necessary mechanisms and arrangements to implement this vision and follow it up.

The decision holds Saudi ministries and other governmental bodies – each in its respective authority – responsible for taking the required measures to implement this vision according to the mechanisms and arrangements referred to in item (second) of this decision.

Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who is heading the Vision 2030 roadmap, has previously said that National Transformation Plan (NTP) will include asset sales, tax increases, spending cuts, modifications to managing financial reserves, an efficiency drive, and a much bigger role for the private sector.

The deputy crown prince had previously revealed the kingdom’s plans to allocate a $2 trillion Public Investment Fund for a post-oil economy.

As part of the new strategy, the prince had said the kingdom will put 5 percent of oil firm Aramco’s shares in an initial public offering that could happen as early as next year. Aramco, Saudi’s state-owned oil giant, is the world’s largest company in terms of market capitalization.

KING’S SPEECH

During the meeting, the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques delivered the following speech:

“In the name of Allah, the Most Merciful, the Most Gracious, Praise be to Allah and His prayer and peace be upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family and companions.

Brothers and sisters, male and female citizens: May Allah’s peace, mercy and blessings be upon you.

Your State was established on the basis of adhering to the Holy Quran and the Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). It is the cradle of the message and the Revelation, and was honored by Allah Almighty in the service of the Two Holy Mosques and their visitors.

Brothers and sisters:

I have set in front of me since I was honored to ascend to the throne the seeking for the comprehensive development emanating from our religious fundamentals, investing our country’s capabilities and potentialities, benefiting from our country’s location, and its characteristics of resources and advantages to achieve a better future for the country and its people along with adherence to our pure religion and maintaining of the originality of our society and its basic fundamentals. Emanating from this view point, we directed the Council of Economic Affairs and Development to set the Kingdom’s economic and development vision to achieve what we hope that our country – with the help of Allah Almighty – be a model for the world at all levels.

We were briefed on the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s vision submitted by the Council of Economic Affairs and Development and approved by the Cabinet, expressing our thanks to the Council for its efforts exerted in this regard, hoping that our sons and daughters, male and female citizens work together to achieve this ambitious vision, praying to Allah Almighty for success and that the vision be of goodness and blessing to achieve progress and prosperity for our dear homeland.

May Allah’s peace, mercy and blessings be upon you.”

Saudi Arabia Approves ‘Vision 2030’ Today

Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Patronizes “Saud of Nations” Conference with International Figures Attending

Riyadh-Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud patronized on Sunday the International conference, organized by King Faisal Center for Research and Islamic Studies, to remember and honor late Prince Saud Al-Faisal.

The event was held at King Abdulaziz International Center for Conferences in Riyadh.

Accompanied by Prince Sultan bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, President of the General Authority for Tourism and National Heritage, Prince Sultan bin Fahd bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Prince Ahmed bin Fahd bin Salman bin Abdulaziz and Prince Faisal bin Ahmed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, King Salman was received upon arrival at the venue by Prince Mohammed Al Faisal; Prince Khalid Al-Faisal, Advisor to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques and Governor of Makkah Region; Prince Muqrin bin Abdulaziz Al Saud; Prince Turki Al-Faisal, Chairman of King Faisal Center for Research and Islamic Studies; Prince Faisal bin Bandar bin Abdulaziz, Governor of Riyadh; Prince Mohammed bin Nayef bin Abdulaziz, Crown Prince, Deputy Premier and Interior Minister; Prince Mohammed bin Saud al-Faisal and Prince Khaled bin Saud al-Faisal.

After the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques had a seat at the main platform, the ceremony commenced by reading verses from the Holy Quran, then the royal anthem was played.

Addressing the gathering, Prince Mohammed Al-Faisal thanked King Salman for coming to honor a man who spent all his life in the service of the nation, citing his service as foreign minister and contemporaneous with five kings.

He also paid tribute to the rest of the attendees, including King Juan Carlos of Spain.

Afterwards, the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques watched a video on the late Prince Saud Al-Faisal displaying his service for Islam and for five kings of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The video also tackled his personality, diplomacy and his brothers.

Moreover, Prince Khalid Al-Faisal, Advisor to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques and Governor of Makkah Region delivered a speech.

He welcomed the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques and the elite audience, and he paid tribute to late Prince Saud Al-Faisal, citing his good deeds, history and achievements.

He also talked about the intimate relation between him and his late brother.

Later on, the King received a gift from the sons and daughters of late King Faisal bin Abdulaziz.

Then the royal anthem was played to announce the departure of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques.

The ceremony was attended by former Spanish King Juan Carlos, former Lebanese President Amine Gemayel, Sheikh Mohammed bin Mubarak Al Khalifa, Prime Minister of Bahrain, Lebanese Former Prime Minister Fouad Siniora and the Palestinian former Prime Minister Salam Fayyad .

The event was also attended by Prince Bandar bin Mohammed bin Abdulrahman; Prince Abdel Elah bin Abdulaziz, advisor to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques; Prince Khaled bin Fahd bin Khaled; Prince Turki bin Abdullah bin Abdulrahman; Prince Saud al-Abdullah al-Faisal; Prince Saud bin Saad bin Abdulaziz; Prince Fahd bin Abdullah bin Mohammed; Prince Saud bin Abdul Mohsen bin Abdulaziz, Governor of Ha’il; Prince Badr bin Abdul Mohsen bin Abdulaziz; Prince Turki bin Mohammed bin Saud al-Kabeer, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for Multiple Relationships; Prince Khaled bin Bandar bin Abdulaziz, Advisor to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques; Prince Dr Mansour bin Mutaib bin Abdulaziz, Minister of State member of the Cabinet and Advisor to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques; Prince Mutaib bin Abdullah bin Abdulaziz, Minister of the National Guard; Prince Saud bin Abdullah bin Thunayan, Chairman of the Royal Commission for Jubail and Yanbu; Prince

Sultan bin Nasser bin Abdulaziz; Prince Dr Abdulaziz bin Nasser bin Abdulaziz; Prince Sattam bin Saud bin Abdulaziz and a number of other princes, senior officials, politicians and intellectuals.

Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Patronizes “Saud of Nations” Conference with International Figures Attending