Friday, September 11, 2009 RIYADH: A total of 128 swine flu cases among Umrah performers and residents have been reported since the beginning of Ramadan, a Ministry of Health medical bulletin said. It said all cases had fully recovered and that no deaths among the visitors to the Prophet’s Mosque and Umrah performers have been reported so far. Ajyad Emergency Hospital has been provided with all necessary medical equipment and facilities to meet any medical contingency. Dr. Abdullah Al-Rabeah, Minister of Health, said the ministry has set up six health centers with trained medical personnel inside the Holy Haram. Two of the centers have recently been set up by the ministry to provide medical services to Umrah performers in Mataf and Masa’ while the rest are situated in the upper part of the Holy Haram near the King Fahd Gate.Meanwhile, Egypt decided to delay the start of classes for schools and universities as a precautionary measure.
BEIRUT: Thousands of people converged Saturday on central Beirut to mark the fourth anniversary of the assassination of Lebanese former premier Rafiq Hariri.Waving Lebanese flags and carrying pictures of the slain leader, men, women and children gathered under sunny skies in Martyr's Square where members of the parliamentary majority were to address the crowd. The rally comes as final preparations are underway in The Hague for the launch of the international tribunal set up to bring Hariri's killers to justice. It also comes as the country prepares for legislative elections in June that will pit Western-backed political parties against a Hezbollah-led alliance backed by Syria and Iran.Hariri died in a massive car bombing on February 14, 2005 that also killed 22 others. The assassination was widely blamed on then Lebanese power-broker Syria, which has denied any involvement. The attack on the Beirut seafront was one of the worst acts of political violence to rock Lebanon since t...
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