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Gulf

Saudi Crown Prince Donates SR100 Million to Charities, Insolvent Prisoners

Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman - Asharq Al-Awsat
Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman - Asharq Al-Awsat
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Saudi Crown Prince Donates SR100 Million to Charities, Insolvent Prisoners

Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman - Asharq Al-Awsat
Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman - Asharq Al-Awsat

Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman made a donation of SR100 million ($26.6 million) to charities and prisoners jailed over financial crimes, the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported on Thursday.

The sum will be split in two categories, with SR87 million to be disbursed to support 29 charities in all regions of the Kingdom within the next few days, while SR13 million will be allocated to paying the debts of more than 150 insolvent prisoners to be released and returned to their families on Thursday.

The move comes under the "Sanad Mohammed Bin Salman Social Enterprise Program" to support the charitable services of eight groups, including women’s charitable societies, as well as charities for people with disabilities, cancer care, care of widows and divorcees, orphan care, Down Syndrome, health services, and care of the elderly.

Each charity will receive financial support for developmental programs that rely on training, qualification, support and sustainability.

The debts of more than 150 insolvent prisoners will be paid off due to their inability to pay as they are prisoners of special rights, according to specific controls, provided that the amount owed by the prisoner has not been exploited in unlawful matters, and are not involved in criminal cases.

“Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s continued support for non-profit work in the Kingdom reflects his unlimited interest in humanitarian work and supporting all groups of the non-profit sector according to mechanisms and limitations included in the Mohammed bin Salman Charitable Project, which is affiliated with the Sanad Program,” SPA reported.

The governance of support for charities is represented through several stages to ensure high efficiency in spending and direct access to the most needy beneficiaries, including studying and evaluating associations’ programs and the extent of benefit achieved to the beneficiaries.

This is done through direct support represented in financial aid, providing equipment and treatment, or through sustainable programs, such as training and rehabilitation courses for orphans, persons with disabilities, children of needy families, and widows and divorcees, to enable them to enter the labor market and find sources of income.

The Crown Prince donated SR100 million four years ago, helping 102,000 beneficiaries including orphans, people with disabilities, cancer patients, the elderly, widows, divorcees, young men and women who are about to marry, and needy families. It was distributed among 70 charitable societies in all regions of the Kingdom, through the Mohammed bin Salman Charitable Project.

Over the past years, the Crown Prince’s donations have contributed in supporting the charitable sector and improving the services provided, and has aided a large number of beneficiaries.

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Gulf

Coalition to Asharq Al-Awsat: Houthi Claims about Targeting Riyadh Are Misleading

Coalition official spokesman Major General Turki Al-Malki. (Coalition to Restore Legitimacy in Yemen)
Coalition official spokesman Major General Turki Al-Malki. (Coalition to Restore Legitimacy in Yemen)
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Coalition to Asharq Al-Awsat: Houthi Claims about Targeting Riyadh Are Misleading

Coalition official spokesman Major General Turki Al-Malki. (Coalition to Restore Legitimacy in Yemen)
Coalition official spokesman Major General Turki Al-Malki. (Coalition to Restore Legitimacy in Yemen)

The Saudi-led Coalition to Restore Legitimacy in Yemen dismissed on Saturday as “misleading” Houthi claims that they targeted the Saudi capital Riyadh.

Coalition official spokesman Major General Turki Al-Malki told Asharq Al-Awsat that “what the Houthis are facing in Taiz, and the human losses suffered by the group's members at the hands of the heroes of the Yemeni Armed Forces and the Popular Resistance on all fronts drives them to seek illusory victories.”

The Houthis are “attempting to divert attention from the scale of the losses and the growing public anger against them,” he added, while stressing that their “ties to external agendas that have brought chaos and devastation to Yemen.”

The Iran-backed group claimed it had targeted Riyadh at a time when unified Yemeni forces are fighting battles to repel the group's attempts to secure positions it attacked on the West Coast.

Recent Yemeni reports said the group has lost around 5,000 fighters within a week, while the Yemeni Armed Forces are carrying out a series of aerial and ground military operations across various fronts targeted by the Houthis.

Spokesperson for the Yemeni Armed Forces Colonel Majid Al-Nuzaili announced in a statement the execution of 257 precision targeting operations against Houthi military positions, movements, and capabilities, utilizing fighter jets, drones, artillery, missiles, and rocket launchers.

The operations covered Sanaa, Midi (northwest), and Baqim (Saada), the fronts of Al-Jawf, Marib, Al-Bayda, and Lahij, with operational efforts concentrated on the Taiz fronts, targeting command and control centers, troop gatherings and mobilizations, combat reserves, weapons and ammunition depots, as well as military supply lines and means, he added.

According to preliminary field estimates, the operations resulted in the neutralization of at least 700 militants and destruction of 170 combat vehicles, stated Al-Nuzaili.

This had a direct impact on the militias' combat capacity and limited their ability to continue their assaults against civilians in their homes and villages, he went on to say.

Gulf

Pakistan Says Makkah Alliance to Discuss Houthi Attacks at Emergency Riyadh Meeting

The first meeting of the Strategic Political and Defense Committee established under the Makkah Agreement in Istanbul (Saudi Ministry of Defense). 
The first meeting of the Strategic Political and Defense Committee established under the Makkah Agreement in Istanbul (Saudi Ministry of Defense). 
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Pakistan Says Makkah Alliance to Discuss Houthi Attacks at Emergency Riyadh Meeting

The first meeting of the Strategic Political and Defense Committee established under the Makkah Agreement in Istanbul (Saudi Ministry of Defense). 
The first meeting of the Strategic Political and Defense Committee established under the Makkah Agreement in Istanbul (Saudi Ministry of Defense). 

Pakistani Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar announced that the Strategic Political and Defense Committee of the Makkah Joint Defense Agreement between Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Türkiye will hold an emergency meeting in Riyadh next week to discuss Houthi attacks on the Kingdom.

Speaking at a press conference on Friday, Dar said the committee would determine the next steps at the meeting, adding that more than six countries had expressed interest in joining the Makkah alliance, according to Reuters.

In a statement carried by Reuters on Friday, the Pakistani military said its senior commanders had strongly condemned the Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia, expressed solidarity with the Kingdom and reaffirmed their commitment to the security of Islam’s holy sites.

The Makkah Joint Defense Agreement, signed on Aug. 7 by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, stipulates that an armed attack against any one of its signatories shall be considered an attack against all three.

Any joint military response is subject to an assessment by the member states, particularly the country under attack, taking into account the need for such action, the nature and severity of the attack, the level of threat and the contributions required from each party to achieve the intended integration of their efforts.

Istanbul hosted the first meeting of the agreement’s Strategic Political and Defense Committee on Aug. 31, bringing together the foreign and defense ministers and military chiefs of staff of Saudi Arabia, Türkiye and Pakistan.

During the meeting, the three countries reaffirmed their determination to work together under the Makkah agreement to achieve sustainable peace and stability in their region and continue supporting efforts to promote de-escalation and restraint. They encouraged peaceful solutions to crises in line with their commitment to fulfilling their regional responsibilities.

The three countries’ foreign ministers subsequently met in New York on Sept. 24 to review progress toward establishing the agreement’s general secretariat, committees and working groups, as well as preparations for the launch of their activities.

The ministers also condemned attacks targeting Makkah and civilian and economic facilities in Saudi Arabia, stressing the Kingdom’s right to take whatever measures it deemed appropriate to defend its security under Article 51 of the UN Charter.

On Sept. 25, the three countries’ military chiefs of staff met in Riyadh to review the security situation and attacks against Saudi Arabia. They condemned the strikes targeting Makkah and the Kingdom’s civilian and economic infrastructure.

Participants also discussed ways to further strengthen cooperation among their armed forces, develop intelligence cooperation, enhance military coordination and integrate their capabilities to bolster deterrence and collective defense.

 

 

Gulf

UAE: Flydubai Co-Pilot Attempted Terrorist Attack

FILE PHOTO: A plane, carrying passengers who were on the FlyDubai aircraft bound for Israel from the United Arab Emirates, which was diverted to Saudi Arabia following an emergency signal, arrives at the Ben Gurion International Airport, in Lod, near Tel Aviv, Israel, September 30, 2026. REUTERS/Ammar Awad/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A plane, carrying passengers who were on the FlyDubai aircraft bound for Israel from the United Arab Emirates, which was diverted to Saudi Arabia following an emergency signal, arrives at the Ben Gurion International Airport, in Lod, near Tel Aviv, Israel, September 30, 2026. REUTERS/Ammar Awad/File Photo
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UAE: Flydubai Co-Pilot Attempted Terrorist Attack

FILE PHOTO: A plane, carrying passengers who were on the FlyDubai aircraft bound for Israel from the United Arab Emirates, which was diverted to Saudi Arabia following an emergency signal, arrives at the Ben Gurion International Airport, in Lod, near Tel Aviv, Israel, September 30, 2026. REUTERS/Ammar Awad/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A plane, carrying passengers who were on the FlyDubai aircraft bound for Israel from the United Arab Emirates, which was diverted to Saudi Arabia following an emergency signal, arrives at the Ben Gurion International Airport, in Lod, near Tel Aviv, Israel, September 30, 2026. REUTERS/Ammar Awad/File Photo

The United Arab Emirates Attorney-General said investigations into the incident aboard flydubai flight FZ1073 revealed that the co-pilot attempted to carry out a terrorist act, the Emirates News Agency (WAM) reported on Saturday.

The co-pilot began executing his plan during the flight, attacking the captain inside the cockpit using a crash axe and attempting to take control of the aircraft, the Attorney-General added.

He assured that investigations are ongoing to establish the full circumstances, motives, and any links related to the incident, as well as to complete technical examinations and analysis of physical and digital evidence.

The final results will be announced upon the conclusion of all necessary procedures, he assured.

The flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv came close to disaster on Wednesday morning when the attacker stabbed the captain.

Passengers told interviewers that the captain, who was seriously wounded, managed to open the cockpit door, allowing a group of passengers and crew members to overpower the attacker. Two reserve pilots who were also on board then managed to regain control of the aircraft, stabilize it, and land safely.