Missile or drone intercepted over Riyadh ‘Flights limited to 35 passengers’
Kuwait lists 534 new cases ... vaccination dates firm
KUWAIT CITY, Jan 23, (Agencies): The Directorate-General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has sent a letter to all airlines operating to and from the Kuwait International Airport (KIA) that according to the new guidelines issued by the Kuwait’s health authorities, all aircraft landing at the KIA must not carry more than 35 passengers, reports Al-Qabas daily.
The letter said these are the operational requirements as per the instructions of the Kuwaiti Ministry of Health. The letter stated each flight landing at the KIA must not bring in more than 35 passengers Jan 24 to Feb 6 and the same applies for the outbound flights.
However, the Kuwait Airlines Corporation (KAC) stated on its Twitter account that this rule does not apply to domestic workers and passengers in transit.
In the same context, the Director of the Air Transport Department at the DGCA, Abdullah Al-Rajhi, said the civil aviation decision to reduce the number of arrivals at Kuwait Airport to 1,000 passengers per day does not include shipping companies, stressing the decision is for passenger flights only, reports Al-Anba daily..
He stressed that Kuwait aims to continue operating cargo flights without change in their schedule or otherwise to continue the flow of goods coming into the country to ensure the stability of the markets and avoiding any shortage.
The Directorate-General of Civil Aviation also has issued a circular to all airlines and travel and tourism agencies operating in the State of Kuwait stating that the a passenger has the right to request the refund air travel tickets, hotel reservations and other tourism services that were canceled from Dec 21, 2020 until the end of Jan 1, 2021, regardless of the conditions of the reservation, reports AlQabas daily.
Kuwait listed 534 new coronavirus infections and no virus-related deaths on Saturday taking the total cases up to 160,901 as deaths remain unchanged at 952 respectively, the health ministry said.
The number of people hospitalised with the virus currently stands at 6,203, with 50 of them in intensive care units, according to ministry spokesman Dr. Abdullah Al-Sanad, who revealed that some 8,978 swab tests were conducted over the last day out of a total of 1,455,481.
The ministry had earlier reported that some 439 more people had been cured of the virus over the past day, raising the total of those to have overcome the disease to 153,746.
He went on to urge nationals and expatriates alike that abiding by health precautions, mainly, following social distancing rules, is the only way to halt the spread of the virus.
No changes made on already set and sent dates to receive COVID-19 vaccinations; including the second shot, the health ministry said Thursday.
The rescheduling only relates to future dates for those who are yet to be texted with set dates, noted a ministry statement.
DUBAI, Jan 23, (AP): Saudi Arabia said Saturday it intercepted an apparent missile or drone attack over its capital, Riyadh, amid the kingdom’s yearslong war against neighboring Yemen’s Houthi rebels.
Social media users posted video of what appeared to be an explosion in the air over Riyadh. Saudi state TV quoted authorities in the kingdom acknowledging the interception.
Yahia Sarei, a military spokesman for the Houthis, said in a brief statement that the rebels had not carried out attacks on Saudi Arabia in the past 24 hours. The U.S. Embassy in Riyadh issued a warning to Americans calling on them to “stay alert in case of additional future attacks.”
The Houthis have held Yemen’s capital and the north, where the majority of the population lives, since September 2014. Saudi Arabia and its allies launched a war against them in March 2015 in support of Yemen’s internationally recognized government.
The war has been mired in a stalemate for years. Riyadh has been targeted in sporadic missile attacks in that time, while the Houthis also have launched missile and drone strikes. The Saudiled coalition has faced widespread international criticism for airstrikes that have killed hundreds of civilians and hit non-military targets, including schools, hospitals and wedding parties.
Western experts, Saudi Arabia and the U.S. say Iran has supplied arms, including ballistic missiles, to the Houthis. Iran denies that, although devices in the weapons link back to Tehran.