Cyprus donates medicine to Aceh

Cyprus donates medicine to Aceh

INDONESIA: The government of Cyprus has donated a plane-load of
medical supplies to Aceh, the Cyprus Embassy in Indonesia said in
a statement on Tuesday.

Cyprus Ambassador to Indonesia, Achilleas Antoniades, met
Indonesian Foreign Minister Hassan Wirayuda on Monday to express
his solidarity and support, on behalf of Cyprus, to the
Indonesian government and its people.

Antoniades is a resident ambassador in Canberra.

"The Cyprus government has pledged 1 million euros (US$1.3
million) to the common relief of the European Union, in addition
to aid in kind," the statement said.

The non-governmental organizations in Cyprus, in a coordinated
fund-raising drive, have also raised another US$1 million.

"This is a genuine expression of sympathy and solidarity with
the Indonesian people at this difficult time from the people of
our small, but friendly country," Antoniades said. -- JP

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ATW-weather-Saudi-flood
Floodwaters kill 29 in Saudi Arabia
JP/11/ATW

Floodwaters kill 29 in Saudi Arabia

SAUDI ARABIA: Twenty-nine people were killed in Saudi Arabia's
western city of Medina this week after rain, described as the
worst in 20 years, and flood waters swept cars off roads and
destroyed a bridge, a newspaper said on Tuesday.

Another 17 people were wounded, Al-Madina quoted regional
governor Prince Muqrin bin Abdul-Aziz as saying.

The rain, said by some local newspapers as the heaviest
downpour in the desert country for two decades, hit western Saudi
Arabia on Saturday and disrupted the last day of the haj
pilgrimage in Mecca.

"We have seen enormous damage to the roads, electricity and
communications," Prince Muqrin told the newspaper after touring
the flood-hit area. Al-Madina published pictures of a collapsed
bridge and cars swept into palm trees by the force of the water.
--Reuters