In the first series of reports on the third Saudi expansion of the Grand Mosque in the holy city of Makkah, Asharq Al-Awsat delved into the development of the subject with the issuance of the royal decree to form a team of experts comprised of Saudi university professors and other global specialists. This initiative was undertaken to scrutinize the proposed expansion project in the year 2008.
A team of US orthopedic surgeons is visiting the Gaza Strip to perform a series of joint replacement operations and provide training to local doctors. Khaled Saleh, president of the US-based non-profit Fajr Scientific, said the visit would help patients immobilized by joint problems and chronic pain, as well as those in wheelchairs or who use a cane to walk. The five-day mission aimed to operate on 150 patients, train local surgeons, and donate $4 million worth of vital equipment.
When President Elias Hrawi assumed office, Lebanon was facing severe challenges, with a fragmented state and crumbling institutions. Despite the circumstances, then Foreign Minister Fares Boueiz rejected the approach to deal with Lebanon as a weak country and a quasi-state. He restored the building of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the glow it had when it was in the custody of a brilliant minister, Fouad Boutros, who is highly admired by Boueiz.
A new cultural initiative, named Medad El-Imamien (Continuation of the Two Imams), is reconnecting the residents of the Imam Al-Shafii neighbourhood with their cultural heritage through arts and handicrafts