by admin | May 25, 2021 | Muslim World
Riyadh : Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA) will introduce Riyal coins starting from Thursday to gradually replace the Riyal notes, the media reported on Wednesday.
To get ready for the introduction of the coins, SAMA has taken the required measures for easy dealing, including the allocation of sorting and counting machines, reported Xinhua citing a report on Sabq local online.
SAMA has defended the move for reasons including the long life expectancy of the coins, greater resilience to counterfeiting and ease of recycling.
The move is part of a series of steps that Saudi Arabia is adopting to promote business efficiency to meet various economic growth plans, mainly huge international projects that are based in the country.
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Muslim World
Riyadh : A mobile crane lever has fallen inside Mecca’s Grand Mosque, injuring one worker.
According to Saudi Gazette, the crane driver was slightly injured in the crash after the arm of the small crane collapsed in a construction site in the Grand Mosque on Sunday, Khaleej Times reported.
The work zone is not open to Umrah pilgrims, worshippers or visitors.
The Governate stressed on its website that the lever fell in a working area and not a prayer place or a path for pilgrims, Kuna reported.
Necessary precautionary measures were taken after the incident.
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | News, Politics
Representational image
New Delhi : Taking ahead the process of ferrying Haj pilgrims to Saudi Arabia by the sea route, the government has floated global tenders for roping in shipping companies and the operations may start as early as the next Haj season, Union Minority Affairs Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi informed on Monday.
“There has been much progress on this front. The Saudi Arabia government’s consent has already been obtained and now we have floated global tenders to rope in shipping companies to ferry Indian Haj pilgrims to Jeddah,” Naqvi said.
“We have set a target to complete all the process by 2019. However, there are many other things which we need to consider including the security of the pilgrims as there are some stressed stretches on the route such as Syria. If everything goes right, we may be able to ferry the pilgrims from next year itself, that is, Haj 2019,” he added.
Travelling by ship is likely to significantly reduce the travel cost and make Haj affordable to many more people, Naqvi said. However, the Minister said, it was hard to tell at this point how much the actual reduction in the fare would be.
“Initially, there would be only one embarkation point for the pilgrims choosing to travel by sea and it would be Mumbai. The modern ships can cover the 2,300-odd nautical miles distance between Mumbai and Jeddah in three to four days,” Naqvi said.
Haj travel by sea was discontinued in 1995 as MV Akbari, the ship which used to ferry the pilgrims, aged and became unfit for use. The idea to revive the sea route was mooted by the Minority Affairs Ministry last year to offset the effect of the subsequent withdrawal of subsidy.
The government has withdrawn the Haj subsidy from this year. However, the cost has not gone up drastically, as had been feared, due to a number of effective steps taken by the government such as negotiating with the airlines to rationalise the air fares and giving the pilgrims the option to choose their embarkation point.
This year, 1,75,025 pilgrims from India will go for Haj. Of these, 1,28,702 pilgrims will go through the Haj Committee of India — which includes about 47 per cent women — while 47,323 Haj pilgrims will go through private tour operators, Naqvi said.
A total of 3,55,604 applications had been received for Haj, including 1,89,217 male and 1,66,387 female applicants.
Besides, for the first time Muslim women from India will also go to Haj without ‘mehram’ (male companion). A total of 1,308 women applied to go for Haj without mehram and all of them have been granted permission by the government.
“This year, we are also setting up two 40-bed hospitals in Mecca, one 15-bed hospital in Medina, 10 branch dispensaries in Mecca, three dispensaries in Medina and one at Jeddah Haj terminal to provide better healthcare facilities to the Indian Hajis,” Naqvi said.
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Muslim World
Riyadh : Saudi Interior Ministry announced on Sunday that regulation on using remote-controlled drones is in its final stages, Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported.
Drone users will have to obtain permission to fly the devices for “particular reasons in permitted locations,” a spokesperson was quoted as saying.
The measure will be temporary until the issuance of the regulation, it added.
The statement came after one of the security checkpoints in Al-Khuzama district in Saudi capital Riyadh observed on Saturday the flying of a small unauthorized drone, sparking a brief rise of security concerns.
The personnel at the security point dealt with it according to the instructions in this regard. The authorities have also initiated investigation procedures into the incident.
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Muslim World
Riyadh : The opening of the first movie theater in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday has been highly anticipated across the country, after over 35 years of prohibition for religious reasons.
The first film screening is to be in the capital Riyadh, where a mixed Saudi and foreign audience is set to watch the Marvel superhero film “Black Panther”, Efe reported.
Saudi Culture and Information Minister Awwad Alawwad is planning to attend the event, along with celebrities and guest filmmakers.
Local media have reported an increase in film interest, as reflected in the number of new followers for the Saudi General Authority for Audiovisual Media’s Twitter account, which has reached over 105,000.
As part of Saudi Arabia’s social and economic reform programme under Vision 2030, spearheaded by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the Ministry of Culture and Information announced a landmark decision in December to allow commercial cinemas to operate in the Kingdom from early 2018, Xinhua reported.
Alawwad said: “The return of cinema to Saudi Arabia marks an important moment in the Kingdom’s modern-day history and cultural life, as well as in the development of the Kingdom’s entertainment industry.”
“Today, we mark a major step in fulfilling our commitment to improving the lives of all in the Kingdom, a key pillar of Vision 2030,” he added.
According to the latest plans, Saudi Arabia will open about 350 cinemas and 2,500 screens by 2030.
—IANS
