It’s King’s decree: Saudi Arabia finally allows women to drive

Agencies
September 27, 2017

Jeddah, Sept 27: In a historic decision, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman on Tuesday issued orders to grant driving licenses to women in the Kingdom.

The royal order will come into force from Shawwal 10, 1439, corresponding to June 24, 2018, the Saudi Press Agency reported.

In a royal decree, the monarch directed Minister of Interior Prince Abdul Aziz Bin Saud Bin Naif to constitute a high-level ministerial committee to carry out studies about the necessary arrangements to implement the royal decree.

The ministerial body will give advice within 30 days and then implement the order by June 2018.

The committee will comprise representatives of the ministries of interior, finance, and labor and social development.

“The royal decree will implement the provisions of the traffic regulations, including the issuance of driving licenses for men and women alike,” SPA reported.

The King also instructed implementation of the royal decree effective from Shawwal 10, 1439 in line with the Shariah and legal regulations.

In the decree, the King referred to the negative consequences of not allowing women to drive, and the positive aspects of allowing them to do so, taking into consideration the application of the necessary Shariah regulations.

“We also refer to the view of the majority of the members of the Council of Senior Scholars with regard to this,” the King said.

Referring to the reservations expressed from some corners with regard to allowing women to drive, the King noted that scholars find that there is nothing that prevents women from driving after the necessary Shariah and legal guarantees are ensured.

The King emphasized that the State is the guardian of Shariah values.

“There won’t be any leniency in taking all the required measures to maintain the security and safety of society,” the monarch said while instructing the minister of interior to implement the rules of the Traffic Law and its executive bylaw, including allowing men and women alike to drive.

The reasons for delaying the enforcement of the decree until the month of Shawwal is due to the desire of the State to provide proper requirement and infrastructure so that women can drive in safety and security.

The United States welcomed the Royal order.

“We would certainly welcome that,” US State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert told reporters. “It's a great step in the right direction for that country.”

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News Network
March 10,2020

Mangaluru, Mar 10: Tension prevailed in the city after an international flyer quarantined at the District Wenlock Hospital walked out of the facility.

The passenger, with a recent travel history to high-risk countries, refused to cooperate with health officials. The day-long drama ended when the district administration intervened and the flyer agreed to get himself re-admitted.

Deputy commissioner Sindhu B Rupesh said the passenger had fever and was sent to an isolation ward. “The passenger is cooperating with the treatment and samples have been collected for testing,” she said. The samples will be sent to a testing centre in Bengaluru.

Sources told  that rude behaviour by staff at Mangalore International Airport may have angered the passenger and he walked out of the quarantine facility.

She said if passengers show reluctance to be screened, they should first be counselled and allowed to get themselves admitted to a hospital of their choice with quarantine facility. If they still refuse to cooperate, they will have to be hospitalised forcefully, she added.

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Agencies
August 9,2020

New Delhi, Aug 9: Indian on Sunday achieved a grim milestone after recording the highest single-day spike of 64,399 coronavirus cases, according to the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

As many as 861 deaths were reported in the country in the last 24 hours, taking the cumulative toll to 43,379.

With the new cases, the country's coronavirus count has reached 21,53,011 including 6,28,747 active cases and 14,80,885 cured/discharged/migrated.

Maharashtra has 1,47,355 active coronavirus cases, the highest in the country.

According to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), 7,19,364 samples were tested on August 8 while over 2.41 crores samples so far have been tested in the country.

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coastaldigest.com news network
June 15,2020

Bengaluru, Jun 15: A total of over 4,000 COVID patients have been discharged in Karnataka so far, as the state on Monday reported 213 new cases of coronavirus and two related fatalities, taking the total number of infections to 7,213 and the death toll to 88.

On Monday alone 180 patients were discharged in the state after recovery. As of June 15 evening, cumulatively 7,213 COVID-19 positive cases have been confirmed in the state, which includes 88 deaths and 4,135 discharges, the health department said in its bulletin.

Out of the 2,987 active cases, 2,931 patients are in isolation at designated hospitals and are stable, while 56 are in Intensive Care Units. Among the two deaths were a 65-year-old man from Dharwad, who was the contact of another patient already tested positive.

He was admitted on June 14 at a designated hospital and died the same day. The other was a 75-year-old woman from Bengaluru, diagnosed with ILI (Influenza Like Illness) A known case of Diabetes mellitus and Hypertension , she was admitted on June 13 at a designated hospital and died on June 15.

Out of 213 new cases 103 are returnees from other states, a majority of them from neighbouring Maharashtra, while 23 are those who returned from other countries.

Among the districts where the new cases were reported, Kalaburagi accounted for 48, followed by Bengaluru urban 35, Dharwad 34, Dakshina Kannada 23, Raichur 18, Yadgir 13, Bidar 11, Ballari 10, Koppal 4, three each from Vijayapura, Bagalkote and Shivamogga, two each from Udupi, Haveri and Ramanagara, and one each from Hassan and Davangere.

Udupi district tops the list of positive cases with a total of 1,028 infections, followed by Kalaburagi 944 and Yadgir 822.

Among discharges also Udupi is on top with total of 736 discharges, followed by Kalaburagi 459 and Bengaluru urban 329. A total of 4,49,331 samples have been tested so far, out of which 5,362 were tested on Monday alone.

So far 4,32,346 samples have been reported as negative, out of which 4,738 reported negative today, the bulletin said.

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