Man tries to sell fake piece of Kaaba cloth for SR 8 million

Gulf News
March 19, 2018

Manama, Mar 19:  A broker is asking for SR 8 million to sell a piece of cloth he claims comes from the Kiswah—the embroidered black and gold cloth covering the Kaaba.

The broker did not say who was selling the piece of cloth, but added that it was old and belonged to Al Sheebi, the family looking after the Kaaba since pre-Islam times.

He insisted that the rare item was authentic and that he had an official licence from the Emirate of Makkah Province to sell it.

However, Abdul Malik Al Sheebi, a senior caretaker of the Kaaba, denied the claim and said that his family did not own a piece of the Kiswah, the silk and cotton cloth, Saudi daily Makkah reported on Sunday.

“Many people claim they have an authentic piece of the Kiswah and use my family’s name to gain the trust and confidence of those willing to buy it,” he said. “However, the pieces they put out for sale are often imitations made in India or Egypt. The original Kiswah belongs to the state and is preserved in special stores.”

Sultan Al Dossari, a spokesperson for the Emirate of Makkah, said they did not grant licences or permits to sell any part of the Kiswah.

The daily said that the ad posted by the broker was deleted after reporters contacted him.

Mohammad Bajuda, the manager of the Kiswah factory in Makkah, said their task was to produce the new cloth draping the Kaaba and that they hand over the old Kiswah to the competent committee for safeguarding.

“Unfortunately, there is a surge in the number of ads offering pieces of cloth that are imitations of the Kiswah,” he said.

Imitations of the Kiswah could be found mainly in Egypt, Turkey, Britain and France, the daily added.

According to Bajuda, 210 people worked in the factory for eight months to produce the Kiswah annually.

Before the factory was opened in 1927, the Kiswah was made in Egypt and materials were bought from Sudan, India, Egypt and Iraq.

Today the 658-square-meter covering is made of 670 kg of high-quality silk imported from Italy and Switzerland and 120 kg of pure gold and silver.

The role of Al Sheebi family in looking after the Kaaba was confirmed by Prophet Mohammad, Peace Be Upon Him, who left the key to the Kaaba with the family and stressed that no-one had the right to take it away from them.

According to the family rules, the eldest member is in charge of keeping and safeguarding the key.

The Kaaba is locate din the Grand Mosque of Makkah—the holiest site in Islam.

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News Network
April 5,2020

Ajman, Apr 5: A bakery worker in Ajman has been detained for spitting in the bread dough as he prepared bread at the bakery, police said.

The General Command of Ajman Police arrested the Asian worker in coordination with Ajman Municipality after investigators suggested that he intentionally spat in the dough while preparing bread at a bakery which is located in Ajman.

Lt. Col. Muhammad Mubarak Al-Ghafli, Director of Al-Jarf Al-Shamel Police Station, said a team from police had immediately gone to arrest the worker after receiving a report from the municipality confirming that the man spat in the bread dough.

Officials said a customer had filmed the Asian as he spat in the dough while preparing the bread at the bakery during the evening.

The customer then filed a complaint to the municipality with the supporting evidence of a video as the worker was doing the buzzer act.

Police said the man was taken for for psychological examination as he's being prepared to be referred to the public prosecution.

Meanwhile, the bakery has been shut down by the municipality for violating food hygiene and public health rules.

Lt. Col. Al-Ghafli has appealed to the public to report persons or any acts that could harm the health and safety of the public.

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News Network
April 13,2020

Dubai, Apr 13: The UAE plans to impose "strict restrictions" on countries reluctant to take back their nationals working in the Gulf country in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak and restructure its cooperation and labour relations with them, a state-run media report said on Sunday.

Indian expatriate community of nearly 33 lakh is the largest ethnic community in UAE constituting roughly about 30 per cent of the country’s population. Among the Indian states, Kerala is the most represented followed by Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh.

The options being considered by the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation include "imposing strict future restrictions on the recruitment" of workers from these countries and activating the "quota" system in recruitment operations, state-run WAM news agency reported, citing an official.

It said the options also include suspending memoranda of understanding signed between the ministry and concerned authorities in these countries.

Citing the unnamed official, it said these options are being considered after many countries did not respond to requests by their nationals to return home following the coronavirus outbreak.

The official made it clear that all countries of foreign workers in the UAE should be responsible for their nationals wishing to return to their countries as part of the humanitarian initiative launched recently by the ministry.

Earlier this month, the ministry launched the initiative to enable residents who work in the UAE and wish to return to their countries to do so during the period of precautionary measures undertaken in the UAE to contain the spread of the coronavirus.

Employees will be asked to submit their annual leave dates or agree with their employers on unpaid leave.

UAE's Ambassador to India Ahmed Abdul Rahman Al Banna has said that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MOFAIC) had sent out a “note verbale” to all the embassies in the UAE, including the Indian mission, during the past couple of weeks on the issue.

“We have sent the note verbale and all the embassies have been informed including the Indian embassy in the UAE and even the Ministry of External Affairs in India,” Al Banna told Gulf News over phone on Saturday.

He said the UAE has offered to test those who want to be evacuated.

“We are assuring everybody that we have the best of the facilities, the best of the testing centres and we have tested more than 500,000 people,” he said.

“We are assuring them also of our cooperation to fly those who got stranded in the UAE for some reasons. Some got stuck because of the lockdown and closure of airports in India. Some were visiting the UAE.”

“We are offering our system and making sure that they are good (to fly) by doing all the tests and transport them according to the request of their own government,” he said.

The envoy said those who test positive for COVID-19 will remain in the UAE. “They will be treated in our home facilities,” he added.

The Kerala High Court on Saturday sought the central government's response to a petition seeking a direction to bring back Indians stranded in the UAE in view of the coronavirus outbreak in the gulf nation.

Considering the plea by Kerala Muslim Cultural Centre (KMCC) in Dubai, the court directed the Centre to file an affidavit on the steps taken by it to ensure the safety of Indians living there and bring back those stuck in the Gulf countries.

In its plea, KMCC, the organisation for non-resident Indians from Kerala, sought directions to the Ministries of External Affairs and Civil Aviation to provide exemptions in the international air travel ban to bring back those Indians stranded in the UAE.

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Agencies
February 16,2020

Al-Jawf, Feb 16: At least 31 people were killed and 12 others were injured here in the al-Maslub district in airstrikes by the Saudi-UAE-led military coalition on Saturday.

"Preliminary field reports indicate that as many as 31 civilians were killed and 12 others injured in strikes that hit al-Hayjah area of the al-Maslub district in al-Jawf governorate," said a statement from the office of the UN resident coordinator and humanitarian coordinator for Yemen.

According to Al Jazeera, the airstrike was conducted hours after the Yemeni Houthis said that they downed a Saudi fighter jet in the same region.

Commenting on the air raids, Lise Grande, the UN's humanitarian coordinator for Yemen, said: "We share our deep condolences with the families of those killed and we pray for the speedy recovery of everyone who has been injured in these terrible strikes."

"So many people are being killed in Yemen - it's a tragedy and it's unjustified. Under international humanitarian law, parties that resort to force is obligated to protect civilians," Grande was quoted as saying.

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