Avoid travel to quake-hit countries: UAE

Jeddah, Jul 26: The city of Makkah is opening its arms again to welcome pilgrims for the annual Hajj — although only a handful compared with previous years.

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, this year’s event is limited to about 1,000 pilgrims, all from inside Saudi Arabia, about 700 of whom are expatriates.

Abdullah Al-Kathiri, an Emirati and a recovered COVID-19 patient, postponed his pilgrimage last year because it coincided with his wedding plans. “I’ve heard from many who’ve performed the pilgrimage in past years that it was always a smooth process, even with the massive numbers,” he said. “So you could imagine how it would be with the limited number of pilgrims this year. Surely it will be a great experience.”

Khadija, a Bulgarian expatriate, was overcome with tears when she heard she would be performing Hajj this year. “I didn’t expect they’d accept,” she said. “I’m sure this year’s Hajj will be an exceptional one in all respects.”

Dr. Haifa Yousef Hamdoon, a Tunisian physician in Qassim, is another who did not expect to be accepted because of the low numbers this year. “When I received confirmation of my request, I was overjoyed and couldn’t believe it,” she said.

Mu’taz Mohamed, a Sudanese pilgrim who also lives in Qassim region, praised the preventive and precautionary health measures taken in order to ensure his safety and that of other pilgrims, to enable them to perform the rituals safely.

After completing their arrival procedures, the pilgrims were taken to their accommodation in Makkah, supervised by the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah. They will stay there for four days before beginning their pilgrimage on July 30.

Cairo, May 20: A senior Kuwaiti lawmaker has called for imposing a tax on expatriates’ remittances to shore up the country’s finances.

MP Khalil Al Saleh, the head of the parliament’s Human Resources Committee, has presented a draft law on the proposed tax to the legislature.

“Imposing fees on expatriates’ transfers will have a role in improving the state's revenues and diversify sources of income,” he told Al Rai newspaper.

Migrant workers transfer about 4.2 billion dinars annually from Kuwait, he added, citing figures from Kuwait’s Central Bank.

“This system is in effect in most countries of the world and in more than one Gulf country. Expats there have not objected to it. Allowing this money to exit the country is very dangerous and has a direct effect on economy,” MP Al Saleh said.

“We do not target brotherly expats because imposing symbolic fees on financial transfers will not affect their money, but will have a positive effect on the state’s sources,” he said. “This has become a necessity after the money transferred outside Kuwait has reached 4.2 billion dinars annually without the state [Kuwait] making any benefit from this.”

Foreign workers make up 3.3 million of Kuwait’s 4.6 million population.

Several Kuwaiti public figures have recently pushed for redrawing the demographic imbalance in the country, accusing expatriates of straining health facilities and increasing the Covid-19 threat.

Riyadh, Apr 8: Saudi Arabia's health minister has warned the number of COVID-19 cases in the country could reach 200,000 in coming weeks.

As of Tuesday, the kingdom registered a total of 2,795 coronavirus infections, including 41 deaths.

"Within the next few weeks, studies predict the number of infections will range from a minimum of 10,000 to a maximum of 200,000," health minister Tawfiq al-Rabiah was cited as saying by the official Saudi Press Agency on Tuesday.

On Monday, Saudi Arabia extended the duration of daily curfews in four governorates and five cities to 24 hours.

The kingdom imposed round-the-clock lockdowns in the capital Riyadh, Tabuk, Dammam, Dhahran and Hofuf, the interior ministry said on Twitter.

The same measures were also imposed on the governorates of Jeddah, Taif, Qatif and Khobar, the ministry added.

Authorities had already sealed off the holy cities of Mecca and Medina, barring people from entering and exiting as well as prohibiting movement between all provinces.

Last month, Saudi Arabia suspended the year-round "Umrah" pilgrimage over fears of the coronavirus pandemic spreading to Islam's holiest cities.

Authorities are yet to announce whether they will proceed with this year's Hajj, scheduled for the end of July. Last week, authorities urged Muslims to temporarily defer preparations for the annual pilgrimage.

Last year, about 2.5 million people travelled to Saudi Arabia to take part in the Hajj, which all Muslims must perform at least once in their lives if able.

The Arab world's biggest economy has also closed down cinemas, malls and restaurants and halted flights as it steps up efforts to contain the virus.

King Salman has warned of a "more difficult" fight ahead against the virus, as the kingdom faces the economic double blow of virus-led shutdowns and crashing oil prices