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Haj goodwill team to Saudi not needed, says Indian Supreme Court

April 17, 2012
Haj

New Delhi, April 17: The Supreme Court on Monday favoured doing away with the practice of sending goodwill delegation to Saudi Arabia during the Haj in a phased manner, saying that the move started in 1967 was no more required in the present scenario.

A bench of justices Aftab Alam and Justice Ranjana Prakash Desa said that the goodwill delegation was required after partition to counter Pakistan and to maintain better relations with the government in Saudi Arabia.

“All that must come to end. You (government) must stop it in 4 or 5 years by reducing the number of people. It was all started in 1967.”

“There is no need to send goodwill delegation,” Justice Alam, speaking for the bench, said.

The court’s response came after Attorney-General G E Vahanvati read out the affidavit filed by the Central government, detailing the draft policy of annual Haj pilgrimage to holy towns of Mecca and Madina for the current year.

The government’s top law officer submitted that the primary purpose of the delegation on government expenditure was to convey goodwill to the government of Saudi Arabia as well as to Indian pilgrims.

“The delegation interacts with the Haj pilgrims from India, understands their issues and takes up the same with the Saudi Arabian authorities. The delegation addresses these issues in their meeting with the minister of Haj, Saudi Arabia and governor of Mecca,” Vahanvati said.

According to the government’s affidavit, the number of delegates was 25 in year 2007, 34 in 2008, 26 in 2009, 30 in 2010 and 27 last year.

The court was hearing a special leave petition filed by the Centre challenging the Bombay High Court’s order which directed it to give allotment of Haj pilgrims to certain Private Tour Operators (PTOs) from government quota in 2011. ?

In conformity with a bilateral agreement signed between India and Saudi Arabia in March this year, a total of 1.70 lakh Muslim pilgrims would be allowed from all over the country.

Of which, 1.25 lakh would be able to visit Saudi Arabia through statutory body Haj Committee of India, Mumbai (HCOI) and remaining 45,000 through private tour operators (PTOs).

The bench fixed April 30 as the next date of hearing in the matter.


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News Network
May 5,2020

Abu Dhabi, May 5: The overall real GDP (gross domestic product) of the United Arab Emirates is estimated to have grown by 1.7 percent in 2019, the country’s central bank said in a statement on Monday carried by WAM.

"The UAE hydrocarbon sector is estimated to have exhibited a growth of 3.4 percent in 2019. However, non-oil activities advanced at a softer pace growing by 1.0 percent. As a result, overall real GDP is estimated by FCSA (Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Authority) to have grown by 1.7 percent in 2019," said the financial regulator in its Annual Report 2019.

"The spread of COVID-19 is expected to impact trade and supply chain movements, coupled with travel restrictions which paves way for high volatility in capital markets and commodity prices. While the outbreak is expected to negatively affect the global and domestic economies, it is still early to gauge the scale of the economic fallout," the report added.

The report noted that the higher hydrocarbon output, as well as growth in non-hydrocarbon economic activity, supported the pace of the country's overall economic growth in 2019.

"Meanwhile, the fading effect of VAT, the appreciating Dirham, lower energy prices and decline in rents pushed inflation in negative territory. However, the employment rate registered a steady rebound. Looking ahead, the economic outlook for 2020 remains uncertain owing to the COVID-19 outbreak," the report elaborated.

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News Network
April 10,2020

Dubai, Apr 10: Saudi Arabia reported 364 new coronavirus cases and three new virus-related deaths, the Ministry of Health announced on Friday.

The total number of confirmed cases in the Kingdom is 3,651, out of which 2,919 are currently active, the ministry added.

Out of the new cases, 90 were recorded in Mecca, 78 in Medina, 69 in Riyadh, and 54 in Jeddah, the ministry said.

Meanwhile, the number of fatalities rose to 47, while th number of recoveries reached 685.

The daily number of confirmed cases in Saudi Arabia has not peaked yet, and has been rapidly accelerating.

Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Health had said earlier this week that four different studies showed that the number of coronavirus cases in the Kingdom could reach between 10,000 to 200,000 within weeks.

The ministry spokesman emphasized the urgent need for citizens and residents to remain at home and maintain social distancing practices to ensure that the virus does not spread further.

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News Network
January 8,2020

Dubai, Jan 8: Iranian state television said on Wednesday that at least 80 "American terrorists" were killed in attacks involving 15 missiles Tehran launched on US targets in Iraq, adding that none of the missiles were intercepted.

State TV, citing a senior Revolutionary Guards source, also said Iran had 100 other targets in the region in its sights if Washington took any retaliatory measures. It also said US helicopters and military equipment were "severely damaged".

Iran launched missile attacks on US-led forces in Iraq in the early hours of Wednesday in retaliation for the US drone strike on an Iranian commander whose killing has raised fears of a wider war in the Middle East.

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