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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
January 16,2020

Dubai, Jan 16: The UAE Ministry of Climate Change and Environment on Wednesday announced that it has banned the import of birds, some eggs and meat products from Hungary and Slovakia.

The ministry said the decision was taken following a notification from the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) on the outbreak of a highly pathogenic strain of bird flu, H5N2, in the two countries.

Accordingly, the ministry has banned "the import of all species of domestic and wild live birds, ornamental birds, chicks, hatching eggs, meats and meat products and non-heat-treated wastes from Hungary and Slovakia".

It has also regulated the import of poultry meat and non-heat-treated products, requiring a health certificate for the export of meat and meat products from the two countries to release consignments into the UAE.

A health certificate will be needed for the import of eggs, the ministry added.

However, thermally-treated poultry products (meat and eggs) have been cleared for import from all parts of Hungary and Slovakia.

Kaltham Ali Kayaf, Acting Director, Animal Development & Health Department at the ministry, said: "These measures reiterate the ministry's keenness in achieving its strategic objectives including enhancing bio-security levels and eliminating pathogens before they enter the country. In doing so, the ministry prevents the bird flu virus and related risks and impacts on the country's poultry health and safety, in addition to protecting public health and well-being."

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coastaldigest.com news network
May 12,2020

Riyadh, May 12: Saudi Arabia will impose a full-day lockdown and curfew across the Kingdom during the upcoming Eid holidays from May 23 until May 27, according to the Kingdom’s Interior Ministry.

Details are awaited

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News Network
April 30,2020

Riyadh, Apr 30: Saudi Arabia on Thursday recorded 1,351 new coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours, bringing the total number of infections in the country to 22,753, the Ministry of Health said in a statement.

The ministry also announced 5 more deaths and 210 new recoveries, raising the total number of fatalities and recoveries to 162 and 3,163 respectively.

Riyadh with 440 cases topped the list, followed by 392 cases in Makkah, 120 in Jeddah and 119 in Madinah.

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