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Pilgrims in awe of massive expansion work in Makkah

February 28, 2014

Pilgrims_in_aweMakkah, Feb 28: Forty-five-year-old Syed Laeequddin Quadri, from Maharashtra, India, was standing in quiet contemplation straining his head to look at the golden crescent atop the majestic Makkah Clock Tower.

“That is unbelievable,” he told Arab News after Dhuhr prayers on Thursday. “Being a construction expert, I can imagine how much steel and concrete must have been poured into this gigantic project.”

Quadri is in the Kingdom on Umrah with his wife and four children. He is very familiar with the country having worked for the Saudi Binladin Group’s Operations and Maintenance Division in the early 1990s.

“I left the Kingdom for good 15 years ago,” he said. “I remember coming to the Holy Mosque for Umrah for the first time in 1991 with a friend. There was no Clock Tower, no Dar Al-Tawheed building,” he reminisced. “We were dropped by the cabbie right in front of the King Abdul Aziz Gate.”

Pointing at the sprawling marble-topped courtyard, he said: “This was not there.”

There was always construction activity in Makkah, he says. “In those days, you would always see earth-moving equipment and cranes at work on different projects,” he said.

However, the skyline was not dotted with the massive cranes as it is now. “Wherever you cast your eye from the Grand Mosque’s courtyard, you can see hundreds of red- and yellow-colored cranes, positioned at right angles,” said Quadri.

“We used to dine at Delhi Darbar Restaurant near the SAPTCO bus stop,” he said. “That is all gone. What used to be old buildings along Ibrahim Khalil Street housing pilgrims from India and Pakistan are all gone and instead we have the Jabal Omar Project. The mountain or the hillock is gone.”

On both sides of Ibrahim Khalil Street frenetic construction activity is going on, with the ground being leveled as part of the Grand Mosque expansion project.

According to reports in the local media, Makkah Hilton will no longer be where it is now. It will be shifted across the street. This is also the case with the Dar Al-Tawheed Intercontinental Hotel.

The Haram expansion project is being described as the biggest in Islam’s history. Once complete, it will significantly facilitate the journey of faith for millions of pilgrims.

“Every time I circumambulate the Holy Kaaba, my hands go up in prayer for the Saudi leadership for everything they’ve done and are doing to make Umrah and Haj comfortable,” said Quadri.

“When I came from Jeddah I saw mountains being cut away to expand the multi-lane highway. My eyes went moist. King Abdullah has excelled as the custodian of the holy mosques.”

Fifty-two-year-old Mustafa Anwar, from Alexandria, Egypt, was equally impressed.

“The expansion of the Holy Mosque symbolizes the rising tide of Islam,” he told Arab News. “I remember only a very few people from my country would come for Umrah 20 years ago,” he said. “That is not the case now, you have to apply months in advance with a travel agent because hundreds of thousands of people have the resources to undertake Umrah.”

Anwar said this is happening with Muslims all over the world. “More and more people are coming to perform Umrah and Haj, and naturally Saudi Arabia wants to provide the best of the best for them. And they are, much to the appreciation and wonderment of the pilgrims. Naturally, the Saudi leadership is showered with praise for taking such meticulous care of the Holy Mosque.”

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News Network
March 11,2020

Mar 11: Energy giant Saudi Aramco on Wednesday said it plans to raise its crude production capacity by one million barrels per day to 13 million bpd as a price war with Russia intensifies.

"Saudi Aramco announces that it received a directive from the ministry of energy to increase its maximum sustainable capacity from 12 million bpd to 13 million bpd," the company said in a statement to the Saudi Stock Exchange.

The decision comes a day after the world's top exporter, Saudi Arabia, decided to hike production by at least 2.5 million bpd to a record 12.3 million from April.

The Saudi moves come after the collapse of an oil production reduction agreement between OPEC and non-OPEC producers, including Russia.

The deal proposed by Saudi Arabia called for additional output cuts of 1.5 million bpd to cope with the severe economic impact of the coronavirus which has sharply reduced world demand for crude.

Boosting production capacity normally takes a long time and requires billions of dollars of investment.

Several years ago, the kingdom had shelved plans to boost its crude production capacity beyond 12 million bpd after demand for OPEC oil declined in the face of stiff competition from North American shale oil and other sources.

Russia on Tuesday said it was open to renewing cooperation with the OPEC cartel even as its kingpin Saudi Arabia escalated a price war with Moscow by announcing it would flood markets with new supplies.

The oil price war broke out after OPEC and a group of non-member countries dominated by Russia -- the world's second largest producer -- on Friday failed to agree on production cuts.

Saudi Arabia responded by announcing unilateral price cuts. This prompted the oil price to plummet and fuelled huge falls on stock markets around the world on Monday.

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Agencies
August 2,2020

Kuwait, Aug 2: Kuwait has barred entry of foreign passengers from over 30 countries including India and China.

A circular from the Director General Civil Aviation, State of Kuwait directed all airlines operating at Kuwait International Airport to adhere to the instructions in this regard.

"Based on the decision of the Health Authority in State of Kuwait, no foreign passenger coming from the down listed countries will be allowed to enter the State of Kuwait," the circular read.

These include- India, Iran, China, Brazil, Colombia, Armenia, Bangladesh, Philippines, Syria, Spain, Singapore, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Iraq, Mexico, Indonesia, Chile, Pakistan, Egypt, Lebanon, Hong Kong, Italy, North Macedonia, Moldova, Panama, Beirut ,Serbia Montenegro, Dominican Republic and Kosovo.

The circular stated that such restriction will also include the passengers were present 14 days before the date of travel until further notice.

The ban was announced the same day Kuwait began a partial resumption of commercial flights according to Khaleej Times, which quoted authorities stating that Kuwait International Airport would run at about 30 per cent capacity from Saturday, gradually increasing in coming months.

According to the latest data from Johns Hopkins University, Kuwait has reported 67,448 cases of coronavirus while the fatalities related to the virus stand at 453.

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News Network
June 20,2020

Riyadh, Jun 20:  Speaking at an exclusive webinar organized by the London Business School’s (LBS) Riyadh Chapter, Saudi Arabia’s first sports minister Prince Abdulaziz Bin Turki Al Faisal proudly reflected back on his nation’s sports achievements over the last few years.

Attended by over 170 people, the highest record set at an LBS webinar, various topics were discussed including the Kingdom’s sports strategy, investment opportunities, role of the media and advantages of hosting international sporting events, among other things.

Saudi Arabia has recently presented itself as one of the major players in the global sports industry thanks to its transformative Vision 2030, which aims to diversify the economy and create a more vibrant society.

Recognizing the importance of the vision, Prince Abdulaziz said: “Vision 2030 is something we all believe in. Everywhere you go within the Kingdom, you feel that people are passionate about the vision and its targets. Sport is part of it, and it has a big role in it.”

At the heart of the newly created Ministry of Sport’s strategy is increasing mass participation across all types of sports and preparing the next generation of elite athletes capable of competing on the international stage.

The ambitious prince asserted, “We want to make sure that we create an ecosystem that is sustainable, creates jobs, income and provides a lot of opportunities for everyone. We are creating academies around the Kingdom for kids to get into sports to make sure we have a base for them to start off from.”

Over 50 questions were addressed during the open and transparent webinar, a reflection of the attitude and culture the prince is creating at the Ministry. He admitted that while Saudi Arabia is a nation bound by a love and passion for sport, until recently sports has been looked at as a tool for entertainment rather than an important industry.

One of his key goals is to shift this mentality. Hosting major sports events has greatly contributed in doing so, he is a strong believer of their long-lasting impact and legacy.

“These events will shed light on enlightening people about certain sports and making sure they get attracted by it and enjoy it. From these events that we hosted, we found out there’s interest for tennis, golf, and boxing.”

“We will continue to host these events to make sure that people enjoy them as entertainment but to also make sure that people are passionate about these sports get to watch them live in the Kingdom and hopefully from that get someone passionate enough to participate,” he explained.

A former professional motorsports racer, Prince Abdulaziz was appointed chairman of the then-General Sports Authority at the start of 2019 after holding the position of vice chairman for the previous two years. Under his leadership, the Ministry of Sport doubled the number of its ever-growing sports federations and invested heavily at the grassroots level.

When asked about the significance of such investments, he said: “We give them [athletes] an opportunity to compete under the name of the Kingdom, to shine and make sure there’s a future for them. Today we look at a holistic view of sports. We use it to change certain mindsets and restrictions within the Kingdom to make sure we can evolve within the industry and complete against leading countries.”

The Riyadh Chapter of the London Business School aims to increase engagement and opportunities for LBS alumni in the Kingdom and to develop stronger ties that help build a better future for the business community.

Co-presidents Majed Al Hugail and Faris Al Shareef expressed their delight in hosting Prince Abdulaziz for the first time by saying: “The webinar was very insightful to the elite group of LBS alumni both locally and internationally. It helped them further understand how the Ministry is reshaping the sports sector as part of Vision 2030.

“The session left many of the attendees with a great sense of appreciation of the Ministry’s support to the community, an area where stronger partnerships can potentially be explored for the country and region’s benefits.”

In line with new progressive government policies, a lot of attention and investment has geared towards the inclusion of women in sports on both the elite and amateur levels.

When asked by an audience member about this matter, the sports leader proudly replied by saying: “We’ve seen an increase of active women participation in sports by about 149% from 2015 till today. Only five years ago, women were not allowed to participate in the street but it’s a completely different ball game today.”

A testament to this great progress is the participation of 22 women’s national teams in competitive regional games across a wide range of sports in recent years, in addition to newly incepted Women’s Football League.

Among the topics discussed during the 1-hour long webinar was the Ministry’s journey towards the privatization of some of its assets.

Highlighting the significant role that the private sector contributes towards future growth and development, the Minister said: “The private sector is a fundamental aspect for the evolution of sports within the Kingdom and anywhere else in the world. We have to make sure that the platform is open for the private sector to come in and play its role in increasing the number of participants and to add the number of clubs within the Kingdom.”

He continued: “It is our role to provide the right regulatory process. Today we are ready with a platform to make sure that we can deliver on this for the private sector and for the public. This will add towards the evolvement and the development of sports within the Kingdom.”

Saudi Arabia’s successful hosting of high-profile sports events attracted thousands of locals and visitors; it now has bigger plans to cement its strong position in the global sports industry. Among these plans include bids for two of the continent’s most sought after competitions, the 2027 AFC Asian Cup and 2030 Asian Games.

When asked about the reason behind them, he was confident in his response highlighting that Saudi Arabia has celebrated multiples trophies and medals in the past, but this is the first time that they’re aiming to host the events.

“It is time to do so. It’s unheard of that you win a competition but don’t host it. Saudi should host these events and we are capable of hosting them as a nation. It is something that our people are very passionate about, they love it and follow it. It will showcase what Saudi can do on the Asian front.”

Prince Abdulaziz recognizes Saudi Arabia’s recent sporting achievements, but he remains humble on his mission to use sports as a tool to tell his country’s story to the world and build a healthier, more vibrant society capable of nurturing athletes who can compete on the elite level for many years to come.

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