Sandstorm spreads to Qatar; normal life disrupted

April 2, 2015

Doha, Apr 2: Citing “extreme weather conditions,” Qatar’s Supreme Education Council has decided that private and public schools should remain shut today.

Several universities are also closed today, including Northwestern University in Qatar, Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar, Georgetown University in Qatar and Virginia Commonwealth University in Qatar. The College of the North Atlantic Qatar has also announced it will be shut.

The move comes as Qatar residents wake up after one of the worst sandstorms the country has seen in years.

Sandstorm Qatar2

The weather is a result of a high pressure front from Saudi Arabia, which has also shut many of its schools in certain parts of the country, Arab News reports.

Hamad Airport

Early this morning, a number of flights due to depart from Hamad International Airport (HIA) were delayed due to the adverse weather, an airport representative said, although only one was canceled.

A Jet Airways flight to Mumbai had been scheduled to take off at 3:20am, but was delayed for more than three hours and is now set to take off at 7am.

A Qatar Airways flight to Colombo in Sri Lanka was also delayed by more than three hours as it finally took off at 4:30am, instead of its scheduled 12:55am.

Another Qatar Airways flight, this time to Riyadh, suffered delays of nearly six hours as the flight which had been set to leave at 1:10am is now due to leave at 7am.

R1157 from Dammam (KSA) which was due to arrive in Doha at 5:10am has been rescheduled for a 9:25am arrival, while QR1167 from Riyadh was delayed from its 5:25am arrival and is now due to arrive in Qatar at 10:50am.

Finally, a Fly Dubai flight to Dubai which was due to leave Doha at 3:10am was canceled.

However, most flights appear to have landed this morning as scheduled, without incurring any significant delays.

And the airport representative told Doha News that most flights would be flying on schedule for the rest of the morning. Still, passengers due to travel today are advised to check with their airline for the latest status update.

Weather forecast

According to the Qatar Meteorology Department (MET), wind speeds here are forecast to reach as high as 35 knots inshore (65km/hour) and 38 knots (70km/hour) offshore.

Dusty conditions are expected to prevail through Friday, though the worst of this sandstorm should be over by lunchtime, says Steff Gaulter, senior meteorologist at Al Jazeera English:

For those reporting to work today, the Ministry of Interior has warned of almost zero visibility on the roads, and reminded people to please refrain from using their hazard lights:

Here’s a roundup of what people are experiencing around town:

Sandstorm Qatar1

Sandstorm Qatar3

Sandstorm Qatar4

Sandstorm Qatar5

Sandstorm Qatar6

Sandstorm Qatar7

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Agencies
April 8,2020

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

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Agencies
July 22,2020

Dubai, Jul 22: Saudi Arabia's Minister of Haj and Umrah, Dr Muhammad Saleh Benten, has inspected the facilities and arrangement made for the Haj pilgrims in Makkah and the holy sites.

Speaking to the Saudi Press Agency after the tour, the minister said that the Saudi government has worked out unprecedented plans for the running of this year's Haj, enabling pilgrims to perform their rituals in ease and comfort.
 
This year's Haj, which has been scaled back dramatically to include only around 1,000 Muslim pilgrims as Saudi Arabia battles a coronavirus surge, will begin on July 29, authorities said Monday.

"The comprehensive, foolproof plans will be implemented by the security, health and service agencies. The plans include the provision of the best health services, and the most appropriate crowd control, strictly in line with the precautionary measures and preventive protocols, formulated by the Ministry of Health to ensure full safety of pilgrims from the coronavirus pandemic," Dr Benten said.

According to the Saudi Gazette, Benten emphasised the eagerness of the government of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz of Saudi Arabia and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud to implement the Haj operation by following the highest health standards and precautionary measures in order to ensure the safety of the pilgrims.

Earlier, the minister inspected the arrangements and facilities for the reception and accommodation of pilgrims at Four Point Hotel in Makkah.

He was briefed by ministry officials with regard to receiving and accommodating pilgrims during the period from 4 to 8 of Dhul Hijjah before leaving for Mina.

Benten also visited the tents in Arafat and the facilities in Muzdalifah.

After that, his inspection tour visited the tent city of Mina, where he viewed one of the towers designated for the housing of pilgrims. 

According to the Saudi Gazette, he was impressed with the services and facilities being arranged for the accommodation and serving of food for the pilgrims.

To complete his visit, the minister watched a visual presentation of the mechanism for providing logistical services for the pilgrims during their travel from accommodation to Jamarat to undertake the stoning ritual.

Meanwhile, Maj. Gen. Mohammed Bin Wasl Al Ahmadi, assistant commander of the Haj security forces for the Grand Mosque and its premises, said on Tuesday that the security plan for this year's pilgrimage prioritises on organisational, security, humanitarian and health aspects.

He said the Haj security forces have installed entry and exit mechanisms from the Grand Mosque during Haj, with passages for pilgrims extending from the southern and western premises of venue as well as special passages around the circumambulation and Saey areas.

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News Network
April 23,2020

Riyadh, Apr 22: In an extraordinary initiative, the government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has decided to facilitate the travel of expatriates who have an exit and reentry visa or final exit visa to return to their countries.

This is in line with the order of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman, according to the Saudi Press Agency.

According to the initiative, called “Auda” (return), expatriates can apply seeking permission for travel to their countries through the Absher portal of the ministry.

Announcing this, Saudi's Ministry of Interior said that the initiative will be implemented in cooperation with a number of relevant government agencies.

Requests for travel from expatriates will be received and approved in coordination with the relevant authorities to complete their travel procedures on board international flights.

As per the initiative, a text message will be sent to the beneficiary stating the travel date, ticket number and reservation details, and by which the beneficiary can obtain his travel ticket and complete the travel procedures.

Clarifying the procedures for the travel, the ministry said that the applicant shall select the icon (Auda) after visiting the Absher portal and fill the following fields: iqama (residency permit) number, date of birth, mobile number, departure city and airport of arrival.

It is not mandatory for the expatriate to have his own Absher account for availing of the service, the ministry said, adding that this facility is to enable expatriates to benefit from this initiative.

The departure will be through the following airports: King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah, Prince Muhammad International Airport in Madinah, and King Fahd International Airport in Dammam.

Those expatriates who are outside these cities can benefit from the service through entering airport of departure after completion of their travel procedures in sufficient period of time.

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