Riyadh, May 6: A Saudi royal has passed away, Spa reported on the first day of Ramadan (May 6).
According to a statement issued by the Royal Court of Saudi Arabia, Her Royal Highness Princess Hessa bint Saud bin Abdullah bin Saud bin Faisal Al Saud passed away.
She was the mother of His Highness Prince Abdulaziz bin Faisal bin Salman bin Mohammed Al Saud.
The funeral prayers will be held today after the Asr prayer at Prince Turki bin Abdul Aziz Mosque in Riyadh, Spa added.
Riyadh, May 27: Following the announcement of easing of lockdown measures, which includes reopening of all mosques for daily congressional as well as Friday prayers across the Kingdom except the holy city of Makkah, the Ministry of Islamic Affairs, Call and Guidance has set mandatory guidelines.
In a circular issued to mosque staff, Minister of Islamic Affairs, Call and Guidance Sheikh Abdullatif Al-Asheikh has instructed that all mosques must comply with the following precautionary measures and instructions:
1. Open mosques 15 minutes before the Adhan and close them 10 minutes after prayer
2. Reduce the waiting period between the Adhan and Iqamah to 10 minutes
3. Open windows and doors from entering time to the end of the prayer
4. Remove copies of Holy Qur’an and other books temporarily from mosques
5. Ensure attendees keep a distance of two meters between each other
6. Ensure one space is left between each row
7. Close all water coolers and refrigerators
8. Do not allow distribution of water or food in mosques
9. Close toilets and places of ablution
Precautionary measures on Friday prayers are as follows:
1. Open mosques 20 minutes before Friday prayer and closing them 20 minutes after prayer.
2. Friday sermon with prayer should not exceed 15 minutes.
The circular also stipulates to keep the suspension of the religious courses, programs and lectures, as well as the memorizing Holy Qur'an sessions in the mosques and to continue education and lectures remotely until further notice.
The circular pointed out that the imams of mosques should urge the worshipers to take the following precautionary measures:
1. Wear a face mask
2. Bring their own prayer rugs and not leave them after the prayer
3. Prevent accompanying children under 15 years of age from entering mosques
4. Perform ablution at home
5. Avoid crowding when entering or exiting mosques
Meanwhile, the spokesman of the Ministry of Interior clarified later in the day that people are allowed to perform congressional prayers in their locality during the time of curfew.
Dubai, Jul 28: A heart-broken father who lost his 19-year-old son in a tragic car accident during Christmas last year has sponsored the repatriation costs of 61 Indians stranded in the UAE.
The special flydubai repatriation flight, chartered by the All Kerala Colleges Alumni Federation (Akcaf) volunteer group, of which he is a member of, departed from Dubai to Kochi on July 25 carrying 199 passengers.
On this particular flight, I sponsored 55 air tickets," said TN Krishnakumar, a sales and marketing director. He had lost his son Rohit Krishnakumar in a car accident, which also claimed the life of the teen's friend, Sharat Kumar (21).
"All passengers who were registered with the Indian missions were also asked to register on the Akcaf volunteer group website. Each passenger was further vetted, after which we made home visits to ensure that all the applicants were genuinely in need of financial support and repatriation," he said.
Commenting on what inspired him to dedicate himself to community work, Krishankumar said: "When a situation like this comes up, you realise there is no meaning in money. I invested everything I made into my son, and that had crashed in front of my eyes. He was a third-year medical student at the University of Manchester in the UK and had returned home for a vacation when the accident took place. Since then, I have been involved in a lot of social activities. If I do not do this, there is no meaning to my existence."
Since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, Krishnakumar said the group has supported thousands of individuals in need of help. "We supported unemployed people with several hundred bags of grocery kits and other necessary items. We also supported Covid-19 patients by transferring them to the medical facility in Warsan, etc.," he said.
"I come from a very middle-class family. I got a scholarship to study in college, and I studied with the help of taxpayers' money. I have always wanted to give back to society. I have grown immensely in life and now is my time to give back.," he added.
Krishnakumar also sponsors the education of over 1,000 academically gifted school children in Kerala's government-aided schools. He is a life trustee at the College of Engineering Trivandrum Alumni Galaxy Charitable Trust and an active participant towards various educational causes.
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.
Comments
Inna Lilllahi Wa Inna ilayhi Rajioon May Almighty Allah grant her and all og Jannathul Firdous
Add new comment