1. Home
  2. Support for Palestinian refugees religious duty, says Riyadh

Support for Palestinian refugees religious duty, says Riyadh

November 15, 2016

Riyadh, Nov 16: The Cabinet, chaired by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman at Al-Yamamah Palace, on Monday reaffirmed Saudi Arabia’s continued support for Palestinian refugees out of the Kingdom’s belief that it is a religious and humanitarian duty.

RiyadhThe Cabinet reviewed a number of issues and the latest developments at regional and international levels, including Saudi Arabia’s affirmation at the UN of its continued support for Palestinian refugees and for the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) to achieve their humanitarian objectives.

The Cabinet reiterated that Saudi Arabia will continue to provide care to more than five million Palestinians; the Kingdom tops the list of main donors to their cause.

The Cabinet also discussed the speech delivered at the UN by the Kingdom’s representative on behalf of the Arab group on Article 50 on the report of the Special Committee to Investigate Israeli practices affecting the human rights of the Palestinian people, during which it expressed its deep concern about the escalation of violence, acts of provocation and aggression by Israeli occupation forces and terrorist settlers against Palestinians.

The Cabinet deplored Israel’s persistence in challenging UN resolutions, and reiterated that the Kingdom welcomes the French initiative calling for an international peace conference, according to the terms of reference of the peace process, particularly the Arab Peace Initiative.

The Cabinet also expressed appreciation for the measures taken by the first meeting of the Commission of Economic and Development Affairs of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), established upon the directive by King Salman with the aim of enhancing joint Gulf action.

Acting Minister of Culture and Information Dr. Essam bin Saad bin Saeed said that the Cabinet fully supports the view of Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, second deputy premier, minister of defense and chairman of the Council of Economic and Development Affairs, that the GCC countries should unite to become a strong bloc. The Cabinet endorsed the views of the deputy crown prince, who said that the GCC has the opportunity to be the sixth biggest economy in the world if its members work properly in the coming years and take advantage of opportunities in this era of economic fluctuations.

The Cabinet commended the Council of Economic Development Affairs for having decided, during its meeting, to have the public treasury settle the debts owed to the private sector before the end of the current fiscal year.

The King briefed the Cabinet on the phone call he made to US President-elect Donald Trump upon winning the presidential election, during which he said that the Kingdom is looking forward to enhancing historical and strategic relations with the US and working together to achieve peace and stability in the Middle East and the world.

He also briefed the Cabinet about his talks with US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Joseph Dunford, with whom he discussed bilateral cooperation and recent developments in the region.

Earlier, at the start of the meeting, the members of Cabinet presented condolences to King Salman and the royal family on the death of Prince Turki bin Abdulaziz. The king thanked and expressed appreciation to the leaders, envoys, princes, scholars, senior officials and citizens who offered their condolences.

The Cabinet also condemned the attacks that targeted the French Embassy in Athens, the German Consulate in Mazar-e-Sharif in Afghanistan and the bombing in the Hab area of Balochistan, Pakistan.

It approved an agreement between the Kingdom and Gabon doing away with double taxation on income and preventing tax evasion, agreements of cooperation between the Kingdom, and Mexico and Mozambique, and an agreement on the recruitment of domestic helpers from Bangladesh.

Comments

Add new comment

About text formats
  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
Agencies
June 5,2020

Dubai, Jun 5: A new set of coronavirus guidelines for UAE hotels has been published by the National Emergency Crisis and Disasters Management Authority.

The guidelines, released late Thursday, require all employees to be tested for Covid-19 before reopening, and to be re-tested every 15 days.

Hotels are expected to provide an infrared thermometer and thermal camera, with employee temperatures to be tested several times per working day.

Any guest or employee showing coronavirus symptoms will not be permitted to enter hotel facilities, the guidelines stress.

Hotels must also leave a 24-hour gap between guests leaving a room, and the next guests arriving.

Facilities such as restaurants, cafes, gyms, swimming pools and beaches in hotels will resume operation under a minimum capacity.

Customers must have their temperatures taken before they enter.

The working hours of restaurants and cafes will be from 6am until 9pm, allowing four people to sit at the same table with 2.5 metres left between tables. Menus must be sterilised after each use.

Comments

Add new comment

About text formats
  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
Agencies
March 1,2020

Paris, Mar 1: Most of the riders and teams taking part in the abandoned UAE Tour, and who had been quarantined in their Abu Dhabi hotels since Thursday after a coronavirus scare, were cleared to leave the country, sources said.

"The pleasure of going home after several days spent at the hotel," tweeted 2018 world champion Alejandro Valverde, one of the top stars of the race along with Chris Froome, the four-time winner of the Tour de France.

"We are doing well and soon we will fly to Spain."

However, there was confusion over how many competitors and officials will be allowed to leave.

All 133 cyclists who were still in contention as well as team members were tested after it was announced by organisers Thursday that two Italian staff members on the race had tested positive for the COVID-19 virus.

Earlier Saturday, the UAE Tour, quoting health officials, said that 167 people had been tested and all were negative.

The Department of Health-Abu Dhabi were "still monitoring the condition of the remaining cases of contacts, whose lab testing findings will be available in the next few hours."

The UAE Tour cancelled its last two stages on Thursday after the coronavirus cases were confirmed.

Danish cyclist Michael Morkov of the Deceuninck-Quick-Step team, who took part in the first four stages, was placed in isolation in his hotel room after arriving in Berlin to take part in the world track championships.

However, on Saturday, he too was cleared to take part.

"The rider present in Berlin is currently in excellent health, with no suspicious clinical signs, and we are also guaranteed that he has not contacted the two members of the management of a team participating in the UAE Tour, originally suspected of coronavirus," governing body UCI said in a statement.

Comments

Add new comment

About text formats
  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
Agencies
July 31,2020

Jeddah, Jul 31: Hajj 2020 pilgrims arrived in Muzdalifah Thursday night to rest after spending the day in Arafat.

Earlier, the pilgrims scaled Mount Arafat to pray and repent, as a highly unusual Hajj approached its climax. They listened to a sermon delivered by Sheikh Abdullah Al-Manea and prayed Dhuhr and Asr prayers together at the Al-Namirah Mosque in Arafat.

This year’s pilgrimage is the smallest in modern times, after the number of participants was greatly restricted to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. 

Tight security was in place around the foot of the rocky hill outside Makkah, also known as Jabal Al-Rahma or Mount of Mercy, in preparation for the high point of the annual ritual.

Video footage shown on state television showed the pilgrims setting off on their climb to the summit. They wore face masks and observed strict social-distancing rules imposed by Saudi authorities.As sprinklers sprayed water on them to provide relief from the summer desert heat, the pilgrims raised their palms as they climbed the slopes of the hill — the site of Prophet Muhammad’s last sermon. When they reached the top they recited holy verses and prayed for forgiveness for their sins.

Earlier, the pilgrims were taken in buses from Mina to Mount Arafat. Strict precautionary measures were in place, with each group accompanied by security teams, ambulances and civil defense vehicles. 

When they arrived, their temperatures were checked before they entered Namirah Mosque to hear a sermon that was translated into 10 languages.

“The camps were set up for pilgrims in Arafat early on,” said Minister of Hajj and Umrah Muhammad Salih Bentin. The sermon at Namirah Mosque was delivered by Sheikh Abdullah Al-Manea, who led the pilgrims in noon and afternoon prayers.

“During Hajj this year, we reiterate that it is essential for pilgrims, as well as everyone assisting them, to adhere to the precautionary regulations that have been implemented,” Al-Manea, a member of the Council of Senior Scholars, said during his sermon. “This is to be done for their own safety.

“Precautions have been put in place to protect lives against the damage that the pandemic can cause, and also to actualize Islam’s teachings pertaining to safeguarding human life by Allah’s permission.”

The stay in Arafat is described as the pinnacle of Hajj and Muslims around the world reflect the actions of pilgrims by asking for forgiveness and praying for their deepest desires.
Pilgrims left Arafat in coaches for Muzdalifah after sunset and will pray the Maghrib and Isha prayers there.

After sunset prayers, the pilgrims made their way down Mount Arafat to Muzdalifah, where they will spend the night before the final Hajj ritual, the symbolic stoning of the devil. 

This year, each pilgrim received sanitized pebbles in advance of the event on Friday, which is the first day of Eid Al-Adha.
This year the Kingdom faced the unprecedented challenge of ensuring pilgrims attending Hajj were protected as much as possible from the risks of the coronavirus.

They will then sleep, pray the Fajr prayer there tomorrow and then leave for Mina.

Comments

Add new comment

About text formats
  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.