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644,000 Captagon pills seized in Madinah, Al-Qassim

January 10, 2017

Jeddah, Jan 10: Anti-narcotics forces in Madinah foiled the smuggling of 623,000 Captagon pills. The drug consignment, which was coming from Tabuk and heading for Jeddah, was intercepted in Madinah and the alleged smuggler arrested.

CaptagonMeanwhile, customs officers at the Prince Naif bin Abdulaziz Airport in Qassim stopped an attempt by a passenger to smuggle 21,000 Captagon pills into the Kingdom. The airport’s customs director general, Walid Al-Fouzan, said an officer found the tablets wrapped in foil in the passenger’s suitcase.

The demand for Captagon appears to increase with the approach of school exams. The Interior Ministry has registered cases against people who promoted the pills under the pretext that they help students remember and stay awake to study and get higher marks. But studies have shown that the drugs do just the opposite.

Abdul-Illah bin Mohammad Al-Sharif, assistant-director of Narcotics Prevention Affairs and an international consultant, said narcotics is a problem with young people. “There are many reasons for consuming drugs such as lack of religious deterrence, family break-up, psychological problems at childhood and bad friends and their influence,” he said.

Two weeks before the exams begin, drug dealers become more active. According to research papers published by the College of Pharmacology at King Saud University and the Toxicology Center, the regular consumption of Captagon pills between three and six months kills millions of cells in the brain.

Some 60 percent of addicts in Al-Amal hospitals in Riyadh, Jeddah and Dammam and the rehab center in Al-Qasim are addicted to Captagon, according to the research findings.

Government agencies regularly conduct awareness programs to educate families and young people about the harmful effects of drugs.

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Agencies
July 31,2020

Makkah, Jul 31: Organising this year's scaled-down hajj required "double efforts" by Saudi authorities amid the coronavirus pandemic, King Salman said Friday after being discharged from hospital following gall bladder surgery.

Only up to 10,000 people already residing in the kingdom are participating in this year's pilgrimage, compared with 2019's gathering of some 2.5 million from around the world.

"Holding the ritual in the shadow of this pandemic... required reducing the numbers of pilgrims, but it obliged various official agencies to put in double efforts," 84-year-old King Salman said in a speech read out on state television by acting media minister Majid Al-Qasabi.

"The hajj this year was restricted to a very limited number of people from multiple nationalities, ensuring the ritual was completed despite the difficult circumstances," he said.

The speech came on the occasion of Eid al-Adha, the Muslim festival of sacrifice, a day after the king left hospital following a 10-day stay for surgery to remove his gall bladder.

The hajj, which began on Wednesday, is one of the five pillars of Islam and a must for able-bodied Muslims at least once in their lifetime.

Authorities implemented the "highest health precautions" during the rituals, the king said.

Pilgrims, who were all tested for the virus, are required to wear masks and observe social distancing.

For Friday's "stoning of the devil", the last major ritual of the hajj, Saudi authorities offered the pilgrims pebbles that were sanitised to protect against the pandemic.

In a sign that its strict measures were working, the health ministry reported no coronavirus cases in the holy sites on Wednesday or Thursday.

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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.

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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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