Houthis ‘must not become another Hezbollah’: Saudi crown prince 

Riyadh, Jul 20: Saudi Arabia's King Salman has been admitted to a hospital in the capital, Riyadh, for medical tests due to inflammation of the gallbladder, the kingdom's Royal Court said Monday in a statement carried by the official Saudi Press Agency.

The statement said the 84-year-old monarch is being tested at the King Faisal Specialist Hospital. The brief statement did not provide further details.

King Salman has been in power since January 2015. He is considered the last Saudi monarch of his generation of brothers who have held power since the death of their father and founder of Saudi Arabia, King Abdulaziz.

King Salman has empowered his 34-year-old son, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, as his successor. The crown prince's assertive and bold style of leadership, as well as his consolidation of power and sidelining of potential rivals, has been controversial.

With the support of his father, Prince Mohammed has transformed the kingdom in recent years, opening it up to tourists and eroding decades of ultraconservative restrictions on entertainment and women's rights as he tries to diversify the Saudi economy away from reliance on oil exports.

The prince has also detained dozens of activists and critics, overseen a devastating war in Yemen, and rounded up top members of the royal family in his quest for power.

The Saudi king has not been seen in public in recent months due to social distancing guidelines and concerns over the spread of the coronavirus inside the kingdom, which has one of the largest outbreaks in the Middle East.

He has been shown, however, in state-run media images attending virtual meetings with his Cabinet and held calls with world leaders.

King Salman, who oversees Islam's holiest sites in Makkah and Medinah, was a crown prince under King Abdullah and served as defense minister. For more than 50 years prior to that, he was governor of Riyadh, overseeing its evolution from a barren city to a teeming capital.

Riyadh, Mar 26: The video summit of the G20 leaders slated for Thursday will unite the global response to the coronavirus pandemic, Saudi Arabia's King Salman said.
"As the world confronts the COVID-19 pandemic and the challenges to healthcare systems and the global economy, we convene this extraordinary G20 summit to unite efforts towards a global response. May God spare humanity from all harm," tweeted King Salman, who will chair the summit.
The summit will be held today via video conference with an aim to advance a coordinated global response to the COVID-19 pandemic and its human and economic implications, the Kingdom had said yesterday in a statement.
India is a member nation of the G20 group. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who will take part in the summit, said that the Group of 20 (G20) has an important role to play in the fight against coronavirus.
He said: "The G20 has an important global role to play in addressing the #COVID19 pandemic. I look forward to productive discussions tomorrow at the G20 Virtual Summit, being coordinated by the Saudi G20 Presidency."
The other members of the group include Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Germany, France, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, the Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, the UK, the US, and the European Union.
Several international organisations -- including the United Nations, World Bank, the World Health Organization and the World Trade Organization will take part.

Leaders from the Food and Agriculture Organization, the Financial Stability Board, the International Labour Organization, International Monetary Fund, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development -- will also be the part of the conference.

Regional organisations will be represented by: Vietnam, the Chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN); South Africa, the Chair of the African Union (AU); the United Arab Emirates, the Chair of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC); and Rwanda, the Chair of the New Partnership for Africa's Development.

Dubai, June 30: The United Arab Emirates is all set to reopen mosques and other places of worship at 30 per cent capacity from July 1.

However, Friday prayers will remain suspended in the country, said Saif Al Dhaheri, Spokesperson for the National Crisis & Emergency Management Authority (NCEMA) during a virtual press briefing on Monday.

The official said certain mosques in industrial areas, labor residential areas, shopping malls and public parks will remain closed until further notice.

He said health authorities already conducted Covid-19 tests for Imams and workers serving at the mosque to ensure health and safety of the worshippers.

Al Dhaheri also spelt out guidelines that worship centres have to follow to welcome worshippers.

A distance of three metres should be observed between each worshippers and no handshakes are allowed. Worshippers will have to perform ablutions at home. People should bring their own personal copies of Holy Quran or read from digital copies. It is also mandatory for all worshippers to download and activate contract tracing app AlHosn.

"We urge the public to cooperate by following precautionary measures including social distancing. Children under 12 years old, the elderly as well as individuals with chronic diseases should avoid going to mosques," said the official.

The UAE first announced the suspension of public prayers in all places of worship on March 16, which was extended until further notice on April 9.

As Khaleej Times reported, places of worship had been preparing to reopen since the last few weeks by sanitizing parking lots and outdoor areas, entrances, main prayer halls and ablution areas.

The spokesperson also announced that the Private and commercial boat trips and water sports will be allowed to operate at reduced capacity of 50 per cent but by following precautionary measures.

The total number of recovered cases of Coronavirus (Covid-19) in the UAE has reached 37,076 with 665 cases recovered today after receiving treatment. Since the beginning of June, UAE has had a daily recovery average of 660 cases, said Dr. Amna Al Shamsi, Spokesperson for the UAE government.

Guidelines

1. Maintain a distance of 3 metres between worshippers.

2. No handshakes allowed.

3. Ablutions must be performed at home.

4. To read the Holy Quran, worshippers must bring their own copies.

5. All worshippers must download and activate contact tracing app AlHosn

6. People in vulnerable categories like those with chronic diseases and the elderly must not visit the mosques.