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Haj goodwill team to Saudi not needed, says Indian Supreme Court

April 17, 2012
Haj

New Delhi, April 17: The Supreme Court on Monday favoured doing away with the practice of sending goodwill delegation to Saudi Arabia during the Haj in a phased manner, saying that the move started in 1967 was no more required in the present scenario.

A bench of justices Aftab Alam and Justice Ranjana Prakash Desa said that the goodwill delegation was required after partition to counter Pakistan and to maintain better relations with the government in Saudi Arabia.

“All that must come to end. You (government) must stop it in 4 or 5 years by reducing the number of people. It was all started in 1967.”

“There is no need to send goodwill delegation,” Justice Alam, speaking for the bench, said.

The court’s response came after Attorney-General G E Vahanvati read out the affidavit filed by the Central government, detailing the draft policy of annual Haj pilgrimage to holy towns of Mecca and Madina for the current year.

The government’s top law officer submitted that the primary purpose of the delegation on government expenditure was to convey goodwill to the government of Saudi Arabia as well as to Indian pilgrims.

“The delegation interacts with the Haj pilgrims from India, understands their issues and takes up the same with the Saudi Arabian authorities. The delegation addresses these issues in their meeting with the minister of Haj, Saudi Arabia and governor of Mecca,” Vahanvati said.

According to the government’s affidavit, the number of delegates was 25 in year 2007, 34 in 2008, 26 in 2009, 30 in 2010 and 27 last year.

The court was hearing a special leave petition filed by the Centre challenging the Bombay High Court’s order which directed it to give allotment of Haj pilgrims to certain Private Tour Operators (PTOs) from government quota in 2011. ?

In conformity with a bilateral agreement signed between India and Saudi Arabia in March this year, a total of 1.70 lakh Muslim pilgrims would be allowed from all over the country.

Of which, 1.25 lakh would be able to visit Saudi Arabia through statutory body Haj Committee of India, Mumbai (HCOI) and remaining 45,000 through private tour operators (PTOs).

The bench fixed April 30 as the next date of hearing in the matter.


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News Network
May 18,2020

Abu Dhabi, May 18: Bollywood superstar Salman Khan has recorded a special message for Indian expats in the UAE as the country fights the coronavirus pandemic.

Khan - one of the biggest stars of Bollywood for decades - enjoys a large fan following in the Gulf, which is why Abu Dhabi roped in the actor to record a special video message for expats, urging them to cooperate with authorities in the capital and the country as they carry out sanitisation and testing programmes.

In the video, tweeted by the Abu Dhabi Media Office on Sunday night, the superstar appeals to Indians in Abu Dhabi to become heroes by staying home (stepping out for essential work/errands only), following precautionary measures and simply 'do the right thing' by getting tested if they have any Covid-19-related symptoms.

Khan, who has shot his recent super hit films (Race 3) in the capital, assured expats that Abu Dhabi authorities will not leave the community in these challenging times as it is a hospitable city who takes care of all residents.

"Following preventive measures also protects your family from the virus - so do the right thing as heroes do," Khan concludes.

The second phase of Abu Dhabi's sanitisation and testing in labour areas is underway, which started on May 16. Special testing facilities have been set up in the city for this purpose that test thousands of workers everyday.

As of May 17, UAE has confirmed over 23,000 cases along with over 8,000 recoveries and 220 deaths.

The country recently made a breakthrough in treating Covid-19 by using stem cells to help with the recovery.

The UAE leadership has thanked citizens and residents for their cooperation and assured that the country will take care of everyone in the country - with food and medicines being the red line, and that there will be no shortage of either during the crisis. Stimulus packages have been announced to help businesses stay afloat.

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Agencies
January 4,2020

Baghdad, Jan 4: At least five people were killed on Saturday by an airstrike on a vehicle convoy of Iraq's Shia Popular Mobilization Forces in northern Baghdad, a source in security forces told Sputnik.

Earlier in the day, the source told Sputnik about a powerful explosion in Baghdad's northern district of Taji.

"A vehicle convoy of the Popular Mobilization Forces has been attacked. According to preliminary data, five people have died. Their names have not been clarified so far," the source said.

On Friday, several senior members of the Popular Mobilization Forces, as well as commander of the elite Quds Force of Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps Qasem Soleimani, were killed by a US drone attack near the Baghdad International Airport.

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News Network
July 20,2020

Abu Dhabi, Jul 20: The United Arab Emirates launched its first-ever interplanetary Hope Probe mission to Mars from Japan's Tanegashima Space Centre at 01:58 a.m. (local time) on Monday.

"United Arab Emirates (UAE) launches its first mission to Mars, the 'Hope Mars Mission' from Japan's Tanegashima Space Center," UAE Space Agency said on its Twitter page.

The spacecraft is expected to reach Mars orbit in about 200 days from now and then begin its mission to study the Red Planet's atmosphere, WAM news agency reported.

Once it enters Mars' orbit in the first quarter of 2021, the Hope probe will mark the UAE's 50th anniversary.

The probe will travel 493 million kilometres into space in a journey that will take seven months, and will orbit the Red Planet for one full Martian year of 687 days to provide the first truly global picture of the Martian atmosphere.

The Hope probe will be the first to study the Martian climate throughout daily and seasonal cycles. It will observe the weather phenomena on Mars such as the massive famous dust storms that have been known to engulf the Red Planet, as compared to the short and localised dust storms on Earth.

It will also examine the interaction between the upper and lower layers of the Martian atmosphere and causes of the Red Planet's surface corrosion, as well as study why Mars is losing its upper atmosphere.

Exploring connections between today's Martian weather and the ancient climate of the Red Planet will give deeper insights into the past and future of Earth as well as the potential of life on Mars and other distant planets.

The Hope Mars Mission is considered as the biggest strategic and scientific national initiative announced by UAE's President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan and His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum in 2014. The UAE will be the first Arab nation to embark on a space mission to the Red Planet in a journey that contributes to the international science community as a service to human knowledge.

The interplanetary mission is the first by any West Asian, Arab or Muslim majority country.

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