Abu Dhabi, Jan 8: The President, His Highness Shaikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan has called for a prayer for rain, or Salaat al Istisqaa, to be performed at all mosques and prayer areas across the UAE at 7:30, Tuesday morning.
The prayer follows the Sunnah (practices, customs and traditions) of Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him).
He called for supplicating God to send rain, mercy and abundance upon the country and its people.
Riyadh, June 23: Saudi Arabia has decided to go ahead with the Hajj pilgrimage with strict health measures and protocols in an effort to prevent the spread of covid-19.
Minister of Health Dr. Tawfiq Al-Rabiah and Minister of Hajj and Umrah Dr. Muhammad Saleh Benten today addressed a joint virtual press conference today.
Minister of Hajj expected that number of domestic pilgrims performing the pilgrimage this year will not be more than 10,000. He also confirmed that no pilgrims from outside the Kingdom will be allowed to perform Hajj this year.
Dr. Al-Rabiah said pilgrims should be less than 65 years of age and not suffering from any chronic diseases.
The Hajj pilgrimage, which is one of the five pillars of Islam and a must for able-bodied Muslims at least once in their lifetime, will this year only welcome a “limited number” of people from inside the Kingdom, authorities had said on Monday.
Every year, about 2.5 million pilgrims visit the holiest sites of Islam in Makkah and Madinah, which could make it a possible breeding ground for the disease.
To prevent COVID-19 from spreading among pilgrims, the health ministry, in collaboration with the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah, has developed the plan to ensure the safety of all visitors.
“We have worked with the Ministry of Health to develop preventative and precautionary measures and protocols that are needed to ensure a safe Hajj season,” Benten said.
Protocols:
1. No more than 10,000 people will be allowed to perform the Hajj pilgrimage.
2. All pilgrims will be tested before they reach the holy sites.
3. Only those under the age of 65 will be allowed to perform Hajj this year.
4. All pilgrims will be asked to self-quarantine after they complete the Hajj rituals.
5. All workers and volunteers will be tested before the Hajj pilgrimage begins.
6. The health status of all pilgrims will be monitored daily.
7. A hospital has been prepared for any emergency that occurs during the pilgrimage.
8. Social distancing measures will be enforced.
Please check its 1000 or 10,000
Dubai, Jul 10: Saudi Minister of Culture Prince Badr bin Abdullah bin Farhan has appointed Dina Amin as CEO of the Visual Arts Commission.
She will take the lead in implementing the ministry’s vision and directions in promoting and developing visual arts in the Kingdom and empowering practitioners in the field.
Amin is a leading Saudi specialist in visual arts and the international contemporary art field. She gained a bachelor’s degree in art history and architecture from Wellesley College, in the US, and also attended a collaborative program in architecture at Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
During her career, spanning more than two decades, she has held senior positions in prominent international arts companies, including most recently Phillips, a global auction house for art, design, watches, jewels, and more.
She has also worked at Christie’s, one of the world’s most famous auction houses, employed in senior roles at the company’s international offices including New York, Dubai, and London.
The Visual Arts Commission is one of 11 new cultural bodies recently launched by the Ministry of Culture in line with the Saudi Vision 2030 reform plan to manage the empowerment and development of the Kingdom’s cultural sector. The commission will be responsible for managing and developing the visual arts sector to help achieve the ministry’s goals.
Mar 11: Energy giant Saudi Aramco on Wednesday said it plans to raise its crude production capacity by one million barrels per day to 13 million bpd as a price war with Russia intensifies.
"Saudi Aramco announces that it received a directive from the ministry of energy to increase its maximum sustainable capacity from 12 million bpd to 13 million bpd," the company said in a statement to the Saudi Stock Exchange.
The decision comes a day after the world's top exporter, Saudi Arabia, decided to hike production by at least 2.5 million bpd to a record 12.3 million from April.
The Saudi moves come after the collapse of an oil production reduction agreement between OPEC and non-OPEC producers, including Russia.
The deal proposed by Saudi Arabia called for additional output cuts of 1.5 million bpd to cope with the severe economic impact of the coronavirus which has sharply reduced world demand for crude.
Boosting production capacity normally takes a long time and requires billions of dollars of investment.
Several years ago, the kingdom had shelved plans to boost its crude production capacity beyond 12 million bpd after demand for OPEC oil declined in the face of stiff competition from North American shale oil and other sources.
Russia on Tuesday said it was open to renewing cooperation with the OPEC cartel even as its kingpin Saudi Arabia escalated a price war with Moscow by announcing it would flood markets with new supplies.
The oil price war broke out after OPEC and a group of non-member countries dominated by Russia -- the world's second largest producer -- on Friday failed to agree on production cuts.
Saudi Arabia responded by announcing unilateral price cuts. This prompted the oil price to plummet and fuelled huge falls on stock markets around the world on Monday.
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