The country launched a probe in March 2021 into WhatsApp's privacy policy, which allowed data sharing with Facebook and its units, sparking global backlash
world3 days ago
In a joint press conference held by Minister of Hajj and Umrah Dr. Tawfiq bin Fawzan Al-Rabiah, as well as Algerian Minister of Religious Affairs and Endowments, Dr. Youssef Belmahdi, Dr. Al-Rabiah revealed that Saudi Arabia is ready to receive two million pilgrims, including 41,300 Algerian pilgrims, during the Hajj season this year.
According to the Saudi Press Agency, Al-Rabiah also noted the use of development projects and infrastructure in the kingdom to provide quality services at the holy sites, which are considered the largest in the world at a cost of more than SR200 billion.
These include the Haramain Express Train, which connects Makkah and Madinah in a two-hour journey.
Earlier this month, Saudi Arabia announced that it will no longer impose limits on the number of pilgrims for this year's Haj, after three years of restrictions to curb the Covid-19 pandemic.
The pilgrimage – one of the five pillars of Islam, and which all able-bodied Muslims with the means are required to perform at least once – is scheduled for June.
In 2019, about 2.5 million people took part in the rituals. For the next two years, numbers were drastically curtailed due to the pandemic.
In 2022, nearly 900,000 pilgrims, including some 780,000 from abroad, were welcomed to Makkah and Madinah.
In October last year, Al-Rabiah had also announced that the Umrah visa has been extended from one month to three months.
The minister added that this will be applicable to Umrah performers of all nationalities.
ALSO READ:
The country launched a probe in March 2021 into WhatsApp's privacy policy, which allowed data sharing with Facebook and its units, sparking global backlash
world3 days ago
This time around, Trump wants the Senate to give up that gatekeeping role and allow him to make 'recess appointments'
world3 days ago
Police allege the offences took place between 2001 and 2019 against 8 victims; the youngest was 17 at the time of the offence
world3 days ago
The two countries have a mutual defence treaty dating back to 1951, which could be invoked if either side came under attack, including in the South China Sea
world3 days ago
Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu conferred the Grand Commander of the Order of Niger on Narendra Modi in Abuja on Sunday
world4 days ago
The titleholder's winning answer focused on using each individual's strengths
world4 days ago
The suspects would be interrogated jointly with the Shin Bet internal security agency, police said
world4 days ago
The attack took place at the Wuxi Vocational Institute of Arts and Technology in Jiangsu province
world5 days ago