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RIYADH: The Kingdom’s General Directorate of Narcotics Control arrested four citizens found in possession of 63,443 amphetamine pills in the Eastern Region, Saudi Press Agency reported on Monday.
The pills had an estimated street value ranging from $630,000 to $1.8 million, according to figures published in the International Addiction Review journal.
The four have been referred to the Public Prosecution.
RIYADH: The King Salman Global Academy for Arabic Language concluded the Harf Arabic Language competition on Monday with 12 winners in four categories from various non-Arabic speaking states.
The competition, launched May 4, is aimed at non-Arabic learners to give them the opportunity to highlight their skills in various fields, to honor the distinguished among them, and to encourage learners to practice the language and promote its use.
The winners were honored after being selected according to the approved criteria during the closing ceremony, held in Riyadh, which saw the participation of more than 750 contestants, representing a number of Saudi universities and institutes, with 56 people reaching the final stage.
Dr. Abdullah bin Saleh Al-Washmi, acting secretary-general of the academy, said: “Saudi Arabia’s wise leadership always encourage(s) the non-native Arabic learners to practice and use it.
“The competition contributed to achieving the academy’s goals and implementing its strategy by creating the appropriate environment for the development and consolidation of the Arabic language,” he added.
“The competition aims to encourage the Arabic language scholars, researchers and specialists by developing the professional, linguistic and cultural competencies of Arabic language teachers for non-Arabic speakers, motivating them and creating solutions that support the empowerment of non-Arabic speakers in various challenges they face.”
The academy awarded prizes to the first three winners in each category, with a total value of SR100,000 ($26,666) and honored other finalists with financial prizes totaling SR22,000.
Musa Yaqoub from Cameroon, Umm Al-Qura University, ranked first in the Lexical Ability category; Abdul Rahman Ali Cham from Gambia, Majmaah University, ranked second, and third place was taken by Ibrahim Othman Kalo from the Ivory Coast, Umm Al-Qura University.
The three winners in the Language and Technology category were Zakaria Sirin, from Indonesia, King Saud University, Reem Reforce, from the Philippines, Umm Al-Qura University, and Zehniaa Saleh from the Philippines, Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University.
The winners in the Narrator and Stories category were Khaled Safi from Afghanistan, Umm Al-Qura University, Qanitah Sheikh from India, Umm Al-Qura University, Mariam Mahdi Mirato from the Philippines, Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University.
The winners in the Research Paper category were Mohammed Sako from Guinea, Qassim University, Medina Jalis Khannova from Russia, Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University, and Effaa Abdullah from India, Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University.
The participants represented more than 60 nationalities. India ranked first in terms of the number of participants with 73 contestants, then Indonesia and Afghanistan with 42 contestants each, then Ivory Coast with 38 contestants, Burkina Faso with 37 contestants, Nigeria with 34 contestants, Guinea, Gambia and Chad, with 32 contestants apiece, while Mali had 30 contestants.
RIYADH: The first group of Arab Hajj pilgrims has arrived in Makkah ahead of the pilgrimage season, Saudi Press Agency reported on Tuesday.
Of the group, 294 pilgrims were from Algeria and 192 were from Iraq.
The Arab pilgrims expressed their happiness with the efforts made by the Saudi government to provide pilgrims with the best services and hospitality, SPA added.
They also thanked the Kingdom for the welcome they received which shows Saudi Arabia’s concern for Hajj and Umrah pilgrims.
MANILA: Philippine pilgrims departing for Hajj are overjoyed with the experience, the National Commission on Muslim Filipinos has told Arab News, as the government is employing special measures to accommodate their journey.
In the predominantly Catholic Philippines, Muslims constitute roughly 5 percent of its 110 million population. Most live on the island of Mindanao and the Sulu archipelago in the country’s south, as well as in the central-western province of Palawan.
As 7,500 members of the religious minority are traveling to Saudi Arabia to perform the Hajj pilgrimage this year, they are enjoying new services at various airports across the Philippines designed to ensure a speedy immigration process during the spiritual journey that is one of the five pillars of Islam.
“It was the first time in the history of the Muslim community performing Hajj that there is a special lane at the airport designated for pilgrims … We can feel their excitement,” National Commission on Muslim Filipinos spokesperson Yusoph Mando told Arab News as Hajj flights from the Philippines started over the weekend.
The first batch of pilgrims was sent off by Antonio Lagdameo, special assistant to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., and on arrival in Madinah, they were greeted by the Philippine Embassy staff.
“Just imagine it’s your lifetime dream to do the Hajj, and finally you already have your ticket … Then you see the NCMF and other ranking government officials and a representative of the president, Secretary Anton Lgdameo Jr., all present to send you off,” Mando said.
“They know that the government did everything for them … and we also attribute it to the efforts and support of the Office of President.”
According to NCMF data, the majority of Filipino pilgrims embarking on Hajj this year come from Lanao, Zamboanga, Basilan, Sulu, Tawi-Tawi and Cotabato.
As they reach Saudi Arabia, they are attended to by Philippine officials.
“We have a medical team that will be part of the contingent, as well as a supervisory team that will ensure their needs will be attended to. Medical teams were sent already sent ahead of the arrival of the pilgrims,” Mando said, adding that the commission was doing its best to make sure everything went smoothly as many pilgrims, especially senior ones, had waited their whole lives to embark on the journey.
Throughout the process, the pilgrims have also been assisted by Saudi authorities.
“We want the public, especially in the Arab world, to know that we are appreciative of their support and accommodation for the Filipino pilgrims,” Mando said.
“Since time immemorial, we have been accommodated by the Saudi government. We have to tell them that we are thankful. Filipinos are looking up to them.”
RIYADH: Investigators have cleared a Saudi-led military alliance of alleged human rights violations in Yemen.
The Joint Incident Assessment Team on Monday said it had dismissed claims by human rights organizations and media outlets that the coalition had carried out airstrikes, including one on Sanaa airport in 2020.
The JIAT conducted an inquiry into four allegations of so-called operational misbehavior made against the alliance.
Medical care charity Doctors Without Borders had reported the coalition for what it described as an air mission on Sanaa airport on Dec. 8, 2020. But team spokesman, Mansour Al-Mansour, said that an investigation had concluded that the coalition’s nearest military target on that date was in Amran governorate, 22 kilometers away.
Another claim — made by the Panel of Experts on Yemen in January 2020 — related to an alleged airstrike on a water truck in As Sawadiya district of Al-Bayda governorate in April 2019.
Al-Mansour pointed out that on the day in question, the closest coalition forces had been operating was 158 km away in Sanaa governorate.
The JIAT also exonerated the coalition over an alleged human rights breach relating to a detention center in Saada city, northwest Yemen, reported by the UN secretary-general’s spokesman in January 2022.
The team found that the site targeted had been the Central Security located in Saada, approximately 2,400 meters south of Saada airport.
And separately, Physicians for Human Rights had accused coalition forces of carrying out an airstrike on Al-Karama Hospital in Taiz in March 2020 that resulted in severe damage to the building and the death of a civilian.
JIAT specialists discovered that the hospital was on a coalition list of sites banned from being targeted by its forces and that no air missions had taken place in Taiz governorate on the date.
Al-Mansour noted that the team’s investigations had shown that “procedures were safe, following the rules of international humanitarian laws.”
JIAT officials, he added, had met with relevant military personnel and individuals inside Yemen and field units, and had taken into consideration the rules and values of international humanitarian law in arriving at its conclusions.
JEDDAH: The Ministry of Hajj and Umrah held an annual ceremony on Monday in Jeddah to celebrate the first group of graduates from the business accelerator program, which comes in partnership with the Saudi National Bank.
The program aims to enable entrepreneurial projects in the Hajj and Umrah sector and develop existing services and products to improve pilgrims’ experience, from transportation and accommodation to assistance for travelers who do not speak Arabic or who have special needs.
The ceremony was held under the theme, “Change, impact, and sustainability,” in line with the ministry’s efforts to promote a culture of creativity, innovation and entrepreneurship and raise the level of competitiveness between Hajj and Umrah companies in providing services and products to pilgrims.
The ceremony showcased 20 startups and creative projects, offering investors the chance to review them.
Maryam Kutob, director of the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center at the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah, told Arab News: “Today, we celebrate the graduation of the Hajj and Umrah business accelerator participants. Ten startups were incubated by the business accelerator in partnership with the Saudi National Bank.
“We are also celebrating another 10 creative projects from the Ambassadors of Creativity program that deal with challenges from the Hajj and Umrah sector.”
Kutob added that the program’s graduates developed several distinct products that can be implemented during this Hajj season.
The first-place winner of the Ambassador of Creativity program was the project Muyassar, which in Arabic means “in ease.”
Muyassar is a website that provides a virtual-reality, pre-Hajj experience, where pilgrims can enter the holy sites and visit their actual camp to check all the details in advance.
Shahd Nasreddin, a team member of the winning project, told Arab News: “Most of the pilgrims do not have an idea of ... (what) they will experience upon their arrival. Our project aims to prepare pilgrims mentally and physically by providing them with the correct image so their expectations meet reality.”
She added: “The trainers and lecturers provided by the ministry through the program helped us greatly to reflect our ideas well.”
A panel discussion was held to highlight the importance of facilitating Hajj and Umrah travels, especially for international pilgrims and those with special needs, and consolidating services.
The discussion featured four keynote speakers: Hajj and Umrah Minister Dr. Tawfiq Al-Rabiah; Abdulrahman Tarabzouni, CEO of STV, the largest technology investment firm in the Middle East; Amr Al-Maddah, deputy minister of Hajj and Umrah services; and Bandar Al-Rayhan, assistant governor of the General Authority of Awqaf.
Regarding the role of creativity, entrepreneurship, and innovation in improving the experience of pilgrims, which is one of the most important goals of Vision 2030, Al-Rabiah that the “private sector is an essential partner.”
There are several opportunities to improve upon the services offered to pilgrims and overcome challenges, Al-Rabiah said, citing electronic payment systems as an example: “Some pilgrims from around the world deal with special payment systems and do not use the credit cards we are familiar with. There is a huge opportunity to link the systems of payments in their country with the ones in the Kingdom, especially since the number of pilgrims is expected to increase dramatically in the coming years.
“We support creative ideas to provide the best services to the pilgrims,” he said.
