JEDDAH: The Royal Commission for Makkah City and Holy Sites, represented by the General Transport Center, has implemented initiatives aimed at promoting the use of light transport means, including scooters and bicycles.
The community is also being educated on how to use them safely within the city of Makkah and the holy sites, the Saudi Press Agency reported on Saturday.
The initiative is being implemented in pedestrian pathways, neighborhoods, parking lots, and around Mount Arafat and the vicinity of Umm Al-Qura University.
The General Transport Center in Makkah and the holy sites held a series of meetings outlining the key points to initiate the campaign.
The initiative was launched in collaboration with partners in Makkah and the holy sites, including the Makkah Municipality, the Transport General Authority, Umm Al-Qura University, and Kidana Development Co.
In line with this, Umm Al-Qura University provided 30 scooters at four stations throughout the university campus. Additionally, 70 electric scooters were made available to over 1,100 participants in the initiative through its investment arm, Wadi Makkah for Technology Co.
The company endeavors to play an active role in fostering a knowledge-based economy by forming partnerships between educational and research institutions and the business community.
The contribution of scooters aims to improve the university and community environment, providing an ideal experience for university staff, students, and visitors.
In the 2022 Hajj season, the Transport General Authority offered electric scooters as a new transportation service for pilgrims to ease their mobility between holy sites.
Head of Project Masam: ‘There is a long way to reach a mine-free Yemen’
Updated 07 July 2024
Arab News
RIYADH: The head of Saudi Arabia’s Project Masam said there is still a long way to go despite the project having cleared more than 450,000 landmines and explosive remnants of war in Yemen.
“There is still a long way to go to reach a mine-free Yemen”, the project’s managing director, Ousama Al-Gosaibi, said in a statement.
Since at least 2015, Houthi militias have planted landmines — conventional and improvised — in “quantities and sophistication that far exceeds reasonable limits,” Al-Gosaibi said
Masam is a humanitarian land mine clearance project in Yemen launched by Saudi Arabia in 2018. Since launching, Masam teams have cleared more than 450,000 explosive items, the statement said.
Al-Gosaibi said the project continues to perform its work in “exceptional circumstances in every sense of the word, most notably that the military operations and mine-laying operations have not stopped yet.”
He also noted how difficult the work is because of the lack of minefield maps and “the difficulty of the terrain” in which minefields are located or suspected to be located.
Houthi militias continue to advance and evolve the manufacture and planting of these landmines across Yemeni land, he claimed.
Given the difficult circumstances, Al-Gosaibi praised the Yemeni people’s cooperation with the project’s de-mining teams, who in part rely on civilian reports of suspected minefields to carry out their operations.
In that regard, the managing director highlighted the success of awareness-raising campaigns — known as explosive ordnance risk education — aimed at educating the public about the dangers of mines and how to behave should they suspect the presence of landmines or explosive devices.
KSrelief carries out humanitarian projects in Lebanon, Indonesia
Updated 07 July 2024
SPA
The King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center has been actively involved in various humanitarian projects across Lebanon and Indonesia.
In Lebanon, KSrelief continued implementing the Al-Amal Charitable Bakery project, in its fourth stage, in the Akkar Governorate and Miniyeh District.
During the past week, the project distributed 150,000 bags of bread to needy families, benefiting 125,000 individuals, including Syrians, Palestinians, and the local host community in northern Lebanon.
KSrelief also funded the ambulance service of the Subul Al-Salam Social Association in the Miniyeh District.
Over the last week, the service carried out 62 emergency missions, including transporting patients to and from hospitals and assisting victims of traffic accidents.
This support is part of a project aimed at enhancing ambulance transport services in Lebanon, including in areas with refugee communities.
In Indonesia, KSrelief concluded a volunteer medical project for pediatric heart surgery in Medan, from June 24 to July 1.
The project involved 27 volunteers from various medical specialties, who performed 25 open-heart surgeries.
Saudi Arabia and Jordan airdrop food aid to the Gaza Strip
KSrelief and Jordan’s charity group JHCO deliver 30 tonnes of food aid
KSrelief chief Abdullah Al-Rabeeah says the food aid does not require heating
Updated 07 July 2024
Arab News
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia and Jordan airdropped 30 tonnes of ready-to-eat food for besieged Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, the Saudi aid agency KSrelief said on Sunday.
In a statement carried by the SPA, the agency said the airdrop was carried out with the Jordanian Hashemite Charity Organization and the Jordanian Hashemite Armed Forces.
The food supplies dropped by air are suitable for immediate consumption without the need for heating, Dr. Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al-Rabeeah, KSrelief director general, said in the statement.
KSrelief and other aid agencies have resorted to parachute drops of food aid to Gaza to bypass the closure of border crossings by the Israeli occupation forces, which had previously prevented the entry of humanitarian aid to people in the Strip.
Al-Rabeeah called for the opening of border crossings, noting that delivery through airdrops were not sustainable considering the high number of people in need of humanitarian assistance.
He said KSrelief’s campaign for Palestinians to date has collected more than $184 million. The Kingdom also operated an air bridge consisting of 54 planes and a sea bridge consisting of eight ships is still operating.
The US military also built a temporary sea port in Gaza for the delivery of humanitarian aid, but that had been rendered unstable by stormy seas.
More than 2 million Palestinians have been displaced in Gaza since Israel launched a full-scale war in response to the Oct. 7, 2023, attack by Hamas militants that killed 1,200 people and in which about 250 hostages were taken, according to official Israeli figures.
The conflict has claimed the lives of more than 38,000 Palestinians, according to the latest count of Gaza health officials.
Extensive damage to Gaza’s infrastructure has caused a healthcare crisis, with an increase in communicable diseases, especially among children, and brought the entire education system in Gaza to a standstill, according to the UN.
The kiswa weighs 1,350 kilograms and measures 14 meters in height
Special team of about 200 technicians and craftsmen carry out the installation process
Updated 07 July 2024
Arab News
MAKKAH: A new kiswa was installed on Sunday at the Kaaba in Makkah on the first day of the Islamic new year (1 Muharram, 1446h) by the General Presidency for the Affairs of the Grand Mosque and the Prophet's Mosque, the Saudi Press Agency reported.
Installation of the elaborately designed black cloth cover was completed by a team from the King Abdulaziz Complex for the Kiswa of the Kaaba, composed of 159 skilled craftsmen under supervision of engineers and technicians specially trained for the complicated process.
As described by SPA, the special work team first removed the gold-embroidered pieces of the Kaaba’s old kiswa while the new one was being brought to the Grand Mosque from the complex.
The Kiswa contains 53 gold-embroidered pieces consisting of 16 for the belt area, seven for under the belt, four corner pieces, 17 lanterns, five pieces for the door curtain, one piece for Al-Rukn Al-Yamani, and two pieces for the Black Stone outline, along with the gutter.
The installation of a new Kiswa is a complicated process that takes up to 200 skilled technicians and craftsmen to complete in a few hours. (SPA)
The complex’s operational staff includes 159 skilled craftsmen who work to produce 56 gold-embroidered pieces for the kiswa. Work is done by hand and takes between 60 and 120 days to complete one gold-embroidered piece.
A total of 120 kilograms of gold, 100 kilograms of silver and 1,000 kilograms of silk are used in the production of the kiswa. As one piece, the kiswa weighs 1,350 kilograms and measures 14 meters in height, and consists of four separate sides and a door curtain, according to the complex in charge of kiswa production.
The covering is adorned from the outside with inscriptions woven with black threads.
To install the kiswa, the four sides have to be lifted separately to the top of the Kaaba to allow for the process to be completed. “After all the sides are fixed, the corners are sewed from the top of the covering to the bottom. After that is done, the curtain is placed, which requires time and skill in putting it up. An opening is made in the black fabric that is the size of the curtain, which is approximately 3.33 meters wide until the end of the covering and 6.35 meters long. Then, three openings are made in the black fabric to fix the curtain from under the fabric. Finally, the edges are fixed by sewing them into the black fabric on the covering,” SPA explained.
On May 22, about three weeks before the Hajj pilgrimage, the lower part of the kiswa was raised. The procedure is repeated every year to protect the kiswa from getting soiled and damaged as pilgrims circumambulate the Kaaba.
The installation of a new Kiswa is a complicated process that takes up to 200 skilled technicians and craftsmen to complete in a few hours. (SPA)
Previously the kiswa was replaced during the Hajj season, specifically on the morning of Dhul Hijjah 9 after the pilgrims go to Mount Arafat, in preparation for receiving worshippers the next morning, which coincides with Eid Al-Adha.
Last year, Saudi Arabia’s General Presidency for the Two Holy Mosques announced the change in tradition so that the annual event would be held on the eve of Muharram 1, the first day in the Hijri calendar.
Sheikh Abdulrahman Al-Sudais, president of religious affairs for the Two Holy Mosques, said the change was made based on a royal decision.
Saudi housing minister concludes official visit to Turkiye
Saudi and Turkish companies in the real estate development sector and exploring current and future investment opportunities
Updated 07 July 2024
Arab News
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Municipal, Rural Affairs and Housing Majid Al-Hogail ended an official visit to Turkiye to enhance cooperation in real estate development, road infrastructure, waste management and recycling, the Saudi Press Agency reported on Saturday.
The visit was also an initiative to create new alliances between Saudi and Turkish contractors, according to the SPA.
During the visit, Al Hogail met with the head of Turkiye’s Investment Office, Burak Daglıoglu, where they discussed cooperation opportunities and exchanged successful experiences on the two countries’ strategies for improving the real estate investment environment, developing economic zones, activating partnerships between the public and private sectors, linking Saudi and Turkish companies in the real estate development sector and exploring current and future investment opportunities.
Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Municipal, Rural Affairs and Housing Majid Al-Hogail and his delegation attend a meeting of representatives of Saudi Contractors Authority and the Turkish Contractors Association Erdal Eren, and representatives of Saudi and Turkish companies participated in the event. (SPA)
In Istanbul, Al-Hogail attended the launch of the Saudi-Turkish Construction Forum and the accompanying workshop, which was organized by the Saudi Contractor Authority to link contracting companies in the two countries by creating alliances in major development projects.
Turkish Deputy Minister of Trade Mustafa Tuzcu, the chairman of the board of directors of the Saudi Contractors Authority Zakria Al-Abdulqadir, the president of the Turkish Contractors Association Erdal Eren, and representatives of Saudi and Turkish companies participated in the event.
During the session, Al-Hogail stressed the importance of coordination and joint work between Saudi and Turkish companies in the fields of environment, roads, cleanliness, waste management and recycling “to develop and improve city services in a way that reflects positively on their residents,” the SPA statement said.
He expressed his optimism about the results and outcomes of the workshop in developing joint development work and increasing the volume of trade between the two countries, “harnessing all capabilities for the renaissance and prosperity of cities,” SPA added.
Al-Hogail also attended round table meetings between the Saudi and Turkish sides to review the most prominent opportunities and pioneer investment projects in the real estate sector, and highlight the Kingdom’s efforts in the fields of building technologies and development in the construction sector, infrastructure projects, waste management and recycling.
During the meetings, he expressed his desire to deepen partnerships with the Turkish side through joint cooperation with contractors, developers and investors in Turkiye’s construction sector, and to contribute to implementing and developing suburbs and major residential projects in the Kingdom.
He said that the ministry was working through the housing program to develop real estate projects in the Kingdom with approximately 200 real estate developers from private sector companies, and qualifying many developers to enter into residential projects.
The minister last visited Turkiye in July last year, where he sponsored the Saudi-Turkish Business Forum, where several cooperation agreements were signed between Saudi and Turkish companies in the fields of real estate development, construction, engineering consulting and other investment sectors.
