Special services to aid pilgrims with special needs during Hajj

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There are special vehicles for those who need to be transported from the Holy Mosque. (SPA)
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A Muslim pilgrim pushes an elderly woman on a wheelchair outside the Grand Mosque in Saudi Arabia's holy city of Makkah on August 16, 2018, prior to the start of the annual Hajj pilgrimage in the holy city. (AFP)
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There are also special vehicles for those who need to be transported from the Holy Mosque. (SPA)
Updated 20 August 2018
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Special services to aid pilgrims with special needs during Hajj

  • These guides provide clarification for issues concerning Hajj, Umrah, and the Qur’an in Braille language format
  • There are special vehicles for those who need to be transported from the Holy Mosque

MAKKAH: The General Presidency for the Two Holy Mosques has begun services to aid pilgrims with special needs during this year’s Hajj season. Among these services is a small talking watch for the visually impaired. These watches tell the time and prayer times via audio alerts.
Other services provided by the Presidency’s special needs department are allocated entrances to ease access to prayers. These are gates 63 and 68, which were built during the expansion period of the late King Fahd.
There are also specialized paths for pilgrims with disabilities in mobility and the visually impaired with their own dedicated entrances.
Other provisions include a pen that serves as a Qur’an reader for the visually impaired and elderly, and a service for holding and carrying copies of the Qur’an for those who are unable to hold them.
Another service is the distribution of canes for the blind and visually impaired to help guide their path while walking.
A device that assists in Tayamom (dry ablution) is also available.
The special needs unit will also distribute booklets on how to perform Umrah and Hajj, along with guides who can show guests how to pray and explain important rituals to be performed.

 


Saudi Border Guard arrest 4 attempting to smuggle qat

Updated 56 min 2 sec ago
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Saudi Border Guard arrest 4 attempting to smuggle qat

JAZAN: The Kingdom’s Border Guard in Al-Ardah, Jazan, recently arrested four Yemeni nationals attempting to smuggle 80 kg of qat into the country, the Saudi Press Agency reported on Monday.

Mostly chewed by users, Qat is a mild stimulant and illegal across most of the Arab world.

The government has urged citizens and residents to report any information they have regarding drug smuggling or sales to the General Directorate of Narcotics Control. Reports can be made by calling 911 for Makkah, Riyadh and the Eastern Province, and 999 for other regions. Alternatively, information can be emailed to [email protected]. All reports are treated confidentially.


KSrelief distributes food in Pakistan, drills solar-powered wells in Nigeria

Updated 06 May 2024
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KSrelief distributes food in Pakistan, drills solar-powered wells in Nigeria

DUBAI: KSrelief, Saudi Arabia’s aid agency, recently distributed 370 food baskets in the flood-hit Shangla district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, Pakistan, benefiting 2,590 individuals.

The aid was a part of the fourth phase of the Kingdom’s Food Security Support Project in Pakistan 2024.

Last week, KSrelief, in collaboration with a civil society organization, initiated a project to drill six solar-powered medium-depth water wells in Kwara State, Nigeria. The wells, each at a depth of about 80 meters and equipped with tanks holding 5,000 liters, are for the benefit of 30,000 individuals.

The beneficiaries lauded Saudi Arabia for addressing their vital water needs.


Saudi anti-corruption authority reveals details of recent cases

Updated 06 May 2024
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Saudi anti-corruption authority reveals details of recent cases

  • Spokesman said legal procedures had been initiated against all perpetrators

RIYADH: A spokesman for Saudi Arabia’s Oversight and Anti-Corruption Authority, also known as Nazaha, revealed on Sunday details of a number of criminal cases it recently investigated and prosecuted.

Outlining 20 of the most prominent corruption cases, he said legal procedures had been initiated against all perpetrators.

In one case, two Central Bank employees were arrested for receiving sums of money from a resident, who was also arrested, in exchange for depositing more than SR7.3 million ($1.95 million), without verifying the source, into bank accounts belonging to commercial entities over a two-year period.

In another case, a security officer working at the General Department of Traffic was arrested for receiving SR387,000 from the owner of a public services office, who was also arrested, in exchange for illegally amending the essential data of a group of vehicles.

One of the cases also highlighted involved an employee working at a university hospital who was arrested for receiving SR100,000 from citizens in exchange for a promise to employ them at the university.

Nazaha said it continues to work to identify and prosecute anyone in the Kingdom involved in the embezzlement of public funds, guilty of abuse of power and position for personal gain, or otherwise harming the public interest.

It stressed that guilty parties will be pursued and held accountable, and that there is no statute of limitations on such crimes.


Saudi, Bahraini public prosecutor meet in Manama

Updated 05 May 2024
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Saudi, Bahraini public prosecutor meet in Manama

  • Al-Mujeb highlighted the unwavering support the Kingdom's public prosecution receives from its leadership

RIYADH: Saudi Public Prosecutor Sheikh Saud bin Abdullah Al-Mujeb met with his Bahraini counterpart Ali bin Fadl Al Buainain in Manama, Saudi Press Agency reported on Sunday.
Al-Buainain welcomed Al-Mujeb and his accompanying delegation and expressed his delight at the visit, which he said signified the ongoing exchange of visits between the judicial bodies of the two nations and the sustained collaboration in combating transnational crime.
During the meeting, Al-Mujeb emphasized the deep-rooted historical ties between the Bahrain and the Kingdom and their continued advancement across various sectors, particularly in parliamentary cooperation and the exchange of information to ensure regional security.
He highlighted the unwavering support the Kingdom's public prosecution receives from its leadership, which he said enhanced the efficiency of its judicial processes.


Conjoined Filipino twins arrive in Riyadh for surgery

Updated 05 May 2024
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Conjoined Filipino twins arrive in Riyadh for surgery

  • Parents convey appreciation to King Salman, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman

RIYADH: Conjoined Filipino twins arrived in Riyadh from Manila on Sunday following a Saudi evacuation plan coordinated by the Ministry of Health, the Saudi Press Agency reported.

Akhizah and Ayeesha Yusoph were born in Panabo City in the Davao del Norte province on the southern island of Mindanao in December 2022. Their bodies share one liver.

The two 16-month-old girls arrived at King Khalid International Airport and traveled to the King Abdullah Specialized Children’s Hospital to be assessed to determine the feasibility of separation surgery.

Abdullah Al-Rabeeah, supervisor general of the Saudi aid agency KSrelief, thanked the Kingdom’s leadership for their support of the flagship Saudi Conjoined Twins Program.

The program, which is spearheaded by Al-Rabeeah, has operated on more than 130 children from 25 countries since 1990. The children were born sharing internal organs with their twin.

Al-Rabeeah spoke of the program’s global significance which marks a milestone in the field of medicine, while aligning with the ambitious goals of Saudi Vision 2030 to elevate the Kingdom’s healthcare services.

The parents of Akhizah and Ayeesha conveyed their heartfelt appreciation to King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for the warm welcome and generous hospitality extended to them following their arrival in the Kingdom.