JEDDAH: The Saudi government will from Sunday start implementing a selective tax that includes products that are harmful to health, primarily tobacco, energy drinks and sodas.
Recent statistics show that 6 million smokers in Saudi Arabia will be affected by the tax, Al-Hayat newspaper reported.
Implementation is part of a selective tax agreement the Kingdom signed along with the other Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member states, which was approved by the GCC secretariat last month.
The tax rate is defined according to the danger a product poses to health, with a 100 percent rate being imposed on the most harmful: Tobacco and energy drinks. A 50 percent rate will be imposed on all kinds of soft drinks.
The Kingdom is 64th out of 127 countries in the price ranking of a pack of cigarettes, according to Numbeo, a crowd-sourced global database of reported consumer prices. The price of a pack of cigarettes in Saudi Arabia will double from June 11.
Price of cigarettes to double from Sunday
Price of cigarettes to double from Sunday
Report: Low light pollution in Northern Borders is ideal for astronomers
- Region has a vast desert horizon and few tall buildings
- Rare meteorological event recently in Northern Borders
RIYADH: The Kingdom’s Northern Borders, characterized by significantly lower levels of light pollution, is a prime destination for astronomical observation, the Saudi Press Agency reported on Friday.
The SPA quoted from a recent report from the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite which is circling in space.
The VIIRS is a whiskbroom scanner radiometer that collects imagery and radiometric measurements of land, atmosphere, cryosphere, and oceans in the visible and infrared bands of the electromagnetic spectrum.
This lower level of light pollution, according to the VIIRS, is found in the open areas surrounding Turaif, east of Rafha, and west of the city of Arar.
The Bortle Scale, which measures night-sky brightness, shows readings allowing the Milky Way to be seen with the naked eye on clear nights.
“The vast desert horizon and the scarcity of tall buildings contribute to improved astronomical observation conditions by minimizing ambient light and enhancing viewing quality,” the SPA reported.
“This allows celestial phenomena, such as meteor showers and planetary conjunctions, to be observed with greater precision.”
The report added: “Due to these factors, the region is an ideal destination for amateur astrophotographers and astrophysicists seeking a dark, expansive sky that enables them to observe celestial objects with greater clarity.”
Recently a striking astronomical and optical phenomenon was observed in the Northern Borders, as light pillars appeared in the sky, drawing the attention of locals and enthusiasts of natural phenomena.
A light pillar is an optical phenomenon that occurs in the atmosphere as a vertical column extending above or below its source. This effect is caused by the reflection of light on tiny ice crystals suspended in clouds or the air.
Abouazza El-Mhamdi, an associate professor in the physics and astronomy department at King Saud University, told Arab News at that it was a “rare meteorological event — the vibrant light pillars that illuminated the night sky, was crucial for astronomy and astro tourism in the region.”
“Although these pillars are common in Arctic climates like Canada or Russia, their appearance in the Northern Border region is a remarkable anomaly, highlighting the unique and intense winter conditions affecting the Kingdom’s northern reaches,” said El-Mhamdi.
