TAIF: The Voluntary Work Association in Taif has put its Ramadan plans in place, the Saudi Press Agency reported, including the distribution of food baskets and organizing iftar events.
The association has carried out more than 55 activities since its founding last year and was set up to foster the spirit of volunteering “Since its inception a year ago, the association has accomplished much and carried out more than 55 programs and events in all departments and sections, including charity, community and organizational programs,” said Jamal Al-Rabihi, the association’s president.
“The association has proven itself as a successful and effective partner in all the grand events it has engaged with, such as the ceremonies of National Day, the Souq Okaz Festival, the Flower Festival, Ramadan and other important occasions in our country.” Al-Rabihi said the association was a voluntary and non-profit organization that aimed to promote and develop the concept of voluntary work, as well as nurture a love of volunteering in the hearts of men and women, to serve the nation and Islam.
The association’s work also contributes to the Saudi Vision 2030 reform plan, which aims to recruit a million volunteers by 2030.
The association has different departments, including specialist ones such as medical affairs, sports, culture and media. Men and women form the teams and there are more than 40 teams working across different fields and specializations.
Fatima Al-Juaied, from the events and programs department, highlighted some of the association’s most important achievements.
“One of the association’s most important charity programs is the longest iftar table, measuring 1,600 meters in length, for those fasting on behalf of servicemen killed in the line of duty.
There is also a program through which the association provided high-end buses for those who cannot perform Umrah due to various circumstances.” Some of the most important community programs were those with a patriotic flavor, such as National Day celebrations, she added.
There were more than 1,000 volunteers at the Taif Flower Festival, she said, and the association carried out more than 17 programs in 10 days, including managing crowds at different exhibitions.
Taif voluntary body puts Ramadan plans in place
Taif voluntary body puts Ramadan plans in place
- The association’s work contributes to the Saudi Vision 2030 reform plan, which aims to recruit a million volunteers by 2030
Digital Cooperation Organization secretary-general holds meetings in Cairo
- Al-Yahya affirmed to Talaat that there were several opportunities for cooperation between DCO and Egypt in light of the latter’s digital strategy
RIYADH: Deemah Al-Yahya, secretary-general of the Digital Cooperation Organization, held talks with Egyptian Minister of Communications and Information Technology Amr Talaat, and the Arab League’s Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit during her visit to Cairo.
Al-Yahya affirmed to Talaat that there were several opportunities for cooperation between the organization and Egypt in light of the latter’s digital strategy.
She added that this was the result of Egypt’s economic components and strategic goals aligning with the organization’s aims.
Al-Yahya added that the organization was able to provide opportunities that could be leveraged to achieve digital economic growth and prosperity.
She also praised the Digital Egypt Pioneers Initiative, which drives digital transformation by developing skills and innovation while supporting young talents in business.
Al-Yahya affirmed that the organization seeks to enhance cooperation with different sectors in Egypt to boost cooperation in the infrastructure of information technology and communications, as well as innovation ecosystems, through partnerships between private and public sectors.
Saudi Arabia, Jordan to airdrop aid to Palestinians
- Jordan’s Armed Forces will airdrop the 30 tonnes of supplies into the area that remains under siege by Israel
- This effort is a part of Saudi Arabia’s campaign to help the Palestinian people
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s aid agency KSrelief has delivered equipment and tools to the Jordanian Hashemite Charity Organization that will be sent to support Palestinians in Gaza.
Jordan’s Armed Forces will airdrop the 30 tonnes of supplies into the area that remains under siege by Israel.
This effort is a part of Saudi Arabia’s campaign to help the Palestinian people.
The Kingdom remains committed to delivering humanitarian aid into Gaza through various means, the Saudi Press Agency reported on Thursday.
Black cloth covering Kaaba in Makkah raised ahead of Hajj
- Procedure meant to keep the cover, Kiswa, free from getting soiled and tampered
- 36 specialized technical personnel carried out procedure with aid of 10 cranes
RIYADH: In keeping with the annual tradition, officials raised the lower part of the kiswa — the elaborately designed black cloth covering the Kaaba — in Makkah on Wednesday ahead of this year’s Hajj pilgrimage.
As approved by the General Authority for the Care of the Affairs of the Two Holy Mosques, the exposed part was covered with a white cotton fabric, two-and-a-half meters wide and 54 meters long on all four sides, according to the Saudi Press Agency.
Carrying out the procedure were 36 specialized technical personnel with the aid of 10 cranes.
As described in the SPA report, the kiswa is lifted in several stages: It starts with unscrewing the bottom of the cover from all sides, separating the corners, then untying the bottom rope and removing it from the fixing rings, after which the cloth is rolled upward. The lanterns are then dismantled and the white cloth are put in place, after which the lanterns are reinstalled over the white cloth until the final stage.
The procedure is repeated every year to protect the kiswa from getting soiled and damaged as pilgrims circumambulate the Kaaba.
The annual Hajj in Saudi Arabia is considered the world’s largest human gathering, with year 2012 marking the biggest number of participants at 3.16 million.
At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Saudi authorities allowed only a symbolic observance of Hajj with just a thousand pilgrims. The numbers were gradually raised as the health crisis was placed under control worldwide. Last year, almost 1.84 million pilgrims performed the “once in a lifetime” journey and the figure is expected to go higher this year.
Every year, on the ninth day of the Islamic month of Dul Hijjah, the black silk cloth is removed and a new kiswa is draped in its place.
Saudi Arabia welcomes move by Norway, Ireland and Spain to formally recognize Palestinian state
- Palestinian Authority and its rival group Hamas both welcomed the recognition
- Israel recalls envoys to Spain, Ireland and Norway for consultations
RIYADH/COPENHAGEN: Saudi Arabia said Wednesday it welcomed the “positive” decision taken by Norway, Spain, and Ireland to recognize a Palestinian state.
The Kingdom said it appreciated this decision “which confirms the international consensus on the inherent right of the Palestinian people to self-determination,” in a foreign ministry statement.
The kingdom also called on more countries to swiftly take the same stance, “which would contribute to finding a reliable and irreversible path to achieve a just and lasting peace that fulfills the rights of the Palestinian people.”
Leaders of Norway, Spain and Ireland said on Wednesday they were formally going to recognize Palestine as a state.
Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store said: “There cannot be peace in the Middle East if there is no recognition.”
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez also announced that the country’s council of ministers would recognize an independent Palestinian state on Tuesday May 28.
“Next Tuesday, May 28, Spain’s cabinet will approve the recognition of the Palestinian state,” he said, adding that his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu was putting the two state solution in “danger” with his policy of “pain and destruction” in the Gaza Strip.
Irish Prime Minister Simon Harris said it was a move coordinated with Spain and Norway, marking “an historic and important day for Ireland and for Palestine.”
The Palestinian Authority and its rival group Hamas both welcomed the recognition of a Palestinian state by Ireland, Spain and Norway.
The Palestinian Authority exercises limited self-rule in the West Bank territory while Hamas runs Gaza.
Jordan hailed the coordinated move as an “important and essential step towards Palestinian statehood.”
“We value this decision and consider it an important and essential step towards a two-state solution that embodies an independent, sovereign Palestinian state along the July 1967 borders,” Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi told a press conference.
Qatar’s foreign ministry welcomed the announcement as an “important step in support of a two-state solution,” expressing hope that other countries would follow suit.
The six-member Gulf Cooperation Council also spoke out in support of the European countries’ move, with secretary general Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi saying it represented “a pivotal and strategic step towards achieving the two-state solution” to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, a statement said.
The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, based in the Saudi city of Jeddah, similarly welcomed the move as an “important historic step”.
Several European Union countries have in the past weeks indicated that they plan to make the recognition, arguing a two-state solution is essential for lasting peace in the region.
Israel recalled envoys to Spain, Ireland and Norway over their moves to recognize a Palestinian state.
“Today, I am sending a sharp message to Ireland and Norway: Israel will not go over this in silence. I have just ordered the return of the Israeli ambassadors from Dublin and Oslo to Israel for further consultations in Jerusalem,” Foreign Minister Israel Katz said in a statement.
Sanchez said in March that Spain and Ireland, along with Slovenia and Malta, had agreed to take their first steps toward Palestinian recognition, seeing a two-state solution as essential for lasting peace.
The efforts come as a mounting death toll in Gaza from Israel’s offensive to rout Hamas prompts calls globally for a ceasefire and lasting solution for peace in the region.
Norway, which is not a member of the European Union but mirror its moves, has been an ardent supporter of a two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinians.
“The terror has been committed by Hamas and militant groups who are not supporters of a two-state solution and the state of Israel,” the Norwegian government leader said.
“Palestine has a fundamental right to an independent state,” Gahr Store told a press conference.
The move comes as Israeli forces have led assaults on the northern and southern edges of the Gaza Strip in May, causing a new exodus of hundreds of thousands of people, and sharply restricted the flow of aid, raising the risk of famine.
The Scandinavian country “will therefore regard Palestine as an independent state with all the rights and obligations that entails,” Gahr Store said.
Norway’s recognition of a Palestine state comes more than 30 years after the first Oslo agreement was signed in 1993.
Since then, “the Palestinians have taken important steps toward a two-state solution,” the Norwegian government said.
It said that the World Bank determined that Palestine had met key criteria to function as a state in 2011, that national institutions have been built up to provide the population with important services.
“The war in Gaza and the constant expansion of illegal settlements in the West Bank still mean that the situation in Palestine is more difficult than it has been in decades,” the Norwegian government said.
Black cloth covering Kaaba in Makkah raised ahead of Hajj
- The procedure is meant to keep the cover, known as kiswa, free from getting soiled and tampered with as pilgrims performing Hajj circumabulate the Kaaba
RIYADH: In keeping with the annual tradition, officials raised the lower part of the kiswa — the elaborately designed black cloth covering the Kaaba — in Makkah on Wednesday ahead of this year's Hajj pilgrimage.
As approved by the General Authority for the Care of the Affairs of the Two Holy Mosques, the exposed part was covered with a white cotton fabric, two-and-a-half meters wide and 54 meters long on all four sides, according to the Saudi Press Agency.
Carrying out the procedure were 36 specialized technical personnel with the aid of 10 cranes.
As described in the SPA report, the kiswa is lifted in several stages: It starts with unscrewing the bottom of the cover from all sides, separating the corners, then untying the bottom rope and removing it from the fixing rings, after which the cloth is rolled upward. The lanterns are then dismantled and the white cloth are put in place, after which the lanterns are reinstalled over the white cloth until the final stage.
The procedure is repeated every year to protect the kiswa from getting soiled and damaged as pilgrims circumambulate the Kaaba.
The annual Hajj in Saudi Arabia is considered the world's largest human gathering, with year 2012 marking the biggest number of participants at 3.16 million.
At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Saudi authorities allowed only a symbolic observance of Hajj with just a thousand pilgrims. The numbers were gradually raised as the health crisis was placed under control worldwide. Last year, almost 1.84 million pilgrims performed the "once in a lifetime" journey and the figure is expected to go higher this year.
Every year, on the ninth day of the Islamic month of Dul Hijjah, the black silk cloth is removed and a new kiswa is draped in its place.
