Tag Archives: Saudi Arabia

MNA International Desk: Only a small number of faithful are taking part in this year’s hajj, usually one of the biggest religious gatherings in the world. Authorities have dramatically downsized the pilgrimage to prevent fresh virus outbreaks. Muslims in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday began the annual hajj, a five-day pilgrimage taking place on a much smaller scale this year due to the coronavirus pandemic. One of the five pillars of Islam, the hajj is a requirement able-bodied Muslims must perform at least once in their lifetime. Usually, more than 2 million people travel from around the world to take part, ...

MNA International Desk: Saudi Arabia eased curfews on Sunday across the country but kept 24-hour lockdown in place in the city of Mecca and neighbourhoods previously put in isolation to curb the spread of the new coronavirus. It also signed a deal with China to conduct 9 million tests for the virus. Saudi has so far recorded 17,522 cases of infection and 139 deaths, reports Reuters quoting state news agency SPA. These are the highest numbers in the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), which together have recorded almost 46,000 cases and 258 deaths. Outside Mecca and lockdown areas, curfews will ...

MNA International Desk: Saudi Arabia said on Tuesday that mosques would no longer be open for the customary five daily prayers or Friday congregations, an exceptional move to limit the spread of the coronavirus which has infected 171 people in the kingdom. Saudi Arabia, which chairs the Group of 20 major economies, announced an extraordinary virtual leaders summit next week “to put forward a coordinated set of policies to protect people and safeguard the global economy.” The US-allied Gulf Arab states have registered more than 1,000 infections, many linked to travel to neighbouring Iran, which is an epicentre for the ...

MNA Editorial Desk: Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment secretary Md Salim Reza on Monday said authorities in Saudi Arabia have assured that they will take necessary steps to ensure the safety of Bangladeshi female workers in their country. He came up with the remark while speaking at a press briefing at Probashi Kallyan Bhaban in the capital. Reza said the third joint technical committee meeting was held between the Ministry of Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment and Saudi Ministry of Labour and Social Development on November 27 in Riyadh. In the last four years, over 5,000 Bangladeshi women have returned ...

MNA National Desk: Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina left Saudi Arabia for Finland, the third and final destination of her tri-nation visit, early Monday. A flight of Lufthansa Air carrying the Prime Minister and her entourage departed from King Abdul Aziz International Airport, Jeddah at 1.30am (local time). The flight is scheduled to land at Helsinki International Airport, Finland at 1pm (local time) after nearly a four-hour stopover (5:55am to 9:40am) in Frankfurt International Airport in Germany. During her stay in Finland, Sheikh Hasina will have a meeting with Finnish President Sauli Niinistö on June 4. The Prime Minister will return ...

MNA International Desk: Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman received a warm welcome in India Wednesday, with Riyadh eager to demonstrate it is not an international pariah after the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in October. The killing of Khashoggi, a fierce critic of the prince, at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul tarnished the image of the kingdom and the prince, who is staging a high-profile Asian tour to demonstrate he still has allies. Prince Mohammed predicted “good things” will come out of talks with Indian leaders as he started a landmark visit to the world’s largest democracy Wednesday, ...

MNA Business Desk: Saudi Arabia signed deals worth $50 billion on Tuesday, showing it can still attract investment at a conference boycotted by Western politicians and global business chiefs after the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman arrived at the investment conference late in the day after attending a meeting at which King Salman received members of Khashoggi’s family, including his son Salah. Earlier, Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih assured the investment conference that the world’s top crude exporter was passing through a “crisis of a sort” but would power ahead with economic reforms. The chief executive ...

MNA International Desk: Saudi Arabia is preparing to acknowledge the death of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in a botched interrogation, CNN and the New York Times said on Monday, after US President Donald Trump speculated ‘rogue killers’ may be responsible. Trump dispatched Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to meet King Salman over the case that has strained the Americans’ relationship with the Saudis, carefully cultivated by the US president. Khashoggi, a US resident, Washington Post columnist and leading critic of the powerful Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, vanished after entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul two weeks ago to ...

MNA International Desk: Saudi Arabia rejected threats to punish it over the disappearance of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Istanbul, saying the kingdom would retaliate against any sanctions with tougher measures, the official state news agency said. The comments came after US President Donald Trump threatened “severe punishment” for Riyadh if it turned out Khashoggi, a prominent critic of Saudi authorities and a legal resident of the United States, was killed in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. “The Kingdom affirms its total rejection of any threats and attempts to undermine it, whether by threatening to impose economic sanctions, using political pressures, ...

MNA Business Desk: Bangladeshi workers have kept returning from Saudi Arabia in an increasing number since the kingdom started deporting the undocumented migrants, reported news agency. Statistics at the Probasi Kalyan Desk at the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport (HSIA) show that more than 500 Bangladeshi male workers returned home from the Arab country between September 26 and October 10 this year. Of the total, 106 arrived on Wednesday. Besides, about 450 more workers are still waiting at the deportation centre in the Middle Eastern country to be repatriated in phases, according to returnee workers Police are arresting 200 workers on ...

MNA Entertainment Desk: Akshay Kumar starrer ‘Gold’ will be the first Hindi film which will be releasing in Saudi Arabia, the National Award-winning actor says. An ‘excited’ Akshay tweeted on Thursday night: ‘The story of India’s first Gold medal victory for the first time in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Happy to share, ‘Gold’ is the first ever Bollywood movie to release in the Kingdom Of Saudi Arabia, in cinemas from today!’ A historical sports drama inspired by India’s first Olympic gold medal, ‘Gold’ traces the golden era of Indian hockey through the journey of Tapan Das, a young assistant ...

MNA International Desk: Eid-ul-Azha, the second largest religious festival of the Muslims, will be celebrated across the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on 21 August (Tuesday) as the moon for the month of Zilhaj was sighted there on Saturday evening. Therefore, the Day of Arafat will fall on 20 August, reported news agency. The Muslims celebrate Eid-ul-Azha on the 10th of Zilhaj to commemorate the true spirit of the sacrifice made by Hazrat Ibrahim (AS). On this day some 4,000 years ago, Hazrat Ibrahim (AS) had offered to sacrifice his beloved son Hazrat Ismail (AS) who willingly submitted to the will ...

MNA Business Desk: Saudi Arabia will suspend new trade and investment with Canada after that country’s foreign ministry urged Riyadh to release arrested civil rights activists, it said in a statement released to the official Saudi Press Agency on Sunday. It also gave the Canadian ambassador 24 hours to leave the country and recalled its own ambassador to Canada, the statement by the Saudi foreign ministry said, adding it retained “its rights to take further action.” The Saudi ministry had been briefed that the Canadian foreign ministry and the Canadian embassy urged the Saudi authorities to “immediately release” civil rights ...

MNA National Desk: Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will address a press conference on Wednesday to brief journalists about the outcomes of her just-concluded visits to Saudi Arabia, the UK and Australia. The press conference will be held at her official residence Ganobhaban at 4:00pm, PM’s Press Secretary Ihsanul Karim said. The Prime Minister visited Saudi Arabia and the UK from April 15 to 23 while Australia from April 26 to 29. During her visit, she received the Global Women’s Leadership Award at the 2018 Global Summit of Women and had a bilateral meeting with Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull. She ...

MNA Entertainment Desk: Saudi Arabia on Tuesday said it has delayed by three days the launch of an “entertainment city” near Riyadh, part of a series of multi-billion dollar projects as the oil-reliant kingdom seeks to diversify. King Salman had been scheduled on Wednesday to launch construction of the 334-square kilometre project in Qiddiya, southwest of Riyadh, touted as the kingdom’s answer to Disneyland. “King Salman will inaugurate next Saturday the Qiddiya project, which is the new entertainment, sports and cultural destination in the kingdom,” the state-run Saudi Press Agency said, without explaining the delay. Construction for the first phase ...

MNA Exclusive Desk: Saudi Arabia’s Bin Salman is widely expected to try and encourage American investors to put money into the kingdom, while also looking to promote his plans to enact sweeping economic and social reforms in Riyadh. Saudi Arabia’s powerful crown prince has said “only death” can prevent him from ruling over the kingdom for several years to come. “Only God knows how long one will live, if one would live 50 years or not, but if things go their normal ways, then that’s to be expected,” Mohammed bin Salman said during a wide-ranging interview that aired on CBS ...

MNA Editorial Desk: Saudi Arabia holds the two holiest cities of the Muslims — Makkah and Madinah. Despite its wealth and religious riches, throughout the last century, Saudi Arabia has been criticized for its religiously conservative mindset which many believe had pushed the country to refrain from social and political development while becoming incompetent in today’s competitive world. It was also said that, the country was suffering hugely in terms of humanitarian context. Though these might not all be very true, but serious concern was there until several humanitarian and policy reform were declared by the current honorable King Salman ...

MNA Editorial Desk: Makkah and Madinah, located in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, are two of the holiest and most sacred religious destination of millions of followers of Islam all around the globe. Muslims rush to Makkah to visit the holy Kaaba, known as Baitullah Sharif or the house of Allah. Madinah holds the shrine of prophet Hazrat Muhammad (SM), the most respected human ever born in all times. The shrine of the prophet is located inside the Masjid-Al-Nabawi, a mosque built by the prophet himself after he completed hijrat from Makkah to Madinah. There is no word to describe ...

MNA Editorial Desk: Islam is the fastest growing and second largest religion of the world. Around 1.6 billion people around the globe are Muslims with their main concentration in Asia, Middle East and African region. These huge numbers of Muslims are very sensitive towards Islam’s two holiest cities – Makkah and Madinah, both are located in the Saudi Arabia. Makkah holds the holy Kaaba, known as the house of Allah and Madinah houses the shrine of the Prophet Hazrat Muhammad (SM). There is no place on Earth as revered, as central or as holy to as many people as Makkah. ...

MNA National Desk: Nine people among seven Bangladeshis killed in a road crash at Jizan region of Saudi Arabia. Several people were also injured during the accident. It has been known that the victims are all cleaners of Al Fahad Company at Jizan. Six among the deceased are Amir Hussain, resident of the village of Bashkhali at Karimpur union of Narsingdi Sadar upazila, Dulal, from Sirajganj, Saifur Islam, resident of Tangail, Motiur Rahman, of Narayanganj, Edan, of Narsingdi, and Jashim, from Kishoreganj. However, details about the identities of the deceased could not be known, as Bangladesh embassy at Saudi Arabia ...

MNA Business Desk: Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) introduced the Value Added Tax (VAT) for the first time from Monday. It is a five per cent tax on most goods and services to boost revenue. The VAT will be applied on food, clothes, electronics and gasoline, phone, water and electricity bills, as well as hotel reservations, reported news agency. Some outgoings were exempt from the tax or given a zero-tax rating, including medical treatment, financial services and public transport. The UAE estimates that in the first year, VAT income will be around 12 billion dirhams ($3.3 billion). ...

MNA science & Tech Desk: A third source confirmed that Apple was in talks with SAGIA, Saudi Arabia’s foreign investment authority. Both companies already sell products in Saudi Arabia via third parties but they and other global tech giants have yet to establish a direct presence. Amazon’s discussions are being led by cloud computing division Amazon Web Services (AWS), which would introduce stiff competition in a market currently dominated by smaller local providers like STC and Mobily. Riyadh has been easing regulatory impediments for the past two years, including limits on foreign ownership which had long kept investors away, since ...

MNA International Desk: Saad al-Hariri, who sparked a crisis by resigning as Lebanese prime minister on Nov. 4 during a visit to Saudi Arabia, is on his way to the airport, he said early on Saturday, before his flight from Riyadh to France. Hariri’s abrupt resignation while he was in Saudi Arabia and his continued stay there caused fears over Lebanon’s stability. His visit to France with his family to meet President Emmanuel Macron is seen as part of a possible way out of the crisis. However, Okab Saqr, a member of parliament for Hariri’s Future Movement, said that after ...

MNA International Desk: Saudi Arabia has detained four current ministers and eleven princes as part of its anti-corruption campaign, Saudi-owned Al Arabiya TV reported on Sunday. Arabiya said the number of detained princes had climbed to 11. It reported earlier that 10 princes and dozens of former ministers had been detained through a new anti-corruption committee, headed by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, which was formed by royal decree on Saturday. The suspects were not named. However, Saudi broadcaster Al-Arabiya said fresh investigations had been launched into the 2009 Jeddah floods and the outbreak of the Mers virus which emerged ...

MNA Sports Desk: Saudi Arabia will allow women to attend sports events in stadiums for the first time from next year, officials say. Families will be able to enter the stadiums in three major cities—Riyadh, Jeddah and Dammam, reported news agency. It is another move towards giving more freedom to Saudi women, who face strict gender segregation rules, and follows the historic lifting of a driving ban. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is leading a major drive to modernise Saudi society and boost the economy. Saudi Arabia’s sports authority said that preparations would start in the three stadiums so they ...

MNA Business Desk: Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund announced a $1 billion investment in British billionaire Richard Branson’s space tourism company Virgin Galactic. The announcement on the sidelines of an investment summit in Riyadh comes nearly a month after the Virgin Group founder said he would invest in the kingdom’s Red Sea project that aims to turn 50 Saudi islands into luxury tourism destinations. “This investment will enable us to develop the next generation of satellite launches and accelerate our programme for point to point supersonic space travel,” Branson said. The billionaire added that Virgin Galactic was just “months away” ...

MNA Business Desk: Bangladesh will import 1.4 million tonnes (mt) of fertilizer from Tunisia Saudi Arabia and Morocco during the 2017-18 fiscal year to meet the demand of farmers, an official document of the Ministry of Agriculture reveals, reported news agency. According to the document, the Agriculture Ministry has set a requirement of 1.5 million mt fertiliser on the basis of a countrywide field survey conducted by the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE). Of the total 1.5 million (m), the survey shows, the country will need 650,000 mts TSP fertiliser and 850,000 mts DAP fertiliser. The Agriculture Ministry has also ...