Middle East Experience

During this year’s Hajj, Saudi Arabian authorities rolled out electronic ‘Hajj cards’ that allowed pilgrims contactless access to religious sites, accommodation, and transportation.For more coronavirus news, visit our dedicated page.The Hajj cards aimed to “to ensure the safety and health of pilgrims, and the safety of personnel working in the service of pilgrims,” King Salman bin Abdulaziz said during his speech on the first day of Eid al-Adha.The annual pilgrimage – seen as a rite for every able-bodied Muslim who can afford to take part in it – usually welcomes millions of Muslims from around the world.Crowding, which has resulted in deaths before, had always been a concern for the authorities in the past.For the past two years, due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Kingdom limited the number of attendees allowed to perform Hajj to only 60,000 citizens and residents in order to prevent the virus from spreading.The Hajj cards will allow “all transactions to be contactless,” and is expected to be developed into a virtual wallet as well for future pilgrimages, the Under-Secretary at the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah, Amro al-Maddah, said.The pilgrims were each given a smart card in either green, red, yellow, or blue. The colors correspond to markings on the ground that lead the pilgrims throughout the different stages of the Hajj, as well as indicate which guide they must follow.The cards also contain basic information about each pilgrim, including: their registration number, exact location of their accommodation, mobile phone number, and the ID number of their guide.“Things were completely different before. We got lost on our way for prayers or we arrived late... all of our efforts were in vain,” Ahmed Achour, an Egyptian pharmacist living in Jeddah, told AFP.Robots were also set up around the Kaaba to hand out bottled Zamzam water to pilgrims and personnel.“Bottled Zamzam water is much better. There are fewer people and there’s no need to queue,” Pakistani-American Aneela, 37, told AFP.Egyptian pilgrim Siam said the new technologies meant the Hajj was “keeping up with the times.”(With AFP)Read more:Female pilgrims perform Hajj without male guardians as part of new reformsIn pictures: Heartwarming scenes of pilgrims performing Hajj amid COVID-19No COVID-19 cases among Hajj pilgrims: Saudi Arabia’s health ministry
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Hajj amid COVID-19: Saudi Arabia implements smart cards for virus-free pilgrimage

Inspired by her late father’s career, Mona decided to join the military and the first group of Saudi women soldiers to work in Islam’s holiest sites, where they are helping secure the Hajj annual pilgrimage.Since April, dozens of female soldiers have become part of the security services that monitor pilgrims in Mecca and Medina, the birth places of Islam.For the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.Dressed in a military khaki uniform, with a hip-length jacket, loose trousers and a black beret over a veil covering her hair, Mona spends her shifts roaming in the Grand Mosque in Mecca.“I am following the steps of my late father to complete his journey, standing here at the Grand Mosque in Mecca, the holiest place. To serve the worshippers is a very noble and honorable task,” said Mona, who declined to give her family name.Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has pushed through social and economic reforms as part of plans to modernize the conservative Muslim kingdom and attract foreign investment under a diversification drive.Under his reform plan, known as Vision 2030, the crown prince lifted a driving ban on women, allowed adult women to travel without permission from guardians and granted them more control over family matters.Saudi Arabia has restricted the Hajj to its own citizens and residents for the second year in a row, barring millions of other pilgrims from abroad in response to the coronavirus pandemic.Samar, another soldier watching pilgrims near the Kaaba, a cube-shaped structure that Muslims believe was built by Abraham, said she was encouraged by her family to join the military, after psychology studies.“This is a huge accomplishment for us and it is the biggest pride to be in the service of religion, the country and the guests of God, the most merciful,” she said.Read more:Female pilgrims perform Hajj without male guardians as part of new reformsThe changing roles of women in the Saudi workforce under Vision 2030Hajj amid COVID-19: Saudi Arabia implements smart cards for virus-free pilgrimage
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Saudi women stand guard during Hajj for the first time

Dubai Municipality also issued fines against two other establishments..
Source: Albawaba
Full Article: Dubai shuts down five establishments for violating Covid-19 rules

Saudi Arabia announced on Wednesday it is banning all direct or indirect travel by citizens to Indonesia over concerns about the coronavirus outbreak there, the Saudi Press Agency reported.“An official source in the Ministry of Interior stated that based on the Kingdom’s government’s keenness on the safety of citizens wishing to travel abroad, and in light of the continuing outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19), the spread of a new mutated strain of the virus, and the health situation in the Republic of Indonesia, the following has been decided: Preventing citizens from traveling directly or indirectly to Indonesia until the situation in Indonesia is stabilized,” read SPA’s report.For the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.“The Ministry of Interior calls upon the citizens present in Indonesia to exercise caution and to stay away from areas witnessing the spread of the virus, to follow all precautionary measures, and to return sooner to the Kingdom,” the SPA’s report added.A day earlier, Saudi Arabia announced it will be extending the residency permits and visit visas for expatriates who are stranded abroad due to the coronavirus pandemic until the end of August.
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Saudi Arabia bans citizens from travel to Indonesia amid COVID-19

Mohammed Hassan waited at the customer’s door till she returned as he heard a baby crying inside the apartment..
Source: Albawaba
Full Article: Dubai: Delivery rider goes beyond call of duty, gets rewarded

The United States threatened more sanctions against Turkey on Wednesday as a result of Ankara’s destabilizing behavior, including purchasing Russian missile defense systems.“We continue to object to Turkey’s purchase and deployment of the Russian S-400 air defense system and have made clear that any new major arms purchases from Russia risk triggering additional CAATSA sanctions,” Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland told a Senate hearing.For the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.Speaking at the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Hearing on US Policy on Turkey, Nuland doubled down on the suspension of Ankara from the F-35 fighter jet program.“Sale and co-production of the F-35 will remain suspended,” she said.Senator Jim Risch also blasted Turkey over the Russian weapons. “F-35s will not be delivered to Turkey so long as S400s are on Turkish soil,” Risch said.Around 900 parts for the F-35s were being produced in Turkey. “It is down to a minimal amount and will eventually be phased out,” he said.CyprusSenator Bob Menendez, the committee chairman, said he had information that Turkey was establishing a drone base in occupied Cyprus.Nuland said she would look into it.But the senior US diplomat also criticized Turkey for its land grab announcement in the Cypriot town of Varosha.“The United States views this action as provocative, unacceptable, and detrimental to the prospects for the resumption of settlement talks,” she said. “We condemn yesterday’s announcement by Turkish Cypriot leader Tatar and Turkish President Erdogan to allow Turkish Cypriots to take control of parts of Varosha,” she added.Read more: US condemns Erdogan-backed plans to reopen Cypriot Varosha ghost town
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: More sanctions on Turkey if they purchase new arms from Russia: Senior US diplomat

For the past week, demonstrators have surged into the streets of Khuzestan Province in Iran because of water shortages..
Source: Albawaba
Full Article: Video: Protests in Iran Intensify Amid Water Shortage

It is possible that few US satellite imagery services withheld images of Iran's nuclear facility in Natanz.
Source: Jerusalem Post
Full Article: Exclusive: Is satellite footage of attacked Iran facility being blocked?

A 45-page report details the "harrowing" torture and "ill-treatment" that the Afkari brothers suffered at the hands of the Iranian regime.
Source: Jerusalem Post
Full Article: Amnesty and HRW urge Iran's regime to free Afkari brothers

Families in Lebanon are now spending five times the minimum wage on food alone, a report found Wednesday, as inflation caused by the country's worst-ever economic crisis continues to soar..
Source: Albawaba
Full Article: Lebanon families spend '5 times minimum wage' on food: study