Over 2 million pilgrims from around world converge on Mina as Hajj officially begins

News Network
June 26, 2023

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Mina, June 26: Around two million pilgrims, who came from all corners of the globe, converged on the tent city of Mina on Monday, the Day of Tarwiyah, marking the beginning of the annual pilgrimage of Hajj, the fifth pillar of Islam.

The 5-6day Hajj, one of the largest religious gatherings in the world, has returned to full capacity this year for the first time since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic three years ago. The pilgrims commenced their rituals in an unrestricted spiritual ambiance after lifting of all the pandemic related restrictions and preventive protocols.

Those pilgrims who arrived in Makkah on Sunday performed Tawaf Al-Qudum (Tawaf of Arrival), one of the obligatory rituals of Hajj, before heading for the vast sprawling tent city of Mina. Those pilgrims, who had arrived in Makkah earlier, were engaged in making final preparations before moving into the tent city on Sunday evening as they were not required to perform Tawaf Al-Qudum before setting out to Mina, to commence the lifetime spiritual journey.

As the night wore on Sunday, all roads and highways leading into the vast plains of Mina, located five km east of the Grand Mosque, were filled with pilgrims, who made their way by vehicles or by foot to the holy site where they will camp in one of the largest tent cities in the world on Monday.

Retracing the noble tradition of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), the pilgrims will spend throughout the day and night on Monday, which is known as the Tarwiyah Day, in Mina. On the first day of Haj rituals, they will engage in supplications and making final preparations for the Standing (wuqoof) at Arafat, the most important pillar of Haj, marking the climax of the annual pilgrimage, on Tuesday.

This year’s Hajj will be the biggest since 2019, when about 2.5 million pilgrims took part. Only 10,000 were allowed in 2020, at the height of the coronavirus pandemic, rising to nearly 59,000 in 2021. Last year, less than one million pilgrims performed the pilgrimage. The total number of pilgrims who performed Hajj in 2022 stood at 926,000 and these included 781,000 foreign pilgrims.

More than 1.65 million pilgrims from outside the Kingdom have arrived to perform Hajj this year and they were joined by hundreds of thousands of domestic pilgrims whose exact figures are yet to be made known. The General Directorate of Passports (Jawazat) announced, in a statement on Monday, that 1,655,188 pilgrims came for the current Hajj through all Saudi air, land and sea ports, until the end of Saturday, Dhu al-Hijjah 6 (June 24).

Among them, there are 4,951 pilgrims of 90 nationalities who came to perform Hajj as the guests of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman. These include 2,000 pilgrims from the Saudi and Yemeni families of those who martyred in the Decisive Storm military operation in Yemen. Another 1000 pilgrims, who belong to family members of the Palestinian martyrs and prisoners and wounded Palestinians, arrived to perform Hajj at the expense of the King.

Foolproof security arrangements

The Saudi authorities and Hajj missions of various countries have completed elaborate preparations and foolproof arrangements that enabled the pilgrims to complete their smooth movement to the tent city of Mina. Minister of Interior and Chairman of the Supreme Hajj Committee Prince Abdulaziz bin Saud bin Naif inspected the readiness of the Hajj security forces. He watched the parade of the security forces participating in this year’s Hajj operation in Makkah.

The parade witnessed security drills that showed the proficiency and skills of the security forces apart from the display of special vehicles and armored vehicles, and security aircraft and copters taking part in the Hajj operation. Minister of the National Guard Prince Abdullah bin Bandar also witnessed the parade of the National Guard forces during which he inspected the readiness of the forces participating in the Hajj security missions.

Ministry of Health warns pilgrims against sunstroke

The Ministry of Health has issued an alert to the pilgrims against heat exhaustion, as this year’s Hajj season witnesses a rise in temperatures, which poses a threat to the health of the pilgrims.

The ministry’s health workers will be on hand to help fend off heatstroke, dehydration and exhaustion in the heat of the summer that recorded temperatures of more than 43 degree Celsius.

The ministry affirmed that the use of an umbrella, drinking plenty of fluids, avoiding exhaustion, and following health instructions and proper behaviors, would protect pilgrims from sunstroke and heat exhaustion. The ministry has allocated 217 beds to receive cases of heatstroke, including 166 beds in the hospitals of the holy sites, and 51 beds in Makkah, while the ministry has provided a large number of water mist fans at the holy sites.

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News Network
November 21,2024

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Shares of Adani Group companies lost about $28 billion in market value in morning trade on Thursday after US prosecutors charged the billionaire chairman of the Indian conglomerate in an alleged bribery and fraud scheme.

Gautam Adani's flagship company Adani Enterprises tumbled 23 per cent, while Adani Ports, Adani Total Gas, Adani Green, Adani Power, Adani Wilmar and Adani Energy Solutions, ACC , Ambuja Cements and NDTV fell between 20 per cent and 90 per cent.

Adani group's 10 listed stocks had a total market capitalisation of about $141 billion at 0534 GMT, compared to $169.08 billion on Tuesday.

US authorities said Adani and seven other defendants, including his nephew Sagar Adani, agreed to pay about $265 million in bribes to Indian government officials to obtain contracts expected to yield $2 billion of profit over 20 years, and develop India's largest solar power plant project.

Adani Green in a statement on Thursday said the US Justice Department had issued a criminal indictment against board members Gautam Adani and Sagar Adani and the Securities and Exchange Commission had issued a civil complaint against them.

The US Justice Department also included Adani Green board member Vneet Jaain in the criminal indictment, it said.

Adani Green's units had decided not to proceed with the proposed US dollar denominated bond offerings due to developments, it added.

"Investors will shy away from Adani Group stocks ... and that's what this sharp selling is signifying," said Saurabh Jain, assistant vice president of retail equities research at SMC Global Securities.

"This could hurt the credibility of the group and maybe borrowing costs will rise," he said.

The indictment comes nearly two years after US shortseller Hindenburg Research alleged that Adani had improperly used tax havens and was involved in stock manipulation, allegations the conglomerate denied.

Also in early Asian trading on Thursday, Adani dollar bonds slumped, with prices down 3c-5c on bonds for Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone. The falls were the largest since the Adani Group came under a short-seller attack in February 2023.

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News Network
November 17,2024

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An Israeli airstrike on the office of Syria’s Baath party in Lebanon’s capital Beirut has killed the Lebanese resistance movement Hezbollah's Media Relations Officer, Mohammad Afif, reports say.

Lebanon's National News Agency (NNA) reported that the Israeli raid struck the Ba'ath party’s building in central Beirut district of Ras Al-Naba'a on Sunday, adding that the strike was an attempt to assassinate the leader of the resistance media front.

According to Baath Secretary-General Ali Hijazi, Afif was having a meeting in the Baath Party headquarters when Israel carried out the attack.

"Afif did not fight with weapons and did not lead a military unit in Hezbollah. Rather, he led a media unit," he said.

Reuters, Sky News, Al Jazeera and a number of Henrew-language media reported that Afif was killed in the Israeli strike.

However, Hezbollah has not yet confirmed Afif’s death or whether he was present at the site or not.

Earlier, the Lebanese Health Ministry said at least one person was killed and three others injured after an Israeli strike targeted a central district in Beirut.

Lebanon's al-Mayadeen television network reported that five people were killed in the attack.

The latest development came after Afif said Hezbollah was behind the Caesarea operation and targeting Netanyahu’s home during a speech at the Ghobeiry area in the southern suburbs of Beirut on October 22.

This was the second assassination attempt on Afif in the last two months, after he survived an attack on the Hezbollah media relations office several weeks ago.

Israel launched a ground assault and massive air campaign against Lebanon in late September after a year of exchanging fire across the Lebanese border in parallel with the Gaza war.

At least 3,287 people have been killed in Israeli strikes in Lebanon over the past year, with the vast majority in the past seven weeks. Another 14,222 have been wounded, mostly women and children.

In response to the ongoing aggression, the Lebanese resistance movement Hezbollah has been staging hundreds of retaliatory strikes against the occupied Palestinian territories and the Israeli forces trying to advance on southern Lebanese areas.

The movement has vowed to sustain its strikes until the regime ends the escalation.

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News Network
November 21,2024

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The International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued arrest warrants for Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former minister of military affairs Yoav Gallant over war crimes against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

The court’s Pre-Trial Chamber I issued warrants of arrest for Netanyahu and Gallant "for crimes against humanity and war crimes committed from at least 8 October 2023 until at least 20 May 2024, the day the Prosecution filed the applications for warrants of arrest”, it confirmed in a statement Thursday.

It is the first instance in the court's 22-year history it has issued arrest warrants for Western-allied senior officials.

In its statement, the ICC's Pre-Trial Chamber I, a panel of three judges, said it has rejected appeals by Israel challenging its jurisdiction. 

The chamber said it has decided to release the arrest warrants because "conduct similar to that addressed in the warrant of arrest appears to be ongoing", referring to Israel's ongoing onslaught on Gaza.

Netanyahu and Gallant, it said, “each bear criminal responsibility” for “the war crime of starvation as a method of warfare; and the crimes against humanity of murder, persecution, and other inhumane acts,” as well as “intentionally directing an attack against the civilian population.”

All 124 states that signed the Rome Statute, the treaty that established the court, are now under an obligation to arrest the wanted individuals and hand them over to the ICC in the Hague. 

The court relies on the cooperation of member states to arrest and surrender suspects. The Netherlands' foreign minister quickly said his country was prepared to enforce the warrants while 93 nations earlier reiterated their support for the ICC.

Triestino Mariniello, a lawyer representing Palestinian victims at the ICC, called the warrants "a historic decision".

He noted that the court had endured "pressure and threats of sanctions" from the US government, but acted nonetheless.

As expected, the Tel Aviv regime rejected the rulings, with its security minister Itamar Ben Gvir calling the warrants “anti-Semitic through and through.”

The ICC said Israel’s acceptance of the court’s jurisdiction was not required.

Israel and its major ally, the United States, are not members of the court. 

Israel unleashed its bloody Gaza onslaught on October 7, 2023. So far, it has killed at least 43,985 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and injured 104,092 others, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.

Israel faces an ongoing South Africa-led genocide case at the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

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