Saudi Arabia reopens borders for vaccinated umrah pilgrims after 18 months

News Network
August 8, 2021

Riyadh, Aug 8: Saudi Arabia will begin accepting vaccinated foreign pilgrims seeking to visit the Islamic holy city of Makkah, state media reported Sunday, around 18 months after a border closure prompted by the coronavirus pandemic.

Authorities in the ministry responsible for coordinating foreign pilgrims will from Monday begin "gradually receiving Umrah requests from various countries of the world," the Saudi Press Agency reported.

The umrah is a pilgrimage that can be undertaken at any time -- distinct from the hajj, which takes place once annually -- and usually draws millions from around the globe each year.

The Covid-19 pandemic hugely disrupted both pilgrimages, which are usually key revenue earners for the kingdom -- in normal times, they together rake in around $12 billion (10.3 billion euros) annually.

Before Sunday's announcement, only immunised pilgrims resident in Saudi Arabia were eligible for umrah permits, though the hajj has taken place in a scaled down form since the pandemic began.

Any foreign pilgrims must be immunised with a Saudi-recognised vaccine and agree to undergo quarantine, the SPA report said, citing Saudi deputy minister Abdulfattah bin Sulaiman Mashat.

Riyadh has spent billions trying to build a tourism industry from scratch, as part of efforts to diversify its oil-reliant economy.

The once-reclusive kingdom began issuing tourist visas for the first time in 2019 as part of an ambitious push to revamp its global image and draw visitors.

Between September 2019 and March 2020, it issued 400,000 of them -- only for the pandemic to crush that momentum as borders were closed.

The government has accelerated a nationwide vaccination drive as it moves to revive tourism and other pandemic-hit sectors, such as sport competitions and entertainment extravaganzas.

Vaccination is mandatory for anyone seeking to enter government and private establishments, including education institutions and entertainment venues, as well as to use public transport.

Saudi Arabia has registered nearly 532,000 coronavirus cases and more than 8,300 deaths.

Comments

Sanjeev Mhamane
 - 
Sunday, 22 Aug 2021

Sir my visa is abudhbai but ica approvel showing red log time .how can get green singl i have only 20 days balance because 6 months completed

AJIJUR RAHAMAN
 - 
Thursday, 19 Aug 2021

Please oploud may certificate in tawakkalna immune

AJIJUR RAHAMAN
 - 
Thursday, 19 Aug 2021

Please oploud my covid 19 certificate

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News Network
October 21,2024

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The UN’s special rapporteur on the human rights situation in the occupied Palestinian territories has described Israel’s ongoing genocide in the Gaza Strip as “the collective shame of the century” amid the failure of the international community to protect Palestinians’ rights.

Francesca Albanese made the remarks in an X post on Sunday, as more than a year of the Israeli onslaught has flattened Gaza, killed tens of thousands of innocent people, and displaced almost the entire population in the besieged territory, often multiple times.

“In Gaza, the collective shame of the century continues unabated and unstopped, in defiance of every norm of international law and morale,” she said.

“The Palestinians, exhausted by relentless attacks on their bodies and souls are abandoned to their tormentors.”

Albanese also noted that “summary executions, mass forced displacements, and other egregious abuses” that are being perpetrated by the occupation forces against Palestinians in Gaza are all “a disgraceful testament to our global failure to protect basic human rights.”

“The United Nations, once a believed beacon of hope and a force for peace, are crumbling under the weight of this shame - and the pressure of the inaction or complicity of its most powerful member states,” she emphasized.

Israel unleashed its brutal Gaza offensive on October 7, 2023, after the Hamas resistance group carried out its historic operation against the usurping entity in retaliation for the regime’s intensified atrocities against the Palestinian people.

The Tel Aviv regime has so far killed at least 42,603 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and injured 99,795 others, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.

In a violation of international law, Israel has issued mass evacuation orders in Gaza and deliberately targeted schools and hospitals, used as shelters by displaced Palestinians.

The US and its allies, which have been supporting Israel, have prevented the UN from putting an end to the brutal aggression against the Gaza Strip despite an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe there.

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News Network
October 28,2024

Fines of up to 300,000 Saudi riyals (approximately Rs 68 lakh) or imprisonment for up to five years will be imposed on anyone found guilty of abusive behaviour in workplaces, schools, or places of worship, the Saudi Public Prosecution announced in a statement on its official account on X (formerly Twitter).

The Public Prosecution emphasised that any harmful actions in these environments constitute a criminal offence, reiterating the importance of enforcing the Protection from Abuse Law.

The statement underlined the nation's commitment to ensuring a safe and secure environment for all, as part of broader efforts to protect individuals from violence and abuse.

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News Network
October 26,2024

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Iran’s air defense force has confirmed Israeli attacks targeting positions in Tehran, Khuzestan and Ilam provinces, saying the aggression was successfully thwarted. 

The Zionist regime launched its strike against Iran early Saturday, weeks after the Islamic Republic’s massive ballistic missile barrage on Israel, with the Zionist military saying the “precise strikes” by the Israeli Air Force targeted strategic military sites — specifically drone and ballistic missile manufacturing and launch sites, as well as air defense batteries.

The Iran's integrated air defense system successfully intercepted and countered the act of aggression. 

“Despite the previous warnings of the officials of the Islamic Republic to the criminal and illegal Zionist regime to avoid any adventurous action, this fake regime attacked parts of military centers in the provinces of Tehran, Khuzestan and Ilam this morning in a tension-causing action,” the air defense force said in a statement on Saturday morning.

The attacks caused limited damage in some locations and the dimensions of the incident are under investigation, the statement added.

Earlier, security sources said the loud sounds heard by some people in the vicinity of Tehran were due to the activation of air defense systems.

Iran’s official IRNA news agency cited a security source as saying on Saturday morning some of the sounds heard in the capital were caused by “defense activity in Tehran.”

The news agency said there were no reports of incidents that required assistance and that the situation at Mehrabad International Airport and the Imam Khomeini International Airport was “normal.”

IRNA said Iranian air defenses “successfully shot down adversarial targets in the airspace around Tehran province.”

Footage shared online captured what appeared to be interceptions over the Iranian capital.

Tasnim News Agency reported on Saturday morning that the situation was normal at Imam Khomeini International Airport and Mehrabad Airport.

No missile strike or impact occurred on Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) military centers in the west and southwest of Tehran, the agency reported.

According to information obtained by the news agency, there has been no impact on IRGC military centers in the west or southwest of Tehran.

The sounds heard are related to the army’s air defenses engaging Israeli military actions in three areas around Tehran.

Informed sources told Tasnim that Iran is ready to respond to Israeli aggression, "as previously stated."

"Iran reserves its right to respond to any form of aggression, and there is no doubt that Israel will receive a proportional reaction to any action taken."

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