TheNewsGuru

Tag: Saudi Arabia

  • Saudi Arabia wades in on French cartoon debate as row escalates

    Saudi Arabia wades in on French cartoon debate as row escalates

    Saudi Arabia on Tuesday waded in on a debate surrounding France’s defence of the right to show cartoons of Prophet Mohammed, calling the image of the prophet ‘offensive’.

    A foreign ministry official said in a statement that “the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia rejects any attempt to link Islam with terrorism and denounces cartoons offensive to Prophet Mohammed or any of the other prophets.’’

    Saudi Arabia, the birthplace of Islam, is the latest Muslim country to express anger over the cartoons, which originally appeared in French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo.

    The right to publish them was recently defended by President Emmanuel Macron.

    Egypt’s Al-Azhar University, Sunni Islam’s influential seat of learning, has also denounced the cartoons, saying the attack on Islam was part of a systematic campaign to use Islam to win political battles.

    Calls to stop buying French products have been gaining momentum in recent days.

    Over the weekend, traders in Jordan, Kuwait and Qatar removed French goods from their stores in response to the calls.

    Social media users also shared a list of French brands such as carmarkers Peugeot and Renault as well as dairy brands Kiri, Babybel and Danone, calling for people to boycott them.

  • No regrets comparing fuel prices in Nigeria with Saudi Arabia, others – FG

    No regrets comparing fuel prices in Nigeria with Saudi Arabia, others – FG

    The Federal Government says the comparison made by President Muhammadu Buhari on fuel prices between Nigeria, Saudi Arabia and other countries in his 2020 Independence Day national broadcast is justified.

    Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, made the submission when he featured on a Radio Nigeria current affairs programme, “Radio Link’’ on Saturday in Abuja.

    President Buhari said in his Independence Day broadcast that: “we sell petrol at N161 per litre when same is sold at N168 per litre in Saudi Arabia; N211 per litre in Egypt; N362 per litre in Ghana; N362 per litre in Chad, and N346 per litre in Niger Republic.

    “It does not make sense for petrol to be cheaper in Nigeria than Saudi Arabia,’’

    A cross section of Nigerians, however, criticised the president for making such comparison without considering the minimum wage, standard of living and infrastructure in Saudi Arabia in particular.

    Responding to the critics, the minister said there was nothing wrong in making such comparison.

    “Some people have said that why should we compare ourselves to Saudi Arabia with better infrastructure and higher wages.

    “Our answer to that is very simple. Saudi Arabia has 34 million people while Nigeria has 200 million people.

    “Saudi Arabia produces 10 million barrels of crude oil per day, while Nigeria produces at its best, 2.1 million barrel per day.

    “Their population is about one-sixth of Nigeria’s population and they are blessed with more resources.

    “Therefore, they can afford to pay higher wages and build infrastructure.

    “Our argument must be put in proper perspective.

    “As we have said, whatever money we make from the subsidy removal, we will invest in infrastructure development’’ he said.

    The minister commended organised labour for its understanding and patriotism in suspending its planned strike to protest the fuel price deregulation and the electricity tariff adjustment.

    He noted that the suspension of the strike by the Nigeria Labour Congress, the Trade Union Congress and their affiliates, averted a “national calamity’’.

    Alhaji Mohammed said after spending sleepless nights engaging with organised labour, the two congresses agreed with government that the fuel deregulation was inevitable

    “The moment we lost as much as 60 per cent of our earnings and suffered a kind of shock in crude oil prices, we must deregulate.

    “Between 2006 and 2019 we paid N10.413 trillion in fuel subsidies; an average of N743.8 billion per annum,’’ he lamented.

    “The country right now cannot afford the subsidy regime,’’ the minister stressed.

    He said government agreed with labour that it would facilitate the setting up of many modular refineries and rehabilitate existing regular refineries to cushion the effect of the deregulation.

    He said the Ministry of Petroleum Resources would intensify efforts to ensure that Nigerians could get alternatives such as gas to power their vehicles and machinery.

    Alhaji Mohammed said that the first auto gas station would be inaugurated and opened to public next week in Lagos.

    On electricity tariff adjustment, the minister explained that government agreed with labour to establish a joint committee to investigate and confirm that the price increase did not affect vulnerable Nigerians.

    He said the committee would specifically ascertain and ensure that the price increase did not affect Nigerians who get less than 12 hours of electricity per day.

    Alhaji Mohammed said government would provide five million households with solar power in the next 12 months.

    He said the solar energy programme would benefit at least 25 million people and would create about 250,000 jobs.

    The minister said government was also working toward providing other palliatives to cushion the effect of the tariff adjustment and fuel price deregulation.

  • My salary, allowances as Buhari’s minister not up to what I received as lecturer in Saudi Arabia – Pantami

    My salary, allowances as Buhari’s minister not up to what I received as lecturer in Saudi Arabia – Pantami

    The Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr Isa Ali Pantami, has declared that he had not purchased property anywhere in the world since assuming office as Minister, asserting that he was motivated by patriotism to serve his country.

    He dismissed insinuations that he had procured three houses in Abuja within the period of his appointment and now.

    The Minister in a statement signed by his Media Aide, Uwa Suleiman, said his “salaries and allowances” as a serving Minister are not up to what he earned as a lecturer at the International University Madinah, Saudi Arabia.

    Dr Pantami who challenged an online publication over reports that he procured three houses since his assumed office barely a year ago, maintained that there was no iota of truth in the publication.

    The Minister maintained that he only answered a call to “serve his country as a sign of his patriotism and selfless service.”

    The statement reads: “For the purpose of setting the records straight, the Honourable Minister has not purchased a single property anywhere In the world, in the period he has been in office as a Minister. One of the apartments in the images published is one which the Honourable Minister has occupied since January 2017, more than two years before becoming a minister, while the other one is a house he rented since 17th December 2019. Two of the images are not even known to him.

    “It is worthy of note that as a serving Minister, Dr Pantami’s salaries and allowances fall below his earnings as a Professor at the International University Madinah Saudi Arabia, where he still holds the record of being the first Nigerian to lecture at that level. He only returned to Nigeria out of the zeal to contribute his quota to national development.

    “Dr Pantami is one of the few Nigerians who are driven by nothing, but an unequalled sense of patriotism and selfless service as demonstrated in his act of sacrifice, to answer the call to serve his country as a sign of his patriotism and selfless service.”

  • Covid-19: Saudi Arabia announces 2020 hajj

    Saudi Arabia will allow only a “very limited number” of people already residing inside the kingdom to perform the main Muslim Hajj pilgrimage that begins in late July.

    As the COVID-19 pandemic continues and infection rates increase globally, the pilgrimage will take place “this year with a very limited number of those who want to perform the Hajj from all nationalities residing in Saudi Arabia only,” according to a statement from the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah on Monday.

    The decision aims at ensuring preventive measures and social distancing protocols are observed to limit the spread of COVID-19 and “in accordance with the teachings of Islam in preserving the lives of human beings,” the ministry added.

    It remains unclear how many people will be allowed to perform the Hajj.

    More than two million people perform the annual pilgrimage in the holy city of Mecca every year, including many travelling from abroad.

    One of the five pillars of Islam, the Hajj is a mandatory duty for all Muslims to make at least once in their lifetime if they have the financial and physical means to do so.

    It usually takes place over five days, from the eighth to the 12th day of Dhu al-Hijjah, the last month of the Islamic lunar calendar.

    Since late February, the kingdom, the birthplace of Islam, has suspended the Umrah (minor pilgrimage) to Mecca due to the coronavirus outbreak.

    The Gulf monarchy has the Arab world’s largest number of coronavirus infections with more than 160,000 cases, including 1,307 deaths.

    On Sunday, authorities lifted a nationwide curfew that was imposed to contain the spread of the virus, allowing gatherings up to 50 people.

    However, international flights to and from Saudi Arabia remain suspended.

  • Another 292 stranded Nigerians arrive from Saudi Arabia

    Another 292 stranded Nigerians arrive from Saudi Arabia

    The Federal Government on Tuesday received a batch of 292 stranded Nigerians from Saudi Arabia.

    According to Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Geoffrey Onyeama, the evacuees with a large number of nursing mother and children were flown to Abuja.

    This is coming after the country successfully evacuated Nigerians from United Arab Emirates (265); United Kingdom (253) and the United States (160).

    The latest returnees bring to 970 the total number of stranded Nigerians who have been evacuated.

    Onyeama, via his verified Twitter account, stated that the returnees are doing well and have all settled down in hotels for the mandatory 14-day quarantine.

    “We received 292 evacuees stranded in Saudi Arabia yesterday. The Saudi Government transported them to Abuja. A large number are nursing mothers and children and they are all comfortably settled in hotels under the mandatory 14 days quarantine,” he tweeted.

  • COVID-19: Saudi Arabia partially lifts curfew, maintains lockdown in Mecca

    Saudi Arabia on Sunday began to loosen its nationwide curfew imposed last month to limit an outbreak of the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

    Saudi King Salman ordered the curfew partially lifted starting from Sunday until May 13, allowing people to go out from 9 am (0600 GMT) until 5 pm, the state Saudi news agency SPA reported.

    A 24-hour curfew will, however, remain in place in the holy city of Mecca, the agency added.

    In his decree, the monarch also allowed some businesses, including shopping centres, retail and wholesale stores, and factories to reopen for two weeks, beginning next Wednesday.

    The agency said the latest steps were taken on a recommendation from the health bodies and out of the monarch’s interest to ease restrictions on the public.

    Saudi Arabia, the birthplace of Islam, has suspended congregational prayers in mosques and halted religious journeys to the holy cities of Mecca and Medina as part of strict measures to limit the spread of the coronavirus.

    The country has reported so far a total of 1,699 virus cases and 136 deaths.

  • Saudi Arabia abolishes flogging as penalty

    Saudi Arabia has abolished flogging as a punishment, the supreme court announced, hailing the latest in a series of “human rights advances” made by the king and his powerful son.

    Court-ordered floggings in Saudi Arabia — sometimes extending to hundreds of lashes — have long drawn condemnation from human rights groups.

    But they say the headline legal reforms overseen by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman have brought no let-up in the conservative Islamic kingdom’s crushing of dissent, including through the use of the death penalty.

    The Saudi supreme court said the latest reform was intended to “bring the kingdom into line with international human rights norms against corporal punishment”.

    Formerly the courts could order the flogging of convicts found guilty of offences ranging from extramarital sex and breach of the peace to murder.

    In the future, judges will have to choose between fines and/or jail sentences, or non-custodial alternatives like community service, the court said in a statement seen by AFP on Saturday.

    The most high-profile instance of flogging in recent years was the case of Saudi blogger Raif Badawi who was sentenced to 10 years in prison and 1,000 lashes in 2014 for “insulting” Islam.

    He was awarded the European parliament’s Sakharov human rights prize the following year.

    The abolition of corporal punishment in Saudi Arabia comes just days after the kingdom’s human rights record was again in the spotlight following news of the death from a stroke in custody of leading activist Abullah al-Hamid, 69.

    Hamid was a founding member of the Saudi Civil and Political Rights Association (ACPRA) and was sentenced to 11 years in jail in March 2013, campaigners said.

    He was convicted on multiple charges, including “breaking allegiance” to the Saudi ruler, “inciting disorder” and seeking to disrupt state security, Amnesty International said.

    Criticism of Saudi Arabia’s human rights record has grown since King Salman named his son Prince Mohammed crown prince and heir to the throne in June 2017.

    The October 2018 murder of vocal critic Jamal Khashoggi inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul and the increased repression of dissidents at home have overshadowed the prince’s pledge to modernise the economy and society.

     

  • Saudi Arabia imposes 24-hour curfew in 2 Muslim holy cities

    Saudi Arabia imposed a 24-hour curfew in the Muslim holy cities of Mecca and Medina on Thursday, extending measures to combat the spread of the coronavirus, which has infected more than 1,700 people in the kingdom and killed 16.

    The Interior Ministry said in a statement there were some exceptions, including for essential workers and in order for residents to buy food and access medical care.

    Cars in those cities’ residential districts may only carry one passenger to limit the virus’ transmission, it said.

    The country of 30 million has taken drastic steps to contain the disease, halting international flights, closing most public places and suspending the year-round Umrah Pilgrimage.

    On Tuesday, it asked Muslims to put plans for the annual hajj pilgrimage on hold pending more clarity about the pandemic.

    Restrictions on movement have tightened, with entry and exit to Riyadh, Mecca, Medina and Jeddah heavily restricted.

    Some neighbourhoods in Mecca and Medina were already under full lockdown, but in the rest of those cities, the curfew was previously from 1500 to 0600.

    The eastern oil-producing province of Qatif, where the kingdom’s first coronavirus cases were reported last month among Shi’ite Muslim pilgrims returning from Iran, has been on lockdown for nearly four weeks.

    Saudi Arabia has the most infections and deaths among the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council.

    But public health officials say past experience combating the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) helped prepare the kingdom for the new coronavirus outbreak.

  • Coronavirus: Saudi Arabia asks Muslims to put Hajj plans on hold

    Coronavirus: Saudi Arabia asks Muslims to put Hajj plans on hold

    Saudi Arabia wants Muslims to wait until there is more clarity about the coronavirus pandemic before planning to attend the annual Hajj pilgrimage, the minister for Hajj and Umrah said on state TV on Tuesday.

    Some 2.5 million pilgrims from around the world usually flock to the holiest sites of Islam in Mecca and Medina for the week-long ritual, which is a once-in-a-lifetime duty for every able-bodied Muslim and a major source of income for the kingdom.

    The largest annual gathering of Muslims is scheduled to begin in late July, but the coronavirus outbreak has raised questions about whether it can, or should, go ahead given the risk of spreading the disease further in large gatherings.

    Saudi Arabia has already suspended the smaller, year-round Umrah pilgrimage until further notice, halted all international passenger flights indefinitely and last week blocked entry and exit to several cities, including Mecca and Medina.

    The kingdom has reported 10 deaths among 1,563 cases of coronavirus, which has infected some 800,000 people globally and killed more than 38,000.

    Pilgrimage is big business for Saudi Arabia and the backbone of plans to expand visitor numbers under Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s economic reform agenda.

    Cancelling the Hajj would be unprecedented in modern times, but curbing attendance from high-risk areas has happened before, including in recent years during the Ebola outbreak.

  • Saudi reports first coronavirus death, 205 new cases

    Saudi reports first coronavirus death, 205 new cases

    Saudi Arabia reported its first death related to the novel coronavirus and confirmed 205 new cases on Tuesday, a day after the kingdom imposed a nationwide night-time curfew.

    The new cases bring the total number of coronavirus patients in the country to 767.

    While most of them are in stable condition, three are in a critical state, a Health Ministry spokesman said.

    A 51-year-old Afghan man died on Monday evening in the city of Medina, becoming the kingdom’s first coronavirus fatality.

    A curfew from 7.00 pm to 6.00 am went into effect on Monday as part of efforts to curb the spread of the coronavirus.

    Saudi Arabia suspended international and domestic flights, as well as local transport.

    It has also halted the Muslim Umrah pilgrimage in the holy city of Mecca.

    In Bahrain, a 65–year-old man who suffered from chronic health problems has died as a result of the coronavirus, becoming the Gulf state’s third Covid-19 fatality.

    It comes two days after a 51-year-old woman, who was recently brought back from Iran, died on Sunday.

    There are at least 339 cases in Bahrain.