MADINAH - Police patrols arrested a man who allegedly assaulted a South African woman who was on an Umrah visit.
Hafiz Yousef of South Africa said he left Makkah with his family heading to Madinah last Wednesday. He stopped at a petrol station for prayers. His wife went into the women's toilets and he shortly heard her screaming and crying for help.
Yousef and his son rushed into the toilets and found a man trying to assault his wife.
When the attacker saw Yousef and his son, he ran into a toilet and locked the door.
Yousef and his son forced the door open and fought with the man, sustaining injuries in the process.
The man escaped by slipping off his clothes, revealing another set of clothing underneath, and fled in a car.
Yousef was able to write down the license plate number of the fleeing car and he informed the highway security patrols, who were able to arrest the man shortly afterward.
Yousef said he waived his right to take legal action against the culprit and thanked security patrols for their swift action.
The security patrols found drugs in the man's car and he was referred to the concerned authorities.
JEDDAH - Makkah Emir Prince Khaled Al-Faisal was briefed Tuesday by Abdullah Al-Hussayen, minister of water and electricity and chairman of the board of directors of the National Water Company (NWC), on numerous projects the company implemented in different parts of the region.
After completing the installation of a sewage system in Al-Sharayeh neighborhood of Makkah, the NWC has begun working on other projects.
Over the next five years, the company will complete a project to install 157,000 sewage connections in the holy city.
Prince Khaled was briefed on the company's projects in Taif to increase the storage capacity of water to 1.2 million cubic meters from 630,000 cubic meters. Over 97,000 sewage connections have been given to households in Taif covering a large part of highly-populated areas.
In Jeddah, the NWC completed the installation of 25,000 sewage connections and will give a further 207,000 connections by the end of 2015.
It also began construction on a waste water treatment plant, the largest in the Middle East, with a capacity of 500,000 cubic meters.
More than 40 percent of highly-populated areas have benefited from the increase in pumping desalinated water to homes. The company is planning to increase the strategic storage of water to 6 million cubic meters over the next few years. The current storage capacity stands at 1.5 million cubic meters. The company also reduced the level of surface water by 90 percent in 18 Jeddah neighborhoods including Briman, Quwaizah, Kilo 14, Al-Matbouli and Al-Olya. More efforts will be exerted to reduce surface water levels in other neighborhoods in the future.
The minister also presented Prince Khaled with a global award for the best environmental project won by the NWC for drying up the Al-Musk Lake in Jeddah and another global award after the company was ranked the second best global water company.
MAKKAH - A number of shops in Makkah are still selling tobacco products and cigarettes despite a ban by local authorities, residents say.
They said a number of shops are also selling cigarettes to youngsters and most of the shop operators are illegal residents. Makkah is a sacred city and has a special place in the hearts of Muslims and therefore should not be polluted with smoke, they said.
Residents said more than 80 percent of shops in the city's Al-Otaibiyah neighborhood sell cigarettes because they are not being monitored by local authorities.
Some shop operators said fathers and grown-ups send their children to buy cigarettes for them.
A source at the Makkah municipality said there is continual monitoring of shops to ensure no cigarettes or tobacco products are sold.
He asked residents to inform the municipality of any violating shops, who will be fined according to local regulations.
MAKKAH - Secret police in Makkah succeeded in busting a drug dealer in the Al-Ghasala neighborhood carrying more than 600 drug pills. According to police sources, the drug dealer was holding his family hostage inside the apartment when they received the call for help.
Police moved to the location and managed to subdue and arrest the suspect. Police will soon transfer the case to the Prosecution and Investigation Commission for further investigations.
Madinah Gov. Prince Faisal bin Salman opened here yesterday a scientific forum of the Saudi Historical Society to discuss matters related to the history of Madinah.
The forum is organized by King Abdul Aziz Foundation (Darah) as parts of celebrations marking the selection of Madinah as the capital of Islamic culture for 2013.
Twenty-seven papers on the history of Madinah before and after the advent of Islam will be discussed during the forum.
Abdullah Al-Zaydan, president of the society welcomed Prince Faisal and other participants while Ayedh Al-Zahrani spoke about the importance of Madinah being the lighthouse of Islam and center of its civilization.
Fahd Al-Samari, secretary-general of Darah, thanked Prince Faisal for opening the forum and urged researchers attending the event to dig out more information about Madinah's history.
The Ministry of Justice has suspended all land sales in the area designated for the expansion of the Prophet's Mosque in Madinah.
Mohammed bin Abdulkarim Al-Isa, minister of justice, chief justice of the General Court and the first justice notary of Madinah, said the decision was taken to prevent any future disputes involving owners and businesspeople.
Al-Eqtisadiah was able to obtain a copy of the decision, based on a telegram from the minister of finance dated March 17, which refers to the decree approving the expansion by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah.
The suspension covers all sales, merging and division of real estate in the area up to the East Ring Road. Al-Isa instructed the court and the Justice Notary to implement the decision.
Abdul Ghani Al-Ansari, chairman of the tourism committee at the Madinah Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said the suspension should not be rushed. He said property owners in the expansion area need some clarity and transparency from the Development Authority of Madinah and the Ministry of Finance to determine the location where construction will take place. Owners also need to get information on when the project will start and end.
Al-Ansari said owners need to identify alternatives if their real estate and hotels are going to be part of the expansion. The private sector was a partner and should be informed and involved in the decision-making process, he added.
According to reports earlier this month, the expansion will see the mosque accommodate 1.6 million worshippers. It will take two years to complete. Final details are yet to be announced.
Two injured, 20 vehicles damaged in planned explosion at project site
Saudi Gazette report
MAKKAH — Two people were injured and 20 vehicles damaged following a planned explosion in Makkah’s third ring road project.
The explosion, which occurred in the Al-Umrah neighborhood, caused rocks to scatter around and cause severe damage.
Civil Defense, Red Crescent teams and police explosion experts attended the scene.
Al-Umrah Road was closed to traffic and lines of vehicles extended for kilometers.
Spokesman for Makkah Police, Lt. Col. Abdulmuhsen Al-Mayman said the explosion, which was carried out due to construction work in the area, resulted in rocks flying as far as half a kilometer away.
Citizens ask that such explosions should be carefully planned, especially near pedestrian paths.
Okaz/Saudi Gazette learned that the explosives inside the project were not properly affixed, which caused the accident. The project was temporarily halted until further notice.
The hotel occupancy rate in Makkah increased by up to 30 percent due to a lower supply and higher demand, said a Makkah Chamber of Commerce and Industry official.
Hisham Afifi, member of the Tourism and Hotels Committee, said the ongoing demolition works in the city has put many lodgings near the Grand Mosque’s Central Zone out of business. The number of visitors and pilgrims to Makkah has increased as the Umrah season and a school holiday coincided. This contributed to an increased occupancy rate, especially in hotels near the Grand Mosque.
“Many hotels started renovation and restoration works after the last Haj in preparation for this period and the following holidays, Ramadan and Haj seasons,” Afifi said. “Some establishments completed their maintenance work before the start of the Umrah season, but others missed out.”
Afifi agreed that prices had gone up at the remaining hotels near the Grand Mosque after many had been demolished. The large number of pilgrims and visitors tempted some hotels to raise the reasonable prices the Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities had set, he said.
The Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities (SCTA) is developing a museum embodying Makkah’s rich history at Maabida Palace, said Prince Sultan bin Salman, president of SCTA on Sunday.
“We are also building a number of new regional museums,” he added. Prince Sultan made these comments after meeting Abdul Maqsood Khoja at his house in Jeddah. He honored Khoja for donating nine rare manuscripts to SCTA and commended his desire to preserve the Saudi national heritage.
“The books donated by Khoja including a manuscript of the Holy Qur’an are very valuable,” the prince said, adding, “They represent a precious gift for SCTA and will be preserved at the new Makkah Museum.” He said the SCTA eceived 14,000 pieces of antiquities from inside and outside the Kingdom.
“We hope more citizens will donate their relics to SCTA in order for us to take care of them properly.” Khoja commended Prince Sultan’s efforts to boost domestic tourism and preserve the Kingdom’s heritage. He also extended his appreciation to the SCTA for hosting Saudi heritage shows at major world museums.
The manuscripts presented by Khoja to SCTA include one related to Sahih Bukhari dating back to 1166 Hijri and written by Mahmoud Al-Eskarari, a book on the Hanafi school of thought written by Ibrahim Al-Halbi in 923 Hijri and Islamic edicts written by Muhammad Al-Khalidi in 969 Hijri.
This cannot be undone and I am sure it will be greatly appreciated.
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