Author: Editorial Team
SEOUL — A Chinese dissident has been detained in South Korea after he made a daring 30-hour escape from China by sea to the country, his fourth attempt to flee authorities in his homeland and reunite with his family who have been granted asylum in Canada. Dong Guangping, a former police officer who has faced years of imprisonment and detention for his activism, fled using an inflatable boat and was picked up by the coast guard in Korean waters on Monday night. South Korea’s coast guard told the BBC that Dong is under investigation for suspected immigration violations and his…
MINA — On behalf of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman, Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman received Eid Al-Adha well-wishers on Wednesday at the Royal Court in Mina Palace. The reception included royal family members, Grand Mufti Sheikh Saleh Al-Fawzan, senior scholars and sheikhs, high-level guests from Gulf Cooperation Council countries, ministers, commanders of military sectors participating in this year’s Hajj operations and leaders of Saudi scouting groups serving pilgrims. The ceremony began with the recitation of verses from the Holy Qur’an. During the event, the Crown Prince delivered a speech congratulating citizens, residents and…
The Prophet’s Mosque welcomed worshippers and visitors on the Day of Arafah amid an integrated system of services provided by the General Authority for the Care of the Affairs of the Grand Mosque and the Prophet’s Mosque to help facilitate worship and create a suitable spiritual atmosphere. Since the early morning hours, the Prophet’s Mosque and its courtyards witnessed the arrival of large numbers of worshippers and visitors from various nationalities, many of whom were devoted to spending the blessed day in prayer, supplication, and Quran recitation. To support the flow of visitors, the authority mobilized its operational and service resources, including…
BANGKOK — Rescuers in Laos on Wednesday found five villagers alive inside a flooded cave where they were trapped for a week following heavy rain and landslides. Two other villagers who were with them are missing, Lao and Thai rescue teams involved in the operation said. “We’ve found 5 people alive and all safe. There are still 2 people we are searching for,” Laotian rescue group Rescue Volunteer for People said in a social media post. “At 4:30 pm, we found our target. We found five people. We are looking for the other two,” added Thai rescuer Kengkach Bangkawong in…
MINA — The Ministry of Interior has penalized five Saudi citizens and five expatriates for violating Hajj regulations and instructions by transporting 34 individuals to Makkah without permits to perform Hajj. Hajj security forces apprehended them at the entrances to Makkah. The ministry issued administrative decisions through its seasonal administrative committees with regard to the penalties against them. These include fines of up to SR100,000 for the transporters and those involved in the violations, in addition to imprisonment and publicizing their names in the local media at their personal expense. Fines of up to SR20,000 were also imposed on those…
King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSrelief) distributed 352 food baskets to vulnerable families in Khan Younis, Gaza Strip, benefiting 2,112 individuals. Delivered through the Saudi fundraising campaign to aid the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip, this initiative continues to provide essential nutritional support to mitigate economic hardships and enhance community resilience amid the ongoing crisis. Source: Riyadh Daily
MAKKAH—Saudi Minister of Interior and Chairman of the Supreme Hajj Committee Prince Abdulaziz bin Saud bin Naif held talks with interior ministers of several countries at the ministry’s headquarters in Makkah on Wednesday. They include Federal Minister for Interior and Narcotics Control of Pakistan Mohsin Naqvi, Iraqi Minister of Interior Lt. Gen. Abdulamir Al-Shammari, Lebanese Minister of Interior and Municipalities Ahmad Al-Hajjar, and Kuwait’s Minister of Interior Sheikh Fahad Yousef Saud Al-Sabah. During the meeting, they discussed ways to further enhance security cooperation and coordination between Saudi Arabia and these countries. A number of topics of mutual interest were also…
LIMASSOL — Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs Prince Faisal bin Farhan met with External Affairs Minister of India Dr. Subrahmanyam Jaishankar in Limassol, Cyprus on Wednesday. The meeting was held on the sidelines of the informal Foreign Affairs Council meeting. During the meeting, the ministers discussed bilateral relations between their countries and ways to further strengthen and develop them. The meeting also addressed the latest regional and international developments and included an exchange of views on those developments. Saudi Ambassador to Cyprus Fawaz Alshubaili attended the meeting. Source: Saudi Gazette
The General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT) announced today that the total number of pilgrims for Hajj 2026 reached 1,707,301, with international pilgrims arriving through various entry points making up 1,546,655, while domestic pilgrims, comprising citizens and residents, reached 160,646. According to GASTAT statistical results for the 2026 Hajj season, the total headcount of domestic and international pilgrims comprised 893,396 male pilgrims and 813,905 female pilgrims. Regarding statistics on international pilgrims, GASTAT outlined that 1,485,729 arrived through air entry points, 54,429 arrived through road entry points, and 6,497 arrived through sea entry points. GASTAT relied on the Ministry of Interior’s administrative records as its…
JEDDAH—Saudi Arabia has provided $150 million in urgent support in the form of petroleum derivatives to cover the diesel and fuel oil needs of power plants across Yemen’s governorates. This initiative comes as an extension of Saudi Arabia’s support for the Yemeni people in line with the directives of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman and Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman, and the follow-up of Minister of Defense Prince Khalid bin Salman. The support, channeled through the Saudi Development and Reconstruction Program for Yemen, aims to bolster the stability of the electricity grid, improve the…