Friday, May 26, 2017

I love dates. Yum.

Shoppers buy dates at a shop in Jeddah ahead of the fasting month of Ramadan.

25 May 2017


Jeddah: Saturday, May 27, (click here) is the start of holy month of Ramadan, the Supreme Court announced on Thursday.
The crescent moon was not sighted on Thursday and so fasting will start Saturday.
“The moon will be out/disappear on the entire Islamic world, Thursday and, based on this, there is no crescent,” astronomer Khalid Al-Zaaq, a member of the Arab Union for Astronomy and Space Sciences said in a series of tweets.
He added that this year’s Ramadan will begin and end on a Saturday, which makes it a 29-day month. “(Ramadan) will have four Fridays,” he added.
UAE also announced Saturday the first day of Ramadan as the moon-sighting committee failed to spot the new moon crescent on Thursday night.
Qatari Ministry of Endowments and Islamic Affairs said on its Twitter account that “Due to the lack of a moon sighting this night, the committee announces that investigation will continue tomorrow.”
Kuwait, Yemen, Bahrain, Iraq, Lebanon and Ghana have, too, declared Saturday the first day of Ramadan.
More than 1.6 billion Muslims around the world will mark the month, during which believers abstain from eating, drinking, smoking and having sex from dawn until sunset.


24 May 2017
By Mohammed al-Sulami

Jeddah: A group of Shiite scholars (click here) in the Eastern Province has condemned recent attacks on the Kingdom’s security officers and citizens. In a statement, eight senior clerics expressed concern over the violent incidents in Awwamiyah, condemning terrorism and the use of weapons.
They demanded terrorists put down their weapons and surrender.
They said the use of violence is neither legal nor is it a feasible way to solve problems. Terrorism only complicates matters, undermines stability and threatens the interests of the country and its people, they added.
They emphasized that the country’s security and governance are the responsibility of the state, and called on young people to abandon violence and resort to peace and dialogue to demand their rights....


The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is taking no chances with it's NGOs. It is distributing important meals to the Syrians in Turkey and along the border while remaining as safe as possible.

I think the Saudi National Campaign is setting a good example. If the NGOs cannot stay safe while delivering food to the Syrians, who is going to continue to be compassionate? The NGOs should first secure their safety in recognition of the importance of the missions they carry out.


26 May 2017

Jeddah: The office of the Saudi National Campaign (click here) to Support Brothers in Syria has signed an agreement in Turkey with Merkez Market to provide 300,000 iftar meals to fasting Syrian refugees in Turkey and those displaced in Syria via the Ramadan campaign “God will reward you the same.”
The total value of the meals amounts to over SR3 million ($800,000).
The head of the campaign’s office in Turkey, Khaled Al-Salama, said the best available food items have been chosen with the highest standards and specifications.
He said the office will provide the meals to Syrian refugees in Turkey and camps in Syria along the Syrian-Turkish border, in addition to displaced populations in the northern Syrian provinces of Aleppo and Idlib....


Saudi Arabia is really taking the lead in providing important humanitarian supplies and services to those in need in the region.

Yemen has been a place of concern for the Kingdom, both, in the health of the people, but, also the security of Saudi Arabia itself. The Houtis still control Sanaa. This is simply compassion that surpasses any expectations.

We all should be grateful for the generosity and dedication of Saudi Arabia to improve the lives of so many in the face of violence against the people of the Kingdom. The Kingdom is obviously interested in peace and not war.

24 May 2017

Riyadh: Dr. Abdullah Al-Rabeeah, (click here) adviser to the Royal Court and head of the King Salman Center for Relief and Humanitarian Assistance (KSRelief), inaugurated on Tuesday a convoy aimed at combating and treating the cholera outbreak in Yemen.

The 550-ton convoy is carrying medicine and supplies needed to diagnose and treat Yemenis suffering from the disease.

Al-Rabeeah thanked King Salman for directing and guiding the center to urgently respond to the need to combat and contain the outbreak.
“The inauguration for this convoy today comes in execution of the directives of the wise leadership to fight the outbreak of cholera, and as such the center has formed a rapid-response team to put in place programs for rapid intervention, diagnosis, treatment and containment of cholera, as well as prevention,” he said, adding that coordination is ongoing with specialized agencies and local partners and organizations to provide medicines, antibiotics and other needs.
Al-Rabeeah said the 25-truck convoy contains 700,000 units of IVs and required devices, and 500,000 doses of antibiotics, which will help treat 59,000 people throughout Yemen....