Government | Sunday 23 August, 2015 2:22 am

Mataaf to have four floors by Sept.

The Grand Mosque will have four floors of mataaf  (the area where Haj and Umrah pilgrims circle the Kaaba during the tawaf ritual) by early September. The construction of the third floor has been completed, said Sultan Al-Qurashi, projects manager at the General Presidency for the Affairs...

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Government | Saturday 22 August, 2015 2:25 pm

Poll centers can handle 4m voters

The Kingdom has set up 1,263 centers in 284 municipalities that can handle 4 million voters for the Dec. 12 municipal council elections. These centers will open today to allow for the registration of voters until Sept. 21, from 5 p.m. until 10 p.m. except Fridays. Candidates will be able to...

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Government | Thursday 20 August, 2015 2:46 am

Pilgrims sans permit, facilitators face heavy fines, imprisonment

The Ministry of Interior has announced that heavy penalties await pilgrims who try to perform Haj next month without the necessary permits. On its Twitter account, the ministry said that pilgrims without permits shall be punished by imprisonment for two months and a fine of SR25,000...

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Government | Wednesday 19 August, 2015 2:02 am

Prince Khaled asks governors to fix ceiling for dowry

Makkah Emir Prince Khaled Al-Faisal, who is also adviser to Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, has issued directives to all regional governors in the province to hold urgent meetings with tribal elders to finalize a document fixing a ceiling for dowry and discuss ways to end extravagant weddings,...

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Government | Tuesday 18 August, 2015 3:36 am

Over 39,500 register in Haj portal on first day

 As many as 39,594 Saudis and expatriates have registered in the Haj Ministry's e-gate for domestic pilgrims only eight hours after it was officially launched on Sunday. According to the ministry's undersecretary Hussain Al-Sharif, more than 18,000 pilgrims have completed their...

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Government | Monday 17 August, 2015 3:00 am

Registration for low-­cost Haj begins

Residents who want to benefit from the government’s low­cost Haj scheme can now register themselves on the localhaj.haj.gov.sa website. Because of the limited quota, the registration should be done early. The process began on Sunday (Dul Qaada 1) and packages available start from...

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Government | Saturday 15 August, 2015 5:50 am

Riyadh governor to open Top 100 Saudi Brands awards ceremony

Riyadh Gov. Prince Faisal bin Bandar will inaugurate the Top 100 Saudi Brands awards ceremony in the Kingdom at the Riyadh Marriott Hotel at 8:30 p.m. on Oct. 5. Usamah M. Al-Kurdi, president of Alagat Company, the organizing firm, said that the top 100 Saudi brands in the Kingdom are...

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Government | Saturday 15 August, 2015 4:47 am

Local Haj likely to get 40% cheaper

Prices for local Haj packages are expected to drop between 30 and 40 percent this year, according to an official at the Ministry of Haj. Most local Haj operators have begun to change their packages after the ministry announced the launch of the online portal for local pilgrims. According to the ...

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Government | Wednesday 12 August, 2015 5:28 am

300,000 e-visas issued to foreign Haj pilgrims

The Haj Ministry, in cooperation with the Foreign Ministry, has issued more than 300,000 Haj visas electronically to Haj pilgrims from abroad, local media said on Tuesday.  Issa Rowaas, Haj Ministry director-general and supervisor of the electronic portal, was quoted as saying that the...

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Government | Wednesday 12 August, 2015 5:23 am

Surveillance cameras to monitor new mosques

All new and larger mosques in Jeddah must install internal and external surveillance cameras under new directives announced by the Ministry of Islamic Affairs. These measures will allow the ministry to monitor all activities and ensure no extremist speeches and sermons are being delivered,...

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