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Tag: Saudi Arabia

  • La Liga Giants to Battle For Spanish Super Cup In Saudi Arabia

    La Liga Giants to Battle For Spanish Super Cup In Saudi Arabia

    Laliga giants Real Madrid, Barcelona as well as Athletic Bilbao and Real Sociedad will take part in the Spanish Super Cup to be held in Saudi Arabia in January 2021.

    This is according to Spanish publication Diario AS.

    Madrid and Barcelona will feature in the four-team tournament as Laliga champions and runners-up respectively.

    READ ALSO: Frank Lampard praises Edouard Mendy ahead of goalkeeper’s Rennes reunion

    While Bilbao and Sociedad will be in action as finalists of last season’s Copa del Rey.

    The semifinals will be played in Jeddah on January 13 and 14 while the final will then be played on the 16th.

    Last season was the first edition of the revised Super Cup played in Saudi Arabia and it saw Real Madrid win the trophy. 

    Barcelona were beaten by Atletico Madrid in the semifinal 3-2, a result which ended up costing Ernesto Valverde his job. 

    Madrid beat Valencia in the other semifinal and then went on to beat city rivals Atletico in the final. 

    Despite the coronavirus pandemic, the RFEF remain keen on playing the Super Cup in Saudi Arabia this January and as such are pushing ahead with arrangements. 

  • Fuel Price: “It looks like the president is defending fraud” – TUC reacts as Buhari compares Nigeria with Saudi Arabia

    Fuel Price: “It looks like the president is defending fraud” – TUC reacts as Buhari compares Nigeria with Saudi Arabia

    The Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC) has condemned President Muhammadu Buhari’s comparison of Nigeria and Saudi Arabia.

    President Buhari during his Independence Day speech had compared the oil price in Nigeria to those of neighbouring countries and even Saudi Arabia, stating that it made no sense for oil to be cheaper in Nigeria than other oil-producing nations.

    According to him, “In the circumstances, a responsible government must face realities and take tough decisions.”

    He also revealed that petroleum prices in Nigeria are to be adjusted. It now sells at N161 per litre.

    Reacting, the President of the TUC, Quadri Olaleye, in a statement, said Nigeria should never be compared with other countries, adding that the country had achieved nothing despite six decades of oil exploration.

    Olaleye said successive governments had looted, laundered and wasted the country’s resources while patronising hospitals outside the country.

    “It is like comparing black and white and this is very bad.

    “It is so ridiculous to compare Nigeria with Saudi, Dubai, or any other country, not even in Africa because with the natural resources that we have, we could rule the world, but government is not interested.

    “There is no need for this comparison because it looks like the president is defending fraud and the impoverishment of Nigerians.

    “The truth is Nigeria has achieved nothing with all the money made from oil since over six decades of oil exploration in commercial quality. Absolutely nothing.

    “All successive leaderships have done is loot, launder and buy properties in foreign land.

    “So, if the president is defending the hike in pump price, what does he want to do with the surplus they will make from the hike.

    “I am really sure that they will come up with the same old story of providing infrastructure when Our roads are nothing but death traps.

    “Our leaders are not patriotic at all. In Saudi Arabia now, roads, water, and to some extent, jobs are not big issues.

    “But then on the other hand, Nigerians contend with estimated bills because power firms had refused to provide meters,” he said.

  • 292 Nigerians arrive in Abuja from Saudi Arabia

    No fewer than 292 Nigerians have arrived in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, from Saudi Arabia, The PUNCH reports.

    It was gathered that their flight arrived late Tuesday at the Nnamdi Azikwe International Airport, Abuja.

    Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, confirmed this on Wednesday via his Twitter handle.

    He said a chunk of the returnees were nursing mothers and children, adding that they have been camped in hotels to observe the 14-day compulsory quarantine supervised by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control.

    “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 wrote.

    Meanwhile, the minister has said Nigerians in France, who plan to fly to Cotonou in Benin Republic and then access the country via its land border can do so.

    He stated this during a briefing by the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 in Abuja on Tuesday evening.

    Onyeama, however, said the country would absorb evacuees based on the resources available for their 14-day mandatory quarantine.

    “If they have already bought their tickets and have boarded or about to board the flight, when they get to Cotonou, we will as in the past liaise with our Charge d’Affaires, and look at the capacity available to process them from Cotonou. But there’s certainly no guarantee that they would’ve immediate access to the country until such a time as they can be absorbed,” he stated.

  • Covid-19: Pray at home during Ramadan- Saudi Arabia

    Covid-19: Pray at home during Ramadan- Saudi Arabia

    Saudi Arabia’s highest religious body, the Council of Senior Scholars, urged Muslims worldwide to pray at home during Ramadan if their countries require social distancing to curb the spread of the coronavirus, state news agency SPA reported on Sunday.

    The holy fasting month of Ramadan begins later this week. During the month, believers usually break their fast with families and friends and perform an evening prayer, known as Taraweeh, in large gatherings at mosques.

    “Muslims shall avoid gatherings, because they are the main cause of the spread of infection…and shall remember that preserving the lives of people is a great act that brings them closer to God,” it said in a statement.

    The kingdom’s Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdulaziz Al al-Sheikh on Friday expressed the same sentiment, saying that Muslim prayers during Ramadan and for the subsequent Eid al-Fitr feast should be performed at home if the coronavirus outbreak continues.

    Saudi Arabia has reported 8,274 cases of COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by the new coronavirus, and 92 deaths so far, the highest among the six Gulf Arab states where the total has reached 24,374 with 156 deaths.

    The Saudi government in mid-March stopped people performing their five daily prayers and the weekly Friday prayer inside mosques as part of efforts to limit the spread of the coronavirus.

    Last week, the Prophet’s Mosque in the holy city of Medina said it was banning events that dispense evening meals in the mosque to those in need during Ramadan to break their daily fast.

  • Saudi Arabia to fine people up to $133,000 for hiding health details on entry

    Saudi Arabia to fine people up to $133,000 for hiding health details on entry

    Saudi Arabia said on Monday that it would impose a fine of up to 500,000 riyals (133,000 dollars) on people who do not disclose their health-related information and travel details at entry points.

    This came as the Gulf state works to prevent the spread of coronavirus.

    The kingdom on Sunday imposed a temporary lock-down on its eastern oil-producing province of Qatif, where the majority of the 15 individuals diagnosed with the disease reside.

    Some have failed to disclose traveling to Iran to the authorities upon returning to Saudi Arabia via other Gulf Arab states.

    Saudi Arabia suspended travel with nine countries including neighbouring Arab states on Monday and said that legal action would be taken against any citizen travelling to Iran, which reported 237 deaths from the virus on Monday.

    The kingdom said most of the individuals with coronavirus had returned from Iran or Iraq — home to Shi’ite Muslim shrines — or interacted with people who visited the Islamic Republic.

    “All the travelers coming to the kingdom by international flights, managers and workers of other transportation means have to respect local and international health directives,” said a statement from the kingdom’s public prosecutor.

    A fine of up to 500,000 riyals will be imposed on people who do not comply, it said, adding that transport professionals will be held responsible for any fallout from their violations.

    Authorities in Saudi Arabia, on Monday also asked imams to deliver on Friday prayer sermons in less than 15 minutes.

    All Gulf Arab states have recorded infections.

    The UAE, a major regional business hub and transit point for passengers to Asia, announced 14 new coronavirus cases on Monday, bringing the total number of people infected to 59.

    Of the new cases, there were four Emiratis and three Italians, said a health ministry statement.

    Oman reported two new cases on Monday to bring the total number of people diagnosed with the disease to 18.

    Qatar, which has recorded 15 infections, followed other Gulf countries by announcing it was suspending schools and universities from March 10 to prevent the spread of the disease.

    Bahrain closed down a unit in a major hospital in Manama after a medical intern tested positive for the virus, state news agency BNA reported on Monday, citing the health ministry.

    It said authorities also halted travel by Bahraini officials abroad until further notice.

    The country has diagnosed 95 individuals with the virus.

  • Coronavirus: Saudi Arabia bars citizens, residents from umrah pilgrimage

    Coronavirus: Saudi Arabia bars citizens, residents from umrah pilgrimage

    Saudi Arabia on Wednesday suspended the year-round “umrah” pilgrimage to the holy cities of Mecca and Medina over coronavirus fears, the interior ministry said.

    The Gulf state has decided “to suspend umrah temporarily for citizens and residents in the kingdom”, the ministry said in a statement carried by the official Saudi Press Agency.

    The decision comes after Saudi Arabia last week suspended visas for the pilgrimage and barred citizens from the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council from entering two of Islam’s holiest cities.

  • Coronavirus: Saudi Arabia suspends visas for pilgrims

    Coronavirus: Saudi Arabia suspends visas for pilgrims

    Thousands of Nigerians are set to be affected as the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has suspended visas for pilgrims wishing to visit Mecca.

    The move was part of attempts to curb the spread of Coronavirus, AFP reports.

    The foreign ministry said on Thursday it suspended entry to the Kingdom for the purpose of Umrah (lesser hajj) and visiting the Prophet’s Mosque temporarily.

    It said it was also suspending visas for tourists from countries where the new virus is a “danger”.

    Even as the number of fresh cases declines at the epicenter of the disease in China, there has been a sudden increase in parts of Asia, Europe, and the Middle East.

    Iran has emerged as a major hotspot in the region, where 15 people have succumbed to the disease — officially known as COVID-19.

    The Gulf states of Kuwait and Bahrain have also announced additional cases this week.

    Daybreak reports that in 2019, no fewer than 65, 000 Nigerians performed the hajj.

    While the Federal Government budgeted over N500m for pilgrimage in 2020, state governments are believed to spend more on sponsoring persons for hajj.

    The temporary visa ban only affects those planning to go for the lesser hajj for now. The hajj itself is expected to take place in July.

  • Saudi Arabia suspends travel of citizens, residents to China

    Saudi Arabia suspends travel of citizens, residents to China

    Saudi Arabia has suspended travel to China for both citizens and non-Saudi residents of the kingdom, State News Agency said on Thursday.

    Citizens, who break the suspension would be held accountable, SPA sai, while foreign residents would not be allowed back into the country if they traveled to China.

    Meanwhile, Chinese authorities said the death toll from the coronavirus reached 563 across the country with 28,018 people confirmed infected.

    China’s National Health Commission said 73 people had died over a 24-hour interval.

    The virus has spread to about two dozen countries since first being identified in December, prompting the World Health Organisation to declare a global emergency.

    Countries around the world have been flying their citizens out of the central Chinese city of Wuhan, the epicentre of the disease.

    The coronavirus broke out at a seafood market in Wuhan that reportedly sold exotic animals for consumption, similar to the outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS).

    SARS – a disease that infected 8,000 people and killed 800 globally between 2002 and 2003, and also began in China – was linked to the consumption of civet cats, another exotic meat.

    The coronavirus belongs to the same family of viruses.

  • Saudi Arabia pledges more humanitarian support to Nigeria

    Saudi Arabia pledges more humanitarian support to Nigeria

    Saudi Arabia’s Ambassador to Nigeria, Adnan Bostaji says his country will continue to offer humanitarian assistance to Nigeria especially in the health Sector.

    Bostaji made the pledge in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday in Abuja after receiving a Humanitarian Award for his works in Africa.

    The honour was bestowed on him

    by the Nigeria Festivals of Award.

    He said that the award was a translation of the humanitarian aid that Saudi was providing to Nigeria and other countries across the world.

    The envoy said that in 2020, the embassy would take more of its already existing health campaign, in the area of eye treatment and eye operation to other parts of the country so that every Nigerian would benefit.

    “This award means that the historical ties between both countries are very strong and it is a way to enhance the assistance more and more.

    “Based on the kingdom’s interest to do more and aid the Nigerian citizens in humanitarian activities, the medical campaign has been held in Nasarawa and Oyo states.

    “The bottomline is to treat eye patients with glaucoma and cataract and to do a number of operations.

    “The Kingdom does not differentiate between ethnic groups of Nigeria.

    ” It gives everybody on the same footing and that is why very soon, we will move over to some South Eastern states to show that the Kingdom is very objective.

    “We are expecting the next campaign in February and March and that would be focusing on the South Eastern states.

    “The reason it has not been done yet is because the embassy has to collaborate with state governments to see which states have the proper hospitals to handle the operations and medical campaign,” Bostaji said.

    He thanked organisers of the award for recognising his contributions to humanitarianism through the embassy.

    According to him, the award will further spur the embassy to more assistance.

    He expressed delight to be the first ambassador and foreigner to be given the award.

    Speaking earlier, Mrs Abike Dabiri-Erewa, Chairman/CEO, Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM) congratulated Bostaji on the award.

    She praised him for his role in strengthening the bilateral ties between Saudi Arabia and Nigeria.

    Abike-Dabiri said that the award was a well-deserved one considering the various kind of support Nigeria had received from Saudi Arabia.

    She also praised the ambassador for his role in securing the release of Zainab Aliyu, a Nigerian who was apprehended by the Saudi Arabian authorities in 2018 for alleged drug trafficking.

    Nigeria Festival Awards is meant to celebrate individuals, groups, and organisations that have contributed immensely toward the standardisation of activities globally. (NAN)