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#GeoHeadlines 06 AM | 5 July 2022 | #GeoNews

RIYADH: The Kiswa of the Kaaba will be handed over to the senior keeper of the sacred building on Dhu Al-Hijjah 10, the president of the General Presidency for the Affairs of the Two Holy Mosques announced on Monday.

The Kiswa will be handed over on the first day of Eid Al-Adha and a new covering will replace it on the first of Muharram, the beginning of the new Islamic year.

Sheikh Abdulrahman Al-Sudais said the Kingdom’s leadership is proactive in everything that raises the level of services provided at the two holy mosques, and that the utmost attention is paid to the Kaaba and its Kiswa.

He added that the Kaaba is draped in a new Kiswa every year due to the sanctity of the building.

On Sunday, the president announced that all preparations have been finalized to cover the Kaaba with the Kiswa this year.

The Kiswa is made from raw silk dyed black and is decorated with Quranic verses that are embroidered onto the cloth with gold-plated thread.

The cover was sewn at the King Abdulaziz Complex for Holy Kaaba Kiswa, in accordance with the highest standards, Al-Sudais said.

Al-Sudais also inaugurated a campaign to facilitate pilgrims’ access to Zamzam water during their Hajj rituals in Arafat.

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RIYADH: Saudi Arabia announced Monday it was disbursing billions of dollars directly to citizens to ease the effects of inflation amid growing online expressions of frustration over rising prices.

"A generous royal order was issued approving the allocation of financial support in the amount of 20 billion riyals (around $5.3 billion) to face the repercussions of rising prices globally," the official Saudi Press Agency reported, attributing the decision to King Salman.

Roughly half that amount would come via direct cash transfers to social security beneficiaries, the SPA report said.

Earlier on Monday, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman "stressed the need to take into account the neediest citizens in the face of international developments that resulted in rising costs of some basic needs", a separate SPA report said.

Chairing a meeting of the kingdom’s economic affairs council, Prince Mohammed, reportedly made the point that government offices must respond to global supply chain issues and rising prices to protect consumers’ interests.

Saudi Arabia, the world’s top oil exporter, has not been hit as hard by inflation as other countries in the region.

The most recent consumer price index for Saudi Arabia showed an annual increase of 2.2 percent in May, with prices up 4.2 percent for food and beverages and four percent for transport.

Nevertheless, the kingdom’s tightly controlled social media landscape has featured more frequent griping about rising prices in recent weeks, including Twitter hashtags calling for a boycott of eggs and a well-known dairy company.

Saudi Arabia’s economy has generally performed well this year, especially since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine sent energy prices soaring.

GDP is expected to grow by 7.6 percent in 2022, the International Monetary Fund said in April.

In early May, the Gulf monarchy reported its fastest economic growth rate in a decade, as a surging oil sector fuelled a 9.6 percent rise in the first quarter over the same period of 2021.

Saudi Arabia’s announcement came as the United Arab Emirates similarly said it was doubling the budget for its social security programme to 28 billion dirhams (about $7.6 billion) after a rise in fuel prices.


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