Saudi Arabia to launch app for Mecca pilgrims amid virus
Riyadh: Saudi Arabia on Monday released new details on how it plans to gradually allow Muslims back to Islam's holiest site in Mecca to perform the smaller, year-round pilgrimage, which has been suspended for the past seven months due to the coronavirus.
Hajj Minister Muhammad Benten said the kingdom will launch an online application that allows citizens, residents of Saudi Arabia and visitors to apply and reserve a specific time and date in which they can perform the pilgrimage, known as umrah, to avoid crowding and maintain social-distancing guidelines.
The minister, who spoke during a virtual seminar, did not say when the pilgrimage would be permitted to resume nor how many people would be allowed to perform it at the same time.
The kingdom held a dramatically downsized, symbolic hajj pilgrimage in July due to concerns that it could easily have become a global super-spreader event for the virus. Pilgrims were selected after applying through an online portal and all were residents or citizens of Saudi Arabia. Rather than the more than 2 million pilgrims the kingdom hosts for the annual event, as little as 1,000 took part after being tested for the virus and quarantined.
Saudi Arabia on Monday began easing some restrictions on international flights for the first time in six months.
The kingdom allowed Gulf Arab nationals and foreign residents of Saudi Arabia abroad to enter the country, provided they are not infected with the coronavirus. The kingdom also allowed for some residents of Saudi Arabia, such as Saudi students with scholarships abroad and foreign embassy staff, to exit and enter the kingdom.
Despite taking early and sweeping measures to contain the virus, Saudi Arabia has recorded more than 330,000 cases, including more than 4,500 deaths.
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Hyderabad–B’luru, Chennai-B’luru among seven high-speed rail corridors announced in budget
New Delhi: India will expand its high-speed rail network with seven new corridors as part of efforts to promote faster and environmentally sustainable passenger transport, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced while presenting the Union Budget 2026 in Parliament on Sunday.
Outlining the government’s infrastructure plans, Sitharaman said the proposed high-speed rail corridors are aimed at improving connectivity between major economic and cultural centres, while also helping reduce the carbon footprint of long-distance travel.
“The government proposes to develop environmentally sustainable passenger transport systems through seven high-speed rail corridors,” the finance minister said in her Budget speech.
According to the announcement, the identified routes include Mumbai–Pune, Hyderabad–Bengaluru, Delhi–Varanasi, Varanasi–Siliguri, Pune–Hyderabad, Hyderabad–Chennai and Chennai–Bengaluru. These corridors are expected to link key metropolitan cities with fast-growing urban and industrial hubs.
