Taif Municipality is putting the last touches on the largest rose carpet in the world to be ready in time for the opening of the Taif International Rose Festival on March 31 in King Faisal Park.
Taif Mayor Mohammed Al-Mukharij said, “This year’s rose carpet has over 100,000 roses and flowers covering 750 square meters. It includes more than 15,000 species of flowers of all colors in addition to seedlings of the famous Taif rose.”
A mobile flower carpet will move through the streets, and a bus for children will tour Taif before the start of the festival as an advertisement.
“The municipality’s exhibition will contain new gardens, and there will be a show of plants, some of which are indigenous to Taif,” the mayor added.
In King Faisal Park there will be an aloe vera garden to show the variety of this species that grow in Taif. Replicas of flowers will be presented to children as gifts and there will be kids-sized flower dresses for photography. Old cars have been refurbished for agricultural purposes to preserve the environment and to benefit from anything old.”
“New attractions at this year’s rose festival are a six-meter high flower bridge, an outdoor home garden which aims to teach visitors about how to arrange such gardens and there will be a waterfall of flowers, which consists of 3,000 flowers,” said Al-Mukharij.
He concluded, “There will also be a drawing and coloring competition for small kids. They will receive gifts daily.”
World’s largest rose carpet ready for Taif festival
World’s largest rose carpet ready for Taif festival
Baroness Warsi accuses UK Conservative Party of demonizing her over Islamophobia claims
- Party recently told Warsi she would not have whip restored in UK’s upper house of parliament
- Internal inquiry clears Warsi of ‘bringing the party into disrepute’ over support for pro-Palestinian protester
LONDON: The UK’s first Muslim cabinet member has accused her Conservative Party of attempting to “demonize” her after she criticized the party over Islamophobia.
Baroness Sayeeda Warsi was told recently she was not welcome back into the Conservative Party in the UK’s upper house of parliament, where she holds a seat, The Independent reported on Wednesday.
Warsi resigned from the party in the House of Lords in September, claiming the Conservatives had moved too far to the right.
The former co-chair of the Conservative Party had also come under pressure from senior party members over language used in a tweet supporting a pro-Palestinian protester.
Warsi has now been cleared of being “divisive” and “bringing the party into disrepute” by a disciplinary panel investigating the tweet.
But the Conservatives wrote to Warsi saying that while she could remain a member of the party, they would not restore to her the party whip, meaning she could not be affiliated with the party in the Lords.
In response, Warsi said she had not asked to have the whip restored, and accused the Conservatives of playing games.
She told The Independent that the party was attempting to “demonize” her for challenging the party’s “rising levels of extremism, racism and Islamophobia.”
Warsi was appointed as the first Muslim Conservative Party chair in 2010 by Prime Minister David Cameron as he sought to modernize the party.
But in recent years the Conservatives have shifted further right as they seek to counter the growing popularity of far-right parties.
In March, Warsi said the party had become known as “the institutionally xenophobic and racist party.” She has also repeatedly accused it of failing to tackle Islamophobia within the party and criticized significant figures for their rhetoric over immigration.
In 2014, she resigned as a minister in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office over the government’s “morally indefensible” approach to Gaza.
Warsi’s decision to resign the whip in September was, she said: “A reflection of how far right my party has moved and the hypocrisy and double standards in its treatment of different communities.”
The move came after complaints against her for a tweet congratulating a pro-Palestinian protester acquitted of a racially aggravated public order offense. The protester had used a placard depicting Rishi Sunak, who was prime minister at the time, as a coconut.
Afghanistan hire Younis Khan as mentor for Champions Trophy in Pakistan
- Younis Khan, 47, played 118 Tests, 265 ODIs and 25 T20Is for Pakistan before retiring in 2017
- Afghanistan is in Champions Trophy Group B with England, Australia and South Africa
ISLAMABAD: Afghanistan has hired former Pakistan captain Younis Khan as a mentor for its men’s cricket team at next month’s Champions Trophy in Pakistan.
The Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) said in a statement on Wednesday that the 47-year-old batting great will join the team in Pakistan ahead of the Champions Trophy and will stay with Afghanistan at the tournament.
Younis, who played 118 tests, 265 ODIs and 25 T20s for Pakistan, retired from international cricket in 2017 and briefly worked with the national team as batting coach in 2021 before quitting after differences with the Pakistan Cricket Board.
Afghanistan is in Group B with England, Australia and South Africa. It will play its first match against South Africa at Karachi on Feb. 21.
More than 160 UK politicians have urged England to refuse to play against Afghanistan. The politicians wrote asking the England and Wales Cricket Board to take a stand against the Taliban regime’s assault on women’s rights.
It will be a second stint for Younis with Afghanistan, having previously worked with the team at a training camp in Abu Dhabi in 2022.
It will be the third straight major ICC tournament where Afghanistan has utilized local expertise by appointing a mentor, after former India international Ajay Jadeja for the 2023 World Cup in India, and Dwayne Bravo as bowling consultant at the 2024 T20 World Cup in the West Indies and US
“Since the Champions Trophy is being held in Pakistan, it was required to assign a talented and experienced player as mentor from the hosting country,” ACB chief executive Naseeb Khan said.
Afghanistan finished sixth at the World Cup in India after beating England, Pakistan and Sri Lanka to seal its Champions Trophy place. At the T20 World Cup, Afghanistan advanced to the semifinals.
The Champions Trophy will begin Feb. 19 in Karachi.
India, which is in Group A with Pakistan, New Zealand and Bangladesh, will play all its games in Dubai.
UAE adds 19 individuals, entities to terrorism list over Muslim Brotherhood links
- Designation is part of UAE’s national and international efforts to dismantle terrorist financial networks
LONDON: The UAE designated 19 individuals and entities as terrorists on Wednesday due to their connections to the Muslim Brotherhood, which is classified as a terror group in the UAE.
Abu Dhabi placed 11 individuals and eight entities on the country’s Local Terrorist List, the WAM news agency reported. All the organizations are based in the UK, while the individuals, except two, are Emirati nationals.
The decision is part of the UAE’s national and international efforts to dismantle networks associated with the direct and indirect financing of terrorism, according to WAM.
Egypt and Saudi Arabia also classify the Muslim Brotherhood as a terror group.
The list of individuals as published by WAM includes:
1. Yousuf Hassan Ahmed Al-Mulla — Current nationality: Sweden, former nationality: Liberia.
2. Saeed Khadim Ahmed bin Touq Al-Marri — Nationality: Turkiye/UAE.
3. Ibrahim Ahmed Ibrahim Ali Al-Hammadi — Nationality: Sweden/UAE.
4. Ilham Abdullah Ahmed Al-Hashimi — Nationality: UAE.
5. Jasem Rashid Khalfan Rashid Al-Shamsi — Nationality: UAE.
6. Khaled Obaid Yousuf Buatabh Al-Zaabi — Nationality: UAE.
7. Abdulrahman Hassan Munif Abdullah Hassan Al-Jabri — Nationality: UAE.
8. Humaid Abdullah Abdulrahman Al-Jarman Al-Nuaimi — Nationality: UAE.
9. Abdulrahman Omar Salem Bajbair Al-Hadrami — Nationality: Yemen.
10. Ali Hassan Ali Hussein Al-Hammadi — Nationality: UAE.
11. Mohammed Ali Hassan Ali Al-Hammadi — Nationality: UAE.
The list of entities as published by WAM includes:
1. Cambridge Education and Training Center Ltd. — Based in: UK.
2. IMA6INE Ltd. — Based in: UK.
3. Wembley Tree Ltd. — Based in: UK.
4. Waslaforall — Based in: UK.
5. Future Graduates Ltd. — Based in: UK.
6. Yas for Investment and Real Estate — Based in: UK.
7. Holdco UK Properties Limited — Based in: UK.
8. Nafel Capital — Based in: UK.
Israel military says body of only one hostage found in Gaza
- The troops recovered the body of hostage Youssef Al-Zayadna from an underground tunnel in Rafah
JERUSALEM: The Israeli military clarified on Wednesday that its troops had recovered the body of only one hostage, not two as previously announced by Defense Minister Israel Katz.
In a statement, the military said: “The troops located and recovered the body of hostage Youssef Al-Zayadna from an underground tunnel in the Rafah area of the Gaza Strip and returned his body to Israel.” Katz earlier said that the remains of Zayadna’s son, Hamza, had also been found.
Pakistani women require permission from male guardians to perform Hajj alone — religion ministry
- Saudi Arabia allowed women to perform Umrah and Hajj on their own in October 2022
- Number of women applicants for solo Hajj has nearly doubled from last year, says official
ISLAMABAD: Women intending to perform Hajj alone need permission from their male guardians such as fathers, husbands or in the absence of both, other close male relatives, officials of Pakistan’s religion ministry and the Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) said on Wednesday.
In October 2022, Saudi Arabia allowed women to perform the Islamic pilgrimages of Umrah and Hajj without “a mahram,” a male with whom Islam forbids a woman to marry due to her close relationship with them. Examples of a mahram for a woman include her father, husband, son and brother, among others.
The CII, a constitutional body responsible for advising the government on matters related to Islam, ruled in June 2023 that a woman will be allowed to perform Hajj without her male guardian subject to two conditions: that she has permission from her spouse or parents for the pilgrimage, and that she has a “group of reliable female pilgrims and there is no threat to her dignity.”
Pakistan’s religious affairs ministry spokesperson, Muhammad Umer Butt, said women wishing to perform Hajj without a male guardian were required to submit written permission from their father, husband, or other guardians along with their Hajj 2025 application.
“Last year we facilitated single women for Hajj, and they are allowed again this year with the number of applicants nearly doubling from 3,027 in 2024 to 6,028 this year,” Butt told Arab News.
He said that after the Saudi government’s decision to allow women to perform Hajj on their own, Pakistan’s Ministry of Religious Affairs sought guidance from the CII and implemented their recommendations.
“The ministry has ensured that these women will travel in women-only groups, prioritizing their safety and comfort,” Butt said.
Butt said the majority of female pilgrims who have applied for Hajj this year are accompanied by mahrams. A small number of women faced difficulties in the availability of mahrams and have opted to travel for the pilgrimage alone, he said.
CII spokesperson Rana Zahid explained the religious body’s 2023 decision, saying that women were permitted by Shariah to perform Hajj alone if they were unable to find male guardians.
“However, this permission is subject to certain conditions and the woman must obtain consent from her father, husband (if married), or guardian,” Zahid said.
He said such women must also travel with a trustworthy group of women or “reliable companions,” ensuring there is no apparent risk or threat to her safety and dignity.
Saudi Arabia has allotted Pakistan a total quota of 179,210 pilgrims for the upcoming Hajj pilgrimage, to be divided equally between the government and private schemes.
