15th Batch of Guests of Custodian of Two Holy Mosques for Umrah Program Arrives in Madinah

The 15th batch includes 250 male and female Umrah performers from 14 East Asian countries. (SPA)
The 15th batch includes 250 male and female Umrah performers from 14 East Asian countries. (SPA)
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15th Batch of Guests of Custodian of Two Holy Mosques for Umrah Program Arrives in Madinah

The 15th batch includes 250 male and female Umrah performers from 14 East Asian countries. (SPA)
The 15th batch includes 250 male and female Umrah performers from 14 East Asian countries. (SPA)

The final group of the 15th batch of the Program for Guests of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud for Umrah and Visit arrived in Madinah on Friday.

The program, supervised by the Ministry of Islamic Affairs, Call and Guidance, was designed to host prominent Islamic male and female figures from various foreign countries and communities every year.

The 15th batch includes 250 male and female Umrah performers from 14 East Asian countries: Brunei, Cambodia, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Laos, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam.

The General Secretariat of the Program for Guests of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques for Umrah and Visit prepared rich and diverse itinerary for the guests during their stay in Madinah, including a visit to Quba Mosque and the historical and cultural sites in the Prophet's city, before they head to Makkah to perform the Umrah.



Saudi Arabia Offers Condolences to Azerbaijan after Plane Crash

A handout photo made available by the press service of the Ministry for Emergency Situations of Kazakhstan shows emergency specialists working at the crash site of a passenger plane near Aktau, Kazakhstan, 25 December 2024. (EPA/Kazakhstan Emergencies Ministry handout)
A handout photo made available by the press service of the Ministry for Emergency Situations of Kazakhstan shows emergency specialists working at the crash site of a passenger plane near Aktau, Kazakhstan, 25 December 2024. (EPA/Kazakhstan Emergencies Ministry handout)
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Saudi Arabia Offers Condolences to Azerbaijan after Plane Crash

A handout photo made available by the press service of the Ministry for Emergency Situations of Kazakhstan shows emergency specialists working at the crash site of a passenger plane near Aktau, Kazakhstan, 25 December 2024. (EPA/Kazakhstan Emergencies Ministry handout)
A handout photo made available by the press service of the Ministry for Emergency Situations of Kazakhstan shows emergency specialists working at the crash site of a passenger plane near Aktau, Kazakhstan, 25 December 2024. (EPA/Kazakhstan Emergencies Ministry handout)

Saudi Arabia offered on Wednesday its condolences to Azerbaijan following the plane crash in Kazakhstan.

A Foreign Ministry statement said the Kingdom expressed its condolences to the families of the deceased and to the government and people of Azerbaijan. It wished the injured a speedy recovery.

The Muslim World League (MWL) also extended its condolences to the government and people of Azerbaijan following the crash.

An Embraer passenger jet flying from Azerbaijan to Russia crashed near the city of Aktau in Kazakhstan on Wednesday, killing 38 people while 29 survivors received hospital treatment, Kazakh authorities said.

Azerbaijan Airlines flight J2-8243 had flown hundreds of miles off its scheduled route to crash on the opposite shore of the Caspian Sea, after what Russia's aviation watchdog said was an emergency that may have been caused by a bird strike. But an aviation expert suggested that cause seemed unlikely.

Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev said according to information he had received, the plane changed course due to poor weather, but he added the cause of the crash was unknown and must be fully investigated.