Robot Vacuums Used to Clean, Sanitize Roof of Holy Kaaba

The Kaaba at the Grand Mosque. (Reuters)
The Kaaba at the Grand Mosque. (Reuters)
TT
20

Robot Vacuums Used to Clean, Sanitize Roof of Holy Kaaba

The Kaaba at the Grand Mosque. (Reuters)
The Kaaba at the Grand Mosque. (Reuters)

The General Presidency of the Affairs of the Two Holy Mosques has allocated five robot vacuums to clean and sanitize the roof of the Holy Kaaba, allowing the cleaning operation to be complete in 20 minutes, reported the Saudi Press Agency.

Saudi Undersecretary of the Presidency for Services, Field Affairs and Ensuring Environmental Prevention Mohammed bin Musleh Al-Jabiri said that the robot vacuum works through a smart application and manually.

The robot's dimensions are 40x40x10, with a charging time of four hours. It can work for three hours. The robot vacuum covers an area of 180 square meters in the three hours with a suction power of 2000 pascal with a dust reservoir of 400 milliliters, and a 250-millileter water reservoir, with three speeds and a hybrid broom and mop that work through artificial intelligence maps.

These modern devices and technologies seek to preserve the quality and safety of marble, remove dust residues, and clean the Holy Kaaba and the entire Grand Mosque.

Al-Jabiri said that the presidency is keen on providing the latest technologies to sanitize the Grand Mosque and speed up tasks at a lower cost.

The cleaning of the Holy Kaaba roof is done by a specialized technical Saudi team according to a fixed timetable. The latest cleaning technologies are used through several stages, where one cleaning process is usually complete within 20 minutes.



Apple Changes App Store Rules in EU to Comply with Antitrust Order

This photo shows a general view of an Apple store in the Huangpu district in Shanghai, on June 23, 2025. (AFP)
This photo shows a general view of an Apple store in the Huangpu district in Shanghai, on June 23, 2025. (AFP)
TT
20

Apple Changes App Store Rules in EU to Comply with Antitrust Order

This photo shows a general view of an Apple store in the Huangpu district in Shanghai, on June 23, 2025. (AFP)
This photo shows a general view of an Apple store in the Huangpu district in Shanghai, on June 23, 2025. (AFP)

Apple on Thursday changed rules and fees in its App Store in the European Union after the bloc's antitrust regulators ordered it to remove commercial barriers to sending customers outside the store. 

Apple said developers will pay a 20% processing fee for purchases made via the App Store, though the fees could go as low as 13% for Apple's small-business program. 

Developers who send customers outside the App Store for payment will pay a minimum fee of 5% and at most 15%. Developers will also be able to use as many links as they wish to send users to outside forms of payment. 

The changes are aimed at trying to help Apple avoid paying daily fines of 5% of its average daily worldwide revenue, or about 50 million euros ($58 million) per day after being given 60 days to show it was in compliance with the bloc's Digital Markets Act. Apple has already paid 500 million euro ($580 million) fine levied by EU antitrust regulators in April. 

"The European Commission is requiring Apple to make a series of additional changes to the App Store. We disagree with this outcome and plan to appeal," Apple said in a statement. 

In a statement, the European Commission said it will now review Apple's changes for compliance with the Digital Markets Act. 

"As part of this assessment the Commission considers it particularly important to obtain the views of market operators and interested third parties before deciding on next steps," the Commission said in a statement. 

In a statement posted on social media site X, Tim Sweeney, CEO of Epic Games, which fought a protracted antitrust lawsuit with Apple, called Apple's changes "a mockery of fair competition in digital markets. Apps with competing payments are not only taxed but commercially crippled in the App Store." 

Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Sweeney's remarks.