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Saudi Arabia Prepares Plan to Control Ports, Food Facilities during Hajj Season

SFDA
SFDA
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Saudi Arabia Prepares Plan to Control Ports, Food Facilities during Hajj Season

SFDA
SFDA

Riyadh- The Saudi Food and Drug Authority (SFDA) has intensified its monitoring and awareness programs in Makkah and Madinah regions, coinciding with the arrival of the pilgrims, in order to ensure the safety of the pilgrims' food and the safety and efficiency of the devices and medicinal products they use.

Executive Chairman of the SFDA Hisham al-Juzaei said in a statement Wednesday that the authority has developed an integrated plan for this year’s Hajj season, including intensifying the control role in ports and increasing inspection campaigns for food establishments and catering restaurants serving pilgrims.

Juzaei added that the authority has dedicated a large part of its activities during the Hajj season to raise the awareness of the pilgrims in Madinah and Makkah in the best means to prevent food poisoning and diseases transmitted by food, provide advice for keeping the medicine and ensuring its effectiveness and the use of medical devices and products.

The SFDA plan includes the inspection of food, medicine and medical equipment through a number of air ports (the city of pilgrims at King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah and Prince Mohammed bin Abdulaziz International Airport in Madinah), Jeddah Islamic port and the land borders (Batha border, Haditha border, the Ammar border, Judaidah port at Arar, and Wadiah border).

It also include health control of the food facilities in cooperation with the Secretariat of the Holy Capital and the Secretariat of Madinah Region, participation in the work of the Quartet to investigate incidents of food poisoning in Madinah area, preparation of field studies related to food safety and assessment of the status of food establishments.

SFDA launched an integrated plan to raise awareness about the safety of food, medicines and medical devices during this year’s Hajj season. It includes awareness campaigns through social media, distribution of awareness leaflets to pilgrims at airports and awareness lectures for employees in food establishments, contributing in reducing the cases of food poisoning.

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Arab World

Palestinian Infant Dies Due to Severe Cold in Gaza

Displaced Palestinians in a temporary camp in Khan Yunis, southern Gaza Strip (EPA)
Displaced Palestinians in a temporary camp in Khan Yunis, southern Gaza Strip (EPA)
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Palestinian Infant Dies Due to Severe Cold in Gaza

Displaced Palestinians in a temporary camp in Khan Yunis, southern Gaza Strip (EPA)
Displaced Palestinians in a temporary camp in Khan Yunis, southern Gaza Strip (EPA)

A Palestinian infant died Tuesday morning due to extreme cold in the Gaza City.

The Palestinian News and Information Agency (WAFA) quoted medical sources as saying that "the 7-month-old infant, Shatha Abu Jarad, died in Gaza due to severe cold."

According to the agency, "the number of children who have died in the Gaza Strip due to the extreme cold since the beginning of winter has risen to nine, amid a shortage of aid and a lack of heating".

The Civil Defense in Gaza warned on Monday of the possibility of increased deaths among children due to an unprecedented drop in temperatures.

Mahmoud Basal, spokesman for the Civil Defense in Gaza, said in a statement: "The sharp drop in temperatures we are witnessing tonight is unprecedented since the beginning of winter. The cold is so severe that we no longer feel our feet, so how about infants, patients, and families living in dilapidated tents?"

Displaced people in Gaza are facing a very difficult situation due to a stormy weather accompanied by strong winds and heavy rain, coinciding with temperatures dropping to freezing levels.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) warned last week that the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip remains dire, as severe weather conditions threaten progress in the field of humanitarian response, noting that more than one million people are in dire need of shelter as rainstorms continue.

Business

Qatar Central Bank Says AI Operational Risks Need Prudential Focus

A boat makes its way past the Doha skyline in Doha, Qatar on Sunday, Jan. 18, 2026. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press via AP)
A boat makes its way past the Doha skyline in Doha, Qatar on Sunday, Jan. 18, 2026. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press via AP)
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Qatar Central Bank Says AI Operational Risks Need Prudential Focus

A boat makes its way past the Doha skyline in Doha, Qatar on Sunday, Jan. 18, 2026. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press via AP)
A boat makes its way past the Doha skyline in Doha, Qatar on Sunday, Jan. 18, 2026. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press via AP)

The governor of Qatar's central bank said on Tuesday that operational risks emerging from technologies like Artificial Intelligence should ‌be treated as ‌a ‌prudential ⁠risk and ‌as important as capital and liquidity-related regulation.

"I do believe that operation resilience should ⁠be also treated as ‌core prudential risk ‍and ‍should it ‍should not be treated as less important than capital and liquidity," Sheikh Bandar Bin Mohammed Bin ⁠Saoud Al-Thani, Governor of the Qatar Central Bank, told an event at the World Economic Forum in Davos.

Business

Croatia's Vujcic Nominated as ECB's Next Vice President

Croatian Central Bank Governor Boris Vujcic pictured during an interview with Reuters in Zagreb (Reuters file photo)
Croatian Central Bank Governor Boris Vujcic pictured during an interview with Reuters in Zagreb (Reuters file photo)
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Croatia's Vujcic Nominated as ECB's Next Vice President

Croatian Central Bank Governor Boris Vujcic pictured during an interview with Reuters in Zagreb (Reuters file photo)
Croatian Central Bank Governor Boris Vujcic pictured during an interview with Reuters in Zagreb (Reuters file photo)

Croatia's Boris Vujcic was formally nominated on Monday as the European Central Bank's next vice president, putting him on track to become the first person from the former communist east to win a seat on the board of the bloc's most important financial institution.

Having secured the support of the euro zone's 21 finance ministers, Vujcic is now expected to take over from Spain's Luis de Guindos on June 1, becoming the ECB's number two behind Christine Lagarde at a relatively ‌tranquil moment, with inflation ‌at target and interest rate changes not ‌even ⁠on the agenda.

The decision ‌also gives one of Europe's smallest economies the chance to take on a top ECB job, a relative rarity for an institution that has been dominated by the bloc's four biggest nations since its inception more than a quarter of a century ago, Reuters reported.

COVETED JOBS COMING IN 2027

But ECB watchers say the vice presidency is not among the most coveted jobs and Europe's biggest nations did not even enter ⁠the contest as they focus their attention on the bigger roles coming up next year.

The jobs ‌of the president, the chief economist and the head ‍of market operations all become vacant ‍next year, and Germany, Spain and France are all expected to be ‍in the race, continuing their dominance of the ECB.

THIRD-TERM GOVERNOR

Now serving his third term as Croatia's central bank chief, Vujcic, 61, is a trained monetary economist who oversaw his own country's accession to the euro zone as its 20th nation in 2023, making it the second-newest member after Bulgaria.

A former university professor, Vujcic is considered a moderate hawk who has consistently warned against lingering inflation ⁠risks and argued for only gradual policy easing to make sure price pressures are fully extinguished.

A governor or deputy governor for more than 25 years now, he was also instrumental in negotiating Croatia's accession into the European Union in 2013.

While the nomination is still subject to a confirmation process, that is largely a formality as the heads of governments make the final call and normally confirm their finance ministers' pick.

The European Parliament is likely to raise objections, particularly about gender, since men make up 25 of the ECB's 27-member Governing Council. But its lawmakers cannot actually stop the selection process.

The vice president is responsible for financial stability analysis ‌and fills in for the president whenever necessary.

Other candidates for the job included Latvia's Martins Kazaks, Finland's Olli Rehn Portugal's Mario Centeno, Estonia's Madis Muller and Lithuania's Rimantas Sadzius.