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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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World

Trump Says Agreed to Greenland Meeting in Davos

United States President Donald Trump waves as he arrives at the White House in Washington, DC, USA, 20 January 2026. (EPA)
United States President Donald Trump waves as he arrives at the White House in Washington, DC, USA, 20 January 2026. (EPA)
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Trump Says Agreed to Greenland Meeting in Davos

United States President Donald Trump waves as he arrives at the White House in Washington, DC, USA, 20 January 2026. (EPA)
United States President Donald Trump waves as he arrives at the White House in Washington, DC, USA, 20 January 2026. (EPA)

US President Donald Trump said Tuesday he had agreed to a meeting of "various parties" at the Davos gathering of global elites about his bid to seize Greenland.

Trump's attempt to buy the Danish autonomous territory has rocked the global order, with the US president stepping up pressure on European leaders over their pushback against his plan to seize the strategic Arctic island.

"I agreed to a meeting of the various parties in Davos, Switzerland," Trump posted on his Truth Social platform.

"As I expressed to everyone, very plainly, Greenland is imperative for National and World Security. There can be no going back - On that, everyone agrees!"

Trump has insisted that the United States needs Greenland's vast territory, with Russia and China increasing military activities nearby and Arctic ice melting due to climate change.

In a separate post, the US president shared an AI-generated image of himself holding an American flag next to a sign that read "Greenland - US territory est. 2026," flanked by his Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

Trump, who is due in Davos on Wednesday, shared another AI-generated image of world leaders at a meeting at which he presents a map with the American flag covering the United States, Canada, Greenland and Venezuela.

An emboldened Trump has ramped up threats to Greenland after sending US forces to remove Venezuela's leftist president Nicolas Maduro.

He has also vowed to annex Canada and routinely refers to country as the 51st US state.
Trump also wrote on Truth Social that he had a "very good telephone call" on Greenland with NATO chief Mark Rutte.

The US president posted a screenshot he claimed showed a message from Rutte saying he was "committed to finding a way forward on Greenland."

Trump said he did not think European leaders would "push back too much" on his attempt to seize the territory, telling reporters on Monday: "They can't protect it."

Business

Iraq to Export More Kirkuk Crude Oil Next Month

Oil flows through the Kirkuk-Ceyhan pipeline resumed in late September (Reuters)
Oil flows through the Kirkuk-Ceyhan pipeline resumed in late September (Reuters)
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Iraq to Export More Kirkuk Crude Oil Next Month

Oil flows through the Kirkuk-Ceyhan pipeline resumed in late September (Reuters)
Oil flows through the Kirkuk-Ceyhan pipeline resumed in late September (Reuters)

Iraq will export a ​total of 223,000 barrels per day (bpd) in February, up by 21% on the month, ‌loading programs ‌seen ‌by ⁠Reuters ​show.

January ‌exports were scheduled at 184,000 bpd. Of the February cargoes, eight will be ⁠exported from ‌Türkiye's Ceyhan terminal, and ‍three ‍will be ‍delivered via the Kirikkale pipeline to Turkish refiner Tupras.

Kirkuk ​oil pipeline flows to Ceyhan restarted ⁠in late September after a two-and-a-half-year hiatus, with the first exports taking place last October.

Arab World

Israel Orders Gaza Families to Move in First Forced Evacuation Since Ceasefire

A Palestinian girl walks past the rubble of houses destroyed in Israeli strikes during the war, in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, January 17, 2026. (Reuters)
A Palestinian girl walks past the rubble of houses destroyed in Israeli strikes during the war, in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, January 17, 2026. (Reuters)
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Israel Orders Gaza Families to Move in First Forced Evacuation Since Ceasefire

A Palestinian girl walks past the rubble of houses destroyed in Israeli strikes during the war, in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, January 17, 2026. (Reuters)
A Palestinian girl walks past the rubble of houses destroyed in Israeli strikes during the war, in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, January 17, 2026. (Reuters)

Israeli forces have ordered dozens of Palestinian families in the southern Gaza Strip to leave their homes in the first forced evacuation since October's ceasefire, as residents and Hamas said on Tuesday the military was ​expanding the area under its control.

Residents of Bani Suhaila, east of Khan Younis, said the leaflets were dropped on Monday on families living in tent encampments in the Al-Reqeb neighborhood.

“Urgent message. The area is under Israeli army control. You must evacuate immediately,” said the leaflets, written in Arabic, Hebrew, and English, which the army dropped over the Al-Reqeb neighborhood in the town of Bani Suhaila.

In the two-year war before the US brokered ceasefire was signed in October, Israel dropped leaflets over areas that were subsequently raided or bombarded, forcing some families to move several times.

Residents and a source from the Hamas group said this was the first time they had been ‌dropped since then. ‌The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

SIDES FAR ‌APART ⁠ON ​NEXT PHASES

The ‌ceasefire has not progressed beyond its first phase, under which major fighting has stopped, Israel withdrew from less than half of Gaza, and Hamas released hostages in return for Palestinian detainees and prisoners.

Virtually the entire population of more than 2 million people are confined to around a third of Gaza's territory, mostly in makeshift tents and damaged buildings, where life has resumed under control of an administration led by Hamas.

Israel and Hamas have accused each other of major breaches of the ceasefire and remain far apart on the more difficult steps planned for the next phase.

Mahmoud, a resident from the ⁠Bani Suhaila area, who asked not to give his family name, said the evacuation orders impacted at least 70 families, living in tents and homes, ‌some of which were partially damaged, in the area.

"We have fled ‍the area and relocated westward. It is maybe the ‍fourth or fifth time the occupation expanded the yellow line since last month," he told Reuters by phone ‍from Khan Younis, referring to the line behind which Israel has withdrawn.

"Each time they move it around 120 to 150 meters (yards) inside the Palestinian-controlled territory, swallowing more land," the father-of-three said.

HAMAS CITES STATE OF HUMANITARIAN DISRUPTION

Ismail Al-Thawabta, director of the Hamas-run Gaza government media office, said the Israeli military had expanded the area under its control in eastern Khan Younis five times since ​the ceasefire, forcing the displacement of at least 9,000 people.

“On Monday, 19 January 2026, the Israeli occupation forces dropped warning leaflets demanding the forced evacuation of the Bani Suhaila area in eastern ⁠Khan Younis Governorate, in a measure that falls within a policy of intimidation and pressure on civilians,” Thawabta told Reuters.

He said the new evacuation orders affected approximately 3,000 people.

“The move created a state of humanitarian disruption, increased pressure on the already limited shelter areas, and further deepened the internal displacement crisis in the governorate,” Thawabta added.

Israel's military has previously said it has opened fire after identifying what it called "terrorists" crossing the yellow line and approaching its troops, posing an immediate threat to them.

It has continued to conduct air strikes and targeted operations across Gaza. The Israeli military has said it views "with utmost severity" any attempts by militant groups in Gaza to attack Israel.

Under future phases of the ceasefire that have yet to be hammered out, US President Donald Trump's plan envisages Hamas disarming, Israel pulling out further, and an internationally backed administration rebuilding Gaza.

More than 460 Palestinians and three Israeli soldiers have been reported killed since the ceasefire took ‌effect.

Israel launched its operations in Gaza in the wake of an attack by Hamas-led fighters in October 2023 which killed 1,200 people, according to Israeli tallies. Israel's assault has killed 71,000 people, according to health authorities in the enclave.