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Saudi Preparations Complete to Receive 2,400 Qatari Hajj Pilgrims

Preparations are complete to receive 2,400 Qatari pilgrims for the annual Hajj. (AFP)
Preparations are complete to receive 2,400 Qatari pilgrims for the annual Hajj. (AFP)
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Saudi Preparations Complete to Receive 2,400 Qatari Hajj Pilgrims

Preparations are complete to receive 2,400 Qatari pilgrims for the annual Hajj. (AFP)
Preparations are complete to receive 2,400 Qatari pilgrims for the annual Hajj. (AFP)

The number of Qatari Hajj pilgrims has risen in 2017 compared to 2016, revealed informed sources to Asharq Al-Awsat on Monday.

They said that 2,400 Qatari pilgrims are expected to perform the Hajj this year, compared to 1,200 in 2016, adding that the tents that will receive them in the holy region of Mecca are complete.

The luxury furnishings and equipment of the Qatari tents set them apart from other pilgrims. They are resistant to the soaring temperatures and the pilgrims will rest in fire-proof ones in Arafat, Mozdalifa and Mina. All tents are also equipped with air conditioners.

The pilgrims from Qatar, as well as those from Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates, have, since 2006, chosen the National Tawafa Establishment for South Asian Pilgrims as the organizer of their Hajj.

The Saudi Ministry of Hajj and Umrah had kicked off the preparations for this year’s pilgrimage immediately after last year’s rituals. The ministry has worked hard to ensure that tents are equipped with air conditioners and that they are properly distributed near the holy sites where the pilgrimage will take place.

Meanwhile, King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah announced that up until Sunday, some 95,000 pilgrims have landed in the Kingdom onboard 550 flights, marking a 7.6 percent rise from 2016.

The facility is able to receive 3,800 passengers per hour and it enjoys 320 counters that can perform the traveler procedures, offering the pilgrims special and quick services ahead of departing for Mecca.

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World

France Announces First Ebola Case

Healthcare workers carry on a stretcher a patient suffering from the Ebola virus disease from an ambulance at the Ebola Treatment Center (ETC) in Bunia, Ituri, in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo on June 23, 2026. (Photo by Benediction MURHABAZI / AFP)
Healthcare workers carry on a stretcher a patient suffering from the Ebola virus disease from an ambulance at the Ebola Treatment Center (ETC) in Bunia, Ituri, in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo on June 23, 2026. (Photo by Benediction MURHABAZI / AFP)
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France Announces First Ebola Case

Healthcare workers carry on a stretcher a patient suffering from the Ebola virus disease from an ambulance at the Ebola Treatment Center (ETC) in Bunia, Ituri, in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo on June 23, 2026. (Photo by Benediction MURHABAZI / AFP)
Healthcare workers carry on a stretcher a patient suffering from the Ebola virus disease from an ambulance at the Ebola Treatment Center (ETC) in Bunia, Ituri, in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo on June 23, 2026. (Photo by Benediction MURHABAZI / AFP)

France on Wednesday announced its first confirmed case of Ebola identified on its territory, a doctor who had returned from the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The health ministry "confirms today the identification of a first positive case of Ebola virus disease on national territory,” it said. Contacted by AFP, the ministry specified that the case was identified in mainland France.

The ⁠patient is being isolated and authorities are contact tracing, the ministry said ⁠in a statement, adding that the risk for the general European population was low.

Congo's Ebola outbreak, which has infected more than 1,000 people and killed 267, has ⁠had ⁠the largest number of confirmed cases within the first month of any episode of the disease, the World Health Organization has said.

Technology

Intense AI Use Still Rare Among Euro Zone Firms, ECB Researchers Find

FILE PHOTO: AI (Artificial Intelligence) letters and robot hand miniature in this illustration taken, June 23, 2023. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: AI (Artificial Intelligence) letters and robot hand miniature in this illustration taken, June 23, 2023. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
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Intense AI Use Still Rare Among Euro Zone Firms, ECB Researchers Find

FILE PHOTO: AI (Artificial Intelligence) letters and robot hand miniature in this illustration taken, June 23, 2023. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: AI (Artificial Intelligence) letters and robot hand miniature in this illustration taken, June 23, 2023. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo

Only a small fraction of euro zone firms use artificial intelligence intensely and they tend to be small, young, service-oriented companies, leaving plenty of room for diffusion, a European Central Bank blog post said on Wednesday.

The vast majority of firms now say they have been using AI but economists have been debating just how intense this use is and whether it can yield the sort of efficiency gains that ⁠are relevant on a ⁠macroeconomic level.

Surveying more than 5,000 companies across the bloc, the ECB found that over 70% report using AI and much of the rest plan to start this year, Reuters reported. But use is moderate or infrequent and ⁠only 7% use AI intensely, the survey found.

"The intensive use that drives transformation and generates macroeconomic gains remains rare," the authors, all ECB researchers, said, in a post that does not necessarily represent the ECB's views.

Intense use is skewed towards smaller companies with large firms clearly lagging behind, the survey results showed. Younger firms also used AI more intensely than older companies ⁠and ⁠use was skewed towards high-tech, knowledge-intensive services.

"Firms at an early stage of adoption often cite cost reductions and improvements in operational efficiency as their main reasons for using it," the blog said. "Intensive users are more frequently motivated by growth and innovation."

Firms tend to invest in AI when their competitors do, succumbing to peer pressure, and intensive users spend heavily on customized solutions that go well beyond just purchasing licenses, the blog said.

Varieties

Think Tank: Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei Face High Risk of Severe Haze this Year

People stop by a cafe with murals painted on its facade in the Arab Street district of Singapore on June 16, 2026. (Photo by Roslan RAHMAN / AFP)
People stop by a cafe with murals painted on its facade in the Arab Street district of Singapore on June 16, 2026. (Photo by Roslan RAHMAN / AFP)
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Think Tank: Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei Face High Risk of Severe Haze this Year

People stop by a cafe with murals painted on its facade in the Arab Street district of Singapore on June 16, 2026. (Photo by Roslan RAHMAN / AFP)
People stop by a cafe with murals painted on its facade in the Arab Street district of Singapore on June 16, 2026. (Photo by Roslan RAHMAN / AFP)

Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei face a high risk of severe haze this year due to hot and dry weather conditions, biofuel demand and economic pressures, a research institute said Wednesday.

The Singapore Institute of International Affairs said it was the second time it had issued a red risk rating since launching its Haze Outlook report in 2019. The previous red risk rating was in ⁠2023, Reuters reported.

Here are some ⁠details:

August to September is the peak danger period for haze in the Southeast Asian region, driven by the El Niño and Indian Ocean Dipole weather phenomena, the report said.

The ⁠return of El Niño is expected to create a longer and stronger dry season at a time when fire preparedness could be adversely affected by economic uncertainty and cost pressures.

The SIIA said rising costs of fertilizer and fuel as a result of the Iran war could lead to unsustainable activity such as the use ⁠of ⁠fire rather than machinery to clear land and dispose of waste.

Land use could also intensify as demand for biofuels rises due to energy supply disruptions.

"This trend will continue even if the US-Iran agreement holds, as countries now want energy independence," said SIIA associate director Khor Yu-Leng.

ASEAN cooperation and sustainable land management will be critical to reducing risks, the report said.