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Over Five Million Muslims Perform Prayers at Prophet's Mosque Last Week

The authority also distributed 143,303 Iftar meals at designated areas for fasting individuals within the Prophet's Mosque - SPA
The authority also distributed 143,303 Iftar meals at designated areas for fasting individuals within the Prophet's Mosque - SPA
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Over Five Million Muslims Perform Prayers at Prophet's Mosque Last Week

The authority also distributed 143,303 Iftar meals at designated areas for fasting individuals within the Prophet's Mosque - SPA
The authority also distributed 143,303 Iftar meals at designated areas for fasting individuals within the Prophet's Mosque - SPA

The Saudi General Authority for the Care of the Affairs of the Grand Mosque and the Prophet's Mosque said that the Prophet's Mosque received 5,201,876 Muslims last week amid integrated and high-quality services, allowing crowds to perform their prayers smoothly and efficiently, SPA reported.
The authority-issued statistics showed that 515,800 visited the Prophet's Mosque, and 261,272 visitors performed prayers in the Holy Rawdah according to organizational procedures that control the movement of the crowds and schedule times for optional prayers for men and women.

The statistics also showed that 66,994 people benefited from translation services.
Field services included extensive sanitation efforts, with 24,303 liters of disinfectant utilized.

Additionally, 1,505 tons of Zamzam water were provided, and 174 samples were collected for testing and analysis.

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Nepal Plans to Restrict Everest Permits to Experienced Climbers

FILE PHOTO: A mountaineer holds on to the rope during an ice climbing session at Everest base camp, Nepal April 15, 2025. REUTERS/Purnima Shrestha
FILE PHOTO: A mountaineer holds on to the rope during an ice climbing session at Everest base camp, Nepal April 15, 2025. REUTERS/Purnima Shrestha
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Nepal Plans to Restrict Everest Permits to Experienced Climbers

FILE PHOTO: A mountaineer holds on to the rope during an ice climbing session at Everest base camp, Nepal April 15, 2025. REUTERS/Purnima Shrestha
FILE PHOTO: A mountaineer holds on to the rope during an ice climbing session at Everest base camp, Nepal April 15, 2025. REUTERS/Purnima Shrestha

Nepal will issue Everest permits only to climbers with experience of scaling at least one of the Himalayan nation's 7,000-meter (22,965 ft) peaks, according to the draft of a new law aimed at reducing overcrowding and improving safety.
Nepal, which is heavily reliant on climbing, trekking and tourism for foreign exchange, has faced criticism for permitting too many climbers, including inexperienced ones, to try to ascend the 8,849-meter (29,032 ft) peak, Reuters reported.
This often results in long queues of climbers in the 'death Zone', an area below the summit with insufficient natural oxygen for survival.
Overcrowding has been blamed for the high number of deaths on the mountain. At least 12 climbers died, and another five went missing on Everest's slopes in 2023 when Nepal issued 478 permits. Eight climbers died last year.
Under the proposed law, an Everest permit would be issued only after a climber provides evidence of having climbed at least one 7,000-meter mountain in Nepal.
The sardar, or the head of local staff, and the mountain guide accompanying climbers must also be Nepali citizens.
The draft law has been registered at the National Assembly, the upper house of parliament, where the ruling alliance holds a majority required to pass the bill.
International expedition operators have urged Nepal to allow any 7,000-meter peak, not just those in the Himalayan nation, for the Everest permit.
"That wouldn't make any sense. And I would also add mountains that are close to 7,000 meters to that list and that are widely used as preparation, like Ama Dablam, Aconcagua, Denali and others," said Lukas Furtenbach of Austria-based expedition organizer, Furtenbach Adventures.
Furtenbach, currently leading an expedition on Everest, said mountain guides from other countries must also be allowed to work on Everest, as there are not enough qualified Nepali mountain guides.
"It is important that mountain guides have a qualification like IFMGA (International Federation of Mountain Guides Associations), no matter what nationality they are. We do also welcome Nepali IFMGA guides to work in the Alps in Europe," he told Reuters.
Garrett Madison of the US-based Madison Mountaineering also said a 6,500-meter peak anywhere in the world would be a better idea.
"It's too difficult to find a reasonable 7,000-meter plus peak in Nepal," Madison said.