A prince trapped in time: This Saudi royal has not opened his eyes in the past 20 years
Prince Al-Waleed bin Khaled bin Talal of Saudi Arabia, known as the 'Sleeping Prince,' marked his 36th birthday on April 18, 2025, while remaining in a coma for the past 20 years. He has been on life support since a 2005 car accident left him with a severe brain injury. Despite medical advice to end life support, his father, Prince Khaled bin Talal Al Saud, refused, citing faith in divine will. The prince is the great-grandson of Saudi Arabia's founder, King Abdulaziz, and continues to receive care at King Abdulaziz Medical City in Riyadh.
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Family's Enduring Faith
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Prince Al-Waleed bin Khaled bin Talal, widely known as Saudi Arabia's 'Sleeping Prince,' turned 36 on April 18, 2025. Despite the passing of years, his world remains frozen in time. Since 2005, he has been in a coma, the result of a severe brain injury sustained during a car crash in London while he was attending military college. For two decades, the prince has remained unconscious, cared for by a dedicated medical team at King Abdulaziz Medical City in Riyadh.His condition has remained largely unchanged, according to Roya News. 'The prince remains on life support, relying on mechanical ventilation and a feeding tube. The last documented movements occurred in 2019, when he reportedly showed signs of limited awareness through small gestures, such as lifting a finger or slightly moving his head—though these moments did not indicate a return to full consciousness.'Doctors initially recommended removing life support after the accident. However, Prince Al-Waleed's father, Prince Khaled bin Talal Al Saud, firmly rejected this course. He expressed his conviction, saying, 'If God had wanted him to die in the accident, he would have been in his grave now.' His refusal was rooted in faith and an enduring hope that his son might one day regain consciousness.The prince's mother, Princess Reema bint Talal, has also spoken of sensing her son's presence, maintaining a belief in the vitality of his spirit. Over the years, while there have been no significant changes in his condition, the family's commitment has never faltered. No official statement was released this year, but social media saw renewed attention, with many sharing prayers and photos of Prince Al-Waleed with loved ones.Prince Al-Waleed is a member of the powerful Saudi royal family but is not directly in line to the throne. His grandfather, Prince Talal bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, was one of the many sons of King Abdulaziz Al Saud, the founder of modern Saudi Arabia. This makes Prince Al-Waleed a great-grandson of King Abdulaziz. The current monarch, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, is also a son of the founding king, making him Prince Al-Waleed's great-uncle.His uncle, Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal, is a well-known billionaire and international investor, further highlighting the prominence of the family within the Kingdom and beyond.Every year on his birthday, there is a wave of online engagement, with messages of support and remembrance. The prince's story continues to stir emotions both in Saudi Arabia and internationally, as it underscores the fragility of life, even in royal circles.Despite the passage of 20 years, the Saudi royal family—especially his parents—have never abandoned hope.
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Time of India
04-06-2025
- Time of India
Saudis use AI, drones and thousands of cameras to keep hajj pilgrims safe
Working day and night in front of maps, screens and seemingly endless data, Saudi officials have harnessed artificial intelligence to help manage the million-strong sea of pilgrims during the hajj. The technology has proven pivotal to track the overwhelming amount of footage from more than 15,000 cameras in and around the holy city of Mecca. The systems are tuned to spot abnormal crowd movements or predict bottlenecks in foot traffic -- a potential life-saver at a packed event with a history of deadly stampedes. Software is also used to help guide more than 20,000 buses deployed to transport pilgrims between holy sites during one of the world's biggest annual religious gatherings. It is all part of the tech arsenal that Saudi Arabia is deploying as 1.4 million faithful from across the globe descend on Mecca and its surrounds. Live Events "In our traffic control room, we use specialised cameras that have AI layers to analyse movements, crowded areas" and predict behaviours, said Mohamed Nazier, chief executive officer for the General Transport Centre at the Royal Commission for Mecca. Discover the stories of your interest Blockchain 5 Stories Cyber-safety 7 Stories Fintech 9 Stories E-comm 9 Stories ML 8 Stories Edtech 6 Stories The centre has a main control room in Mecca filled with screens and maps, where staff use high-tech tools including AI for round-the-clock monitoring. About a dozen staff members sit in rows before desktop computers with a large display at the front, zooming in on crowd movements around the holy sites. On hillsides nearby, cameras that resemble little white robots film buildings, roads and pathways along the hajj route, which winds more than 20 kilometres (12 miles) between Mecca and Mount Arafat. Nazier said the constant monitoring is aimed at averting traffic collisions with pedestrians on crowded routes while also making sure there are buses available to minimise walking time in the desert heat. 'Our eye on the ground' It is a decade since the hajj suffered its worst disaster, a stampede that killed up to 2,300 people during the "stoning of the devil" ritual. Hundreds also died in stampedes in 2006, 1998 and 1994. In 1990, 1,426 pilgrims were trampled to death or asphyxiated when a tunnel ventilation system failed. With its cutting-edge technology, "the control room is our eye on the ground," said Mohammed al-Qarni, who oversees the hajj and the year-round umrah pilgrimage at the transport centre. Artificial intelligence helps to determine "the flow on the (roads to the holy sites), and detects emergency situations even before they occur", he told AFP, adding that the technology can help assess the number of people in a single place. Cameras and AI can estimate if a site has reached maximum capacity, allowing authorities to divert the flow of pilgrims, Qarni said. During the holy month of Ramadan this year, the system spotted when the Grand Mosque had reached full capacity. "The flow to the Haram (Grand Mosque) was stopped and the process controlled," he said. Thermal imaging The use of advanced technology extends beyond logistics, also tracking unregistered pilgrims, who accounted for most of the 1,301 deaths in sweltering conditions last year. As temperatures soared to 51.8 degrees Celsius (125.2 Fahrenheit) last year, unauthorised worshippers who lack access to air-conditioned tents and buses bore the brunt. Temperatures are forecast to top 40C this week. The hajj, one of the five pillars of Islam, must be completed by all Muslims with the means at least once. Yet not everyone is able to secure or afford one of the official permits, which are allocated to countries by quota and awarded to individuals by lottery. To try to stop anyone sneaking in this year, a fleet of camera-equipped drones is monitoring entrances into Mecca. "We use artificial intelligence and other tools like drones and thermal imaging cameras," the director general of public security, Lieutenant General Mohammed bin Abdullah Al-Bassami, told reporters. Meanwhile, the Saudi Special Forces for Roads Security said it was using "smart thermal imaging" to monitor the perimeter of Mecca and the holy sites.
Time of India
04-06-2025
- Time of India
High-tech Hajj: More safety but less privacy, spirituality?
High-tech Hajj: More safety but less privacy, spirituality? (Image: AP) This year, it's drones featuring thermal imaging and robots handing out religious advice.A decade ago, it was all about the miracle of the mobile phone. And a century or so ago, the motor car was the highest of high-tech used during the annual Hajj pilgrimage. The Hajj, one of the largest gatherings of humans on Earth, is meant to be undertaken by every adult Muslim once in their lifetime. It will begin in Saudi Arabia on June 4 and end June 9. During those days, up to 2 million pilgrims from over 180 countries will take part in a number of different religious ceremonies in Mecca. But having so many people moving around in one comparatively small area has led to problems in the past. Thousands of pilgrims were killed in stampeding crowds in 1990 and 2015. Last year over 1,300 died due to extreme heat; pilgrims often walk up to 65 kilometers a day in 40-to-50 degrees Celsius heat. There have also been fires, protests, suicides, collapsing buildings and infectious diseases at the Hajj, as well as more everyday problems like people getting lost or having health problems. No wonder then that the Saudi authorities are trying to use technology to improve how they control crowds and cater to their visitors. This year, Saudi Arabia will use drones with thermal imaging as well as artificial intelligence and facial recognition technology to ensure that only those who have Hajj permits are allowed in. Last year's many deaths were mostly of pilgrims who didn't have official permission to be there and therefore couldn't access services like air-conditioned shelter in the extreme heat. Can high tech boost safety? To avoid overcrowding, Saudi Arabia's Nusuk website, also a mobile phone application, allows attendees to register to enter certain areas at allotted times. The Nusuk system includes an electronic identity card and a smart wristband, which hold information on the user's identity, travel plans, finances, health and accommodation, among other things. The Nusuk card must be carried throughout the pilgrimage and is used to access transport and other services. Some of the wristbands have location tracking, monitor the wearer's blood oxygen levels and heart rate, and can even be used to call for medical help. Other technological advances at this year's Hajj include robots to guide visitors around religious sites and to hand out water, Korans or offer advice in 11 languages. There are also newly paved, more reflective (and therefore cooler) streets, paths that minimize vibration for walking comfort, and a special white pilgrim's gown made from futuristic fabric that keeps the wearer up to 2 degrees Celsius cooler. All the technology, surveillance and advanced algorithmic calculation is meant to make the event safer and the chance of tragic accidents less likely. But as the amount of technology grows, so too do concerns about data privacy, state surveillance and potential cybercrime. "All of these technologies are mandatory and those who refuse them are not allowed to perform the pilgrimage," explains Zeinab Ismail, a researcher and editor at the Lebanon-based digital rights organization, SMEX. "All of this, combined with Saudi Arabia's personal data protection law, which only partially aligns with international standards and contains concerning provisions and loopholes, raises increasing concerns about the safety and privacy of pilgrims' data. " Saudi officials have argued that privacy concerns must outweigh safety at such a huge event. "Regardless of the [Saudi government's] justification, what worries me the most — and irrespective of the technology itself — is the fact that this technology is being deployed in a country where rule of law is weak, there's no transparency and no [state] accountability," argues Marwa Fatafta, policy director for the Middle East and North Africa at international digital rights organization, Access Now. It would be difficult to audit the technologies for problems and even harder for individuals to question their use, Fatafta told DW. "For the people who are going to the Hajj pilgrimage, they're not in any position to push back and say, 'I don't want to give my biometric data'," she continued. "So just the general context means that the door is wide open for abuse." 'Contact us'? Reading the Nusuk app's terms and conditions, information about how long pilgrims' personal data can be kept is vague and even contradictory. DW e-mailed Saudi Arabia's National Data Management Office and the supervising Saudi Data and AI Authority to ask for more information on this. Both organizations publish e-mail addresses for the public to use if they have questions or want to make a complaint. Two DW e-mails received no response. Another bounced back with the message: "Recipient's mailbox is full." Since 2023, Saudi Arabia has had a personal data protection law — but as Ismail pointed out, "the current legal framework … allows legislation to be interpreted or manipulated in ways that may serve state interests over human rights." It's not just potential misuse of millions of pilgrims' data by local authorities causing concern. Higher dependence on technology to monitor and control Hajj pilgrims also means more vulnerability in general, as there are more places for hackers to attack. And Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states are already some of the biggest victims of cybercrime. The first platform Saudi Arabia used for registering pilgrims, Motawif, was run by a private company and unexpectedly sent spam to users. The state-run Nusuk app replaced it in 2022. The following year, cybersecurity experts found data submitted to Nusuk for sale on illicit websites that deal in stolen personal data. Less religion, more cyber New technology has also brought another worry: Is all that high tech taking away from the once-in-a-lifetime spiritual relevance of the Hajj? A 2018 study conducted by researchers at the University of Central Lancashire in the UK suggested it might be. Pilgrims interviewed for the study complained about others taking selfies at holy sites, talking on the phone while performing rituals and behaving like tourists rather than pious visitors. "Smartphones are the fourth devil in Hajj," one interviewee said, referring to a ritual featuring three representations of the devil. Some even complained all the technology was making the journey too easy. Where once pilgrims walked between holy sites, now they ride a high-speed train. And where once they stayed in simple tents, now they're accommodated in 10,000 air-conditioned, fire-resistant tents. "Since the Hajj has become 'high-tech,' the fundamental spirituality of the pilgrim's experience is arguably being transformed into something more akin to a 'cyber experience'," the UK researchers wrote. Traditionally the Hajj is meant to be all about simplicity, spiritual purity and contemplative worship, they explained. As with every other kind of digital technology, high tech at the Hajj had its benefits and disadvantages, they concluded.
Hindustan Times
03-06-2025
- Hindustan Times
Why did Saudi Arabia block nearly 2.7 lakh Muslims from entering Mecca for Hajj?
Authorities in Saudi Arabia have stopped nearly 2,70,000 people from entering Mecca in advance of this year's Hajj pilgrimage, in what officials say is an effort part of a broader initiative to reduce overcrowding and rule out safety risks. Saudi authorities' action comes as part of a sweeping crackdown on unauthorised access, officials cited in an Associated Press news agency report announced on Sunday. Officials said the effort is part of a broader initiative to reduce overcrowding and mitigate safety risks during the pilgrimage. The Saudi government pointed to unauthorised participants as a significant factor behind last year's heat-related fatalities. Strict measures are in place to deter unauthorised participation, including fines up to $5,000, deportation, and other penalties. The rules apply to all, including Saudi citizens and residents. At a press conference in Mecca, Lt. Gen. Mohammed Al-Omari detailed the scale of enforcement efforts, saying, 'The pilgrim is in our sight, and anyone who disobeys is in our hands.' More than 23,000 residents have already been penalised for breaking Hajj regulations, and licenses have been revoked from 400 Hajj service companies, officials said. The Hajj, a five-day series of religious rites in Mecca, is a once-in-a-lifetime duty for Muslims who are physically and financially able to perform it. But in recent years, extreme heat and safety concerns have cast a shadow over the event. To ensure security and safety, Saudi Arabia's civil defense announced the deployment of drones at this year's pilgrimage. The drones will assist with surveillance, crowd monitoring, and even fire extinguishing. Historically, the Hajj has drawn over 2 million (20 lakh) people annually and has at times been marred by deadly stampedes, fires, and other accidents.
