Latest news with #pilgrims
The National
4 days ago
- The National
Best photos of July 20: Karbala pilgrimage to camels in Al Ain
Shiite pilgrims gather at a rest stop in Basra province, Iraq, on July 19 as they perform the annual march from the southern port of Al Faw to the holy city of Karbala in time for the Arbaeen festival marking the 40th day after Ashura, commemorating the killing of the Prophet Mohammed's grandson Imam Hussein. AFP
Arab News
5 days ago
- Business
- Arab News
Saudi Arabia suspends seven Umrah companies for housing pilgrims in unlicensed accommodations
ISLAMABAD: Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Hajj and Umrah has suspended seven Umrah companies over violations of regulatory controls, including housing pilgrims in unlicensed accommodations, the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported this week. The violations were identified as part of the ministry's ongoing oversight efforts to improve the quality of services provided to the 'Guests of God,' according to the SPA report. 'The Ministry explained that these violations constitute serious transgressions that affect the safety and comfort of pilgrims,' it said. The Saudi Ministry of Hajj and Umrah said it had immediately begun taking legal measures against the violating companies in preparation for the implementation of the penalties stipulated by the law, according to the report. 'The Ministry of Hajj and Umrah affirmed its keenness to ensure that pilgrims receive their full rights, in accordance with the highest standards of quality and efficiency, stressing that it will not be lenient with any party that fails to fulfill its contractual obligations or endangers the safety of pilgrims,' the report read further. The ministry called on all Umrah companies and institutions to fully comply with the approved regulations and instructions, and to ensure the provision of agreed-upon services within the specified timetables to contribute to enhancing the experience of pilgrims and achieving their satisfaction during their stay in the Kingdom.
NHK
7 days ago
- NHK
Tosa: Blessings and Perils of the Kuroshio Current - Japanology Plus
*First broadcast on July 17, 2025 Peter Barakan visits the region of Tosa, famous for the mighty Kuroshio Current and bonito fishing. It is also the place where the high priest Kobo Daishi is said to have attained enlightenment. On a rocky outcrop overlooking the Kuroshio Current stands a shrine where prayers are made for safety at sea. Sodabushi is a special umami-packed variety of dried bonito flakes. Pilgrims who follow in the footsteps of Kobo Daishi include many people from all around the world.
Japan Times
17-07-2025
- General
- Japan Times
New Delhi's river divers risk health in polluted waters, seeking treasures
At the crack of dawn, Ramu Gupta slings a blue bag onto his shoulder and heads to the Yamuna River in the Indian capital in search of his fortune. The 67-year-old is one of hundreds of gotakhors (divers) who go to the river to hunt for coins, trinkets, discarded bottles and shards of metal and wood that can be sold in Delhi's booming scrap market. "I earn approximately 5,000 Indian rupees ($58) in a month from this,' said Gupta, who spends his days working as a toilet cleaner near the shack where he lives. He saves the extra income for his two grandchildren, hoping to split it between them when they grow up. Hindus consider rivers as holy and pilgrims toss offerings including coins, coconuts and flowers into the water for the 'river goddess' who sustains lives by giving water for drinking and irrigation. They regard the Yamuna River, which originates in the Himalayas, as one of the most sacred in India, cremating the dead on its banks and throwing their most precious possessions, including jewelry, into the waters along with their loved ones' ashes. Gupta and his fellow divers swim beneath the polluted waters, often risking their health in their search for riches. Ramu Gupta, a 67-year-old man who goes to the river to hunt for coins and other valuables, carries a bag filled with plastic from the waters of the Yamuna River in New Delhi on June 26. | REUTERS He is at the river in the morning and evening seven days a week, and goes to his regular work during the day — a routine he has followed for 35 years. Arvind Kumar, 29, has been working on the river full time for nearly 12 years. "There is no fixed income from this kind of work,' said Kumar, who earns up to 600 Indian rupees per day on average, below the government's minimum daily wage of 710 Indian rupees for an unskilled worker. Mostly, the divers collect coins, bottles and plastics. Occasionally they might discover some slivers of gold. More rarely, gold rings and necklaces. Sometimes, they also find bodies, and then the police might call on them to help retrieve them. If they see people carried away by the currents, they might try to rescue them. This makes the divers "happier than the person rescued,' Gupta said. A devout Hindu, Gupta said he was not afraid of the river because he had the protection of "Mata Rani," the Hindu mother goddess. "So why be scared?" he asked. "If she wants, I will die, if she wants me to live, she'll save me.'
Malay Mail
16-07-2025
- General
- Malay Mail
Risking it all in the holy river: India's scrap divers search for fortune beneath filth
NEW DELHI, July 16 — At the crack of dawn, Ramu Gupta slings a blue bag onto his shoulder and heads to the Yamuna River in the Indian capital in search of his fortune. The 67-year-old is one of hundreds of gotakhors, or divers, who go to the river to hunt for coins, trinkets, discarded bottles and shards of metal and wood that can be sold in Delhi's booming scrap market. 'I earn approximately 5,000 Indian rupees (RM250) in a month from this,' said Gupta, who spends his days working as a toilet cleaner near the shack where he lives. He saves the extra income for his two grandchildren, hoping to split it between them when they grow up. Items collected by people, who go to the river to hunt for coins and other valuables from the waters of river Yamuna, are kept in a container in New Delhi, India, June 26, 2025. — Reuters pic Hindus consider rivers as holy and pilgrims toss offerings including coins, coconuts and flowers into the water for the 'river goddess' who sustains lives by giving water for drinking and irrigation. They regard the Yamuna River, which originates in the Himalayas, as one of the most sacred in India, cremating the dead on its banks and throwing their most precious possessions, including jewellery, into the waters along with their loved ones' ashes. Gupta and his fellow divers swim beneath the polluted waters, often risking their health in their search for riches. He is at the river in the morning and evening seven days a week, and goes to his regular work during the day — a routine that he has followed for 35 years. Arvind Kumar, 29, has been working on the river full time for nearly 12 years. 'There is no fixed income from this kind of work,' said Kumar, who earns up to 600 Indian rupees per day on average, below the government's minimum daily wage of 710 Indian rupees for an unskilled worker. Pappi, who goes only by the first name, uses a container as he searches for coins and other valuable items thrown by Hindu devotees as religious offerings in the waters of river Yamuna in New Delhi, India, June 26, 2025. — Reuters pic Mostly, the divers collect coins, bottles and plastics. Occasionally they might discover some slivers of gold. More rarely, gold rings and necklaces. Sometimes, they also find bodies, and then the police might call on them to help retrieve them. If they see people carried away by the currents, they might try to rescue them. This makes the divers 'happier than the person rescued,' Gupta said. A devout Hindu, Gupta said he was not afraid of the river because he had the protection of 'Mata Rani', the Hindu mother goddess. 'So why be scared?' he asked. 'If she wants, I will die, if she wants me to live, she'll save me.' — Reuters
