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MAKKAH: Overstayers are attempting to enter Makkah and the holy sites without Haj permits in order to perform the pilgrimage.

A Passport Department inspector at the Shumaisy checkpoint said he recently caught a Nigerian woman, who impersonated a compatriot who died last year to enter Makkah. “She showed a valid-looking iqama while passing the check-post in a car. As I strongly suspected foul play, I made a computer verification of her documents,” the official said. The woman asked him to let her go, saying she had already paid SR500 to the car driver to smuggle her in. She also claimed her friends in Madinah had given her the dead woman’s iqama.

The official also recalled another instance when he thwarted an old Saudi driver’s attempt to smuggle a man disguised as a woman and four Indonesian women into Makkah. They all had their faces covered.

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JEDDAH: Labor Minister Ghazi Al-Gosaibi has urged owners of restaurants and coffee shops to create a conducive atmosphere to attract young Saudis to work in the sector.

Restaurants and coffee shops are important areas of work. Saudis should not be ashamed of working in this sector, he said.

The minister made this comment while receiving members of the Hospitality Committee at the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry on Thursday.

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JEDDAH: The Saudi stock market recovered slightly yesterday after falling over 2 percent on Saturday. The Tadawul All-Share Index (TASI) edged higher by 37.70 points after rising 38.09 points on Sunday but the index is still down over one percent so far this year.

Saudi Industrial Export Co. was the top gainer as its shares jumped the maximum 10 percent to SR30.80 yesterday.

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JEDDAH: The popular Saudi fast food restaurant chain Al-Baik announced yesterday that it has reduced the prices of its main products due to a global decrease in the cost of raw materials.

Advertisements published in various local newspapers by Al-Baik read: “Based on its commitment to the nation and community it serves by providing the highest quality food, service and value to its customers, prices will be reduced on its main products.”

Prices of soya, petrol, chicken, cooking oil and paper/plastic packaging has gone down over the past few months leading to the reduction of the local fast food giant’s main products. No other chains have made any similar announcement so far and are maintaining their previously increased prices.

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