Saudi Arabia's King Salman called for rain-seeking Istisqa prayers to be performed all over the kingdom on Thursday, the Royal Court said on Monday.
The court said the performance of the prayers is sunnah (an action of the Prophet Mohammed) to bless the nation with rain and mercy.
Last week heavy rain and hail was seen in Makkah, Hail, Madinah, the Eastern Province and the Northern Border Region, Saudi Civil Defence said. The regions could see torrential rain this week.
Tabuk, Al Jouf and parts of Makkah will see less severe rain.
The civil defence called for caution and advised residents to avoid places where the rain is particularly heavy.
Saudi Arabia launched a cloud-seeding programme in April, with the aim of increasing rainfall, which rarely exceeds 100 millimetres a year.
It sees a salt flare shot into a cloud to induce rain. Salt naturally attracts water, the water particles then collide with others, get bigger and hopefully fall as rain.
Ayman Ghulam, CEO of the National Centre of Meteorology and the General Supervisor of the Cloud Seeding Programme, said the rain enhancement programme started this year in Riyadh, Hail and Qassim, and moved in summer to Abha.
The programme has seen positive results from 400 flights, the centre said.
“We are currently working on a rain enhancement operation over Madinah, the results of which were positive,” Mr Ghulam said.
The initiative was announced by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at the Middle East Green Summit.
Initial studies, which began in 2004, concluded that the clouds of the south-western region were suitable for seeding.
SERIES SCHEDULE
First Test, Galle International Stadium
July 26-30
Second Test, Sinhalese Sports Club Ground
August 3-7
Third Test, Pallekele International Cricket Stadium
August 12-16
First ODI, Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium
August 20
Second ODI, Pallekele International Cricket Stadium
August 24
Third ODI, Pallekele International Cricket Stadium
August 27
Fourth ODI, R Premadasa Stadium
August 31
Fifth ODI, R Premadasa Stadium
September 3
T20, R Premadasa Stadium
September 6
Scoreline
Man Utd 2 Pogba 27', Martial 49'
Everton 1 Sigurdsson 77'
Heavily-sugared soft drinks slip through the tax net
Some popular drinks with high levels of sugar and caffeine have slipped through the fizz drink tax loophole, as they are not carbonated or classed as an energy drink.
Arizona Iced Tea with lemon is one of those beverages, with one 240 millilitre serving offering up 23 grams of sugar - about six teaspoons.
A 680ml can of Arizona Iced Tea costs just Dh6.
Most sports drinks sold in supermarkets were found to contain, on average, five teaspoons of sugar in a 500ml bottle.
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
What can you do?
Document everything immediately; including dates, times, locations and witnesses
Seek professional advice from a legal expert
You can report an incident to HR or an immediate supervisor
You can use the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation’s dedicated hotline
In criminal cases, you can contact the police for additional support
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Netherlands v UAE, Twenty20 International series
Saturday, August 3 - First T20i, Amstelveen
Monday, August 5 – Second T20i, Amstelveen
Tuesday, August 6 – Third T20i, Voorburg
Thursday, August 8 – Fourth T20i, Vooryburg
