Jeddah: Saudi Arabia’s Human Rights Commission (HRC) has said that one-third of all government jobs in the country are set aside for Saudi women. The Justice Ministry and the Public Prosecution alone employed 4,495 women, Al-Madina Arabic newspaper said quoting an HRC report.
The report said all the government ministries and departments were making efforts to empower women, consolidate their rights and ensure their participation in the development process. It said as many as 220 Saudi women have joined the Ministry of Justice since it opened the door for them last year.
The commission said women worked as social, Shariah, and legal researchers, administrative assistants and computer program developers.
It said 418 Saudi women lawyers have obtained licenses to practice, adding that the number of licenses issued to women lawyers rose by 240 percent.The commission said as many as 3,140 women lawyers were currently under training to obtain accreditation.
As many as 200 Saudi women work as lawyers in the Public Prosecution and about 300 work as administrators while 150 others are under training in various departments, it added. The commission said, within efforts to empower women, a number of colleges and departments were opened for them at various universities offering programs in media studies, politics, engineering, law, among others.
The commission said a large number of Saudi women were currently doing higher studies in international universities under the Scholarship Program of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques. (INA)

Moscow: Muslims will make up 30 percent of Russia’s population by 2034, the country’s grand mufti said. Speaking at a conference in Moscow, Sheikh Ravil Gainutdin said the number of Muslims in Russia has been growing with every passing day. “According to the predictions of experts, 30 percent of Russia’s population will consist of Muslims after 15 years,” Gainutdin said.
He recalled that during last year’s Eid al-Adha religious festival, more than 320,000 Muslims came to mosques in Moscow to perform their prayers, saying this was a “record.” Noting that the number of those performing prayers during the Islamic festivals has been increasing compared to previous years, Gainutdin said it was an indicator of the rising numbers of Muslims in the country. He also said there was a need for dozens of new mosques in Russia’s big cities.
Last year, Gainutdin revealed that the Muslim community in Russia was 25 million strong and continues to grow, according to Anadolu Agency. The reason for the increase is mainly due to two factors: the high birth rate among Muslim families and through the arrival of people from Central Asia, he added.
Most Muslims in the country live in Moscow and other major metropolitan areas such as St. Petersburg and Yekaterinburg, according to Gainutdin. (INA)

LONDON: A grand flintlock gun and gold-encrusted sword are among eight rare artefacts evaluated as items from Tipu Sultan’s armoury discovered by a couple in their attic in the English county of Berkshire.
The artefacts, brought back by Major Thomas Hart of the East India Company after the Tiger of Mysore’s defeat at Srirangapatna in 1799, are now set to go under the hammer at an auction later this month.
The items were passed down generations and could fetch millions of pounds for the unnamed family in whose home it was discovered.
“This is a very exciting discovery, made in an ordinary little home in Berkshire after lying wrapped up in an attic for 220 years,” said Anthony Cribb, of Antony Cribb Ltd auctioneers who specialise in arms and armoury related sales.
“The family is not motivated by money and sincerely hopes these items find their way back to India, maybe to a museum, for future generations to have access to it,” he said.
The auction house will put up all eight items for auction on March 26 as individual pieces, without any price estimates, due to the “special” nature of the discovery.
Mr Cribb said it was impossible for him to put a price to any of the items and would rather let the market and buyers decide.
After an evaluation, a gold “Haider” symbol found on the sword confirmed that the sword belonged to Haider Ali Khan — Tipu Sultan’s father. Three other swords bearing similar gold markings were found soon after, along with a bayonet and gun.
“The gun is definitely the highlight as it not only bears the symbol of Tipu Sultan’s armoury but is also battle-worn. There is a chance that this gun was among the weapons used by the ruler in his famous last stand against the British in the Anglo-Mysore battle,” said Mr Cribb.
An intricately designed Betel Nut Casket and a shield belonging to Tipu Sultan as well as a Gold East India Company Seal ring belonging to Major Thomas Hart will also go under the hammer.
In 2014, a solid gold ring belonging to the 18th century ruler of Mysore had fetched 145,000 pounds at a Christie’s auction in London and a collection of items associated with him sold at another auction for around 6 million pounds in 2016. (NDTV)

Makkah Governor Prince Khaled al-Faisal inaugurated the new building of the Grand Mosque Library in the BathaQuraish District in a ceremony attended by Sheikh Dr. Abdulrahman al-Sudais, President of the General Presidency for the Affairs of the Two Holy Mosques.
The new building consists of thirteen floors with a floor area of 2,066 square meters. It has three front entrances for men, one separate entrance for women, five reading halls for men and two for women. In addition, the library houses a manuscripts section containing 6,842 official items. There are more than 200,000 books and over 7,000 rare books. The library has newspapers, volumes of the Qur’an and Braille books for the visually impaired.