WOMEN GUARDS AT GRAND MOSQUE

■ Saudi Arabia has deployed women security guards for the first time at Grand Mosque in Makkah. The Saudi Ministry of Interior published pictures of women on duty. Meanwhile, waiting halls for the pilgrims have been launched at the Grand Mosque. The new halls, part of the King Fahad expansion project, can accommodate about 2,000 pilgrims at one time to ease congestion when tracks for the circumambulation ritual around the Holy Kaaba become full.