Muslim pilgrims in Mecca have circled the Kaaba, Islam’s holiest site, and then converged on a vast tent camp in the nearby desert, officially opening the annual Hajj pilgrimage. The event is returning to its full capacity for the first time since the coronavirus pandemic. So far, more than 1.8 million pilgrims from all over […]
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Saudi Arabia, for years one of the world’s most prolific executioners, dramatically reduced the number of people put to death last year, following changes halting executions for non-violent drug-related crimes, according to the government’s tally and independent observers. The Saudi government’s Human Rights Commission said on Monday it documented 27 executions in 2020. That is […]
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Saudi Arabia has released new details on how it plans to gradually allow Muslims back to Islam’s holiest site in Mecca to perform the smaller, year-round pilgrimage, which has been suspended for the past seven months due to the coronavirus. Hajj Minister Muhammad Benten said the kingdom will launch an online application that allows citizens, […]
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Saudi Arabia has announced that it will now allow flights “from all countries” to cross its skies to reach the United Arab Emirates. The historic first comes just days after the kingdom let the first direct Israeli commercial passenger flight use its airspace to reach the UAE. The statement makes no mention of the kingdom’s […]
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Saudi Arabia has banned foreign pilgrims from entering the kingdom to visit Islam’s holiest sites amid concerns over the coronavirus. The ban potentially disrupts the plans of millions of people ahead of the holy fasting month of Ramadan and as the annual hajj pilgrimage looms. The decision showed the growing worry across the Middle East […]
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Kuwait’s ruler will travel to Washington on Monday for a working visit and hold talks with U.S. President Donald Trump, the state news agency KUNA announced on Sunday. The White House said in a statement the leaders would discuss trade, investment and security cooperation in their Sept. 5 meeting. Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Jaber al-Sabah has […]
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Saudi Arabia’s public prosecutor is seeking the death penalty against five human rights activists from the kingdom’s Eastern Province currently on trial in a secretive terrorism court, groups including Human Rights Watch (HRW) said. Among the detainees is Israa al-Ghomgham, whom Saudi activists said was the first woman to possibly face the death penalty for […]
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More than two million Muslims gathered at Mount Arafat on Monday for a vigil to atone for their sins and ask God’s forgiveness as the annual haj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia reached its climax. Pilgrims clad in white robes signifying a state of purity spent the night in an encampment around the hill where Islam […]
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Canadian Muslims travelling to the Hajj pilgrimage face delays coming back due to a diplomatic dispute with Saudi Arabia that is also prompting thousands of students from the kingdom to scramble to sell their assets and return home to meet a month-end deadline. As the stalemate continues, Canada is reaching out to its allies, including […]
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Thousands of mourners on Monday buried dozens of children killed in a Saudi-led coalition air strike on a bus in northern Yemen, one of the deadliest attacks on civilians in the three-year-old war. At least 40 children were killed in Thursday’s strike, which hit the bus as it drove through a market in Dahyan, a […]
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