Middle East

Jeddah, Oct 2: Iran’s health minister has praised Saudi Arabia’s rescue and medical efforts after the stampede in Mina last week. Hassan Hashimi, at a meeting with his Saudi counterpart Khalid Al-Falih in Jeddah on Wednesday, said that the Kingdom’s ambulance and other teams had done well to transport the injured to hospitals in the region. Hashimi said the incident was out of human control and

Madinah, Sep 29: The Agency of General Presidency for the Prophet’s Mosque Affairs has appointed six interpreters to translate Friday sermons into French, English, Urdu, Chichewa, Turkish and Hausa. The translated version of the sermons would be broadcasted on various FM radio frequencies, including English (105.5FM), Urdu (105FM), Chichewa (99FM), French (99.5FM), Turkish (107FM), and Hausa (107

New York, Sep 28: Saudi Arabia firmly rejected Iran’s criticism of its handling of the Haj pilgrimage Saturday after Tehran demanded an inquiry into the Mina stampede. “I believe the Iranians should know better than to play politics with a tragedy that has befallen people who were performing their most sacred religious duty,” Foreign Minister Adel Al-Jubeir said, according to AFP. Al-Jubeir

Mina, Sep 26: The Kingdom will continue to play its role at the regional and international level for Arab and Muslim unity and will not allow anyone to drive a wedge between them or disrupt the harmony, said Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman on Friday. He was speaking at an annual reception in Mina in honor of the leaders of Islamic countries and other dignitaries. The king said Saudi

Jerusalem, Sep 25: The Zionist state on Thursday defended the actions of its soldiers who shot dead an armless 18-year-old Palestinian woman at a checkpoint in the West Bank as questions swirled over the events that led to the killing. Hadeel Al-Hashlamon was gunned down by Israeli forces on Tuesday at a checkpoint in the flash point city of Hebron. The military said she was attempting to stab a

Makkah, Sep 21: Their faces bathed in sweat, cheeks stained with tears, dozens of Muslim pilgrims scale Makkah’s Jabal Al-Noor mountain, undertaking the arduous ascent to follow in the footsteps of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). It was in a cave in this rugged, rocky peak overlooking the holy city of Makkah that Muslims believe the Qur'an was first revealed to the prophet when he was 40

Jeddah, Sep 18: Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman has condemned Israel for its blatant attacks on worshippers at Al-Aqsa Mosque. The king has spoken on phone with US President Barack Obama, Russian President Vladimir Putin, British Prime Minister David Cameron, French President Francois Hollande and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to express his concerns over Israel’s actions. He

Jeddah, Sep 17: Security agencies have arrested two terror suspects and are on the hunt for two others, according to the Interior Ministry on Wednesday. The two have been identified as Ahmed Said Jabir Al-Zahrani, 21, and Mohammed Said Jabir Al-Zahrani, 19, who were arrested at their hide-out in Riyadh, said Maj. Gen. Mansour Al-Turki, spokesman of the Interior Ministry. Al-Turki said security

Sep 11: Saudi Arabia has reportedly responded to the growing number of people fleeing the Middle East for western Europe - by offering to build 200 mosques in Germany. Syria's richer Gulf neighbours have been accused of not doing their fair share in the humanitarian crisis, with Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman and the UAE also keeping their doors firmly shut to asylum-seekers. According to the

Jeddah, Sep 7: Daesh has permitted 1,000 Iraqis to leave for Baghdad to travel to the Kingdom for Haj. The Iraqi pilgrims left Mosul on Aug. 23 for Baghdad and crossed through Anbar province. However, Khaled Al-Attiyah, president of the Supreme Commission for Haj and Umrah, called on the Iraqi government to stop pilgrims below 60 for security reasons. Iraqi political activist Ghanem Al-Abed said