(2020-06-24). Hajj 2020: It Was an Uneasy Decision to Limit Number of Pilgrims Due to COVID, Saudi Officials Say. sputniknews.com Having dragged the world into a global recession, the COVID-19 outbreak has impacted people's spiritual lives as well: almost two million Muslim pilgrims won't be able to make a journey to the holy cities of Mecca and Medina. Saudi Arabian officials have explained that it was an uneasy decision.
(2020-06-23). How Washington intends to triumph. thealtworld.com During the quarter of Western lockdown, the map of the Middle East was profoundly transformed. Yemen has been divided into two separate countries, Israel is paralysed by two Prime Ministers who hate each other, Iran openly supports NATO in Iraq and Libya, Turkey occupies northern Syria, Saudi Arabia is close to bankruptcy. All alliances are being called into question and new dividing lines are appearing or rather reappearing. | For two decades Washington has been trying to "reshape" the "Greater Middle East", an arbitrarily defined region stretching from Afghanistan to Morocco. However, over the last three years…
(2020-06-23). Saudi Arabia bans international pilgrims for this year's hajj. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Jun. 23 (MNA) — Saudi Arabia made the decision to restrict this year's hajj, or pilgrimage to the sacred Islamic cities of Mecca and Medina, for pilgrims arriving from abroad due to coronavirus-related epidemiological precautions, Saudi Ministry of Hajj and Umrah said on Monday.
(2020-06-22). Muslim bloc to address situation in Kashmir. yenisafak.com The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) "upon the request of Pakistan" will hold an emergency meeting at the level of foreign ministers over the current situation in Jammu and Kashmir, according to the Turkish Foreign Ministry on Monday.Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu will also participate in the Emergency Meeting of the OIC Contact Group on Jammu and Kashmir, where "possible joint actions within the OIC concerning the ongoing problems regarding human rights and freedoms in Kashmir will be discussed," said the statement.Additionally, foreign ministers of Azerbaijan, Niger, Pakistan and Saudi Arab…
(2020-06-21). Yemen's UAE-Backed Separatists Seize Socotra Island. telesurenglish.net Yemen's Southern Transitional Council (STC) fighters seized the strategic island of Socotra, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, according to the United Nations recognized government, which accused the group of staging a coup. | RELATED: "The militias of the so-called Transitional Council in the Socotra carried out a full-fledged coup that undermined state institutions in the province," Yemen's official news agency rep…
(2020-06-21). Yemeni Capital Struck By Heaviest Air Strikes In Years. popularresistance.org It was around 6: 45am (03.45 GMT) on Tuesday morning when Hussein al-Samie's son began crying, woken by an earth-shattering air strike that targeted al-Nahdain Mountain in the middle of Sanaa. | Samie's son, Shadi, is four years old. He has no memory of the relentless air strikes that pounded the Houthi-held capital in 2015 and 2016 when the Saudi-led coalition first entered Yemen's war. | Tuesday's raid shook Samie's house to its core, and with no experience of blasts this heavy and this close, Shadi's nerves have been frayed as well. | "There were fiercer air strikes in 2015, but we adapted to the bombing then,"
(2020-06-21). Ethiopians marvel at once-in-decades solar eclipse. yenisafak.com Parts of Ethiopia witnessed a solar eclipse that lasted hours starting in the early hours on Sunday.People living in Wollega in Oromia, Ajibara and Lalibella in Amhara and numerous places in Afar woke up to a spectacular fire ring, as up to 90% of the sun was blocked by the moon.First visible in Central and East Africa starting from the Republic of Congo, the eclipse passed over Oman, Yemen, Pakistan, India and China, covering parts of the Pacific Ocean, according to Ethiopian Space Science and Technology Institute.Many people in Ethiopia, however, missed the once-in-decades sight due to lack of protective grasse…
(2020-06-21). OIC to hold emergency meeting on Jammu and Kashmir. yenisafak.com The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Contact Group on Jammu and Kashmir will hold an emergency meeting via videoconference on Monday to discuss the latest situation in the disputed territory.The online meet will bring together the foreign ministers of the Jammu And Kashmir Contact Group member states: Azerbaijan, Niger, Pakistan Saudi Arabia and Turkey, the OIC said in a statement."The meeting is part of a series of continuous Jammu And Kashmir Contact Group meetings to address the issue," OIC Secretary General Dr. Yousef Al-Othaimeen was quoted as saying. The OIC, founded in 1967 and consists of 67 coun…