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A picture shows pilgrims circumambulating around the Kaaba, the holiest shrine in the Grand mosque in the holy Saudi city of Mecca. (AFP)

Hajj 2020: Masked pilgrims throw sanitised pebbles at Satan

Only up to 10,000 Muslims are taking part in the Hajj after millions of international pilgrims were barred due to coronavirus restrictions

31 Jul 2020 2:50 PM

King Salman bin Abdulaziz chairing a virtual cabinet meeting from his office at the King Faisal Specialist Hospital in Riyadh. (AFP)

Saudi’s King Salman discharged from hospital after surgery

The King’s health is closely watched because of the absolute powers he holds over one of the world's top oil-rich country

31 Jul 2020 12:31 PM

A Muslim pilgrim prays inside the Namira Mosque in Arafat as he wears a mask to protect himself against coronavirus during the annual hajj pilgrimage near the holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia. (AP)

Families join Hajj pilgrims virtually in this year's downsized event

In the first days of the pilgrimage, many were seen holding their phones aloft to livestream their progress to friends and family back home

31 Jul 2020 10:43 AM

An installation depicting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at a mock "Last Supper" by Israeli artist Itay Zalait, is placed at Rabin square in Tel Aviv, Israel. (AP)

Last Supper of Israeli democracy: Artist takes aim at Netanyahu with life-size statue

Critics accuse Netanyahu of clinging to power while on trial for corruption and using emergency powers under the guise of battling COVID-19

29 Jul 2020 3:10 PM

Ballistic missile fire detected from the drill resulted in American troops being put on alert at Al-Dhafra Air Base in Abu Dhabi. (Representational Image: PTI)

Iran missiles land at UAE airbase where India's Rafale jets were halted overnight

However, the message of the drill seems to be targeted at the United States, which saw two American bases go on alert over the launches

29 Jul 2020 1:54 PM

Sharjah Police are investigating what could have led to the incident, while prosecutors have ordered for an examination to be carried out on the girl's body in the forensic lab. (Representational Image)

Kerala girl falls to death in Sharjah

An official from the Sharjah Police told reporters that investigations are currently going on whether this was a case of suicide

27 Jul 2020 3:31 PM

Travellers, mask-clad due to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, walking with luggage as part of the first group of arrivals for the annual Hajj pilgrimage, at the Red Sea coastal city of Jeddah's King Abdulaziz International Airport. - The 2020 hajj season, which has been scaled back dramatically to include only around 1,000 Muslim pilgrims as Saudi Arabia battles a coronavirus surge, is set to begin on July 29. (via AFP)

Saudi's downscaled Hajj season begins with restrictions and caution

Pilgrims are required to be tested for coronavirus before arriving in Mecca and will also have to quarantine after the pilgrimage

27 Jul 2020 9:53 AM

Men wearing face masks wait before praying in front of Hagia Sophia during the preparations for the Friday prayier in Istanbul, on July 23, 2020. - The first prayers at Hagia Sophia since the Istanbul landmark was reconverted to a mosque will take place on July 23, 2020. (AFP)

First Friday prayers held in Hagia Sophia after mosque reconversion

Experts say Erdogan's move to reconvert Hagia Sophia is an attempt to galvanise his conservative and nationalist base

24 Jul 2020 3:58 PM

An Israeli researcher demonstrates a coronavirus breathalyser test by exhaling into a small bag called the "Air Trap" at the laboratory of NanoScent's headquarters in Misgav industrial zone near the northern city of Karmiel. (AFP)

Israeli firm developing coronavirus breathalyser test

NanoScent, the firm making the test kits, said an extensive trial within Israel delivered results with 85 percent accuracy

24 Jul 2020 11:29 AM

Visitors look at mosaics inside the Byzantine-era Hagia Sophia, in the historic Sultanahmet district of Istanbul.Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is scheduled to join hundreds of worshipers Friday, July 24, 2020, for the first Muslim prayers at the Hagia Sophia in 86 years, weeks after a controversial high court ruling paved the way for the landmark monument to be turned back into a mosque. The mosaics will be covered up with curtains during the prayers, officials have said. (AP)

Five things to know about the Hagia Sophia

The conversion of the edifice, once an important church of Christendom and 'jewel' of Byzantine Empire, has led to an international outcry

24 Jul 2020 10:36 AM

The ministry says a delegation led by its Directorate of Defense Research and Development will travel to India in the coming weeks to experiment with different tests that use voice recordings, breathalyzers, isothermal technology and analysis of polyamino acids.(AFP)

Israel will send research team to India to test out diagnostic technologies

The delegation will also bring ‘cutting-edge equipment’ donated by the government and the private sector, including ventilators

23 Jul 2020 7:25 PM

Kuwait's ruling emir, Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Sabah (center). (AP)

Kuwait's emir travels to US for medical treatment

The emir, who has ruled the oil-rich Gulf state since 2006, had been in hospital since the weekend

23 Jul 2020 3:44 PM

Iran executes man convicted of spying for US, Israel

The former translator also helped to locate a top Iranian general Soleimani, killed later by the Americans, the judiciary said

20 Jul 2020 5:34 PM

King Salman bin Abdulaziz, who has ruled the world’s largest oil exporter and close U.S. ally since 2015, was undergoing medical checks. (AFP)

Saudi King Salman admitted to hospital

The de facto ruler and next in line to the throne is the crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, who is popular among young Saudis

20 Jul 2020 12:12 PM

An H-2A rocket carrying the Hope Probe known as "Al-Amal" in Arabic, developed by the Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC) in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to explore Mars, blasts off from Tanegashima Space Centre in southwestern Japan. (Handout photograph released by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries via AFP)

UAE’s Amal spacecraft rockets toward Mars in Arab world 1st

Named Al-Amal, or Hope, this is Arab world’s first space mission, a major step for the oil-dependent economy seeking a future in space

20 Jul 2020 8:53 AM

Sarah Amiri, deputy project manager of the United Arab Emirates Mars mission, talks about the project named "Hope," or "al-Amal" in Arabic, which is scheduled for launch in 2020, during a ceremony in Dubai, UAE.(AP)

UAE’s Mars mission delayed again due to bad weather

Named Al-Amal or ‘Hope’, the probe is the first-ever Arab space mission now set to be launched on coming Friday

16 Jul 2020 8:48 AM

Pope Francis hurt by Turkey’s decision to turn Hagia Sophia into a mosque

'My thoughts go to Istanbul. I think of Santa Sophia and I am very pained,' the Pope said during his weekly blessing in St. Peter’s Square

13 Jul 2020 12:17 PM

A man waves a Turkish flag outside the Byzantine-era Hagia Sophia, one of Istanbul's main tourist attractions in the historic Sultanahmet district of Istanbul, following Turkey's Council of State's decision. (AP)

World Council of Churches ‘dismayed’ at Hagia Sophia shift

US State Department said it was ‘disappointed’ by the decision and looks forward to seeing how Turkey plans to keep the landmark open to all

12 Jul 2020 10:07 AM

Aerial view of the Byzantine-era Hagia Sophia, one of Istanbul's main tourist attractions in the historic Sultanahmet district of Istanbul. (AP)

Turkey’s court ruling turns Hagia Sophia into a mosque

The decision to turn the former cathedral to a place of muslim worship has sparked deep dismay among country's Orthodox Christians

11 Jul 2020 1:14 PM

A mask-clad Israeli soldier stands on guard at a checkpoint at the main entrance of al-Fawwar camp for Palestinian refugees, south of Hebron in the occupied West Bank. (AFP)

France asks Israel to drop West Bank annexation plans

Macron emphasised that annexation would contravene international law and jeopardise possibility of peace between Israelis and Palestinians

10 Jul 2020 3:58 PM

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Dilip Cherian