Middle East

Jeddah, Jun 15: More than 2 million worshippers gathered at Makkah’s Grand Mosque to attend the last night of the Qur’an recitation during the holy fasting month of Ramadan. The prayers, during which verses of the Qur’an were recited, were led by Sheikh Abdul Rahman bin Abdul Aziz Al-Sudais. At the same time, hundreds of thousands of worshippers flocked to the Prophet’s Mosque in Madinah from all

Dubai, Jun 14: The crescent of the Shawwal moon has been sighted in Jebel Hafeet, Al Ain, the International Astronomy Center announced on Thursday. This means Eid Al Fitr should begin tomorrow. The crescent was seen using the technique of astronomical imaging, and the moon wasn't spotted with the naked eye, the astronomy centre added. The final announcement will be made when the moon-sighting

United Nations, Jun 14: The UN General Assembly has adopted by a strong majority of 120 countries an Arab-backed resolution condemning Israel for Palestinian deaths in Gaza and rejected a US bid to put the blame on Hamas. At least 129 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire during protests near the border with Gaza that began at the end of March. No Israelis have died. The resolution put

Dubai, Jun 13: Popular Indian origin Chef Atul Kochhar on Wednesday said he was ‘deeply upset’ by a Dubai hotel’s decision to cut ties with him, following his inflammatory tweet that caused outrage on social media amid accusations of racism, bigotry and Islamophobia. “The decision by JW Marriott Marquis Dubai is deeply upsetting, however I fully accept the great pain I have caused and the

Dubai, Jun 13: The Saudi Air Defense Force intercepted a ballistic missile fired by the Iran-backed Houthi militias from Saada province, Yemen, towards Saudi territories, UAE state news agency WAM reported on Wednesday. The official spokesman for the Coalition to Restore Legitimacy in Yemen, Col. Turki Al-Maliki, stated that at 3:46am the Saudi Air Force intercepted a missile launched by the Iran

Dubai, Jun 13: A popular Indian-origin chef in the United Arab Emirates has landed in a controversy after he allegedly posted an anti-Islam tweet, triggering calls for his sacking, a media report said on Tuesday. Atul Kochhar, a Michelin-Star chef well known here for his Rang Mahal Indian restaurant at the JW Marriott Marquis hotel, received flak after taking a dig at Bollywood actor Priyanka

Geneva, Jun 12: More than 920,000 people were displaced inside Syria during the first four months of 2018, the highest level in the seven-year conflict, the UN said Monday. “We are seeing a massive displacement inside Syria... From January to April, there were over 920,000 newly displaced people,” Panos Moumtzis, the UN regional humanitarian coordinator for Syria, told reporters in Geneva. “This

Jeddah, Jun 11: Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates agreed on Monday to provide an economic aid package worth $2.5 billion for Jordan, which is facing an economic crisis following anti-austerity protests. The package, announced at a summit of the four nations in the holy city of Makkah, will include a deposit in the Jordanian central bank, World Bank guarantees, budgetary support

Beirut, Jun 8: Air strikes thought to have been carried out by Russian jets on a rebel-held residential area in northwestern Syrian have killed 38 civilians, a Britain-based monitor said Friday. Five children were among those killed when the strikes hit the area of Zardana in the northwestern Idlib province late Thursday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group said. Zardana is

Brussels, Jun 7: NATO on Wednesday declined an overture by Qatar to join the Western military defense alliance, saying membership was reserved to the United States and Europe. It was responding to a comment by Qatar’s defense minister on Tuesday that his country’s long-term strategic “ambition” was to join NATO. “According to Article 10 of the Washington Treaty, only European countries can become