Saudi Arabia has asked Muslims to wait until there is more clarity about the coronavirus pandemic before planning to attend the annual Hajj pilgrimage, the Minister for Hajj and Umrah said on state TV on Tuesday. Earlier this month, Saudi Arabia suspended the year-round Umrah pilgrimage over fears of the[…]
Saudi authorities have seized more than five million medical masks that were illegally stockpiled amid the coronavirus outbreak, state media has reported, as the death toll in the kingdom doubled. The commerce ministry seized 1.17 million masks from a private store in Hail, northwest of the capital Riyadh, Saudi Press[…]
Human Rights Watch (HRW) published a report today highlighting abuses by Saudi Arabia and the forces it supports in the ongoing conflict in Yemen, specifically in the eastern province of Al-Mahrah, which shares a border with Oman. The report, released a day before the fifth-anniversary of the Saudi-led military intervention[…]
Human Rights Watch (HRW) has condemned Saudi Arabia and Saudi-backed forces in war-torn Yemen for carrying out a series of abuses against Yemeni civilians in the furthermost eastern province of al-Mahra. In a report published on Wednesday, the New York-based group said the abuses included arbitrary arrests, forced disappearances and[…]
Saudi Arabia has decided to suspend congregational prayers across all mosques in the Kingdom, except for the Two Holy Mosques in Makkah and Madinah. The decision announced Tuesday encourages Muslims to pray at home rather than mosques to avoid the spread of the coronavirus. A statement on SPA said it[…]
Saudi Arabia temporarily suspended on Thursday the travel of its citizens and residents to 39 countries including 27 European Union states amid a jump in the number of coronavirus cases from 21 to 45 with reporting of 24 new cases, including 21 in Makkah. The new measures were taken as[…]
By Mark Owen Jones Coronavirus is being opportunistically weaponised through disinformation and propaganda tactics aimed at demonising political opponents, while exposing latent prejudices. There have been numerous reports of increased xenophobia towards those who look Chinese. Epidemics often prompt the activation of latent tropes that paint specific communities as uncivilised[…]
Saudi Arabia reopened two of the holiest religious sites in Islam, Al-Haram Mosque in Makkah and Al-Masjid al Nabawy in Madina, after they were closed for sterilization to halt the spread of the new coronavirus, state TV Al-Ekhbariya reported on Friday. Saudi Arabia closed the sites to foreign pilgrims and[…]
Stock markets in the oil-rich Gulf states dropped on Sunday after the worst week for oil prices since 2008 and amid fears about the impact of the coronavirus. The crisis threatens to undercut Gulf economies, which are already battling a downturn and struggling to wean themselves from their decades-old addiction to[…]
Saudi Arabia’s decision to suspend travel to the country’s holiest sites over fears of the fast-spreading coronavirus has left travel agents scrambling to rearrange bookings as pilgrims remain in the dark over how long the “temporary” ban might continue. Late on Wednesday, Riyadh’s foreign ministry tweeted that it was suspending entry for pilgrims heading to Mecca and Medina for[…]
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