Middle East

Washington, Aug 3: The Biden administration has approved two massive arms sales to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to help them defend against Iran. The more than USD 5 billion in missile defense and related sales follow President Joe Biden's visit to the Middle East last month, during which he met with numerous regional leaders in Saudi Arabia. Both Saudi Arabia and the UAE have been

The United Nations’ Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) says Israeli authorities have confiscated large swathes of land and demolished more than 50 Palestinian-owned structures across the occupied West Bank in a time span of two weeks. The OCHA said in its biweekly 'Protection of Civilians' report covering the period between June 28 and July 18 that some 47 of the targeted

Damascus, July 22: At least three Syrian soldiers were killed and seven more wounded in an Israeli strike early Friday targeting the outskirts of the Syrian capital Damascus. "The Israeli enemy carried out an air strike... from the direction of the occupied Syrian Golan... The aggression killed three soldiers and wounded seven others," the Syrian defense ministry said in a statement. The ministry

The Israeli military has carried out new airstrikes against the Gaza Strip, as the Tel Aviv regime continues its acts of aggression against the besieged Palestinian coastal enclave. The military alleged in a statement that it targeted in the early hours of Saturday morning a Hamas underground facility, which the resistance movement used for the production of rocket materials in the central Gaza

Bethlehem, July 15: US President Joe Biden has met with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in the West Bank, as hundreds of people staged a demonstration to express their outright rejection of his visit to the occupied territories on his first Middle East tour as the US president. The talks between the two sides are expected to focus on economic measures, without striking any major diplomatic

Jeddah, July 13: US President Joe Biden will sign an agreement with Israel this week pledging that both countries will use “all elements of national power” to ensure that Iran never obtains a nuclear weapon, Israeli officials said on Tuesday. The declaration of a joint stance against Iran’s nuclear program and regional aggression will be the centerpiece of Biden’s visit to Israel this week, after

Makkah, July 11: Prince Khalid Al-Faisal, governor of the Makkah Region and president of the Central Hajj Committee, said this year’s Hajj season, which welcomed around one million pilgrims for the first time after two years of COVID-19 restrictions, has been a success. “I am pleased to announce that this year’s pilgrimage has been successful on the security, service and health fronts,” Prince

Mina: Early Saturday (July 9) morning, Hajj pilgrims began to move to the Grand Mosque in Makkah for Tawaf Al-Ifadha, celebrating Eid Al-Adha. Prior to that, they had stoned the Jamarat Al-Aqaba, sacrificed animals, and had their heads shaved for the 10th day of Dul Hijjah, which marks Eid-Al-Adha. The pilgrims threw seven pebbles each at the Jamarat Al-Aqaba wall in a ritual symbolizing the devil

Riyadh, July 9: King Salman of Saudi Arabia today delivered his traditional greetings as the Muslim world celebrated Eid al-Adha. In an address on Saudi state television, King Salman noted that the Kingdom had been able to increase the number of pilgrims this year to a total of a million — from inside and outside the country — due to positive efforts made in tackling the COVID-19 pandemic. He said

Mount Arafat, July 8: Huge crowds of robed Muslim pilgrims prayed on Saudi Arabia’s Mount Arafat on Friday, the climax of the biggest Hajj pilgrimage since the pandemic forced drastic cuts in numbers two years in a row. Groups of worshippers, many holding umbrellas against the fierce sun, recited verses from the Qur'an on the rocky rise, where the Prophet Muhammad is believed to have given his