Some voices in the US Congress are reportedly suggesting that the US cut back its financial contribution to the UN system and withdraw from some of its main bodies, such as the UN Human Rights Council, if the UN General Assembly votes in favour of recognising an independent Palestinian state […]
By ARAB NEWS MAKKAH: On behalf of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah, Prince Naif, second deputy premier and minister of interior, inaugurated a scientific forum for Haj research, which is attended by nearly 1,000 speakers, experts and delegates. Prince Naif commended the efforts of King Abdullah to […]
By ARAB NEWS JEDDAH: Work is under way to establish the first global Islamic historical encyclopedia of its kind on the Haj, Makkah, the Grand Mosque and the Prophet’s Mosque in Madinah. Involved in the preparation of the encyclopedia are Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Institute for Haj Research […]
With an estimated population of about 78 million, most of them aged under 30, the Islamic Republic of Iran, to use the official title, attracts something like two million tourists a year. A significant chunk originate from the European Union, notably Italy, Germany, France and Belgium. Evidently realising the potential […]
In interview with Washington Post, Jordan King Abdullah laments Israeli public’s gravitation toward the right, rejection of 1967 borders, saying prospects for Middle East peace are grim. Jordanian King Abdullah expressed alarm over Israel’s prevailing political opinions in an interview with the Washington Post Thursday, saying that the Israeli public […]
EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton meets Palestinian PM, president after Lieberman tells her, ‘Abbas does not want an agreement, but rather confrontation with Israel.’ Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas called upon European Union nations on Friday to recognize a Palestinian state, according to an AFP report. According to the report, […]
Israel aims to force Palestinians in the Gaza Strip to leave the enclave through a strategy of pressuring them and making their living conditions hard, says a UN special rapporteur. “One of the tactics I think is to demoralize the Palestinians to an extent that at least a large number […]
By ASSOCIATED PRESS BEIRUT: Syrian security forces killed at least 16 people Friday, including a teenage boy, as thousands of people poured into the streets across the country calling for the downfall of President Bashar Assad’s regime, activists said. The unrest also appeared to be spilling over into neighboring Lebanon. […]
By LARA JAKES | AP KARBALA, Iraq: At times, as he describes how he sleeps on the floor of the store where he works or misses the family he left in Nepal to find a job, Mohan Rai punctuates his gloomy tale with a laugh. He tries to make light […]
Noam Chomsky is one of the major intellectuals of our time. The eighty-two-year-old American linguist, philosopher and activist is a severe critic of US foreign and economic policy. Ceyda Nurtsch talked to him about the Arabic spring in its global context Mr. Chomsky, many people claim that the Arab world […]
By P.K. ABDUL GHAFOUR | ARAB NEWS JEDDAH: The Haramain Railway, which will link the holy cities of Makkah and Madinah with Jeddah, will cost about SR42 billion, according to a report circulated by the Saudi Railway Organization (SRO). The high-speed rail project will bring about dramatic improvement in transportation of pilgrims between the two […]
By BADEA ABU AL-NAJA | ARAB NEWS MAKKAH: Three Saudi engineers attending the Haj Research Forum in Makkah have called for expanding the mataf, the area surrounding the Holy Kaaba, in order to accommodate more worshippers. Abdul Haleem Khouj, head of the team that made the proposal, said it would […]
Every time the US intervenes in a Muslim country, it ends up helping the extremists As if the mind-numbing mess created by the United States in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan wasn’t enough, it had to turn its attention to Yemen. Yemen is in the midst of an unprecedented popular revolt […]
By Taylor Luck OCCUPIED JERUSALEM – Amidst the winding maze of cobblestone streets in the old city of Jerusalem stands a café that goes out of its way to make any Jordanian feel close to home. A collage of photographs of King Hussein, Jordanian flags and bagpipe ballads greet visitors […]
AMMAN (JT) – A failure of US and international efforts in reviving the Middle East talks will dim the chances for reaching a breakthrough in the peace process, which may start a new Intifada in the Palestinian territories, His Majesty King Abdullah has said in an interview. In an interview […]
In 1326, Ibn Battuta completed his first pilgrimage to Mecca. But instead of returning home, he decided to see as many parts of Dar al-Islam as possible, vowing never to travel the same road twice. In the end, he traveled more than 75,000 miles, down the east coast of Africa […]
Here begins Ibn Battuta’s travels p. 43 I left Tangier, my birthplace, on Thursday, 2nd Rajab 725 [June 14, 1325], being at that time twenty-two years of age [22 lunar years; 21 and 4 months by solar reckoning], with the intention of making the Pilgrimage to the Holy House [at […]
By AGENCIES COLOMBO: India and Sri Lanka on Tuesday resumed sea ferry services for the first time in 30 years, aiming to boost tourism and economic cooperation after the end of Sri Lanka’s civil war. An Indian ferry with a capacity for 1,044 passengers docked at Colombo’s port this morning […]
By KIMBERLY DOZIER | AP WASHINGTON: Preparing for a worst-case scenario in Yemen, the United States is building a secret CIA air base in the Gulf to target Al-Qaeda terrorists there, in case anti-American factions win the current power struggle and shut US forces out, The Associated Press has learned. […]
By GALAL FAKKAR | ARAB NEWS JEDDAH: An official of the Egyptian Haj Mission said Wednesday pilgrim ferry service between Egypt and Saudi Arabia would be resumed this year. “The ferry service was canceled last year because of poor safety arrangements in the vessels,” said Egyptian Haj Mission Deputy Chief […]