International

Diplomats on Tuesday said at least 550 pilgrims died during the hajj, underscoring the gruelling nature of the pilgrimage which again unfolded in scorching temperatures this year. At least 323 of those who died were Egyptians, most of them succumbing to heat-related illnesses, two Arab diplomats coordinating their countries’ responses told AFP. “All of them (the Egyptians) died because of ...

Thirteen people have died in flooding and landslides in El Salvador and Guatemala as heavy rains pound Central America, authorities from the two countries said. In El Salvador, the hardest hit country so far, five people died Monday in a landslide in the western district of Tacuba, in the department of Ahuachapan, Civil defense chief Luis Amaya said, AFP reports. ...

Muslim pilgrims converged on a vast tent camp near Makkah called Mina on Friday, officially opening the annual Hajj pilgrimage. Ahead of their trip, they circled the Kaaba in the Grand Mosque, Islam’s holiest site, reports Arab News. More than 1.5 million pilgrims from around the world have already amassed in and around Makkah for the Hajj, and the number ...

The annual Hajj pilgrimage officially began on Friday as pilgrims in Saudi Arabia made their way on foot and by bus to Mina, where they will camp at one of the largest tent cities in the world. The Mina valley, about 5km east of the Grand Mosque in Makkah, is a 250-hectare open space covered by more than 100,000 air-conditioned ...

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has arrived in Qatar to push for agreement on a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal which currently hangs in the balance after a Hamas response to the latest proposals. Mr Blinken was said to have been up late into the night assessing the text handed by Hamas to mediators Qatar and Egypt. The ...

US President Joe Biden has said he will respect a jury’s decision to find his son guilty of gun crimes, after a week-long trial that laid bare a tumultuous time for the family. The 12-person jury found Hunter Biden, 54, guilty of lying about his drug use on a form while purchasing a handgun in 2018. He faces possible jail ...

The annual hajj pilgrimage, one of the five pillars of Islam, will start on Friday with well over one million Muslims from around the world expected to take part, reports AFP. Last year the hajj drew more than 1.8 million pilgrims, according to official figures, after authorities lifted pandemic-era restrictions and scrapped age limits. All Muslims are expected to complete ...

The Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, its ally the Islamic Jihad group and the rival Palestinian Authority of President Mahmoud Abbas’s welcomed a UN Security Council resolution backing a proposal for a ceasefire in Gaza. In its statement, Hamas said it was ready to cooperate with mediators over implementing the principles of the plan. Hamas earlier on Monday said it was ...

Singapore Airlines on Tuesday said it has offered $10,000 in compensation to passengers who suffered minor injuries on a flight hit by violent turbulence last month and will discuss higher payouts with those more badly hurt. A 73-year-old British man died and several other passengers and crew onboard flight SQ321 from London suffered skull, brain and spine injuries during the ...

President Emmanuel Macron has called snap parliamentary elections later this month in the wake of a big victory for his rival Marine Le Pen’s National Rally in the European Parliament vote. The far-right party is on course to win 32% of the vote, exit polls say, more than twice that of the president’s Renaissance party. Announcing the dissolution of parliament, ...