Muslim pilgrims have gathered in the valley of Mount Arafat in Saudi Arabia for a day of prayer that marks the pinnacle of the annual hajj. Some 2 million pilgrims packed shoulder to shoulder early Monday for an emotional day of repentance and supplication. It was on this day some 1,400 years ago that Islam’s Prophet Muhammad is said to ...

Over 2 million Muslims from across the world have gathered at Saudi Arab’s Makkah for the official start of the Hajj pilgrimage on Sunday. The Standing (wuqoof), the climax of the pilgrimage, is to be held at the Arafat Maidan on Monday. Hajj will officially end on Tuesday, when Saudi Arabia celebrates Eid-ul-Azha, with the Korbani sacrifices. According to Saudi ...

Prisons minister takes share of blame for poor state of G4S-run jail being taken over by MoJ The government bears a share of the blame for the state of HMP Birmingham, the prisons minister Rory Stewart has said, after the Ministry of Justice was forced to undertake an emergency takeover of the G4S-run jail. A report by the chief inspector ...

Bangladesh High Commission in London observed 15 August as “National Mourning Day” – the 43rd death anniversary of the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, with due reverence and solemnity. In the morning, the programme started with hoisting of the national flag at half-mast.  At 11.00 am a discussion meeting took place focusing on the importance of the day.  The High Commissioner ...

The final cook-off competition of the Asian Restaurant and Takeaway Awards (ARTA) were held at Hackney City College in London on Monday. Chefs shortlisted from greater London and neighbouring areas participated in the event that was graced by the restaurant directors, celebrities, executive chefs and culinary teachers from colleges and universities. Speaking on the occasion, the guests said many of the ...

Mark Rowley urges politicians and media not to underestimate threat of domestic extreme rightwing groups The UK has not “woken up” to the threat posed by the far right, the former head of the Metropolitan police’s counter-terrorism unit has said. Mark Rowley urged politicians, the media and communities not to underestimate the threat of far-right groups, citing how National Action, ...

Activists challenge lack of prayer spaces and exclusion from management roles Muslim women in Scotland are campaigning to be given more equal facilities for praying and to be involved in running mosques. Scottish Mosques For All was set up to highlight the importance of including women in decision-making. More than a quarter of mosques in the UK have no facilities ...

Students across Tower Hamlets schools achieved great success in their A Level results and the borough as a whole saw improvements across key measures. 85.% of A level students achieved at least 3 A Levels at grades A* to E a 5.9% increase on 2017. 93% of A Level students gained at least 2 A Level grades A*-E (increasing by ...

Mayor instructs resilience forum to assess impact of food and medicine shortages Sadiq Khan is to instruct the body tasked with planning for terrorism attacks and disasters such as the Grenfell Tower fire to start making preparations for a no-deal Brexit, to assess whether London could face potential shortages of medicines and food. The London mayor said the government was ...

Committee seeks explanation of how practice complies with international law Parliament’s human rights committee has asked the government to explain how the police and security services’ use of child spies is reconciled with international law. In the first step of a potential investigation into child spies, the joint committee on human rights has asked the Home Office to explain how ...