25,000 fragments of early Islamic era artifacts discovered in Saudi
Jeddah, Saudi Arabia -- As many as 25,000 fragments of artifacts dating from the early Islamic era, the first two...
Arts & Culture
Skipper Battat leads Palestine on and off pitch at Asian Cup
Doha, Qatar - Musab Al-Battat has led Palestine on the pitch with his all-action performances and off it as the voice...
Geostrategy
Arts & Culture
What determines duration of a Ramadan fast?
The fasting hours are actually determined by geography and vary from one country to another. Â People in the relatively cooler...
- Hundreds of millions of Muslims across the world abstain from eating and drinking from early dawn to dusk. They also shun sex with their spouses during the fasting hours.
- Some places, like areas near the Arctic where sun appears never to set during certain months, pose a dilemma for the faithful.
Saudi Arabia to allow one million hajj pilgrims this year: statement
Saudi Arabia said Saturday it will permit one million Muslims from inside and outside the country to participate in this...
- After the onset of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, Saudi authorities allowed only 1,000 pilgrims to participate
- The government wants to ensure pilgrims' safety "while ensuring that the maximum number of Muslims worldwide can perform the hajj", Saturday's statement said
Arts & Culture
The metaverse threat: ‘TV will die with its audience’
On the horizon is the so-called "metaverse" -- a loose term covering the growing eco-system of interactive online worlds, games...
- On the horizon is the so-called "metaverse" -- a loose term covering the growing eco-system of interactive online worlds, games and 3D meeting places
- While older consumers are still wedded to traditional TV, viewership among under-35s has halved in a decade, according to Statista
Geostrategy
Pope Francis to visit crisis-hit Lebanon in June
Lebanon, home to one of the largest Christian communities in the Middle East, has been gripped by an unprecedented economic...
- The pontiff, who has received Lebanon's president and prime minister in the Vatican in recent months, had previously promised to visit the country.
- The last trip in 2012 saw Pope Benedict XVI visit to appeal for peace, months after the start of the civil war in neighboring Syria.
Morocco arrests four people for involvement in organ trafficking
Moroccan police have arrested four people suspected of involvement in an international drug and organ trafficking network operating in particular...
- Authorities launched an investigation after an announcement was published on social media proposing kidney removal "in private clinics abroad for large sums of foreign currency"
- The four suspects, including three women, were allegedly intermediaries, helping those wishing to sell their organs to go abroad, in particular to Turkey
Arts & Culture
Unhappy spouses celebrate as England adopts ‘no-fault divorce’
The change brings England and Wales into line with Scotland, which has its own legal system, and with other countries...
- The change brings England and Wales into line with Scotland, which has its own legal system, and with other countries including the United States, Australia and Germany
- While experts expect a rush of divorces by couples who were waiting for the legal reform, they predict it could also ironically increase rates of marriage
A stabbing kills a cleric, wounds two others in Iran
An attacker stabbed to death an Iranian Shiite Muslim cleric Tuesday and wounded two others, one of them seriously, in...
- The assailant and four suspected accomplices were arrested after the bloody attack in the Imam Reza shrine's courtyard, said Mohammad-Hossein Doroudi, the chief prosecutor
- "The attacker is a foreign national," he told the Fars news agency, without specifying the country
Arts & Culture
Sweet smell of Ramadan in South Asia
The region is home to around a third of Islam's adherents. Festive Iftar meals traditionally bring families together and there...
- More subdued evening gatherings are underway in Afghanistan, where people are still reckoning with an acute humanitarian crisis.
- The centuries-old Chawkbazar market in Bangladesh is a traditional center for evening meet-ups during Ramadan.
Arts & Culture
Libyan artisans restore old Korans for Ramadan
Compared to the cost of a new Koran -- at more than $20 depending on the binding -- restoring costs...
- Compared to the cost of a new Koran -- at more than $20 depending on the binding -- restoring costs just a few dollars
- For Muslims, Ramadan is a month of spirituality, where a daily dawn-to-dusk fast is accompanied with prayer and acts of charity
Arts & Culture
Riyadh Season 2021 ends, welcomes more than 15 million visitors
Middle East’s largest entertainment event, Riyadh Season 2021, which concluded on March 31, welcomed more than 15 million visitors, according...
- Organized by the Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority, the first edition of the event was launched in 2019 and saw more than 10 million visitors.
- Riyadh Season 2021 hosted eight international exhibitions on fashion, technology and communications, electronic games, perfumes, plastic arts, and crafts.
25,000 fragments of early Islamic era artifacts discovered in Saudi
Jeddah, Saudi Arabia -- As many as 25,000 fragments of artifacts dating from the early Islamic era, the first two...
Arts & Culture
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Moroccan women shake up world of Gnaoua music
Arts & Culture
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Sports key pillar as UAE emerges as soft power center
Arts & Culture
Football fever hits rebel-held northwest Syria
Idlib, Syria - Thousands of fans in Syria's last opposition bastion have packed into a stadium for the frenzied final of...
Arts & Culture
Cat cafe brings pawsitivity to war-scarred Gaza
A cat cafe in the Gaza Strip aims to "cheer up" Palestinian residents and offer them a respite from the...
Arts & Culture
Jordan, Iraq explore ways to enhance cooperation in drug addiction treatment
Amman -- Jordan's Minister of Health, Firas Hawari, met with the head and members of the Committee on Combating Drugs...
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Sheikha Bodour to chair revamped board at American University of Sharjah
SHARJAH -- Dr. Sheikh Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah, has outlines the restructuring...
- The Board of Trustees of the American University of Sharjah has been restructured
- New board members to begin their term in October. Membership term set for three years
Arts & Culture
Kuwait bars Barbie movie from theatres citing ‘public ethics’
Kuwait City, Kuwait - Kuwait has barred hit film Barbie from cinemas over concerns about "public ethics", officials have said, also...
- "Barbie" and "Talk to Me" both "promulgate ideas and beliefs that are alien to the Kuwaiti society and public order", said an official
- If a film contains alien concepts, message or unacceptable behavior, the Kuwaiti cinema committee bans the movie, he said further
Arts & Culture
Lebanon to ban Barbie film for allegedly promoting homosexuality
BEIRUT, LEBANON - Lebanon's culture minister said on Wednesday he had asked authorities to ban hit movie "Barbie" for purportedly "promoting...
- The film, which has topped $1 billion in global revenues, was due to be screened in Lebanese cinemas from August 31.
- Though it was widely anticipated by LGBTQ communities worldwide, the film does not contain any overt references to same-sex relationships.