China’s largest city Shanghai, home to 28 million people and a major manufacturing hub, is in its third day of lockdown due to the latest COVID variant. Meanwhile, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has authorized a second booster of the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna coronavirus vaccines for older people. On Tuesday, the agency said the [&hel...
Iraq’s National Museum reopened Monday to visitors after being closed for three years due to the COVID-19 pandemic and political unrest. The museum features artifacts dating back 2,500 years to the neo-Assyrian empire alongside 9th century Islamic antiquities. Among the items back on display are two winged bulls from the Nimrud site in t...
Thousands of Sufi Muslim pilgrims gathered in Senegal’s capital of Dakar Friday for the first time since 2019 without COVID-related restrictions. The followers of the Layene Sufi Muslim brotherhood, dressed in long white cotton robes, met in the Camberene district in the northeast of the city. The annual pilgrimage was canceled in 2020 and 202...
RABAT, Morocco (AA) – Morocco’s national carrier will launch a direct air route between Casablanca and the Israeli city of Tel Aviv from March 13. In a statement on Monday, Royal Air Maroc said four flights will be operated weekly at the beginning and will shortly reach five flights per week. “This new air route […]
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or CDC is reviewing its mask guidance as COVID hospitalizations ebb, according to director Dr. Rochelle Walensky. The agency is shifting its focus to hospitalizations as a key measure of the virus’ severity and guide for determining whether health safety protocols need to be tightened. Walensky sa...
Tourists in Somalia are flocking to visit an Ottoman-era castle as the Horn of Africa country recovers from weak governance and insecurity. Taleh Castle once hosted the Dervish movement led by Sayyid Mohamed Abdulle Hassan, one of the country’s freedom icons. Historical records suggest Hassan, backed by the Ottomans, had launched an armed stru...
GENEVA (AA) – The World Health Organization on Wednesday renewed its appeal to rich countries to stump up $16 billion for its program to give lower- and middle-income nations equal access to vaccines, treatments, and personal protective equipment. Under the Access to COVID-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator, an initiative to overcome vast global inequ...
An award-winning Muslim Arts and Culture International Festival, MACFEST, returns to Manchester this February. The festival, which started Saturday, offers more than 75 events celebrating the cultural heritage of Muslim communities. It will include talk panels, art exhibitions, and numerous workshops covering the topics of Muslim literature, a...
The foundations of a 12th century prayer hall have been discovered under the Al-Nuri mosque in the Iraqi city of Mosul. That is where ISIS once proclaimed their headquarters. The mosque and its iconic leaning minaret were severely damaged by ISIS during a battle in 2017, and had been undergoing reconstruction. Four additional rooms for [&hel...
A portion of the world’s largest Quran was unveiled Tuesday at Dubai’s Expo 2020 in the United Arab Emirates. The artwork was created by renowned Pakistani artist Shahid Rassam. Cast on canvas with aluminum and gold-plated script, surah Al-Rahman the 55th chapter of the Quran, is on display at the Expo’s Pakistan Pavilion. Rassam and […...
