WASHINGTON (AA) – In a move to reverse Trump-era restrictions, the Biden administration on Monday announced a series of measures to loosen some policies on Cuba. In a statement, the State Department said the US will facilitate family reunifications by reinstating the Cuban Family Reunification Parole (CFRP) Program and authorize charter ...
ISTANBUL (AA) – Starting next year, a Turkish cruise company will start umrah pilgrimage voyages from the historic city of Istanbul to Mecca, a company official announced. “We’re planning to start umrah journeys via ship by 2023,” Ay Cruise CEO Cetin Ay said. “With the Istanbul-Jeddah voyage, many people from the Muslim world will come [...
South Korean pop singer Daud Kim posted an Instagram picture of himself standing in front of the Kaaba at the Grand Mosque in Makkah. Kim shared pictures of his pilgrimage to the two Grand Mosques in Makkah and Madinah as part of his visit to the kingdom during Ramadan. He posted a picture of himself […]
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...
