DOHA - Qatar has urged Saudi Arabia to remove "obstacles and restrictions" for its residents wishing to perform the hajj pilgrimage, as the two Gulf neighbours remain locked in a bitter diplomatic dispute. The call late Thursday follows Saudi Arabia, home to Islam's holiest cities of Mecca and ...

JEDDAH: Fuelled by caffeine, pizza and adrenaline, sleep-deprived programmers in a marathon Saudi contest this week explored high-tech solutions to prevent a repeat of past calamities in the annual hajj pilgrimage. In a cavernous hall in the Red Sea city of Jeddah, thousands of software ...

In India, Haj pilgrims will no longer receive any subsidy this year onwards, with the government saying the decision is part of its agenda of empowerment of minorities without appeasement. Union minister for minority affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi on Tuesday confirmed that the Haj subsidy has been ...

BEIJING: A total of 284 Chinese Muslim Hajj pilgrims from Southwest China's Yunnan Province reportedly arrived at the Medina Airport in a chartered flight on Sunday, the Xinhua News Agency reported on Sunday.The group is the first batch of Chinese Muslim pilgrims sent to Islamic holy city of Mecca ...

MOUNT ARAFAT: (APP) Close to 1.5 million Muslims from around the world converged on a rocky hill known as Mount Arafat on Saturday night to prepare for the climax of the annual Hajj pilgrimage.The pilgrims will mark Sunday with day-long prayers and recitals of the Holy Quran at the spot in western ...

MECCA, Saudi Arabia (APP) - The Muslim hajj pilgrimage which begins on Saturday in western Saudi Arabia is one of the world's largest annual gatherings.Here are some figures illustrating its scale, according to officials and local media:More than 1.4 million foreign pilgrims from around the world ...