Author: Editorial Team

PARIS — Portugal has set a new hottest day in May with 40.3C recorded in the central town of Mora, as countries in western Europe grapple with sweltering-hot weather. The temperature recorded on Wednesday bests Portugal’s previous record of 40C set in May 2001. The extreme temperatures come as a UN-backed report warns Europe is the world’s fastest-warming continent, heating more than twice as fast as the global average. Large parts of western and central Europe are in the grip of an extraordinary heatwave phase, with many places registering temperatures 10 to 15 degrees Celsius higher than normal. Several European…

Oftentimes one may find themselves too shy to even admit they want to give something like acting a go, because of all the preconceived notions that cling to the art form. But say you fight those inner voices and arrive at a place of simple wanting: to try acting the way you might try dancing, or singing, or any other art that lets your body and voice hold what your everyday life can’t always express. You make it to that workshop. You stand in front of strangers, you let your vulnerability show, you feel something shift inside you. Then, the…

The Ministry of Municipalities and Housing, represented by the Holy Makkah Municipality, carried out more than 29,000 health and food safety inspections during the 1447 AH Hajj season, including visits to catering kitchens and food establishments across Makkah and the holy sites, alongside testing over 5,000 food samples through mobile and fixed laboratories to ensure food safety for pilgrims.  The ministry said inspections covered central markets, storage sites, and catering facilities, supported by field campaigns aimed at strengthening food safety compliance. Operations relied on five mobile laboratories, 10 on-site testing devices, and nearly 40 inspection vehicles, enabling rapid verification and…

BEIRUT — Israel has issued evacuation orders for large parts of southern Lebanon, declaring the areas “combat zones” ahead of fresh strikes against Hezbollah. Israel’s military has told residents across a swathe of southern Lebanon to leave and head north of the Zahrani River, as Benjamin Netanyahu said his forces were escalating their offensive against Hezbollah. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a post on social media that all areas south of the Zahrani River, which runs about 40km north of the de facto Israel-Lebanon border, were considered combat zones. It is the largest evacuation order since the ceasefire…

The Presidency of Religious Affairs at the Grand Mosque and the Prophet’s Mosque has activated the ‘Answering the Inquirers’ service inside the Grand Mosque around the clock as part of its awareness and enrichment plan for the 1447 AH Hajj season, with the aim of enabling pilgrims to perform their rituals with ease and tranquility and facilitating access to fatwas and religious guidance through direct and digital channels.  The service is provided through field locations distributed across the corridors and courtyards of the Grand Mosque, supervised by a number of participating scholars involved in guidance and counseling activities to answer…

WASHINGTON — US President Donald Trump has threatened to use military force against Oman if it collaborates with Iran to assert control over the Strait of Hormuz. “Oman will behave just like everybody else, or we’ll have to blow them up,” Trump said during a cabinet meeting, responding to a reporter’s question about the strait. Quickly after making the threat, Trump said he didn’t believe the United States would have to take such an action. “They understand that. They’ll be fine,” he said. Iran has discussed partnering with Oman in a system charging fees for vessels passing through the Strait…

SYDNEY — An woman with alleged links to the Islamic State group has been charged in Australia, as authorities intensify investigations into nationals repatriated from detention camps in Syria. Authorities made the announcement after two groups of women and children arrived in Australia this month after spending years in the al-Roj camp in north-east Syria where families of IS fighters have been held since 2019 without legal process. Three of the women who returned this month also face various charges including crimes against humanity. The 34-year-old arrived in the country in September along with another woman and was due to…

The Ministry of Islamic Affairs, Dawah and Guidance, represented by the General Secretariat for Islamic Awareness in Hajj, Umrah, and Visit, continues to carry out its dawah and guidance programs at Al-Khayf Mosque in Mina, as part of the awareness programs accompanying the Hajj season, to educate pilgrims about religious rulings and enhance Shariah awareness.  The program is part of the ministry’s dawah and awareness programs in the holy sites to educate pilgrims and enlighten them about the rulings of Hajj rituals, helping them perform their acts of worship with ease and tranquility. Source: Riyadh Daily

MINA — Hajj pilgrims continued performing the ritual of stoning at Jamarat on the first day of the Tashreeq (Ayyam Al-Tashreeq) on Thursday. They hurled pebbles at all three Jamarat or pillars symbolizing Satan on the fourth day of the annual pilgrimage of Hajj. Pilgrims moved in batches in their allotted time for performing the ritual on Thursday afternoon. Upon their arrival at the Jamarat, chanting “Allahu Akbar” (God is the greatest), pilgrims stoned first at Jamarat Al-Sugra (small pillar), then at Jamarat Al-Wusta (medium pillar) and lastly at Jamarat Al-Aqaba (largest pillar), seven pebbles each. They prayed after stoning…

DUBAI — Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said early Thursday that it targeted a US airbase in Kuwait in response to an American aerial strike near the Bandar Abbas airport in southern Iran. According to Iran’s semi-official Tasnim News Agency, the IRGC’s retaliatory strike came at 4.50 am (0120GMT), hours after what it described as a US assault on a point near the port city’s airport using aerial projectiles. “This response is a serious warning so that the enemy knows that aggression will not go unanswered, and if repeated, our response will be more decisive,” it said. Kuwait said…