Saudi Arabia is lifting restrictions imposed on the Muslim Hajj pilgrimage in 2023 after the coronavirus pandemic forced the downsizing of the annual event for three years. The Minister in charge of the Hajj, Tawfiq al-Rabiah said that the numbers of pilgrims would return to pre-pandemic figures with restrictions, including age limits, being lifted according to the official Saudi Press …

More than 7,000 nurses at two hospitals in New York City went on strike early Monday, forcing the health centres into a frantic flurry to move patients, divert ambulances and scale back other services. The strikes, over working conditions, salaries, and staffing policies, presented serious challenges to hospitals already facing the “tripledemic” of R.S.V., flu, and COVID-19 cases across the …

Supporters of former president of Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro have invaded the country’s congress and supreme court. Bolsonaro lost the presidential election to Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in October, but his supporters are protesting the outcome of the election asking for Lula’s resignation and that the military should step in. The protesters, who stormed the presidential palace, destroyed properties and …

Media rights groups have called for South Sudanese authorities to release six journalists detained over a video reportedly showing President Salva Kiir urinating on himself. The staff at the state-run South Sudan Broadcasting Corporation were arrested on Tuesday by agents from the National Security Service, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists, citing media reports and other sources familiar with …

Republican Congressman Kevin McCarthy has been elected speaker of the United States House of Representatives, overcoming the opposition of right-wing dissenters who had derailed for several days his bid to lead the chamber. It took 15 rounds of voting for McCarthy to secure the House’s gavel, securing 216 of the 428 votes cast late on Friday. The Democrats’ Hakeem Jeffries …

The Gambian government on Friday charged eight soldiers with treason in connection with an alleged coup attempt last month, a government spokesperson said in a statement. The government on 21st December said it had thwarted a coup attempt the previous day, and detained some military personnel. The eight members of The Gambia Armed Forces were also charged with conspiracy to …

Public anger has been growing for months in Egypt over a severe dollar crunch and soaring food prices. But for many a money-saving tip from a state body has been the last straw. As families have struggled to purchase household staples, an Egyptian government agency praised an alternative, cheap protein source – “chicken feet, good for the body and the …

Many countries, including France, Britain, and Morocco’s cross-strait neighbor Spain, have said they will require negative Covid tests for all travelers from mainland China. But the Moroccan foreign ministry said in a statement that authorities in the North African country “decided to forbid access to the territory of the Kingdom of Morocco for all travelers, whatever their nationality, coming from …

Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI is dead. Only three days ago, Pope Francis called for prayer for his 95-year-old predecessor, who he said was “very sick”. Benedict XVI, who became the Pope on 19th April 2005, shocked the world by making the almost unprecedented decision to resign from his position on 28th February 2013, citing “advanced age.” His announcement marked the first …

Hundreds of people protested in Senegal’s capital on Friday to call for legal action after a report by a public spending watchdog revealed alleged misuse of Covid relief funds, an AFP journalist saw. Shouting slogans, the crowd heeded a call by about a dozen civil society organisations to demonstrate in a Dakar square. Police were deployed around the square for …