ANKARA (AA) – Australia’s new prime minister has said that his government has no plans to change the country’s refugee policy and that asylum seekers arriving by boat would not be allowed to become residents. According to an official statement, Anthony Albanese has said that Australia’s ‘Operation Sovereign Border...
ALGIERS, Algeria (AA) – Algeria has suspended all tourism ties with Spain in a new escalation of tension between the two countries over the disputed Western Sahara region. A document dated June 19 by the Algerian Tourism Ministry asked all tour operators to immediately suspend tourism relations with Spain. The document said the suspension was ...
JERUSALEM (AA) – Israel will open the Taba border crossing with Egypt around the clock as of July 3, its transport minister has said. “After hard work by the Ministry of Transportation and the Taba Border Crossing, the terminal will open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, starting on July 3,” Merav Michaeli […]
TRENTON, Canada (AA) – Domestic and internationally bound air travelers will no longer need to be vaccinated for the coronavirus beginning June 20, the Canadian government has announced. Those arriving internationally and Canadians returning from abroad will still face quarantine upon re-entry. “Today’s announcement is possible bec...
JERUSALEM (AA) – Israeli Tourism Minister Yoel Razvozov said Wednesday that relations with Turkiye “will bring great achievements for our nations.” This came after his meeting with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu in West Jerusalem. “It was a pleasure to meet his excellency Mevlut Cavusoglu, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Re...
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...