MECCA

A criminal court has imposed a $5.3 million fine on the Saudi BinLadin Group and sentenced seven people to prison over the collapse of a crane ahead of the 2015 hajj pilgrimage.

Before the pandemic, the hajj pilgrimage drew millions each year to Islam's holy city of Mecca, home to the cube-shaped Kaaba that observant Muslims pray toward five times a day.

Islam’s annual hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia will return to pre-pandemic levels this year after restrictions saw the annual religious commemoration curtailed over concerns about the coronavirus

Islam’s annual hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia will return to pre-pandemic levels this year after restrictions saw the annual religious commemoration curtailed over concerns about the coronavirus.

A few days after Mohammed Salem was detained in Saudi Arabia last month, his family contacted the media. They say that it definitely helped the Melvindale man gain his freedom.

A Melvindale man is headed back to American soil Wednesday after being detained in the middle east for over a month.

Mohammed Salem traveled to the middle east to visit the Kaaba, a sacred building in Mecca when an argument in line led to his arrest, and now Local 4 has learned that he’s been moved to a higher-security prison.

Saudi police have arrested a Yemeni man who said he had made the pilgrimage to Mecca to pay tribute to the memory of Queen Elizabeth II

Police in Mecca say they have arrested a Saudi man who helped an Israeli-Jewish reporter sneak into Islam’s holiest city where only Muslim are allowed to enter

Police in Mecca say they have arrested a Saudi man who helped an Israeli-Jewish reporter sneak into Islam's holiest city where only Muslim are allowed to enter.

Police in Mecca say they have arrested a Saudi man who helped an Israeli-Jewish reporter sneak into Islam's holiest city, defying a rule that only Muslims can enter the area. While Muslims of any nationality and background can enter Mecca, non-Muslims are not permitted because a very specific code of conduct and behavior is required of all people within its boundaries, including certain forms of modesty, ritual cleansing and prayers. The public backlash over television reporter Gil Tamary’s visit was immediate on social media, with Muslims and Saudis expressing their anger over his deception and apparent disregard for the sanctity of the site.

The coronavirus pandemic has disrupted Eid celebrations worldwide over the past two years.

Muslims pray at the Grand mosque during the annual Hajj pilgrimage in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, Sept. 3, 2017. Soon after King Salman bin Abdulaziz took power in 2015, Saudi Arabia launched a $21 billion project to expand the Grand Mosque in Mecca to accommodate 300,000 additional worshippers. Muslims from the world over return to Saudi Arabia this week to perform the annual Hajj pilgrimage after a two-year hiatus caused by COVID-19 restrictions. The pandemic caused the number of Hajj pilgrims to dwindle to 1,000 in 2020, but it rose to about 60,000 in 2021, when the Hajj was opened only to residents of Saudi Arabia. “But as long as Muslims continue to want to visit these sites, they will represent massive economic opportunities to Saudi Arabia.”

The Saudi Arabian government's new rules for the hajj pilgrimage left many Muslims frustrated and disappointed. Some couldn't make the journey, others were shocked by the conditions upon arrival.

Hundreds of thousands of Muslim pilgrims from around the world raised their hands to heaven and offered prayers of repentance on the sacred hill of Mount Arafat in Saudi Arabia on Friday.

Hundreds of thousands of Muslim pilgrims from around the world were raising their hands to heaven and offering prayers of repentance on the sacred hill of Mount Arafat in Saudi Arabia

Hundreds of thousands of Muslim pilgrims from around the world were raising their hands to heaven and offering prayers of repentance on the sacred hill of Mount Arafat in Saudi Arabia.

A million pilgrims from across the globe are gathering in the holy city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia to perform the initial rites of the hajj.

Muslim pilgrims are converging on Saudi Arabia’s holy city of Mecca for the largest hajj since the coronavirus pandemic severely curtailed access to one of Islam’s five pillars

Muslim pilgrims are converging on Saudi Arabia’s holy city of Mecca for the largest hajj since the coronavirus pandemic severely curtailed access to one of Islam’s five pillars.

Saudi Arabia has lifted a mask mandate for indoors spaces even as COVID-19 infection numbers steadily climb past 1,000 new cases a day after reaching double-digit lows just two months ago

Saudi Arabia has lifted a mask mandate for indoors spaces even as COVID-19 infection numbers steadily climb past 1,000 new cases a day after reaching double-digit lows just two months ago.

The acclaimed novelist's latest book dramatizes an epic panorama of a multiethnic southern California facing social and environmental conflagrations.

The plant sits just southeast of the city’s international airport, a crucial hub for Muslim pilgrims heading to Mecca.

The plant sits just southeast of the city’s international airport, a crucial hub for Muslim pilgrims heading to Mecca.

Online videos show a raging fire at an oil depot in the Saudi city of Jiddah ahead of an F1 race there

Susan Straight's "Mecca" shows a Southern California that's far from the glitz of Hollywood.

The U.S. is expanding COVID-19 boosters, opening a third dose of Pfizer's vaccine to people as young as age 16.

COVID-19 deaths in the U.S. are falling and the number of new cases per day is about to dip below 100,000 for the first time in two months.

The Islamic holy city of Mecca will allow vaccinated pilgrims to enter, the Saudi authorities say.

Thousands of face-masked Muslims gathered on Saudi Arabia's Mount Arafat on Monday, praying for an end to the pandemic and faster vaccination as the annual haj

Three Democratic Texas state lawmakers who fled to D.C. to stymie passage of a restrictive voting law have tested positive for COVID-19. Latest news.

Tens of thousands of vaccinated Muslim pilgrims are circling Islam’s holiest site in Mecca for the start of the hajj.

Tens of thousands of vaccinated Muslim pilgrims circled Islam's holiest site in Mecca on Sunday, but remained socially distanced and wore masks as the coronavirus takes its toll on the hajj for a second year running. What once drew some 2.5 million Muslims from all walks of life from across the globe, the hajj pilgrimage is now almost unrecognizable in scale. The pared down hajj of this year and last due to the COVID-19 outbreak not only impacts the ability of people outside Saudi Arabia to fulfill the Islamic obligation but also the billions of dollars annually that Saudi Arabia draws from being custodian of its holy sites.

Saudi Arabia is funding a yet-to-be-announced digital news platform that will have a studio in Washington, D.C.

Saudi Arabia says this year’s hajj pilgrimage will be limited to no more than 60,000 people, all of them from within the kingdom, due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

Twitter/@JalalAK_jojoMohammed El-Kurd, a Palestinian writer and activist who has passionately spoken out against Israel’s forced evictions, was forcibly removed from his Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood by Israeli forces on Wednesday—a day after he appeared on CNN and MSNBC and accused Israel of “ethnically cleansing” Palestinians in East Jerusalem. Cross-border fighting along the Gaza Strip quickly escalated this week after Israeli law enforcement stormed Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa mosque, wounding over 300 Palestinians. The incident came amidst growing protests over a court case which could see dozens of Palestinians evicted from their East Jerusalem homes. To address the ongoing violence, El-Kurd granted interviews to several Western media outlets, two of which soon went viral on social media.During his appearance on CNN International, El-Kurd quickly pushed back on the anchor for saying his “family home was slated for eviction,” stating that this was “not an eviction” and instead was “forced ethnic displacement.” He added that, per international law, Israel doesn’t have legitimate jurisdiction over occupied East Jerusalem, and does not have the legal authority to evict Palestinians from the area.“Do you support the protests, the violent protests, that have erupted in solidarity with you and other families in your position right now?” the anchor asked at one point.“Do you support the violent dispossession of me and my family?” El-Kurd shot back.Meanwhile, a barrage of rocket fire from Hamas forces in Gaza over the past few days has left at least five Israelis dead, Israeli airstrikes have killed at least 65 Palestinians, including children. Numerous residential and business properties have been decimated in the Gaza Strip, and the Israeli military has said it has killed at least two key Hamas military figures in the strikes.In another interview with MSNBC anchor Ayman Mohelydin, who is of Palestinian descent and once lived in Gaza, El-Kurd heavily criticized the Israeli assertion that the issue is nothing more than a “private land dispute.”“Today the difference we have is that they no longer use their artillery to steal our homes except when they do come and steal their homes,” he declared. “Now they use a supremacist, colonial judicial system that colludes with organizations to take our homes. Just because it’s legal doesn’t mean it’s moral or correct or historically just. What’s happening to us is ethnic cleansing.”Immediately following El-Kurd’s appearance, Mohyeldin welcomed on Mark Regev, a former Israeli ambassador and current advisor to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. During the contentious interview, which featured Mohyeldin challenging Regev on whether or not Israel was responsible for “war crimes” against the Palestinians, the ex-ambassador called out El-Kurd specifically.“He basically said Israel had no right to exist. He said my country was built on stealing other people’s land,” Regev exclaimed. “So you have different opinions on both sides, very strong opinions on both sides.”Less than 24 hours after these interviews, armed Israeli soldiers marched El-Kurd and his family out of the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood. At one point, one soldier pushed aside a woman who tried to hold El-Kurd’s hand.After escorting him through the streets, the soldiers aggressively shoved him outside the steel barricades marking the boundaries of the neighborhood. “Hit me! Hit me! Hit me!” El-Kurd shouted at the soldiers in Arabic in response.Sheikhb Jarrah resident @m7mdkurd was just attacked and kicked out of his entire neighbourhood by Israeli forces! pic.twitter.com/8IY0KblCh8— Jalal (@JalalAK_jojo) May 12, 2021 El-Kurd's sister was also kicked out of the neighborhood by the Israeli forces and repeatedly pushed back by soldiers when she tried to re-enter the barricaded entrance.In a statement on Twitter, El-Kurd said he was “fine & unintimidated,” adding: “our protest was nonviolent, this was probably targeted (not that nonviolence is superior). the settlers, who are allowed in while we’re kicked out, are armed w knives & guns. the soldiers tonight were animalistic, howling & glaring. they’re big mad.”A spokesperson for the Israeli Defense Forces did not immediately respond when asked for comment about the expelling of El-Kurd from his neighborhood. Read more at The Daily Beast.Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.

Muslim pilgrims wearing face masks and keeping social distance perform Tawaf around Kaaba during the annual haj pilgrimage in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, July 31, 2020. Photo: Saudi Press AgencySaudi Arabia is considering barring overseas pilgrims from the annual Hajj for the second year running as COVID-19 cases rise globally and worries grow about the emergence of new variants, two sources familiar with the matter said on Wednesday. It aims to earn 50 billion riyals ($13.32 billion) of revenues from the Hajj alone by 2030. A second source said the plans were initially to allow some numbers of vaccinated pilgrims from abroad, but confusion over types of vaccines, their efficacy and the emergence of new variants has pushed officials to reconsider. There have been at least 153,508,000 reported infections and 3,351,000 reported deaths caused by the new coronavirus so far.

Muslims in many parts of the world are marking the start of Ramadan as coronavirus cases spike in some countries.

Coronavirus cases are continuing to decline in the U.S. after a winter surge. Researchers at Johns Hopkins University say the seven-day average of new coronavirus cases in the country dropped below 100,000 on Friday, Feb. 12 for the first time since November 4. (AP Photo/John Locher, File)ATLANTA – Average daily new coronavirus cases in the United States dipped below 100,000 in recent days for the first time in months, but experts cautioned Sunday that infections remain high and precautions to slow the pandemic must remain in place. That average dropped below 100,000 on Friday for the first time since Nov. 4. “We are still at about 100,000 cases a day.

But as nations begin to ease those restrictions, the Saudi government on Sunday started allowing a maximum of 6,000 pilgrims a day to enter the sprawling Grand Mosque in Mecca. Muslim travelers from outside Saudi Arabia could be allowed to perform the umrah pilgrimage as early as Nov. 1, the Interior Ministry has said. Saudi Arabia recently began easing some restrictions on international flights for the first time since March. Pilgrims were selected after applying through an online portal and all were residents or citizens of Saudi Arabia. Despite taking early and sweeping measures to contain the virus, Saudi Arabia has recorded nearly 336,000 cases, including 4,850 deaths.

FILE - In this May 25, 2019 file photo, Muslim worshippers circumambulate the Kaaba, the cubic building at the Grand Mosque, during the minor pilgrimage, known as Umrah in the Muslim holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia. Muslim travelers from outside Saudi Arabia could be allowed to perform the “umrah” pilgrimage as early as Nov. 1, the Interior Ministry said in a statement. Saudi Arabia recently began easing some restrictions on international flights for the first time since March. Pilgrims were selected after applying through an online portal and all were residents or citizens of Saudi Arabia. Despite taking early and sweeping measures to contain the virus, Saudi Arabia has recorded more than 330,000 cases, including more than 4,500 deaths.

(AP Photo)DUBAI Masked pilgrims arrived Thursday at Mount Arafat, a desert hill near Islams holiest site, to pray and repent on the most important day of the hajj, the annual pilgrimage in Mecca in Saudi Arabia. Only a very limited number of pilgrims were allowed to take part in the hajj amid numerous restrictions to limit the potential spread of the coronavirus. The Saudi government has not released a final figure on the number of hajj pilgrims this year, but has said anywhere from 1,000 to 10,000 would be taking part. The sliver of pilgrims performing the hajj this year arrived at Mount Arafat before noon by bus on Thursday. After spending the day in prayer on Mount Arafat, pilgrims will head toward an area called Muzdalifa, about 5.5 miles (9 kilometers) west of Mount Arafat.

Hundreds of Muslim pilgrims circle the Kaaba, the cubic building at the Grand Mosque, as they keep social destination to protect themselves against the coronavirus ahead of the Hajj pilgrimage in the Muslim holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia, Wednesday, July 29, 2020. During the first rites of hajj, Muslims circle the Kaaba counter-clockwise seven times while reciting supplications to God, then walk between two hills where Ibrahim's wife, Hagar, is believed to have run as she searched for water for her dying son before God brought forth a well that runs to this day.

The hajj, both physically and spiritually demanding, is intended to bring about greater humility and unity among Muslims. Ammar Khaled, a 29-year-old Indian pilgrim who was born and raised in Saudi Arabia, said although he's alone on the hajj, he's praying for those he loves. Instead, as few as 1,000 people already residing in Saudi Arabia were selected to take part in the hajj this year. Two-thirds are foreign residents from among the 160 different nationalities that would have normally been represented at the hajj. The kingdom of Saudi Arabia needs to put these measures in place so we can learn from this experience, said Saudi infectious disease expert and World Health Organization official, Dr. Hanan Balkhy.

General view showing the Grand Mosque, at the Muslim holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia, Monday, July 27, 2020 ahead of the Hajj pilgrimage. Anywhere from 1,000 to 10,000 pilgrims will be allowed to perform the annual hajj pilgrimage this year due to the coronavirus pandemic. Right now, technology is our black horse to developing the whole hajj journey, said al-Maddah, an electronics engineer with a Ph.D. in robotics and artificial intelligence. Typically, the hajj can cost thousands of dollars for pilgrims who save for a lifetime for the journey. Al-Maddah, who sits on the hajj planning committee, said allowing people to enter Saudi Arabia from abroad would have posed a global health risk.

This year, Saudi Arabia's Hajj Ministry has said between 1,000 and 10,000 people already residing in the kingdom will be allowed to perform the pilgrimage. Two-thirds of those pilgrims will be from among foreign residents in Saudi Arabia and one-third will be Saudi citizens. Fatin Daud, a 25-year-old Malaysian studying Arabic in Saudi Arabia, was among the select few whose application for hajj was approved. Saudi Arabia has never canceled the hajj in the nearly 90 years since the country was founded. Pebbles for casting away evil that are usually picked up by pilgrims along hajj routes will be sterilized and bagged before being distributed to the pilgrims.

(AP Photo/Amr Nabil, File)DUBAI Muslims around the world hoping for a once-in-a-lifetime journey to Mecca to perform the hajj will have to wait until next year, after Saudi Arabia drastically curtailed the pilgrimage due to the coronavirus pandemic. The hajj typically draws 2.5 million people from inside Saudi Arabia and around the world. Instead, Pakistan said its diplomats already in Saudi Arabia will represent the country during the pilgrimage this year, which begins at the end of July. Still, Saudi Arabia has one of the highest rates of infection in the Middle East, with more than 161,000 confirmed cases so far, including 1,307 deaths. In 1987, Saudi security forces killed more than 400 people, mostly Shiite Muslims, in a clash sparked by Iranian pilgrims protesting during the hajj.

(AP Photo/Amr Nabil, File)DUBAI Saudi Arabia said Tuesday that because of the coronavirus only very limited numbers of people will be allowed to perform the annual hajj pilgrimage that traditionally draws around 2 million people from around the world. Saudi Arabia said its decision to drastically limit the number of pilgrims was made due to the lack of an available vaccine for the virus or a cure for those infected, as well as the risks associated with large gatherings of people. All able-bodied Muslims are required to perform the hajj pilgrimage once in their lifetime. Saudi Arabia had already suspended the smaller year-round umrah pilgrimage earlier this year and closed the Grand Mosque in Mecca, home to Islam's holiest site, to the public. Although Saudi Arabia has lifted some restrictions in recent days around the country, the umrah continues to be suspended and its borders remain shut to visitors and tourists.

The Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, Islam's holiest site outside of Saudi Arabia, also reopened for prayers for the first time since it was closed in mid-March. In Saudi Arabia, the government prepared for the reopening of around 90,000 mosques after sanitizing prayer rugs, washrooms and shelves holding copies of the Quran, the Muslim holy book. On Sunday, Saudi Arabia also lifted a ban on domestic air travel and permitted some public sector workers to resume office work again, though full attendance will not be allowed until mid-June. The new measures come as Saudi Arabia and other countries around the world begin to loosen restrictions and stay-at-home orders following weeks of curfews and lockdowns. Despite taking early and unprecedented measures to curb the spread of the virus, Saudi Arabia has recorded more than 83,000 people contracting the virus, including 480 deaths.

Gul is one of 200 people who arrived in Mecca, Saudi Arabia from Christchurch this week to perform the annual Hajj pilgrimage, which began on Friday. They are survivors of the March 2019 terror attacks at two Christchurch mosques as well as the relatives of those who were slain in the shootings. CNN's interviews with Christchurch pilgrims in Mecca were facilitated by the kingdom's Center of International Communications. Christchurch survivors and victims' relatives say the pilgrimage has been a means to healing from the violence that changed their lives. She had planned to go to Hajj with her parents, but the Christchurch shooter dealt a fatal blow to their plans.

Mecca in Saudi Arabia, where Muslims perform their holy pilgrimageBEIRUT On top of being refugees who have been displaced twice, Palestinian refugees who previously resided in Syria and fled the war to Lebanon have been rejected entry visas to visit Mecca for the holy pilgrimage. Around 70 Palestinian refugees in Lebanon, the majority of whom are more than 70-years-old, were informed by authorities last week that they would not be given visas to perform the pilgrimage. This is a ritual Muslims believe to be a mandatory duty in practicing Islam. Last year, a wave of Saudi visa restrictions that affected a total of 3 million Palestinians in Israel, East Jerusalem, Jordan and Lebanon, barring them from performing the Hajj and Umrah pilgrimages, the Middle East Eye reported. While these restrictions were eventually lifted in February after five months of exhaustive negotiations with Saudi authorities, Palestinian refugees from Syria currently residing in Lebanon still face these restrictions.

Hundreds of people were killed in a deadly stampede during the hajj pilgrimage in Mecca. Charlie D'Agata joined CBSN with the latest.

Hundreds of people were killed in a deadly stampede during the hajj pilgrimage in Mecca. Charlie D'Agata joined CBSN with the latest.

A crane collapse in Saudi Arabia's holy city of Mecca has left dozens dead. CBSN's Vladimir Duthiers has the latest information.