Variety

Saudi Arabia has issued guidelines for about 1,000 pilgrims who will be allowed to perform the hajj pilgrimage in Mecca later this month, an experience that will be unlike any before because of the coronavirus pandemic. The pilgrims will only be able to drink holy water from the Zamzam well …

The number of fires in Brazil’s Amazon rainforest rose 20% in June to a 13-year-high for the month, government data showed on Wednesday, as researchers worry that it could signal a repeat of last year’s surge in forest fires. Health experts also fear the smoke that often blankets the region …

Chinese-owned Swedish car manufacturer Volvo is recalling nearly 2.2 million vehicles worldwide over concerns that the seatbelts could be less effective over time. The recall is the biggest ever for the brand. The company’s press spokesman, Stefan Elfstrom, told Swedish media that it discovered the “rare” problem with the seatbelts …

A rare manuscript of a 15th-century Quran has recently sold for £7,016,250, almost 12 times more than its estimated price, in an auction held in London by Christie’s. Written in Naskh on heavy colored Chinese paper, the magnificent manuscript belongs to the Timurid dynasty (1370–1507), which was a Muslim dynasty …

A massive plume of Saharan dust has shrouded swathes of the Caribbean, turning blue skies into a milky-brown haze and sparking health warnings across the region as air quality fell to unhealthy levels. Strong warm winds over the Sahara desert typically whip up sand at this time of year and …

emperatures in the Arctic Circle are likely to have hit an all-time record on Saturday, reaching a scorching 38C (100F) in Verkhoyansk, a Siberian town. The record still needs to be verified, but it appears to have been 18C higher than the average maximum daily temperature in June. Hot summer …

Skywatchers along with a narrow band from west Africa to the Arabian Peninsula, India, and southern China will witness the most dramatic “ring of fire” solar eclipse to shadow the Earth in years on Sunday. Annular eclipses occur when the Moon – passing between Earth and the Sun – is …

The unexplained object was in the sky for hours and then disappeared in a puff of smoke when approached by an aircraft.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has been involved in a minor car crash after a protester ran in front of a car as it left Parliament in London. A protester forced one of the cars in Mr Johnson’s convoy to brake suddenly, and the vehicle following behind hit the boot …

Workers are preparing the Eiffel Tower for reopening next week after the coronavirus pandemic led to the iconic Paris landmark’s longest closure since World War II. France’s tourism industry is opening back up, but the 324-meter (1,063-feet) tall wrought-iron tower won’t immediately welcome visitors the way it did before the …

Despite lacking a history of colonialism or slavery, Finland has nonetheless decided to do its bit in the anti-racism drive gripping the Western world, by changing the “racist” name of a small island. The landmass in the Pyhaselka Lake in eastern Finland bore the name Neekerisaari – which translates as …

Be it quake tremors jolting countries, cyclones storming cities, or the mysterious deaths of bats, these occurrences are sending some people into a frenzy, blaming everything on the “ominous 2020” ever since the coronavirus outbreak, which has infected seven million people across the world. An unidentified flying object was reportedly …

Popular game PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG) Mobile’s new version outraged Muslim players all over the world over its new ‘Idol Worshipping’ feature. As one of the most famous mobile video games in the world, PUBG Mobile boasts almost 750 million active players, 33 millions of whom are in the Muslim world, …

Austria has unveiled plans to “neutralise” the building where Nazi German dictator Adolf Hitler was born, by turning it into a police station. The government bought the building under a compulsory purchase order in 2016 after a lengthy dispute. Officials announced it would be turned into a police station in …

It is a scene repeated the world over: pedestrians glued to their phones while walking, causing collisions and sometimes accidents. No more, says one Japanese city. Officials in Yamato city, near Tokyo, on Monday, submitted a bill to the city assembly to stop people from using their phones while walking. …

Two French kids reportedly stumbled upon more than $100,000 worth of gold while they were in coronavirus lockdown. According to local media, the children — both around 10 years old — made the discovery when their family went to stay with an older relative in the French town of Vendome …

Famous American actor and Oscar winner Robert De Niro said he believes that US President Donald Trump does not care how many people die from the coronavirus. “It’s like Shakespearean, the whole thing. You’ve got a lunatic saying things that people are trying to dance around,” De Niro said during …

The popular Japanese cartoon Sazae-san, recognised as the longest-running animated TV series by Guinness World Records, has been hampered by the outbreak of the virus, with animation dubbing halted to keep staff safe, its broadcaster said. Production of the world’s longest-running cartoon and a mainstay of the Japanese weekend has …

NASA confirmed reports Tuesday that the superstar actor is planning to shoot a movie at the International Space Station. “NASA is excited to work with Tom Cruise on a film aboard the Space Station! We need popular media to inspire a new generation of engineers and scientists to make NASA’s …

Saudi Arabia investment fund Sidra Capital offered 1.3 billion pounds ($1.6 billion) for the luxurious Ritz Hotel in London before it was eventually sold for nearly half of that sum to a private Qatari investor. The bid was revealed Wednesday during a court dispute between two sides of one of …