Saudi Preparations Complete to Receive 2,400 Qatari Hajj Pilgrimshttps://english.aawsat.com/home/article/992856/saudi-preparations-complete-receive-2400-qatari-hajj-pilgrims
Saudi Preparations Complete to Receive 2,400 Qatari Hajj Pilgrims
Preparations are complete to receive 2,400 Qatari pilgrims for the annual Hajj. (AFP)
Saudi Preparations Complete to Receive 2,400 Qatari Hajj Pilgrims
Preparations are complete to receive 2,400 Qatari pilgrims for the annual Hajj. (AFP)
The number of Qatari Hajj pilgrims has risen in 2017 compared to 2016, revealed informed sources to Asharq Al-Awsat on Monday.
They said that 2,400 Qatari pilgrims are expected to perform the Hajj this year, compared to 1,200 in 2016, adding that the tents that will receive them in the holy region of Mecca are complete.
The luxury furnishings and equipment of the Qatari tents set them apart from other pilgrims. They are resistant to the soaring temperatures and the pilgrims will rest in fire-proof ones in Arafat, Mozdalifa and Mina. All tents are also equipped with air conditioners.
The pilgrims from Qatar, as well as those from Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates, have, since 2006, chosen the National Tawafa Establishment for South Asian Pilgrims as the organizer of their Hajj.
The Saudi Ministry of Hajj and Umrah had kicked off the preparations for this year’s pilgrimage immediately after last year’s rituals. The ministry has worked hard to ensure that tents are equipped with air conditioners and that they are properly distributed near the holy sites where the pilgrimage will take place.
Meanwhile, King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah announced that up until Sunday, some 95,000 pilgrims have landed in the Kingdom onboard 550 flights, marking a 7.6 percent rise from 2016.
The facility is able to receive 3,800 passengers per hour and it enjoys 320 counters that can perform the traveler procedures, offering the pilgrims special and quick services ahead of departing for Mecca.
Italy Bans Kanye West Concert Over Security Concernshttps://english.aawsat.com/entertainment/5279049-italy-bans-kanye-west-concert-over-security-concerns
US rapper and producer Kanye West performs on stage during a concert at the Ataturk Olympic Stadium in Istanbul as part of his tour "YE Live in Istanbul" on May 30, 2026. (Photo by Yasin AKGUL / AFP)
Italy Bans Kanye West Concert Over Security Concerns
US rapper and producer Kanye West performs on stage during a concert at the Ataturk Olympic Stadium in Istanbul as part of his tour "YE Live in Istanbul" on May 30, 2026. (Photo by Yasin AKGUL / AFP)
A concert by the US rapper Kanye West, who was supposed to perform on July 18 in Reggio Emilia in northern Italy, has been banned on public safety grounds, the authorities said.
The prefect of the province, Salvatore Angieri, said the decision was made following requests from bodies including the local Jewish community.
They had "expressed reservations" about the appearance of the rapper as part of the Pulse of Gaia Festival, the statement released on Friday evening said.
Another concert by the US rapper Travis Scott on July 17 has also been scrapped.
"The decision... was taken for reasons of protection of public order and safety, in view of the close timing of the events and the large crowd expected within a 24-hour period," AFP quoted the prefecture as saying.
"In the overall assessment, the cancellation of previous concerts by the American rapper in other countries and the concrete risk of counter-demonstration also weighed in."
West, who is also known as Ye, has sparked controversy with statements and songs glorifying Adolf Hitler as well as antisemitic diatribes, which he blamed on his bipolar disorder.
The scandal has led to the cancellation of a string of concerts.
Last month, the UK government banned him from entering the country, and a festival at which he was due to appear in July was cancelled.
He was also forced to scrap a planned concert in the southern French city of Marseille, while he has also been stopped from performing in Poland and Switzerland.
West performed in Istanbul on Saturday and is still due to appear at concerts in the Netherlands on June 6 and 8, in Tirana on July 11, and Prague on July 25.
In January, he took out a full-page advert in the Wall Street Journal in which he said he was "not a Nazi or an antisemite", adding: "I love Jewish people."
Kvaratskhelia Named Champions League Player of the Seasonhttps://english.aawsat.com/sports/5279045-kvaratskhelia-named-champions-league-player-season
(FILES) Paris Saint-Germain's Georgian forward #07 Khvicha Kvaratskhelia celebrates at the end of the UEFA Champions League second-leg, semi-final football match between FC Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) in Munich, southern Germany on May 6, 2026. (Photo by FRANCK FIFE / AFP)
Kvaratskhelia Named Champions League Player of the Season
(FILES) Paris Saint-Germain's Georgian forward #07 Khvicha Kvaratskhelia celebrates at the end of the UEFA Champions League second-leg, semi-final football match between FC Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) in Munich, southern Germany on May 6, 2026. (Photo by FRANCK FIFE / AFP)
Paris Saint-Germain's Georgia winger Khvicha Kvaratskhelia was named Champions League player of the season on Sunday by a UEFA panel of judges.
Kvaratskhelia was a constant menace in PSG's defence of the title with ten goals and six assists from his 16 games.
PSG came from a goal down against Arsenal on Saturday to equalise from the spot on 65 minutes after Kvaratskhelia was scythed to the floor inside the box with Ousmane Dembele converting the spot-kick.
Both had left the fray before the game went to extra-time and ended 1-1, before PSG emerged from a shoot-out as narrow 4-3 winners.
UEFA's technical observer board of around 30 football dignitaries such as Gareth Southgate, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Rafa Benitez voted for the award.
The panel's statement described his season as pivotal and dazzling, AFP reported.
"Arguably Kvaratskhelia's finest performance came in the unforgettable 5-4 semi-final first-leg win over Bayern, as he curled in a beauty to draw his side level at 1-1 before adding a fierce drive in the second period to complete a fine double," they said.
He also scored three goals over the two legs against Chelsea in the last 16 and another at Liverpool in the quarter-finals.
The now 25-year-old was also on the score sheet in the 2025 final as PSG thumped Inter Milan 5-0.
Israeli Soldiers Share Rare Accounts from Gaza: Killings Never Stoppedhttps://english.aawsat.com/arab-world/5279038-israeli-soldiers-share-rare-accounts-gaza-killings-never-stopped
Palestinians inspect the rubble of a building destroyed in an Israeli strike in Deir al-Balah, in the central Gaza Strip, Friday, May 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
Israeli Soldiers Share Rare Accounts from Gaza: Killings Never Stopped
Palestinians inspect the rubble of a building destroyed in an Israeli strike in Deir al-Balah, in the central Gaza Strip, Friday, May 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
The Israeli combat soldier saw his teammates yelling in celebration, congratulating one another. They had just struck a vehicle of Palestinians driving near the Israeli-controlled part of the Gaza Strip, killing everyone inside.
The reservist said scenes like this had become common after a fragile ceasefire took effect in October. In the weeks he was stationed in Gaza, he said, he saw soldiers relishing the chance to go after those who crossed — or came close to crossing — the so-called yellow line that divides the strip into Israeli-controlled and Palestinian areas.
“It was a jungle,” the soldier, in his 20s, told The Associated Press. “After the ceasefire, the order was: If someone crosses the line, you shoot them.”
As diplomatic efforts to strengthen the deal have stalled, three soldiers described to AP a sense of confusion in the embattled territory, with a lack of clarity on rules of engagement around the yellow line. Some commanders paid lip service to the agreement, the soldiers said, while privately voicing desire for the war in Gaza to continue.
Sometimes, troops were too far away or acted too quickly to recognize who they were shooting, one soldier said — a concern echoed in comments from a whistleblower group of veterans.
Palestinians walk along a street surrounded by buildings destroyed by Israeli military strikes during the Israel-Hamas war in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, Friday, May 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
The soldiers' accounts are a rare glimpse into what’s happened in the Israeli-controlled part of Gaza since the deal went into effect seven months ago. The soldiers — reservists deployed throughout Gaza between October and January who've since returned — spoke on condition of anonymity because they feared being ostracized over their comments. They said they were speaking out because they were angered and saddened by what they saw.
AP has documented shootings of Palestinian civilians, including children playing, close to the yellow line. And the soldiers said it felt like the killings never stopped amid the tenuous deal.
“To call it a ceasefire is a joke,” one soldier told AP.
Gaza's yellow line has been ambiguous, and Israel has taken control of more land When the ceasefire went into effect, Israel withdrew troops to a buffer zone demarcated by a yellow line, giving it control of just over half the strip.
Under the agreement, Israeli forces are meant to complete a fuller withdrawal, though there's no timeline for that. The US-backed diplomat overseeing the truce says progress is deadlocked over the central sticking point of disarming Hamas, upon which all other issues — including Israeli withdrawals and reconstruction — hinge.
In the meantime, Israel has expanded control over additional territory in Gaza. Both sides have accused the other of violating the ceasefire.
The line’s exact location has been ambiguous and sometimes invisible. In some places, it’s marked with yellow blocks and barrels; in others, it at times hasn't been indicated at all.
A concrete block marks the "Yellow Line" drawn by the Israeli military in Bureij, in the central Gaza Strip, on Nov. 4., 2025. AFP
The Israeli military invited AP this week to see a section of the yellow line in central Gaza, near the Maghazi refugee camp. The line there was visible, demarcated by a wide dirt path and small yellow markings. To the east was a desolate stretch of open space leading to a heavily fortified Israeli military post about 500 meters away.
An Israeli military commander said Hamas is active on the other side of the line and frequently sends people — militants and civilians — toward the line and even across it to test the army’s readiness and responses.
“There is no reason for anyone to come near the line,” he said, speaking on condition of anonymity under military rules. “There’s nothing here.”
The army says the entire line, which stretches the length of Gaza, is now clearly marked.
Since the ceasefire went into effect, more than 900 people have been killed in Gaza — dozens of those close to or over the yellow line, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. The ministry doesn't say how many are militants, but unarmed men and children have been among the dead.
Israel's military has said most of the people killed crossing the line posed a threat to troops. But soldiers who spoke to AP and Breaking the Silence — the whistleblower group that has collected troops' testimonies throughout the war — say that at times soldiers were too far away, acting too quickly and under too much pressure to tell.
Israel's army told AP that the area adjacent to the yellow line is a “sensitive operational environment” with signs saying approaching is prohibited. It said the army doesn't target civilians solely for approaching the line and that its rules of engagement require the use of warnings before using force. In situations involving an immediate threat, forces are authorized to act, it said.
One soldier says troops must act fast, with information sometimes based on a hunch It was the combat soldier's second tour in Gaza when the ceasefire began. He said he was posted several hundred meters from the yellow line and saw several people trying to cross it killed by soldiers.
Soldiers shooting or ordering drone strikes don't always know who's crossing the line, he said. Although soldiers must provide coordinates and get approval from superiors before striking, it's hard to give exact information as people are moving, he said. He described soldiers calling in coordinates based on a hunch or the last place they saw someone.
Breaking the Silence says the general rules of engagement are extremely permissive, especially for those crossing the line, with orders in many areas being “shoot to kill.”
Executive director Nadav Weiman, a veteran who served in Gaza but not in this war, said distance from the target and some trigger-happy soldiers can be problematic.
He said orders and policies from the military’s high commanders “have created a reality where countless civilians have and are being killed for crossing invisible lines.”
In one account to Breaking the Silence, in interview notes seen by AP, a soldier describes instructions for troops about anyone crossing the yellow line: “eliminate him no matter what."
Another soldier stationed in Gaza for weeks after the ceasefire said the message from commanders was to hold the line at all costs.
“There was a general feeling that human lives are not valuable,” he said.
When it came to demarcating the yellow line, the soldier said his superiors told him it was “too much work," not their job and that Palestinians should know where it was.
Being in Gaza took an emotional toll, he said.
Sometimes snipers fired warning shots at people close to the line, he said, but commanders told troops to do more to protect themselves. The soldier understood that to mean firing more lethal shots.
He and the other soldiers who spoke to AP said troops generally understood, based on leaders and fellow soldiers' actions, that Israel was in Gaza for the long run, not an eventual withdrawal.
An internal report circulated among aid groups last month and seen by AP said that across Gaza, Israel has become “increasingly proactive” with its strikes.
Separate data from the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project, a US-based nonprofit, said April was the deadliest month in Gaza this year and that recorded deaths near the yellow line or of people who crossed it increased by more than 25% from January to April, to 73 from 58.
This week, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel controls 60% of Gaza and the next step was to move to 70% control.
The soldiers told AP that on the ground, the ceasefire is elusive.
“We need to stop using this term," one said of the word, ceasefire. "It’s not serving people that want to stop the war.”
لم تشترك بعد
انشئ حساباً خاصاً بك لتحصل على أخبار مخصصة لك ولتتمتع بخاصية حفظ المقالات وتتلقى نشراتنا البريدية المتنوعة
