Sunni
Saudi Arabia announces Ramadan starts Tuesday
Saudi Arabia, home to Islam’s holiest shrines, announced that the holy fasting month of Ramadan will start on Tuesday, as Muslims worldwide face coronavirus curbs. “Tomorrow, Tuesday… is the beginning of the blessed month of Ramadan this year,” the kingdom’s supreme court said in a royal court statement. Other Muslim countries, including Sunni-majority Egypt and Lebanon, have also announced that Tuesday marks the start of Ramadan, while Shiite-majority countries like Iran are expected to start a day later. The daytime fasting month of Ramadan is one of the five pillars of Islam. Observant Muslims refrain from eating and drinking from dawn to dusk, and traditionally gather with family and friends to break their fast in the evening. It is also a time of prayers, during which Muslims typicall...
Gunmen attack Afghan hospital, kill two babies, 11 others
Thirteen people, including two babies, were killed on Tuesday when gunmen stormed a maternity hospital in the Afghan capital Kabul, an interior ministry spokesman said. “The fatalities also include mothers and nurses,” spokesman Tareq Arian said. Three gunmen held siege the Barchi National Hospital in Kabul for hours after the early-morning attack before security forces killed them in a clearance operation, the interior ministry said. Heavily armed security forces were seen carrying infants away from the scene — at least one wrapped in a blood-soaked blanket. “The fatalities also include mothers and nurses,” interior ministry spokesman Tareq Arian said. Some 15 people were wounded and more than 100 — including three foreign nationals — were rescued, he said. The hospital is located in the ...
