Latest updates from top global and Saudi news sources
Last updated: 23 Sep 2026, 10:20 AM (Saudi time)
Health authorities have restated Hajj 2027 vaccination rules, including the mandatory meningococcal vaccine, plus polio and COVID-19 requirements for certain pilgrims and a medical fitness certificate.
Over 340,000 Pakistanis have registered online for Hajj 2027-2030 under the country's first four-year Hajj policy, which lets applicants register once for any year through 2030.
The Haj Committee of India selected 120,917 pilgrims for Hajj 2027 in a fully digital Qurrah draw on July 30, 2026, with 77,952 applicants placed on the waiting list.
Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Hajj and Umrah reported a 22.5 percent rise in Umrah visa arrivals, with international pilgrims exceeding 1.27 million. Pakistan, Indonesia and Iraq sent the largest groups.
Saudi Arabia has introduced a multiple-entry Umrah visa valid for 365 days with a cumulative stay of up to 90 days, managed entirely through the Nusuk platform.
Bangladesh has set its Hajj 2027 packages, with the highest government package at Tk 6,15,263 and the lowest at Tk 5,05,648, and cut Hajj airfare by Tk 24,830 to Tk 1,30,000.
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Taraneh Rahimi was told prison guards would rape her sister, Romina, if she did not sign a confessionThe twins were 19 and still in high school when they were taken from their beds in the dead of night by masked men later identified as being sent by the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps.
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