Latest updates from top global and Saudi news sources
Last updated: 22 Sep 2026, 9:49 AM (Saudi time)
Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Hajj and Umrah has launched Direct Umrah, a digital service letting pilgrims at home and abroad book approved Umrah packages online through authorized travel platforms.
The Umrah 1448 AH season is drawing to a close. Saudi Arabia set September 23 as the final date for Umrah pilgrims to enter the Kingdom and April 7, 2027 as the final date to depart.
Qatar's Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs opened Hajj 2027 registration on September 20, running to October 20, for a quota of 4,400 pilgrims. A health fitness certificate is now a mandatory first step.
Saudi Arabia has declined Nigeria's request to raise its 2027 Hajj allocation, keeping the quota at 50,000. NAHCON warned that the September 26 data-upload deadline will not be extended.
Indonesia's Ministry of Hajj and Umrah has found close to 400,000 invalid records while auditing its national Hajj queue of about 5.7 million entries, a discovery that could change the country's long waiting periods.
Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Hajj and Umrah now requires every Hajj 2027 pilgrim to pass a medical fitness examination and obtain a health clearance certificate through the Nusuk Masar platform before a Hajj visa is issued.
Bus crash near Makkah kills 2 Egyptian Umrah pilgrims, injures 25 Muslim Network TV
Strict security in Makkah targets Hajj violations Arab News
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.
Saudi Arabia Records 15.2 Million Umrah Pilgrims in First Quarter of 2026 Nomad Lawyer
Ministry of Hajj organizes ‘Khitamuhu Misk’ ceremony in Makkah Arab News
Singapore to get 900 slots for Haj 2027; pilgrims to undergo enhanced medical assessment The Straits Times