Category: Global

The Saudi Ministry of Hajj and Umrah has announced that people holding any type of visa can now perform Umrah.

According to the Saudi Press Agency, the ministry said the decision aims to simplify procedures for pilgrims and expand access to services under the Hajj and Umrah system in line with the goals of Saudi Vision 2030.

The ministry confirmed that all visa types, including personal, family visit, electronic tourist, transit and work visas, were included.

“This step underscores the Kingdom’s commitment to enabling Muslims from around the world to perform their rituals with ease and tranquillity,” the ministry said and also highlighted the launch of the Nusuk Umrah platform that allows users to plan and perform Umrah by selecting packages and obtaining permits electronically. 

“الحج والعمرة”:
جميع حاملي التأشيرات بمختلف أنواعها يمكنهم أداء مناسك العمرة خلال وجودهم في المملكة pic.twitter.com/1WmPgtpCEN

— إمارة منطقة مكة المكرمة (@makkahregion) October 5, 2025

The platform also lets visitors book services and choose suitable timings conveniently.

“These facilitation measures show the keenness of the Government of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince to provide Muslims with a safe, spiritual environment along with high-quality services that enrich the Umrah experience,” the ministry said.

President Donald Trump on Friday urged Israel to immediately stop bombing Gaza after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept several parts of a U.S.-backed peace plan. Some critical issues, including Hamas disarmament, remain unresolved, Reuters reported.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said the country was preparing for the “immediate implementation” of the first stage of Trump’s Gaza plan, which focuses on freeing Israeli hostages. Israeli media later reported that the government had ordered the military to scale back offensive operations in Gaza.

Despite this, residents said Israeli tanks and warplanes bombed several areas in Gaza City shortly after Trump’s announcement. Witnesses reported airstrikes on Talateeni Street and the Remal neighborhood, while other attacks hit Khan Younis. No casualties were confirmed.

The Israeli military chief of staff said forces were preparing to carry out the first stage of Trump’s plan but did not mention any reduction in military activity.

Trump gave Hamas until Sunday to accept his 20-point plan or face what he described as “grave consequences.” The U.S. president has presented himself as the only person capable of achieving lasting peace in Gaza after a two-year conflict that has killed tens of thousands and left Israel isolated internationally.

“Hamas has shown it is ready for a lasting peace,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “Israel must immediately stop the bombing of Gaza so we can get the hostages out safely and quickly. This is not just about Gaza — this is about long-sought peace in the Middle East.”

Netanyahu’s office said Israel would continue to cooperate with Trump and his team “to end the war in accordance with the principles set out by Israel, which align with President Trump’s vision.”

Domestically, Netanyahu faces growing pressure from families of hostages and the public to end the war, while far-right members of his coalition demand continued military action.

Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas-led attacks on October 7, 2023, that killed about 1,200 people and led to 251 hostages being taken, according to Israeli data. Israel says 48 hostages remain, including 20 who are alive. Gaza health officials report that more than 66,000 Palestinians have died since the war began, most of them civilians. The offensive has devastated Gaza’s infrastructure, and aid blockades have caused famine in parts of the enclave.

A U.N. Commission of Inquiry and several human rights experts have accused Israel of committing genocide in Gaza, a claim Netanyahu’s government denies, saying it acted in self-defense.

In its response to Trump’s plan, Hamas expressed appreciation for U.S., Arab, and international efforts to end the war, exchange prisoners, and allow immediate aid into Gaza. The group agreed to release all Israeli hostages and remains “under the exchange formula contained in President Trump’s proposal,” Reuters said.

Hamas also signaled readiness to hand over Gaza’s administration to a Palestinian body of independent technocrats, supported by Arab and Islamic nations. However, it did not accept the U.S. and Israeli demand for disarmament or a gradual Israeli withdrawal.

A senior Hamas official told Al Jazeera that the group would not give up its weapons before Israel ends its occupation of Gaza, highlighting ongoing disagreements.

Qatar’s foreign ministry confirmed that it is coordinating with Egypt and the U.S. to continue mediation efforts on Trump’s Gaza plan.

Trump’s proposal calls for an immediate ceasefire, a full hostage-prisoner exchange, a staged Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, Hamas disarmament, and a transitional government led by an international body.

Earlier on Friday, Trump warned that “all hell” would break loose if Hamas did not agree to his plan by Sunday evening.

Israeli naval forces have seized the last boat of the Global Sumud Flotilla that was carrying aid to Gaza, media reports have stated. 

The final vessel of the flotilla, sailing under the Polish flag with six people on board, was intercepted about 43 nautical miles from Gaza’s waters. Media reports said that it was the only boat still en route after others had been stopped.

Since Wednesday, Israeli forces have seized 43 boats and detained around 500 activists. Reports said more than 200 of them have been transferred to prison. Among those detained is Pakistan’s former senator Mushtaq Ahmed Khan.

Israeli media reported that 200 flotilla activists will be moved to a prison in the Negev desert until deportation. 

However, there has been no confirmation yet of Mushtaq Ahmed Khan’s transfer to jail.

Israeli forces stopped 13 boats carrying foreign activists and aid bound for Gaza, while 30 other vessels continued sailing towards the war-ravaged enclave on Thursday, Reuters reported quoting flotilla organisers.

A video released by Israel’s foreign ministry and verified by Reuters showed Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg surrounded by soldiers on the deck of a boat. The ministry said on X that “Greta and her friends are safe and healthy” after several vessels from what it called the “Hamas-Sumud flotilla” were diverted to an Israeli port.

The Global Sumud Flotilla set out with more than 40 civilian boats carrying around 500 parliamentarians, lawyers and activists, along with medicine and food for Gaza. Organisers said their mission was non-violent and humanitarian. They shared videos on Telegram of passengers holding passports and claiming Israeli forces abducted them and took them to Israel against their will.

Despite Wednesday’s interceptions, the flotilla remains defiant. Tracking data showed 30 boats still en route to Gaza, about 46 nautical miles away on Thursday morning. Organisers described the raid as a “war crime”, accusing Israeli forces of using water cannons, scrambling communications and intercepting vessels in international waters.

The mission has drawn global attention as one of the most high-profile challenges to Israel’s blockade of Gaza since 2007. Turkey, Spain and Italy deployed boats or drones to assist their nationals. Turkey called Israel’s action “an act of terror”. 

Colombian President Gustavo Petro expelled Israel’s entire diplomatic mission and cancelled a free trade agreement after two Colombians were detained, calling the arrests a “new international crime” by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said Israeli forces had detained eight Malaysians and accused Israel of showing “utter contempt” for global conscience.

The raid also triggered street protests in Italy and Colombia, where Italian unions announced a general strike in solidarity.

Israel defended the operation, saying it had warned the flotilla that it was entering an active combat zone and violating a lawful blockade.

The confrontation follows earlier clashes at sea, including the 2010 raid in which nine activists were killed, and a June 2025 incident when Thunberg and others were detained by Israel while approaching Gaza.

Prime Minister (PM) Benjamin Netanyahu secured “significant 11th-hour changes” to United States (US) President Donald Trump’s Gaza peace deal, it has emerged, raising concerns if Pakistan among other Muslim states had previously agreed on a different draft.

According to The Times of Israel, Netanyahu, during the extensive meeting with Trump, managed to secure the changes to the proposal regarding the scope and nature of Israel’s withdrawal from Gaza, along with the disarmament of Hamas.

“Point 3 of what was then a 21-point plan obtained by The Times of Israel stated that ‘Israeli forces will withdraw to the battle lines as of when the [US special envoy Steve Witkoff’s] proposal was presented to prepare for hostage release’,” it said.

The publication noted that the previous version did not specify which Witkoff proposal and the plan published on Monday stated that “Israeli forces will withdraw to the agreed-upon line” without any further elaborations.

However, it added, that it appeared to refer to a “new map” that was “included in the updated version that illustrated three phases of Israeli withdrawals from Gaza”.

The report further said that the map showed that “Israeli troops will be able to remain in the majority of the Gaza Strip even after the first pullback of Israel Defence Forces (IDF) troops in preparation for all of the hostages to be released”.

“They will then be able to remain in those positions until the International Stabilisation Force (ISF) of Arab and Muslim countries is prepared to deploy and fully operate to disarm Hamas, the plan states. Even after the second phase of the withdrawal, the IDF will remain in over a third of the Strip, the map indicates,” the report said.

“The third withdrawal will clear the final troops out of Gaza, but the map shows that a security buffer zone will be established along the perimeter of the entire Strip, another Israeli demand aimed at mitigating the threat of another October 7-like invasion,” it added.

Further, the report said that point 16 of the original plan simply stated that the IDF would progressively hand over the Gaza territory that it occupies.

It added that the updated version added two lines that “further qualify the nature of the withdrawal in Israel’s favour”, stating that IDF “will withdraw based on standards, milestones, and timeframes linked to demilitarisation that will be agreed upon between the IDF, ISF, the guarantors, and the US”.

“Practically, the IDF will progressively hand over the Gaza territory it occupies to the ISF according to an agreement they will make with the transitional authority until they are withdrawn completely from Gaza, save for a security perimeter presence that will remain until Gaza is properly secure from any resurgent terror threat,” read the plan announced on Monday.

While it also mentioned that Netanyahu managed to secure concessions regarding disarmament during a meeting with US special envoy Steve Witkoff and top adviser Jared Kushner at his hotel in New York on Thursday and Sunday, the report comes as US-based news outlet Axios also claims that the deal before Hamas was significantly different than the one the US and a group of Arab and Muslim countries had previously agreed on.

“Trump presented the situation as straightforward,” Axios reported.

“Israel, the US and its Arab partners were all aligned on a final plan, and Hamas had to agree or face annihilation,” it said.

The publication claimed that officials from Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan and Turkey were furious over the changes, and Qataris had tried to convince the Trump administration to not release the plan due to said objections but the White House did so anyway.

It merits a mention that Pakistan’s Deputy prime minister (PM) and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar has also seemingly distanced Pakistani experts from the plan.

Appearing on Geo News a day after Trump, standing alongside Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu, asserted that PM Shehbaz Sharif and Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Field Marshal Asim Munir fully backed his Gaza plan, the FM revealed that Islamabad had held detailed discussions with Trump’s team on the proposal and later submitted its amendments to the points shared by Washington.

 
However, he said, the draft did not incorporate all of Islamabad’s amendments.

 
Just hours before the President Trump’s announcement, the premier had welcomed the plan, saying durable peace between the Palestinian people and Israel was essential for regional stability and economic growth.

 
In a post on X, PM Shehbaz said he was “convinced that durable peace between the Palestinian people and Israel would be essential in bringing political stability and economic growth to the region”.

Hamas officials want amendments to clauses in US President Donald Trump’s Gaza peace plan including on disarmament, a Palestinian source close to the group’s leadership told AFP on Wednesday.

Hamas negotiators held discussions Tuesday with Turkish, Egyptian and Qatari officials in Doha, the source said, requesting anonymity to discuss sensitive matters and adding that the group needed “two or three days at most” to respond.

Trump’s plan, backed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, calls for a ceasefire, the release of hostages by Hamas within 72 hours, the group’s disarmament and a gradual Israeli withdrawal from Gaza.

But the Palestinian source said: “Hamas wants to amend some of the clauses such as the one on disarmament and the expulsion of Hamas and faction cadres.”

Hamas leaders also want “international guarantees for a full Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip” and guarantees that no assassinations attempts will be made inside or outside the territory.

Six people were killed in an Israeli attack last month on Hamas officials meeting in Doha to discuss an earlier ceasefire proposal.

The source said Hamas was also in touch with “other regional and Arab parties”, without giving details.

The US government began shutting down after midnight Wednesday as lawmakers and President Donald Trump failed to break a budget impasse during acrimonious talks that hinged on Democratic demands for health care funding.

It is the first shutdown since the longest in history — lasting 35 days — almost seven years ago, and will stop work at multiple federal departments and agencies, affecting hundreds of thousands of government workers.

Trump blamed Democrats over the stalled talks and threatened to punish the party and its voters during the stoppage by targeting progressive priorities and forcing mass public sector job cuts.

“So we’d be laying off a lot of people that are going to be very affected. And they’re Democrats, they’re going to be Democrats,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.

He said a “lot of good can come down from shutdowns,” and suggested he would use the pause to “get rid of a lot of things we didn’t want, and they’d be Democrat things.”

Government operations began grinding to a halt at 12:01 am (0401 GMT), after a frenetic but ultimately failed bid in the Senate to rubber-stamp a short-term funding resolution already approved by the House of Representatives.

Hopes of a compromise had been hanging by a thread since Monday, when a last-gasp meeting at the White House yielded no progress.

The gridlocked Congress regularly runs into deadlines to agree on spending plans, and the negotiations are invariably fraught. But Congress usually avoids them ending in shutdowns.

Democrats, in the minority in both chambers of Congress, have been seeking to flex their rare leverage over the federal government eight months into Trump’s barnstorming second presidency that has seen entire government agencies dismantled.

Trump’s threat of new job cuts added to anxieties in the federal workforce sparked by large-scale firings orchestrated by tycoon Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency earlier this year.

– Health care under threat –

The 100-member Senate requires government funding bills to receive 60 votes — seven more than the Republicans control.

Republicans had proposed to extend current funding until late November, pending negotiations on a longer-term spending plan.

But Democrats wanted to see hundreds of billions of dollars in health care spending restored, particularly in the Obamacare health insurance program for low-income households, which the Trump administration is likely to eliminate.

Almost all Senate Democrats voted against a House-passed, seven-week stop-gap funding measure hours ahead of the midnight deadline.

It remains unclear how long the shutdown will last.

The federal government has shuttered 21 times since 1976, when Congress enacted the modern-day budget process.

Some stoppages have lasted only a few hours — not long enough to affect government operations.

The longest began on December 22, 2018 when Democrats and Trump found themselves at an impasse over $5.7 billion the president was demanding for a border wall during his first term.

Around 380,000 federal employees were furloughed and another 420,000 worked without pay.

Senators can move quickly when inclined by waiving the normal procedures that tend to hold up legislation.

The upper chamber was due back in session on Wednesday, but a House recess lasting all week means it will not be able to rubber stamp any quick deal agreed by the Senate.

The Senate will be out on Thursday for the Jewish holiday Yom Kippur, but will be back on Friday and possibly in session through the weekend.

The shutdown will not affect vital functions like the Postal Service, the military and welfare programs like Social Security and food stamps.

But up to 750,000 workers could be sent home each day and would not be paid until the shutdown was over, according to the Congressional Budget Office.

A Chinese influencer lost his life after crashing his aircraft while live-streaming the flight for his followers.

According to China News Service, the 55-year-old Tang Feiji was flying a single-seat ultralight coaxial rotor helicopter when it fell to the ground and exploded.

Videos shared on social media showed the aircraft crashing and bursting into flames moments after impact.

Instagram Post

Tang, a resident of Guangyuan in Sichuan province, was streaming the flight live on Douyin for his followers. Authorities confirmed that his body was recovered from the crash site.

Tang had about 100,000 followers on Douyin. Reports said his helicopter weighed only 115 kilograms and cost around 350,000 yuan (68,400 US dollars).

In recent videos, Tang told his viewers that his aircraft could reach a speed of 100 kilometers per hour and fly up to an altitude of 600 meters.

India’s notorious criminal syndicate Bishnoi Gang has been declared a “terrorist entity” by the Canadian government, penalising the group who committed a high-profile murder on its soil on the behest of the Indian government.

Canada has long maintained that India got Canadian national Harjeet Singh Nijjar, a Sikh separatist, murdered in Vancouver in 2023. The grisly shooting in a parking lot led the Royal Canadian Mounted Police to allege that the Narendra Modi-led Indian government had conspired with Bishnoi Gang to target or attempt to assassinate many Sikh separatists in the country. 

India rejected the allegations, leading to a prolonged diplomatic impasse which saw Ottawa expelling Indian diplomats and India replying in kind. 

The Canadian Minister for Public Safety, Gary Anandasagree, has stated that the terrorist designation gives the state “more powerful and effective tools” to target the gang. 

His office said in a statement that the Bishnoi Gang was a transnational organisation that spreads terror through extortion and intimidation and works primarily out of India.