Wednesday, November 18, 2009 RIYADH: Saudi Arabia announced on Tuesday, November 17, `Eid Al-Adha’, one of the two main religious festivals on the Islamic calendar, will fall on Friday, November 27, Geo news reported."The new moon of Dhul-Hijjah was sighted by trusted witnesses on Tuesday in a number of provinces," the Supreme Judicial Council said in a statement published by the state-run Saudi Press Agency."Thus, Wednesday, November 18, will mark the beginning of the lunar month of Dhul-Hijjah."This means pilgrims will climb Mount `Arafat, where Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) delivered his last sermon 14 centuries ago, on Thursday, November 26.Standing on Mount `Arafat before sunset marks the climax of hajj and pilgrims who fail to make it on time must repeat their pilgrimage in future.Every able-bodied adult Muslim -- who can financially afford the trip -- must perform hajj, one of the five pillars of Islam, once in their lifetime.Muslims worldwide will then celebrate `Eid Al-Adha’, which marks the end of hajj, on Friday, November 27.
Friday, August 14, 2009 MUMBAI: A 26-year-old woman died Thursday of H1N1 swine flu in the southern city of Bangalore, raising India's death toll from the virus to 20, authorities said.The death was the first reported in India's information technology capital, the Press Trust of India reported.Meanwhile in Pune, the worst-affected in India, two more victims of the virus died Thursday, raising the death toll in that western city near Mumbai to 12, the report said. The victims were an 11-month-old boy and a 75-year-old old woman.US media reported movie halls, schools and colleges were ordered closed Thursday for three days to a week in Mumbai, the commercial and financial capital of the country, as fear of the pandemic spread.Prajakata Lavangare, a spokeswoman for the government of Maharashtra state of which Mumbai is the capital, said similar orders were issued in Pune, which is also located in the state.The woman who died in Bangalore was identified only as Roopa, a teacher in...
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