A team of experts at Umm al-Qura University in Mecca is studying the reinforcement of the Kaaba’s Kiswah using Kevlar, the para-aramid synthetic fiber, in order to make it resist high temperatures and heavy weights.

The Taliban launched a major attack on an army base in southern Kandahar province with one lawmaker saying at least 40 Afghan soldiers were killed.

At least 71 people have been killed in a series of attacks by the Taliban in Paktia and Ghazni provinces, officials in Afghanistan say.

Saudi Arabia on Tuesday announced that women will be allowed to drive for the first time in the kingdom, state media reported.

People in Iraq’s autonomous region of Kurdistan are voting in an independence referendum, amid rising tensions and international opposition.

Turkish aid agencies on Sunday distributed food at the Bangladesh border to the Rohingya Muslims fleeing violence in Myanmar’s western Rakhine state.

The Muslim World League is holding a conference on “Civilizational Communication between the United States of America and the Islamic World” on Saturday in New York City.

Bangladesh has restricted the movement of Rohingya refugees, banning them from leaving designated areas in the country to which over 400,000 have fled from violence in neighbouring Myanmar.

The Egyptian Ministry of Interior has denied that controversial Qatar-based preacher Yousef al-Qaradawi’s name was removed from the Interpol wanted lists, confirming that his name is still listed in the international red alert issued to prosecute the convicts.

Separate Russian and US-led coalition air strikes on Tuesday killed 28 civilians in Syria’s eastern Deir al-Zor province, where rival offensives against the ISIS group are under way, a monitor said.