Middle East

Madinah, April 13: The Ministry of Commerce and Industry has formulated a plan to check any rises in commodity prices and is closely monitoring the markets to end any monopoly of goods, Minister Tawfiq Al-Rabiah has said. Al-Rabiah, who is also the chairman of the board of directors of the Saudi Industrial Property Authority (Modon), made the remarks following a tour of the industrial city in

Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says the West invaded Afghanistan with the main purpose of dominating the Eastern bloc, particularly Russia and China. “Western powers dispatched troops to Afghanistan to prepare the ground for dominating the Eastern bloc. All their claims and pretexts for establishing security in Afghanistan are sheer lies,” said President Ahmadinejad in the southern port city

Abu Dhabi, April 12: The National Centre for Metrology and Seismology (NCMS) said the UAE was safe from the earthquake and tsunami in the Indian Ocean, but the UAE Foreign Ministry urged its citizens to take precautions and avoid travelling to the quake-hit countries except in situations of ultimate necessity. Undersecretary of the Foreign Ministry Juma Mubarak Al Junaibi said the government is

Riyadh, April 11: As part of an ambitious public-partnership plan to reduce dependence on foreign workers, the state-owned Technical and Vocational Training Corporation (TVTC) and Mohamed Yousuf Naghi Motors (MYNM) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) yesterday to train 400 young Saudis for jobs in automobile sector. On completion of the training, the MYNM, which has a nationwide network of

Damascus, April 11: The UN and Arab League envoy to Syria, Kofi Annan, says he has received assurances from Damascus that it will respect his ceasefire plan. Speaking during a visit to Iran, Mr Annan said there could be "improved conditions on the ground" by Thursday morning, if all sides did so. A deadline for Syria to withdraw troops and weaponry from population centres expires on Thursday. But

Dubai, April 11: FNC members took their chance yesterday to ask the Chairman of the General Authority of Islamic Affairs and Endowments about the possibility of making Friday sermons more topical and more pertinent to the UAE. Sultan Al Shamsi (Ajman) asked: "Why can't the subjects of the Friday sermons revolve around the current reality and situation locally and internationally?" Dr Hamdan Al

Moscow/Paris/Beirut, April 11: Syria's foreign minister told Moscow yesterday Damascus had started withdrawing troops in line with Kofi Annan's peace plan but Russia said the regime should implement the initiative more decisively. The rare visit by Foreign Minister Walid Muallem to Moscow coincided with a deadline under the Annan plan for Syria to withdraw forces from protest cities amid Western

Abu Dhabi, April 11: The UAE’s new permanent representative to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (Nato), Mohammed Ali Al Naqbi, ambassador to Libya Obaid Mohammed Al Ka’abi and ambassador to Kuwait Ali Ahmed bin Shukr Al Za’abi were sworn in before the President, His Highness Shaikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, in presence of Shaikh Sultan bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the President’s Representative

Dubai, April 10: An Indian father has appealed for help to find his son who went missing along with his car on March 25. Abdul Khader, a businessman from Abu Dhabi, says his son Mohammed Thahseer Berkka, 28, has been missing for more than two weeks. "He is missing with his vehicle and his two mobile phones are switched off. I am worried that he might have been kidnapped," said Mr Khader, who hails

Dubai, April 10: The Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Patrons of the Arts Awards, honoured 47 organisations and individuals for their contributions towards the city’s cultural scene at a prestigious event held on Sunday at the Jumeirah Zabeel Saray Hotel, in the presence of members of the royal family. In its third edition, the ceremony opened with a delightful musical performance titled