Middle East

Riyadh, Jan 6: Saudi Arabia was not consulted by its ally Washington over a US drone strike that killed a top Iranian general, an official said Sunday, as the kingdom sought to defuse soaring regional tensions. Saudi Arabia is vulnerable to possible Iranian reprisals after Tehran vowed "revenge" following the strike on Friday that killed powerful commander Qasem Soleimani in Baghdad. "The kingdom

Dubai, Jan 4: Three UAE airlines have made it to lists of the safest carriers in 2020, reinforcing the value these companies provide passengers in the increasingly competitive aviation scene. Abu Dhabi's Etihad Airways and Dubai's Emirates are in the list of the top 20 safest airlines, while Sharjah-based Air Arabia is in the list of the top 10 low-cost carriers, safety and product rating website

Baghdad, Jan 4: At least five people were killed on Saturday by an airstrike on a vehicle convoy of Iraq's Shia Popular Mobilization Forces in northern Baghdad, a source in security forces told Sputnik. Earlier in the day, the source told Sputnik about a powerful explosion in Baghdad's northern district of Taji. "A vehicle convoy of the Popular Mobilization Forces has been attacked. According to

Hong Kong, Jan 3: Oil prices soared more than four per cent Friday following claims that the US had killed a top Iranian general, ratcheting up tensions between the foes and fuelling fears of a conflict in the crude-rich region. The head of Iran's Quds Force, Qasem Soleimani, was hit in an attack on Baghdad international airport early Friday, according to Hased, a powerful Iraqi paramilitary force

New York/Singapore, Dec 30: Oil prices rose more than 20% this year but there were no sharp spikes and crude futures barely sniffed $70 a barrel despite attacks on the world's biggest oil producer, sanctions that crippled crude exports of two OPEC members and gigantic supply cuts from big oil-producing countries. The price gains in crude oil benchmarks were all in the first quarter of 2019, even

Jeddah/Dubai, Dec 29: The recent Saudi Youth Development Survey revealed that 67.02 percent of the Saudi population is between the age of 0 and 34. The survey, which was performed during the second quarter of 2019 and was published by the General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT), aimed to provide many important indicators about the life of young people. This included social, demographic and

Makkah, Dec 27: Hajj and Umrah Minister Mohammed Saleh bin Taher Benten received at his office in Makkah the Somali Minister of Endowment and Religious Affairs Nur Mohamed Hassan to discuss early preparations for this year’s Hajj season. Later on, Deputy Minister of Hajj and Umrah Abdulfattah bin Sulaiman Mashat received at his office in Makkah Secretary-General of the Syrian National Coalition

Dubai, Dec 25: Developers of 'ToTok', a popular messaging application, have rebuffed accusations of their service being a spyware and misusing users' information, saying that the company has made security and privacy as its priority "since day one". The clarification came after ToTok was taken off from Apple and Google App stores last week over allegations that the app was being used as a spy tool

Dubai, Dec 24: Get over Israeli spyware Pegasus. A new app called ToTok (do not confuse it with TikTok) which is very popular in the UAE and is billed as a secure way to chat by video or text message with friends and family is allegedly being used by the UAE government as a spying tool for mass surveillance. According to a New York Times report, ToTok "is used by the government of the United Arab

Saudi Arabia, Dec 23:Saudi Arabia's public prosecutor said on Monday five people had been sentenced to death and three more to jail terms totalling 24 years in the case of the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Istanbul in October last year. He said Saud al-Qahtani, a former high-profile Saudi royal adviser, was investigated but not charged and was released. Khashoggi was a US resident