Middle East

Riyadh, Apr 18: Around 650 Rohingya refugees held in a Saudi detention centre on Wednesday went on hunger strike to protest against their indefinite detention in the Gulf country for the third time in recent months. The refugees, held inside Shumaisi detention centre in Jeddah since 2012 for not having valid documentation, initiated the hunger strike on Saturday, Ro Nay San Lwin, campaign

Riyadh, Apr 18: Saudi Arabia will host the annual G20 leaders' summit on November 21-22, 2020, in its capital, Riyadh, the Saudi press agency (SPA) said. "Saudi Arabia is fully committed to the G20's objectives and to the stability and prosperity of the international economic system," it reported on Wednesday. The G20 is made up of 19 of the world's biggest economies, as well as the European Union

Chandigarh, Apr 17: The foreign ministry has confirmed that two Indians, Satwinder Kumar of Hoshiarpur and Harjeet Singh of Ludhiana, have been beheaded in Saudi Arabia on charges of murdering a fellow Indian. The two were executed on February 28 this year. The Indian embassy in Riyadh, however, was not informed by the Saudi authorities before the executions. The families of the deceased may not

Dubai, Apr 16: A 33-year-old Indian man has been sentenced to three months in prison followed by deportation for hacking 15 websites, according to a media report. The Dubai Court of First Instance on Monday charged the man with hacking websites and issuing threats, Gulf News reported. He was also handed a three-month suspended jail term and will be deported immediately, the report said. According

London, Apr 14: Seventy-six people have been killed in Iran by floods in recent weeks, according to a new toll published Sunday with warnings still in place for large swathes of the country. “With the death of five people in the Khuzestan province flood and another person in Ilam province the death toll has now reached 76,” since March 19, according to a statement published online by the coroner’s

Aleppo, Apr 13: At least two children were killed and five others suffered injuries in a landmine blast in Syria's government-held Aleppo city on Friday (local time). A source at Aleppo Police said that the landmine went off following "tampering" by the victims, reported SANA. "The victims had found a landmine left behind by terrorists in the 1070 Apartments project at the western outskirts of

Khartoum, Apr 12: Sudan’s military has removed Omar Al-Bashir from power after 30 years and declared a state of emergency. The move brings to an end the divisive and autocratic reign of one of Africa and the Arab world’s longest serving leaders. It follows months of escalating protests against his rule that have been met with a brutal response by the security forces. Dozens of people have been

DUBAI: Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates pledged $200 million in aid to Yemen, to be spent during Ramadan, the UAE’s Minister of State for International Cooperation said on Monday. Both countries are working with humanitarian organizations to ensure the aid will be distributed in both Houthi and government-controlled areas, Reem Al-Hashimy told a press conference in Abu Dhabi. Preventing

Abu Dhabi, Apr 5: The Anti-Terror Quartet of countries — Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt — have confirmed that they will boycott the 140th General Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union, which begins in Qatar on Saturday. The 139th IPU general assembly was held in Geneva in October 2018, during which the four nations objected to the decision to hold the next gathering in Doha, over

Riyadh, Apr 5: Saudi Arabia opened a new consulate in Baghdad on Thursday after announcing $1 billion in loans for development projects in Iraq. Three more diplomatic branches are to be opened in other Iraqi cities soon, Saudi Arabia’s Commerce and Investment Minister Majid bin Abdullah Al-Qassabi said Saudi Arabia and Iraq have moved to improve relations in recent months. The Kingdom reopened its