Middle East

Riyadh, May 24: The General Directorate for the Affairs of Al-Masjid an-Nabawi, or the Prophet's Mosque, is carrying on with plans during the month of Ramadan to serve visitors, the Saudi Press Agency has said. The directorate has prepared the mosque to accommodate worshipers at the time of prayers, in addition to monitoring the Iftar meals offered at the mosque and its external courts. It also

Jeddah, May 24: The Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA) announced that new riyal coins will replace one riyal notes starting from Thursday, the Saudi Press Agency reported. It said paper currencies will still be traded alongside the new coins until until all the one riyal notes are gradually phased out across banks, as planned. SAMA said the coin has been coined under the patronage of King Salman

Jeddah, May 19: With only weeks remaining before Saudi women take to the road, the Kingdom is preparing drivers for one of the most dramatic reforms in the country’s history. Driving schools for women have been opened, car advertisements and safety advice are being directed at both men and women, and new traffic signs are addressing women drivers. Now the Kingdom has called on women with overseas

Riyadh, May 19: Seven people have been arrested for their association with foreign entities and for recruiting people in sensitive government positions. Quoting the security spokesman of the Presidency of State Security, the Saudi Press Agency said: “The specialized authority monitored the coordinated activity of a group of people. Through this activity, the group was able to undertake organized

Istambul, May 19: Leaders of the Organization of the Islamic Cooperation (OIC) member states arrived in Istanbul on Friday for a summit, called by Turkey, over the killings of about 60 Palestinian protesters by Israeli forces along the Gaza border. The extraordinary summit has been called by the President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan in his capacity as the Chair of the OIC Summit. Erdogan has

Gaza/London, May 19: The UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) on Friday voted to send a team of international war crimes investigators to Gaza to investigate the violent protests that have left more than 100 people dead. An international commission of inquiry is the UNHRC’s highest level of investigation. But if the intention was to give hope to Palestinians after six weeks of violent confrontation

Dr. Anwar bin Mohammed Gargash, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, has expressed the UAE's condemnation of the Israeli occupation's use of excessive force against unarmed Palestinians who exercise their right to demonstrate and demand their legitimate rights, while warning of the negative repercussions of such dangerous escalation. He stressed that the US decision to transfer the US Embassy to

Jerusalem, May 14: The US officially opened its deeply controversial Jerusalem embassy on Monday in a ceremony that included a video address by President Donald Trump. Trump told the ceremony that the United States remained committed to reaching a lasting Middle East peace though the move of its embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem has provoked outrage. A plaque and seal was unveiled at

Gaza Strip, May 14: Israeli troops have opened fire on Palestinians who have gathered near a Gaza fence for the climax of a six-week demonstration coinciding with the inauguration of US embassy in Jerusalem al-Quds. At least 41 Palestinians were killed and nearly 2000 were injured as the Israeli army fired live ammunition, teargas and firebombs at protesters on Monday. The deadly attack comes as a

Dubai, May 13: Blowing dust sweeping through UAE on Sunday caused some slight travel delays and flight disruptions at the airports. According to sources, inbound Emirates, Malaysian Airlines, Qantas, PIA, and FlyDubai flights from Amman, Peshawar, Jeddah, Karachi, Yerevan, Khartoum, Hyderabad, Lucknow, Mumbai, Pune, Bahrain, Muscat, Damman, and Kuwait into Dubai were delayed by several minutes as