Middle East

Rome, May 11: The war in Yemen has made “the whole country bleed,” a Yemeni minister told a conference on eliminating hunger in conflict zones. Othman Hussein Faid Mujali, Yemen’s minister of agriculture and irrigation, said the September day in 2014 when the Houthis mounted their coup was “the worst moment in our history.” Addressing the Near East Regional Conference at the UN Food and

Jerusalem, May 10: Israeli raids overnight hit "nearly all the Iranian infrastructure in Syria", Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman said on Thursday after strikes Israel says were in response to rocket fire at its forces it blamed on Iran. "We hit nearly all the Iranian infrastructure in Syria," Lieberman told a security conference. "They need to remember the saying that if it rains on us, it'll

Jerusalem/Beirut, May 10: Iranian forces in Syria launched a rocket attack on Israeli army bases in the Golan Heights early on Thursday, Israel said, prompting one of the heaviest Israeli barrages in Syria since the conflict there began in 2011.The attack on the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, just past midnight, marked the first time Iranian forces have hit Israel from Syria, where they have

London, May 8: Advertising pundits in the Middle East are hoping that the month of Ramadan will give a boost to what has so far been a lackluster year for the industry. Overall GCC ad spends have plummeted with an estimated 25 percent regional drop from 2016 to 2017 alone, data from Ipsos Stat showed. Ramadan has traditionally been peak season for broadcasters, but a volatile regional economy, the

Beirut, May 6: Lebanon’s polling stations opened Sunday for the first parliamentary elections in nine years, with people lining up early in the morning to take part in a vote that is fiercely contested between rival groups backed by regional and international powers. Sunday’s vote is taking place amid tight security, with army and police forces deployed near polling stations and on major

The Dubai-Kuwait route has been ranked 9th among the 'World's 20 Busiest Routes', according to a study by air travel intelligence firm OAG Aviation. The results were based on frequency in the 12 months between March 2017 and February 2018 with 15,332 flights and more than 2.7 million passengers carried. It is the busiest route in the entire Middle East and Africa region. Emirates airline remains

Jeddah, May 4: The Council of Economic and Development Affairs (CEDA) has launched the Quality of Life Program 2020, one of the Vision Realization Programs 2030 approved by the Council of Ministers. The implementation plan for the program reflects the vision of the government of King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to prepare the environment to improve individuals and families’

Jeddah, May 2: Saudi Arabia on Tuesday renewed its support for the Syrian crisis, saying the only solution is through a political route, during a meeting of the Council of Ministers chaired by King Salman. The Cabinet stressed its support for alleviating the suffering of the Syrian people who are subjected to horrific war crimes.The Kingdom has sought international efforts to find peaceful

Riyadh, May 1: Film fans in the Saudi capital witnessed the opening of its second cinema on Monday night. The opening saw yet another player entering Saudi Arabia’s fast-growing entertainment landscape. This time it is VOX Cinemas, which now rivals AMC Cinemas in the Kingdom. VOX Cinema promises lower prices and a much more practical location, inside a beautifully constructed mall. The new

Kabul, Apr 30: At least 21 people were killed, including Agence France-Presse chief photographer Shah Marai and three other journalists, when two suicide blasts ripped through Kabul today, the health ministry has confirmed. Ministry spokesman Wahid Majroh told Afghanistan's largest private TV channel Tolo news that at least 27 people were wounded and rushed to hospital, warning that some were in