Middle East

Riyadh, May 5: Saudi Arabia's Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal, a prominent member of the country's royal family and a wealthy investor, has been swept up in connection with a wide-ranging anti-corruption initiative, according to reports. Saudi Arabia's King Salman removed a host of prominent officials in a sweeping crackdown, in which dozens of princes and former ministers were detained. News outlets

Riyadh, May 5: Saudi Arabia on Saturday intercepted and destroyed a ballistic missile near Riyadh’s international airport after it was launched from conflict-torn Yemen, in an escalation of the kingdom’s war against Houthi rebels. The missile attack was the first aimed by the Shiite rebels at the heart of the Saudi capital, underscoring the growing threat posed by the raging conflict in Yemen. A

Riyadh, Nov 5: Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman issued a royal order on Saturday sacking Prince Miteb Bin Abdullah as the Minister of National Guard. He has been replaced by Prince Khalid bin Abdulaziz bin Mohammed bin Ayyaf Al-Muqren. In another royal order, the King relieved Minister of Economy and Planning Adel Fakieh of his post. He has been replaced by Mohammed bin Mazyad Al

Riyadh, Nov 5: At least 11 princes, four sitting ministers and ‘tens’ of former ministers have been arrested on orders of the new anti-corruption supreme committee headed by Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman on Saturday evening, according to sources. The committee announced that it is reopening the file of the 2009 Jeddah floods and investigating the coronavirus issue also known as the Middle East

Riyadh, Nov 4: The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) has called on Britain and other countries to fully recognize Palestine as an independent state. The statement was issued to mark the OIC’s displeasure at the British government’s intention to organize a celebration to mark Thursday’s centenary of the Balfour Declaration, which laid the foundations for the state of Israel on Palestinian

Riyadh, Nov 3: The Kingdom slammed the Houthi rebels and their cohorts at the UN for planting 50,000 mines on the Saudi-Yemeni border at random. This came in the Kingdom’s address before the Fourth Committee on “the item on mine action” prepared by Manal Radwan, political coordinator and first secretary at the Saudi mission to the UN. Radwan said the Saudi-led coalition aiming to restore the

Riyadh, Nov 1: Saudi Arabia plans to start issuing tourist visas "soon", authorities said Tuesday, as the generous kingdom seeks to attract international visitors in a radical overhaul of its oil-dependent economy. Tourism is seen as a major driver of growth as the kingdom attempts to wean itself off its dependence on petrodollars amid a protracted oil slump. "Tourist visas will be introduced soon

Abu Dhabi, Oct 31: Saudi Arabia plans to extract uranium domestically as part of its nuclear power program and sees this as a step toward “self-sufficiency” in producing atomic fuel, a senior official said on Monday. Extracting its own uranium also makes sense from an economic point of view, said Hashim bin Abdullah Yamani, head of the Saudi government agency tasked with the nuclear plans, the

Jeddah, Oct 30: Women’s empowerment will take another step forward at the beginning of 2018 when families are permitted inside stadiums and other sports facilities. It was one of a raft of decisions announced on Sunday by Turki Al-Asheikh, chairman of the General Sports Authority, aimed at supporting and stimulating the sports sector. The authority “will start rehabilitating the main stadiums in

Dubai, Oct 29: Qatar’s Emir has warned against any military confrontation over the ongoing diplomatic dispute between his country and four other Arab nations. Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani says: “I’m fearful that if anything happens, if any military act happens, this region will be in chaos.” Speaking to the American television network CBS’s “60 Minutes” news program, Sheikh Tamim also