Middle East

Jeddah, Jan 11: Women aged 25 and over can be granted a tourist visa to go to Saudi Arabia alone, a spokesman for the Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage (SCTH) has said. However, women under 25 must be accompanied by a family member. Omar Al-Mubarak, director general of the commission’s licensing department, said: “The tourist visa will be a single-entry visa, and valid for 30 days

Riyadh, Jan 10: The Saudi Cabinet has expressed its appreciation of King Salman’s royal decrees on the payment of annual bonuses and cost of living allowances for civilians and military employees in the Kingdom. Chaired by King Salman at Al-Yamamah Palace in Riyadh Tuesday, the Cabinet also praised the king’s orders on the payment of financial rewards to military personnel serving at the Kingdom’s

Jeddah, Jan 7: The director of the Tourism and Heritage Authority in the Makkah region, Mohammed Al-Omari, told Arab News on Saturday that, “citizens from all the countries who have access to the Kingdom can obtain tourist visas.” Al-Omari continued: “All Muslims from countries around the world can obtain a post-Umrah tourist visa, so when Umrah is finished they can become a tourist.” This is

Jeddah, Jan 6: Saudi Arabia's King Salman made a series of royal decrees early Saturday easing the financial burden on the country’s citizens. Saudi state workers and military personnel will see a rise of SR1,000 ($267) in salaries for the next 12 months, effective Jan. 1, 2018, while soldiers in combat on the Kingdom’s southern border will get a one time bonus of SR5,000. To help with living

Saudi Arabia says it has intercepted a ballistic missile fired towards the country by Yemen's Houthi rebels. The Saudi statement came just hours after the Yemeni group claimed to have launched the attack. State-owned TV channel Al Ekhbariya reported on Friday that Saudi defence forces intercepted the missile over Najran, a region straddling the kingdom's southern border with Yemen, before it could

Riyadh, Jan 3: World leaders appreciated the Kingdom’s emphasis on the necessity of alerting the international community to the destructive Iranian regime’s role in threatening peace and stability in the region. Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman briefed the Council of Ministers here on Tuesday about the international denunciation of criminal attempt by Houthi coup militias to target

Tehran, Jan 2: A number of Iranians have died amid ongoing nationwide anti-government protests that began last week in various cities across Iran. Nine Iranians were killed in Isfahan province alone during anti-government protests on Monday night. State TV said on Tuesday that six people were killed in Isfahan's central town Qahderijan - during a raid on a police station - and one more in

Riyadh, Jan 2: The overall unemployment rate has fallen 5.8% in the Kingdom in the third quarter of 2017 compared with the second quarter, according to a report of the General Authority of Statistics. Saudi Arabia stands 12th among G20 nations in terms of the average fall in the rate of unemployment during the third quarter. The report indicates that the unemployment rate among Saudis showed signs

Jan 2: The Palestinian leadership has said it is recalling its envoy to the United States following Washington's controversial recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital. Palestinian officials have previously said they will "no longer accept" any peace plan put forward by the US following President Donald Trump's unilateral declaration on December 6. Trump's move sparked deadly protests in the

At least two protesters have been killed in rare anti-government protests in Iran, according to a semi-official Iranian news agency. The Mehr news agency said on Sunday that at least two people died on Saturday night in Dorud, a city in western Iran. Habibollah Khojastepour, security deputy of the governor of Lorestan province, said the presence of "agitators" prevented a peaceful end to the