Middle East

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

Bahrain: Guru Seva Samithi – Bahrain Billawas, an organization of NRI Billawas, organized a drawing competition for children on December 22 at Kannada Sangha Hall, Manama. The response was overwhelming and number of children participated in the event which was held for 3 to 16 years in 5 age groups. GSS President Mr. Ajith Bangera welcomed the parents and addressed the gathering. The judges for

Tehran, Dec 30: Police in Iran’s capital said today they will no longer arrest women for failing to observe the Islamic dress code in place since the 1979 revolution. The announcement signaled an easing of punishments for violating the country’s conservative dress code, as called for by the young and reform-minded Iranians who helped re-elect President Hassan Rouhani, a relative moderate, earlier

Hundreds of protesters have rallied in several Iranian cities against rising prices, unemployment and economic inequality, according to anti-government activists and Iran's semi-state news agency Fars. About 300 people protested in Kermanshah, a city in western Iran, on Friday, according to Fars. Police intervened after protesters damaged public property, the news agency reported. Protests also