Middle East

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

Riyadh, Oct 28: Increasing numbers of Umrah pilgrims are finding their way to Makkah and Madinah as a result of an attractive Umrah fare which was brought down from SR180 ($48) to SR100 following the Hajj season. During the Hajj season, authorities did not allow local pilgrims to perform Umrah or visit the Holy Prophet’s Mosque in Madinah. A round-trip fare from Riyadh to Makkah by a luxury coach

Riyadh, Oct 27: Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has become world’s country to grand citizenship to a non-human woman, making her world’s first robot to get ‘nationality’. Sophia is the name of the robot granted citizenship of Saudi Arabia. She looks a bit like Audrey Hepburn and gives facial expressions while talking. She has an answer for every question. Sophia is a humanoid robot developed by Hanson

Riyadh, Oct 27: Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman recently announced an ambitious $500 billion independent economic zone, which would also offer a lifestyle that is currently non-existent. The new zone will come up in the form of a city named Neom. Earlier, the crown prince had sought global support to transform the kingdom of Saudi Arabia into an open society, where investors from

Riyadh, Oct 27: The war in Yemen is about preventing Houthi rebels from turning into another Hezbollah on Saudi Arabia’s southern border, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said. “We’re pursuing until we can be sure that nothing will happen there like Hezbollah again, because Yemen is more dangerous than Lebanon,” he told Reuters. Saudi Arabia made global headlines this week as a conference hosted

Riyadh, Oct 26: Saudi Arabia’s main sovereign wealth fund wants to increase its financial clout to SR 1.5 trillion ($400 billion) by 2020 as part of the Kingdom’s efforts to boost private-sector growth and wean itself off oil export dependence. The assets-under-management goal, laid out by the Public Investment Fund (PIF) on Wednesday, came on the second day of an international conference in

Riyadh, Oct 24: Saudi Arabia’s powerful Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Tuesday vowed to restore "moderate, open" Islam in the oil-rich kingdom, which has created job opportunities for millions of people from different faiths and nations across the world. "We are returning to what we were before – a country of moderate Islam that is open to all religions and to the world," he said at the

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman announced the launch of NEOM on Tuesday, a project that aspires to be the “safest, most efficient, most future oriented, and best place to live and work” in the kingdom. ​​NEOM’s land mass will extend across the Egyptian and Jordanian borders, rendering NEOM the first private zone to span three countries. The project will be backed by more than $500 billion

The emir of Kuwait, Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Sabah, warned of the collapse of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) - an alliance of Gulf countries - should the crisis with Qatar remain unresolved. In a statement at a Kuwaiti parliament session on Tuesday, the emir warned GCC leaders of the potential dangerous military and political intervention that may ensue as a result of the political deadlock.