Middle East

Jeddah, Jul 21: King Salman on Thursday decreed the consolidation of the counterterrorism and domestic intelligence services under a new body named the Presidency of State Security. The new state security agency will be headed by intelligence chief Abdul Aziz bin Mohammed Al-Howairini, who will hold the rank of a minister. In a series of royal decrees, King Salman also appointed Abdullah bin

Washington, Jul 20: Iran continues to be the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism, the Trump administration said on Wednesday. In its annual Country Reports on Terrorism, the State Department said Iran was the world’s “foremost” state sponsor of terrorism in 2016, a dubious distinction the country has held for many years. It said Tehran was firm in its backing of proxies that have

Doha, Jul 19: Qatar has announced that it is considering legal action against four Arab countries led by Saudi Arabia and the UAE, demanding compensation for losses incurred owing to the ongoing blockade. Ahmed bin Jassim Al Thani, Qatar's economy minister, met on Tuesday the heads of international trade organisations in Geneva, Switzerland, to discuss the case for compensation. Qatar has

Dubai, Jul 18: Qatar, the tiny Gulf state being isolated by its neighbours, said the reported involvement of the United Arab Emirates in hacking its government news site in May is "unfortunate" and a breach of agreements among the Gulf countries. The Washington Post, quoting unnamed US intelligence officials, reported Sunday that the UAE orchestrated the hacking and planted a false story that was

Beirut, Jul 17: More than 330,000 people have been killed in the Syrian conflict since it started six years ago, around a third of them civilians, a monitor said today. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said it has documented the deaths of 331,765 people across Syria since the conflict erupted in mid-March 2011 with anti- government protests. Included in the overall death toll

Qatar, Jul 17: The United Arab Emirates arranged for Qatari government social media and news sites to be hacked in late May in order to post false quotes linked to Qatar's emir, prompting the Qatar-Gulf diplomatic crisis, the Washington Post reported on Sunday, citing US intelligence officials. The Qatari emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, had been falsely quoted in May as praising Hamas and

Turkey, Jul 16: Tens of thousands of people gathered at a massive rally in Istanbul, marking one year since the defeat of the coup aimed at ousting President Recep Tayyip Erdogan from power. Joining the crowd gathered on Saturday at the Bosphorus Bridge, now known as the July 15 Martyr's Bridge, Erdogan threatened to "chop off the heads" of those involved in the coup. "First of all we will chop

Riyadh, Jul 15: The Kingdom is well prepared to handle any infectious disease during the Haj season, according to a senior official at the World Health Organization (WHO). The Haj pilgrimage draws 2-4 million Muslims every year, including 1.5-2 million foreigners, raising the risk of diseases such as dengue, yellow fever, the Zika virus, meningococcal disease and cholera. Dominique Legros, a WHO

Riyadh, Jul 14: With the end of the battle for Mosul in Iraq, the UN children’s agency UNICEF has made an urgent appeal for assistance and protection of 650,000 children affected by the conflict during the last three years. Hamida Ramadhani, UNICEF’s deputy representative in Iraq, said in a statement addressed to Arab News that although the battle for Mosul is coming to an end, children’s deep

Sheikh Khalifa Medical City (SKMC), Ajman has joined hands with Gulf Medical University (GMU), Ajman, in an attempt to enhance the UAE’s ability to accelerate and expand research and education leading to significant improvements in care for patients with diabetics and lifestyle diseases. AMoU to this effect was signed on Tuesday, 11th July 2017 between the two institutions represented by Prof