Middle East

Jeddah, Sept 21: King Salman on Wednesday received the chairman of the General Sports Authority (GSA), Turki Al-Asheikh, accompanied by the president and members of Saudi Arabian Football Association (SAFA) and players of the Saudi Football First Team on the occasion of their qualification for 2018 World Cup finals in Russia. Upon their reception at Al-Salam Palace in Jeddah, King Salman said he

Riyadh, Sept 20: Saudi Arabia will remove its ban on internet phone calls on Thursday, a government spokesman said, in a bid to stimulate online business as the kingdom looks to boost non-oil revenue. All online voice and video call services such as Microsoft's Skype and Facebook's WhatsApp that satisfy regulatory requirements will become accessible at midnight (2100 GMT), Adel Abu Hameed

Riyadh, Sept 20: The Shoura Council is currently studying a major proposal to merge the religious police, officially known as the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, into the Ministry of Islamic Affairs. The plan is widely seen as a move to redesign and redefine the role of the religious police, as also to curb its powers further. “This is not a plan or proposal from the

Jeddah, Sept 19: A second member of Qatar’s ruling family has joined calls for a national meeting of Qataris to resolve the dispute with its Gulf neighbors. In a televised address, Sheikh Sultan bin Suhaim Al-Thani repeated the plea made on Sunday by Sheikh Abdullah Al-Thani. “Since the crisis started I have been living in Paris after I could no longer tolerate seeing strangers roaming our country

Riyadh, Sept 18: The Makkah, Madinah and Riyadh regions harbor about 60 percent of the population in the Kingdom which reached 32.6 million people as of the first half of 2017, a research study revealed. According to preliminary data of the General Authority for Statistics, this is an increase of about 870,000 people compared to the end of 2016. The area of these combined areas amounts to about 20

Sao Paulo, Sept 17: Saudi Minister of Islamic Affairs, Call and Guidance Saleh Al-Asheikh said the Saudi government and people are proud to communicate and create partnerships with Muslims all over the world, notably Latin America, in serving Islam and strengthening the moderate approach of Islam. The minister’s remarks came at the opening of the 30th session of the International Conference of

New York, Sept 16: Economic development is a key factor in deterring young people in the Middle East and elsewhere from becoming involved in violent extremism, a gathering of world leaders heard in New York. A one-day youth forum on tolerance — held under the joint auspices of the MiSK Foundation, the Saudi Arabian philanthropic organization headed by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, and

Iraq, Sept 15: At least 74 people have been killed and dozens more wounded in twin gun-and-car bomb attacks near the city of Nasiriyah in southern Iraq. The attacks in the southern province of Thi Qar on Thursday started with unidentified gunmen opening fire inside a restaurant on the main highway that links the capital Baghdad with the southern provinces. Shortly afterwards, an explosives-laden

Jeddah, Sept 14: The Pubic Prosecution on Wednesday received intelligence files on suspected cell members who were arrested on Monday. State security authorities will furnish the Public Prosecutor with all evidence and documents that were collected during the investigation of the cell members, sources told Arab News. The list of the arrested included Saudi nationals and residents whose activities

Jeddah, Sept 12: Saudi security forces have foiled a terror plot by the Daesh group targeting the Kingdom's Ministry of Defense, the Presidency of State Security said on Tuesday. A source from State Security said a security operation resulted in the capture of two would-be suicide bombers identified as Ahmed Al-Kaldi and Ammar Mohammad, before they could reach their targets. Initial investigation