Middle East

Jeddah, May 26: Saturday, May 27, is the start of holy month of Ramadan, the Supreme Court announced on Thursday. The crescent moon was not sighted on Thursday and so fasting will start Saturday. “The moon will be out/disappear on the entire Islamic world, Thursday and, based on this, there is no crescent,” astronomer Khalid Al-Zaaq, a member of the Arab Union for Astronomy and Space Sciences said

Jeddah, May 25: Tensions rose in the Gulf on Tuesday after a series of controversial comments attributed to Qatar’s emir, in a row that led to the blocking of Doha-aligned news websites in some neighboring states. Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani’s alleged comments, carried by the official state news agency QNA, apparently saw him endorse Iran, Hamas and Hezbollah — strongly diverging from the

Jeddah, May 24: Saudi Arabia on Tuesday joined Arab and Muslim world leaders in condemning the terrorist attack in Manchester, England. Dozens were killed and injured, including many children and teens, in the terror attack after a musical performance by US pop star Ariana Grande. An official source at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement expressing the Kingdom’s strong condemnation

Jeddah, May 23: Iran’s statement on Monday accusing the US of “Iranophobia” came in for a sharp rebuke from experts who described Tehran as a state sponsor of terrorism. Referring to US President Donald Trump’s recent visit to Saudi Arabia, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qassemi said: “Once again, by his repetitive and baseless claims about Iran, the American president... tried to

Riyadh, May 22: Eliminating terror and extremism is not a one-country responsibility, but a challenge facing all nations that requires them to unite to overcome it, US President Donald Trump said Sunday while addressing the Arab-Islamic-American Summit in Riyadh. In his first speech on foreign soil, in Saudi Arabia, Trump said the fight against extremism is “a battle between good and evil,”

Dubai, May 21: An Indian schoolgirl has allegedly been molested by a Pakistani clerk in a lift in the UAE, a media report said. The victim had just returned home from school when the 24-year-old suspect touched her in the lift of the building where she lived in Dubai, Gulf News reported. The clerk pressed the second-floor button and when the lift started moving upwards, he grabbed her name tag and

Riyadh, May 21: Saudi-US deals worth at least $380 billion were struck on Saturday during the historic visit to Riyadh by US President Donald Trump, officials said. King Salman and Trump held high-level talks in the Saudi capital, where they co-signed the Saudi-US “Joint Strategic Vision Declaration,” as a series of defense, business and technology deals were agreed in the Saudi capital. Saudi

Riyadh, May 20: President Donald Trump is set to arrive in Saudi Arabia on Saturday morning, for a historic meeting tipped to “turn the page” on US-Arab affairs after a strained relationship under the previous American administration. Shortly after the president touches down in Riyadh aboard Air Force One, he will engage in a series of diplomatic meetings with King Salman and senior Saudi

Riyadh, May 19: US President Donald Trump plans to push back on Iran and ensure its compliance with the nuclear deal, Saudi Foreign Minister Adel Al-Jubeir said at a press conference, citing statements by senior American officials. The Kingdom will work closely with its allies, particularly the US, to ensure Iran respects international law, Al-Jubeir added. Saudi Arabia and the US agree on the

Riyadh, May 18: The Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund (PIF) announced Wednesday the creation of a new national military industries company. Saudi Arabian Military Industries (SAMI) will manufacture products and provide services across four business units: Air Systems, which includes maintenance and repair of fixed-wing aircraft as well as manufacturing and repair of unmanned air vehicles; Land