Middle East

Jeddah, Mar 28: Saudi Arabia approved Monday a new tax regime for oil and natural gas producers in the Kingdom, which will boost Saudi Aramco’s valuation as it plans to sell shares in its initial public offering (IPO) next year. Under the new regime, hydrocarbon companies in Saudi Arabia will be taxed depending on their capital, according to a royal decree issued Monday and posted on the website

Riyadh, Mar 27: The Ministry of Justice has announced initiatives to support the National Transformation Program 2020 to shorten litigation procedures, reduce flow of cases to the courts and boost the national economy. The initiatives also include achieving institutional excellence, according to the ministry. The first initiative focuses on mobile notaries, which are destined for people with

Riyadh, Mar 26: The Ministry of Labor and Social Development has unveiled a plan to provide 60,000 jobs for local youths in non-governmental organizations (NGOs) accross the Kingdom. The proposal, made under the National Transformation Program (NTP) 2020, would see the ministry provide training for youths to prepare them for work in NGOs. Salem Al-Deeni, undersecretary at the Ministry of Labor and

Worried about bringing your gadgets the next time you fly from the UAE to the US? Abu Dhabi's Etihad Airways says you don't need to worry about it too much. After news of the ban, the Abu Dhabi-based airline is introducing a new method that will allow passengers to still bring their gadgets on flights to US. Etihad Airways is reassuring passengers of its highest level of service to minimise

Jeddah, Mar 24: Leaders and officials from across the Arab and Muslim world have strongly condemned Wednesday’s terror attack in London, in which an assailant killed three people before being shot dead by police. King Salman sent a cable of condolences to UK Prime Minister Theresa May following the attack in front of the British Parliament building and a nearby bridge. “We have received the news

Jeddah, Mar 23: Young Saudi nurses have difficulties reconciling their expectations working in a hospital with the reality of long hours, intense work and social and family pressures. Two Saudi nurses presented a study they conducted on intern nurses and the difficulties they face during their internship, which sometimes lead young women to leave the nursing profession. Noof Janbi and Lama Alsini

Jeddah, Mar 22: The Ministry of Labor and Social Development said its wage-management system will increase transparency and protect contractual relationships between workers and employers, adding that it expects compliance by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to reach 80 percent by 2020. The ministry said the system aims to create an attractive and safe work environment, as it seeks to

Jeddah, Mar 21: Undocumented expat workers seeking to correct their status during the new 90-day-amnesty will be able to return to the Kingdom by adhering to legal procedures, the General Directorate of Passports (GDP) announced Monday on their official Twitter account @AlJawazatKSA. By approaching the Passport Departments to solve their status starting March 29, illegal workers “will be exempt

Jeddah, Mar 20: The Interior Ministry on Sunday launched a “A Nation Without Violations” campaign to give residency and labor law violators 90 days to leave the country without penalties. Prince Mohammed bin Naif, crown prince, deputy prime minister and minister of interior, urged violators to take advantage of the 90-day grace period, which becomes effective March 29, to correct their status and

Dubai, Mar 19: The Maldives government announced that the official visit of Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud to Male from March 18 had been postponed because of the spread of swine flu in the archipelago nation, however, highly placed sources say the reality is the Saudi King faced terror threats following which the visit was called off. Separately, there were other media reports