Middle East

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

Beijing, Mar 18: King Salman on Friday received a group of Saudi students on scholarships in China. The king delivered a speech in which he said: “I am glad that I see our sons and daughters struggle for science. You shall return to serve your country. There is no doubt that our country, since its establishment, has been taking care of its citizens in all areas.” Dr. Fahd Al-Sharif, cultural

Beijing, Mar 17: Chinese foreign affairs analysts say that a series of agreements signed by Saudi Arabia and China is a “win-win” situation for both countries. Saudi Arabia’s King Salman oversaw the signing of deals worth potentially $65 billion on the first day of a visit to Beijing on Thursday, as the world’s largest oil exporter looks to cement ties with China. Dr. Zeng Ji, chair of the

Beijing, Mar 16: Saudi Arabia's King Salman began a visit to Beijing Thursday that highlights growing ties underpinned by China's thirst for Saudi oil and the kingdom's status as a key link in Beijing's bid to connect China to Europe through infrastructure development. Salman went immediately into talks with President Xi Jinping following a formal welcoming ceremony at the Great Hall of the People

Jeddah, Mar 16: Moody’s Investors Service has revised its outlook for the Saudi banking system to stable from negative. Saudi banks are more profitable than most of their Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) peers, with an average ratio of net income-to-tangible assets of 1.9 percent as of 2016, on a par with Qatari banks, said a Moody’s report issued on Wednesday. The stable outlook reflects high risk