Middle East

Riyadh, Feb 13: UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has lent all support to the warring factions in Yemen if they are willing to reconcile and reach a political solution to the bloody conflict within the framework of the UN resolutions and GCC-brokered initiative. Guterres also strongly backed the efforts of UN envoy Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, saying that the UN envoy enjoys full support from the

Jeddah, Feb 12: Seven terror suspects were arrested in a series of raids in Jeddah early on Saturday morning, authorities said. Security forces stormed three separate locations simultaneously in an operation that lasted around two hours. The raids took place in the Al-Harazat, Al-Mahameed and Bani Malik districts. Four people were arrested in Al-Harazat and Al-Mahameed after security forces

Riyadh, Feb 11: Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Naif, deputy premier and minister of interior, has been awarded a CIA honor in recognition of his efforts to fight terrorism. The crown prince was awarded the “George Tenet” medal by CIA Director Mike Pompeo, who arrived to Riyadh late Friday. It was granted in recognition of distinguished intelligence work in the fight against terrorism and the

Jeddah, Feb 10: United State’s top diplomat acknowledged on Thursday the role of Saudi Arabia’s leadership in helping to stabilize the region, according to the Saudi Press Agency. In a phone conversation with King Salman, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson hailed the leadership role played by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in achieving stability and peace in the region and the world, SPA reported

Dubai, Feb 9: A drop in oil prices pulled stocks in Saudi Arabia down on Wednesday. The Tadawul All Share Index (TASI) dropped 1 percent. All 14 listed petrochemical producers declined with Nama Chemicals, the worst performer in that sector, retreating 5.3 percent and Saudi Kayan losing 2.4 percent. Banking shares were also weak with heavyweight Samba Financial Group dropping 3.2 percent. Qatar’s

Riyadh, Feb 8: The US diplomatic missions in Saudi Arabia announced that they have resumed processing existing visa applications and schedule appointments for new ones after a US federal court order effectively suspending the travel ban for citizens of Muslim-majority countries imposed by President Trump. “The US Department of State had, under the executive order, provisionally revoked all valid

The new Board of Governors (BoG) of the Gulf Medical University (GMU), Ajman, headed by the Founder, President of the BoG Mr. Thumbay Moideen, met on Saturday, February 4, 2017, to deliberate on the future strategic plans while reminiscing the accomplishments of the year gone by. Also attending the meeting were Prof. Hossam Hamdy - Chancellor of GMU and Prof. Gita Ashok Raj – Provost of GMU. Other

Jeddah, Feb 6: A Saudi warship targeted last month by Houthi suicide attackers returned to base on Sunday after completing its mission. The Al-Madinah warship of the Royal Saudi Navy was in late January hit by a terrorist boat attack off the Yemeni port of Hodeidah, killing two crew members. It returned early Sunday to the King Faisal Naval Base in Jeddah, after completing its duties according to

Dubai, Feb 5: US Defense Secretary James Mattis has called Iran the world’s “biggest state sponsor of terrorism,” amid rising tensions between the two nations. His comments come a day after the US imposed new sanctions against Iran in response to a ballistic missile test. But Mattis said he did not see any need to boost US troop numbers in the Middle East to deal with Iran, reported BBC. A

Riyadh, Feb 4: The Islamic Development Bank (IDB) and the Ministry of Education have agreed to strengthen cooperation in achieving Saudi Vision 2030. The agreement was reached during a meeting between IDB President Dr. Bandar Hajjar and Education Minister Dr. Ahmed Al-Issa in Riyadh, the IDB said on its website. The two sides agreed to build up their partnership to achieve education-related