Middle East

Jeddah, Jan 29: Several Saudi personalities and journalists gathered Thursday at the Arab Tourism Media Awards announcement ceremony 2017 at Casablanca Grand Hotel Jeddah. Among the attendees of the program were Hussain Al-Mannai, chairman of the Arab Center for Tourism Media; Ahmed Al-Juaed, board member of Saudi Tour Guides Association; Fahad A. Al-Ghamdi, executive chairman of Al Mada

Jeddah, Jan 28: Despite challenges, with a return on assets of 1.9 percent as of year-end 2016 (versus 2 percent in 2015), Saudi banks’ profitability are expected to continue to outperform other Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) banking systems, said a report issued by Moody’s Investor Service. In 2016, Saudi banks reported a 5.4 percent year-on-year decrease in net profits, mainly because of rising

Jeddah, Jan 27: Makkah Criminal Court issued on Thursday said it was dropping the case of the crane that collapsed in Makkah in September 2015 due to lack of jurisdiction over the case. The accident resulted in 110 deaths and 209 injuries. The court issued its ruling in the presence of the defendants on trial and the prosecutor; it came after several sessions of deliberations. The prosecutor had

Riyadh, Jan 26: King Salman on Wednesday attended the 50th anniversary celebrations of the King Faisal Air Academy (KFAA). The KFAA also marked the graduation ceremony of its 91st batch of students, as well as the launch of the new F-15SA aircraft, which has joined the fleet of the Royal Saudi Air Force. The event was held in the presence of Omar Al-Bashir, president of Sudan. Commander of the Air

Riyadh, Jan 25: US President Donald Trump has named “impressive” people to his cabinet, longtime American ally Saudi Arabia said on Tuesday. Foreign Minister Adel Al-Jubeir praised several men who have been selected by Trump for his cabinet, including Secretary of Defense James Mattis, CIA director Mike Pompeo and Secretary of State nominee Rex Tillerson. “These are very, very impressive

Riyadh, Jan 24: Ministry of Labor and Social Development spokesman Khaled Aba Al-Khail said the ministry and the Human Resources Development Fund’s (Hadaf) electronic systems were attacked by a virus, but they are coordinating with the National Center for Cybersecurity (NCC) at the Ministry of Interior to address the problem. Both the ministry and Hadaf have taken necessary steps for the safety of

Riyadh, Jan 23: The Saudi finance ministry said on Sunday there would be no fees applied on remittances out of the country, days after the kingdom's advisory Shoura Council said it was looking at a proposal to impose a 6 percent levy on expatriate remittances. Saudi Arabia is "committed to the principle of free movement of capital in and out of the kingdom, in line with international standards,"

Riyadh, Jan 21: King Salman has sent a letter to Donald Trump congratulating him on his inauguration and swearing-in as the new US president. The king, on his own behalf and that of the Saudi people, sincerely wished Trump success, and Americans more progress and prosperity. King Salman hailed the strong historical ties between the two nations, and stressed his keenness to boost them in various

Riyadh, Jan 20: Saudi Arabia, expecting to diversify energy sources in line with plans established under Vision 2030, officially entered the wind power age with the commissioning of its first utility-scale wind turbine by Aramco and GE. The Kingdom marked the commissioning of its first wind energy turbine by providing electricity to its bulk plant facility in Turaif in northwestern Saudi Arabia on

Washington, Jan 19: In the first visit of its kind since 2012, US Democratic Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard has traveled to Syria on a trip that has taken her so far to Aleppo and Damascus. The move, according to Syrian-conflict watchers, indicates that President Bashar Assad “is no longer beyond the pale in US politics and policymaking.” Gabbard, who made news in November with her meeting with