Middle East

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

Davos, Jan 18: The US has the most to lose from the controversial Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act (JASTA) bill, Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister has said. The bill’s limitation of sovereign immunities would leave the US open to being sued by almost every country on the planet, Adel Al-Jubeir warned at the World Economic Forum (WEF) Annual Meeting in Davos. “The country that has the most

Jeddah, Jan 17: Saudi Arabia is launching a renewable energy program in the next few weeks that is expected to invest $30-$50 billion by 2032, Energy, Industry and Mineral Recourses Minister Khalid Al-Falih announced Monday. Al-Falih said at the World Future Energy Summit in Abu Dhabi that the Kingdom would start the first round of bidding for projects under the program, which would produce 10GW

UAE, Jan 16: The winners of the inaugural edition of the Annual Health Awards were awarded at a star-studded gala event at the Godolphin Ballroom, Jumeirah Emirates Towers on Monday, January 16, 2017. Jointly hosted by Dubai’s Department of Economic Development (DED) and Gulf Medical University (GMU) led HEALTH Magazine, the event was a first-of-its-kind gathering of more than 600 healthcare

Riyadh, Jan 16: The three-day visit to Saudi Arabia by Spain's King Felipe Vl “is a shot in the arm for Saudi-Spanish bilateral trade relations,” said Abdullah Al-Meleihi, a board member of the Council of Saudi Chambers of Commerce and Industry, on Sunday. Spanish Ambassador Joaquin Perez Villanueva said King Felipe Vl’s visit “is mainly intended to exchange notes on subjects of mutual interest

Jerusalem, Jan 15: Israeli tank fire hit a Hamas post in the Gaza Strip on Sunday after gunfire from the Palestinian enclave struck a military vehicle, with no injuries reported on either side, officials said. The Israeli army said in a statement it targeted a Hamas post in the southern Gaza Strip in response to the gunfire, without providing further details. Hamas’s interior ministry confirmed

Jeddah, Jan 14: The King Salman Center for Relief and Humanitarian Aid (KSRelief) has provided humanitarian and relief work amounting to more than $680 million to 33 countries on four continents via 172 projects since King Salman announced its establishment in May 2016. KSRelief provided operational programs in the field of food security; accommodation sand camp management and coordination