Middle East

Jeddah, Dec 30: The Ministry of Haj and Umrah launched a number of scheduled meetings with heads of delegations at Haj Affairs offices of more than 80 countries, including Iran, to discuss regulations and procedures related to pilgrims. Minister of Haj and Umrah Mohammed Saleh bin Taher Bentin underlined that an invitation has been sent to the Iranian Haj delegation to attend those meetings. He

Jeddah, Dec 29: The Jeddah Spring Festival, starting in January, will showcase Saudi Arabia’s customs and traditions through programs for families and visitors to the Kingdom. The spring festival is being organized by the Association of Neighborhood Centers in Jeddah, on King’s Road in front of the Red Sea Mall for a month, and will provide jobs to youths and occupy young people and the community

Jerusalem, Dec 28: An Israeli committee is to discuss issuing permits for more settler homes in annexed east Jerusalem, despite a landmark UN resolution demanding an end to such activity. The Ir Amim NGO, which monitors settlement building, said the planning committee could approve permits for 618 housing units in the mainly Palestinian eastern sector of the city. It would mark the first such

London/New York, Dec 28: Oil edged further above $55 a barrel on Tuesday, drawing support from expectations of tighter supply once the first output cut deal between OPEC and non-OPEC producers in 15 years takes effect on Sunday. Jan. 1 is the official start of the deal agreed by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and several non-OPEC producers to lower production by almost 1

Riyadh, Dec 27: Saudi Arabia launched on Monday a kingdom-wide fundraising campaign for people displaced by the civil war in Syria, including those evacuated from eastern Aleppo. More than 11 million Syrians — around half of the population — have been displaced by the fighting, which began in 2011 and has killed more than 300,000 people. Thousands of Syrian fighters and civilians have been

Riyadh, Dec 26: Crown Prince Mohammed bin Naif, deputy premier and minister of interior, has expressed thanks and appreciation to the Saudi Basic Industries Corp. (SABIC), represented by Prince Saud bin Abdullah bin Thunayyan, for its initiative and donation to build a hospital for treatment of drug addicts at a cost of SR300 million. The crown prince, who is also the president of the National

Riyadh, Dec 25: Saudi Arabia has welcomed Friday’s UN resolution strongly advising Israel to end its illegal settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories, with the Saudi Foreign Ministry calling the decision “commendable.” The vote on Friday at the 15-member UN Security Council passed the resolution 14-0 with the United States, which traditionally uses its permanent place on the council to

Jeddah, Dec 24: Saudi Arabia spends billions on subsidies — so economists were hardly suprised when Thursday’s budget confirmed plans to raise energy and water prices to be more in line with market rates. But what was an innovative move was the accompanying “Household Allowance” scheme, which is designed to soften the blow of the rate increases for some of the Kingdom’s most needy residents. The

Dec 23: I would like to know whether an employee has to pay Dh5,000 as visa charges if for some reason he has to cancel his employment visa after six months of employment. Is there any law in the UAE wherein the employer can ask for the money before cancelling the visa of his employee? Pursuant to your queries, it may be advised that where an employee seeks to terminate his employment contract

Aleppo, Dec 23: The army has said it has retaken full control of Syria's devastated second city Aleppo, scoring its biggest victory against opposition forces since the civil war erupted in 2011. The announcement came yesterday after a landmark evacuation deal that put an end to a ferocious month-long offensive waged on east Aleppo by government forces and allied militia. An army statement said the