Middle East

Jeddah, Dec 18: The Yemeni government and expatriates living in the Kingdom have thanked Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman for taking measures to correct the status of Yemeni expatriates holding visitor IDs in the Kingdom. The General Directorate of Passports announced an extension of the visitor identity cards of Yemeni expatriates for another six months starting Sunday in line with

The Syrian government, flush with pivotal battlefield gains and bolstered by support from Iran and Russia, is finding itself the beneficiary of an evolving regional realignment spurred by the war in Syria. Egypt and Turkey, countries that were once vocal opponents of Syria’s president, Bashar Assad, have, to varying degrees, softened their positions. Egypt, the region’s most populous Sunni country

Riyadh, Dec 15: Residents of the Saudi capital woke up Wednesday morning to a loud explosion resulting from a traffic accident that killed at least four people and injured several others. According to the Civil Defense, the accident was between a fuel truck and two trucks carrying heavy equipment, sand and rocks. The accident sparked fire in the vehicles killing four non-Saudis and injuring some

Riyadh, Dec 15: The Kingdom’s newly designed currency will go into circulation on Dec. 26 in denominations of SR500, SR100, SR50, SR10 and SR5 with coins of different values including SR2 and SR1. The new bills commemorating the era of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman represent the sixth issue of Saudi banknotes and coins, which were launched on Tuesday night. “The new banknotes and

Dubai, Dec 14: A man allegedly raped his colleague in his car in a remote location in Dubai after he lured her saying he would teach her how to drive, the Court of First Instance heard on Tuesday. The 36-year-old Pakistani employee is accused of using force on the woman, taking advantage that they were alone, far away from any buildings. The complainant, a 32-year-old Ukrainian real estate agent

Jeddah/New York/Aleppo, Dec 14: A Syrian regime’s offensive in Aleppo, backed by Russia and Iran, was over, Russia’s UN envoy said on Tuesday as the US described the violence in the besieged city as “modern evil.” Ambassador Vitaly Churkin said an agreement had been struck for opposition fighters to evacuate the northwestern city and he said civilians would be unharmed, despite western and UN

Riyadh, Dec 13: Police in the Saudi capital said today they had arrested a woman for taking off her veil in public and posting pictures of her daring action on Twitter. Police spokesman Fawaz al-Maiman did not name the woman, but several websites identified her as Malak al-Shehri, who triggered a huge backlash on social media after posing without the hijab in a main Riyadh street last month

Ras Al Khaimah, Dec 12: A 57-year old Arab woman succumbed to fatal injuries and burns she received in a big fire that erupted in her house here in the emirate of Ras Al Khaimah early on Sunday. The victim's 62-year-old husband was 90 to 100 per cent burnt due to the massive flames which engulfed the entire house, and totally damaged some rooms in the house. The central operations room of the RAK

Dubai, Dec 11: The Ministry of Presidential Affairs has mourned the death of Shaikh Hamdan bin Rashid bin Hamdan bin Mohammed Al Nahyan, who passed away on Sunday. The Ministry prayed to God to rest the soul of the deceased in peace and grant his family patience and solace to bear their loss.

Washington, Dec 10: President-elect Donald Trump shut down some of his companies in the days after the election, including four that appeared connected to a possible Saudi Arabia business venture, according to corporate registrations in Delaware. News of the move comes days before Trump was expected to describe changes he is making to his businesses to avoid potential conflicts of interest as the