Middle East

Riyadh, Dec 4: Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman arrived in Abu Dhabi on Saturday, kick-starting his tour of four Gulf states. During this visit, King Salman will hold wide-ranging talks with high-ranking officials from the UAE, Qatar, Kuwait and Bahrain. “King Salman will meet with Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) leaders and high-ranking Gulf officials to review relations and ways of

Riyadh, Dec 3: Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman has replaced the Saudi labor minister and reshuffled the Kingdom’s top consultative body, SPA reported on Friday. In a royal decree, the king also reshuffled the Council of Senior Scholars. King Salman had appointed Ali bin Nasser Al-Ghafis as labor minister to replace Mufrej Al-Haqabani. The Council of Senior Scholars, headed by Grand

Dhahran, Dec 2: King Salman on Thursday inaugurated six Saudi Aramco mega projects in the company’s main building in Dhahran. The ceremony began with a speech by CEO Amin Nasser, who reviewed the company’s achievements since it was founded, and oil discoveries since the reign of King Abdul Aziz. The inaugurated projects include the giant Khurais oil field. Saudi Aramco said the prime goal of the

Jeddah, Dec 1: Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal created global headlines on Wednesday after he tweeted saying: “Stop the debate. Time for women to drive.” The Twitter post, which was linked to a lengthier statement outlining arguments for Saudi women getting behind the wheel, comes a few months after the Kingdom’s Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman also publicly endorsed women’s right to drive

Ras Al-Khair/Jubail, Nov 30: Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman inaugurated Tuesday a group of basic infrastructure and development projects in Jubail and Ras Al-Khair industrial cities on the Gulf coast. The inauguration ceremonies were attended by Eastern Province Gov. Prince Saud bin Naif and a number of princes, ministers, government officials, private sector officials, and other

Riyadh, Nov 29: Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman on Monday inaugurated a number of key development projects in Alkhobar in Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province. They include hospital developments with hundreds of new beds for patients as well as environment, water and agriculture projects. Speaking on the occasion, the king said: “I am very pleased to be among you today to celebrate these

Dhahran, Nov 28: Saudi Arabia's Minister of Energy, Industry and Petroleum Khalid Al-Falih on Sunday said he believed the oil market would balance itself in 2017 even if producers did not intervene, and that keeping output at current levels could therefore be justified. Under a preliminary agreement reached in September in Algeria, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) would

Al-Ahsa, Nov 27: Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman on Saturday stressed the need to diversify sources of income and raise productivity in the Kingdom amid an increasingly competitive world economy. Speaking at Al-Hajr Palace, the king said improving security and raising the level of performance of institutions are necessary to overcome challenges. “The Kingdom’s Vision 2030 aims at

Dubai, Nov 26: Hundreds of officials and citizens paid tributes to Lt-General Khamis Mattar Al Mazeina, Commander-in-Chief of Dubai Police, who was laid to rest in Dubai’s Al Ghusais graveyard on Friday afternoon. Lt-General Al Mazeina died on Thursday night at Rashid Hospital following a heart attack. Attending his funeral prayer at Zabeel Grand Mosque was His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid

Dubai, Nov 26: An Indian philanthropist from Oman has given Rs 10 lakh to a jobless compatriot who has been living on the terrace of a building in the UAE for more than eight months without proper food, media report said today. Sajeev Rajan, an electrician in his early forties, belongs to Kollam in Kerala where his wife, two children and ageing parents live. Indian philanthropist from Kerala Dr K