Middle East

Jeddah, Oct 17: The Daesh-held northern Syrian town of Dabiq fell to Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army (FSA) on Sunday, in a battle that is part of a wider offensive by Syrian opposition groups. The loss is of a major symbolic importance due to a Hadith prophecy that the town will be the site of an apocalyptic battle between Muslims and non-Muslims before the end of the world. The FSA seeks to

Jeddah, Oct 16: The Kingdom has mandated new requirements for the marriage of Saudi men and women to non-Saudis. The new regulations require that the income of a Saudi man be at least SR3,000, his age be between 40 and 65, and that appropriate housing be secured. The age of a non-Saudi woman must be at least 25 years, and there cannot be an age difference greater than 30 years between the spouses

Jeddah, Oct 15: Public Investment Fund (PIF) has taken another strong step in its mission to support Saudi Vision 2030 with its move to set up a strategic partnership with SoftBank Group Corp. (SBG), according to top businessmen and analysts. “This is a bold move by the PIF to explore global opportunities into tech ventures,” Basil Al-Ghalayini, CEO of BMG Financial Group, told Arab News. His

Riyadh, Oct 14: Foreign ministers of Gulf Cooperation Council states and Turkey on Thursday called for urgent intervention of the UN in Syria to stop the killing of innocent people. They strongly advocated the need for the speedy implementation of the UNSC resolution, calling for the unimpeded and timely delivery of humanitarian assistance to all Syrian cities. The GCC and Turkish ministers met in

Riyadh, Oct 13: The General Directorate of Passports (Jawazat) urged all foreign Haj pilgrims to leave the Kingdom before the expiry of their visas. It warned that pilgrims who overstay the visas or those who help them overstay in the Kingdom will face stringent punitive measures. “No Haj pilgrim is allowed to move outside of Makkah, Madinah and Jeddah or engage in work in any parts of the Kingdom

Jeddah, Oct 12: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has rejected Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Al-Abadi’s criticism of the presence of Turkish troops in Iraq ahead of a planned operation to retake Mosul from Daesh. “Who’s that? The Iraqi prime minister? First you know your place,” retorted Erdogan. “You are not my interlocutor; you are not my equal,” Erdogan told a meeting in Istanbul at which he

Riyadh, Oct 11: In a recent poll, 50% of respondents in Saudi Arabia expect business conditions to improve in one year. A survey conducted by Bayt.com, the Middle East’s number one job site, and YouGov, a leading market research agency, showed that 40% of the respondents expect the country’s economy to improve in the next six months. “Despite the negative feelings that have characterized the past

Riyadh, Oct 11: The Cabinet, in its weekly meeting on Monday, reiterated Saudi Arabia's belief in the legitimate right of Middle Eastern countries to use nuclear energy for peaceful purposes, under supervision of and according to the International Agency for Atomic Energy standards. The Kingdom gave voice to this belief just before the 71st UN General Assembly meeting discussing the importance of

Riyadh, Oct 10: Sunday’s meetings between the visiting Japanese ministers and Saudi officials in Riyadh have given a fresh boost to their bilateral relations. Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman received at Al-Yamamah Palace Japanese Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry, Hiroshige Seko and Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Kentaro Sonora and their accompanying delegation. During

Riyadh, Oct 10: Riyadh is witnessing rapid development in terms of area and population density, with the city’s total population reaching nearly 6 million people. The population growth has also been accompanied by considerable urban growth and high density of cars, with an estimated 2.7 million vehicles plying on the city’s roads in around 7 million daily trips. The most important roads for