Middle East

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

Taif, Oct 9: Any expatriate who is 60 years of age or above will be counted as two expat staff in the Nitaqat Saudization program, Al-Madina Arabic newspaper reported on Saturday. However, expats registered as investors or academicians (professors, associate professors, assistant professors, lecturers) or working in medical profession as doctors will not be considered as two staff even though they

Kuwait city, Oct 9: An Egyptian driving a garbage truck loaded with explosives and Daesh papers rammed into a car carrying five US soldiers in Kuwait on Saturday, injuring only himself in the attack, authorities said. The attempted attack is the first in the stalwart US ally to target American troops in the emirate. The state-run Kuwait News Agency identified the attacker as Ibrahim Sulaiman, born

Jeddah, Oct 8: Standard & Poor’s has affirmed an ‘A-/A-2’ rating for Saudi Arabia and maintains that the outlook for the Kingdom is stable. “The outlook for Saudi Arabia is based on an expectation that the authorities will take action in order to prevent any deterioration in its fiscal position beyond our current expectations, over the next two years,” S&P said in a statement. S&P believes the

Jeddah, Oct 7: The King Abdul Aziz Center for National Dialogue (KACND) is stepping up efforts to boost national cohesion and societal interaction with the aim of combating deviant thoughts and enhancing societal bond. The center announced on Thursday that it would launch a new initiative on Saturday — “Talahom” — which entails meetings aimed at enhancing principles and values of coexistence and

Riyadh, Oct 6: Saudi Arabia won laurels from the United Nations on Wednesday for its continuous global aid and relief efforts. Visiting UN Undersecretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Stephen O’Brien thanked the Kingdom “for its generosity toward those in the world that have the least.” Addressing a press conference at the UN House Auditorium in the Diplomatic