Middle East

Riyadh, Apr 25: Prince Sultan Bin Salman, President of Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage (SCTH), launched here Sunday the post-umrah program, an initiative which allows umrah pilgrims to convert their visas into tourist visas. This is a key channel of “The Kingdom is Muslims’ Destination” initiative, which was proposed by the commission several years ago. In a press statement

Dubai, Apr 25: A soldier lured a 22-year-old woman to ride with him and then drove to the desert, where he allegedly raped her, a Dubai court heard on Sunday. The Emirati defendant's compatriot friend, 20, who was hiding in the backseat when the woman - an Ethiopian - rode in the car, allegedly tried to rape her too. The 22-year-old soldier faced a rape charge in the Dubai Court of First Instance

Riyadh, Apr 17: Crown Prince Mohammed bin Naif ordered a cash reward on Friday for the Pakistani expatriate who saved the life of a citizen who was drowning in a valley in the Asir region. Shaukat Amin saw Fahd Al-Qahtani in danger of drowning in the Tathleeth Valley in Asir. Al-Qahtani’s vehicle was sinking in the floodwaters following heavy rains in the southwestern part of the Kingdom. Al

Riyadh, Apr 7: Saudi Arabia’s plan to issue permanent residence or “green cards” to foreign workers has been warmly welcomed by the expatriate community. In an interview with Bloomberg, Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman disclosed plans for issuing such cards similar to the US green card system that allows hiring more foreign workers for a fee. The plan will abolish the existing sponsorship

Jeddah, Mar 22: The General Organization for Social Insurance (GOSI) has revealed that it plans to suspend all services to expatriates if they are abroad for over a month, with reinstatement occurring only once they return. The organization had not yet worked out the manner in which this would occur, but talks were taking place with the Ministry of Interior, said Abdul Aziz Al-Habdan, GOSI’s

Dubai, Feb 24: Expatriates from Kerala are excited about having a fourth international airport in their home state. The Kannur International Airport (KIA) is all set to have its first trial landing of an aircraft on February 29. Expats from Malabar region cannot wait for the airport to be fully operational, as that would mean they can directly fly into their hometown. The Director General of Civil

Riyadh, Feb 24: Philippine authorities have foiled a bid to hijack a Saudi Arabian Airlines plane at Manila's Ninoy Aquino International Airport. According to a Manila-based newspaper, the authorities thwarted the plan and seized secret documents that confirm the plot. The paper said a team that included 10 conspirators left Iran recently on separate flights and arrived in several countries in

Riyadh, Feb 15: Foreign Minister Adel Al-Jubeir said Sunday that Russia's efforts to support Syrian President Bashar Assad would not succeed in keeping him in power. Addressing a press conference with Swiss Foreign Minister Didier Burkhalter, Al-Jubeir stressed that previous efforts to prop up Assad, including by Iran, had "failed." "Now, (Assad) has sought the help of Russia, which will fail to

Munich, Feb 13: Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister defended his country’s treatment of women on Friday, saying it had made progress on female education but would take time to let them drive cars. “When it comes to issues like women’s driving, this is not a religious issue, it’s a societal issue,” Adel Al-Jubeir told an audience at the Munich Security Conference. He said it was unfair to fixate on the

New York, Jan 30: Saudi Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal mocked Republican candidate Donald Trump for his attempts to expose the ownership structure of Fox News by posting a digitally manipulated image of the Prince and his sister posing next to news anchor Megyn Kelly. The image, which is photoshopped, contained the words: "Most people don't know that the co-owner of Fox News is Prince Al-Waleed of