Middle East

Riyadh, Oct 11: A unified visa for the six member states of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) may be available from the middle of next year, said GCC officials here. The GCC General Secretariat is working on the ambitious proposal to introduce the visa that would allow foreigners to visit all GCC states, more or less similar to Europe’s Schengen visa. “The unified GCC visa could soon become a

Riyadh, Oct 9: Saudi Arabia and Oman have completed the construction of a mega road project linking the two countries. “The new road, which will cut the distance between Saudi Arabia and Oman by about 800 km, will be opened soon for public,” said Ahmad Hilal Al-Busaidi, Omani ambassador, Wednesday. Al-Busaidi said the two countries were currently building the administrative infrastructures

Jeddah, Oct 8: Security forces have seized a huge cache of weapons, including machine-guns, at an agricultural farm in Awamiya, Qatif, the Interior Ministry announced on Wednesday through its Twitter account. An AFP report, quoting a resident, said the police sealed off the area with armored vehicles. The resident said he saw black smoke rising over a farm when police moved in mid-afternoon. He

Jeddah, Oct 2: Iran’s health minister has praised Saudi Arabia’s rescue and medical efforts after the stampede in Mina last week. Hassan Hashimi, at a meeting with his Saudi counterpart Khalid Al-Falih in Jeddah on Wednesday, said that the Kingdom’s ambulance and other teams had done well to transport the injured to hospitals in the region. Hashimi said the incident was out of human control and

Madinah, Sep 29: The Agency of General Presidency for the Prophet’s Mosque Affairs has appointed six interpreters to translate Friday sermons into French, English, Urdu, Chichewa, Turkish and Hausa. The translated version of the sermons would be broadcasted on various FM radio frequencies, including English (105.5FM), Urdu (105FM), Chichewa (99FM), French (99.5FM), Turkish (107FM), and Hausa (107

New York, Sep 28: Saudi Arabia firmly rejected Iran’s criticism of its handling of the Haj pilgrimage Saturday after Tehran demanded an inquiry into the Mina stampede. “I believe the Iranians should know better than to play politics with a tragedy that has befallen people who were performing their most sacred religious duty,” Foreign Minister Adel Al-Jubeir said, according to AFP. Al-Jubeir

Mina, Sep 26: The Kingdom will continue to play its role at the regional and international level for Arab and Muslim unity and will not allow anyone to drive a wedge between them or disrupt the harmony, said Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman on Friday. He was speaking at an annual reception in Mina in honor of the leaders of Islamic countries and other dignitaries. The king said Saudi

Jerusalem, Sep 25: The Zionist state on Thursday defended the actions of its soldiers who shot dead an armless 18-year-old Palestinian woman at a checkpoint in the West Bank as questions swirled over the events that led to the killing. Hadeel Al-Hashlamon was gunned down by Israeli forces on Tuesday at a checkpoint in the flash point city of Hebron. The military said she was attempting to stab a

Makkah, Sep 21: Their faces bathed in sweat, cheeks stained with tears, dozens of Muslim pilgrims scale Makkah’s Jabal Al-Noor mountain, undertaking the arduous ascent to follow in the footsteps of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). It was in a cave in this rugged, rocky peak overlooking the holy city of Makkah that Muslims believe the Qur'an was first revealed to the prophet when he was 40

Jeddah, Sep 18: Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman has condemned Israel for its blatant attacks on worshippers at Al-Aqsa Mosque. The king has spoken on phone with US President Barack Obama, Russian President Vladimir Putin, British Prime Minister David Cameron, French President Francois Hollande and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to express his concerns over Israel’s actions. He