Middle East

Jeddah, Feb 13: Two pilgrims — an Egyptian woman and a Filipino child — died and 37 others injured when their bus collided with a huge truck in Dhalam near Taif on Thursday, said Siraj Al-Humaidan, spokesman of the head department in Taif. The early morning accident occurred while the bus carrying pilgrims belong to different nationalities including Pakistanis, Indians and Bangladeshis was heading

Riyadh, Feb 12: Saudi Arabia plans to deport 27,000 Indonesian workers, who overstayed their work permits, over the next few weeks. Government agencies are working with the Indonesian diplomatic missions in Riyadh and Jeddah to deport the workers in groups. “Most of the workers awaiting deportation are in Jeddah,” said Ahrul Tsani Fathurrahman, spokesman for the Indonesian Embassy, here Tuesday

Jeddah, Feb 10: The two new councils set up by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman last month have been given stringent mandates to formulate and implement the country’s political, security and economic policies, the Cabinet announced on Monday. The Council of Political and Security Affairs and the Council of Economic and Development Affairs would “identify various trends, visions and

Jeddah, Feb 9: The Labor Ministry has softened its Saudization drive in favor of businesses by canceling a previous decision that demanded 13 weeks for confirmation of a Saudi’s appointment as a full employee under Nitaqat. Under the new decision, a Saudi would be calculated in the Nitaqat system soon after his registration with the General Organization for Social Insurance, provided the company

Riyadh, Feb 8: The number of smokers among Saudi secondary schoolgirls reached 65 percent, while the rate among intermediate schoolgirls stands at 45 percent, a recently-published survey said. The survey, conducted by the Faculty of Medicine at the Jeddah-based King Abdulaziz University, said the phenomenon poses a real threat to the health of Saudi women in the long term. In a similar study

Jeddah, Feb 6: The Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA) has ordered all Saudi banks not to touch the two-month salary bonus granted by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman to all Saudi government and military employees, retirees and students. According to Talat Hafiz, secretary-general of Media and Banking Awareness Committee of Saudi Banks, this procedure will protect Saudis who are

Jeddah, Feb 5: Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman on Wednesday called the burning alive of a Jordanian fighter pilot "inhuman and contrary to Islam." In a message of condolence to Jordan's King Abdallah, he said Saudi Arabia “learned with profound sadness of the martyrdom of Lt. Maaz Al-Kasaasbeh.” King Salman condemned the “heinous crime,” which he said was against all values of

Riyadh, Feb 3: Chairing his first Cabinet meeting as monarch and Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques on Monday, King Salman said that Saudi Arabia’s foreign policy would remain in place. Saudi Arabia’s policies in relation to Arab, Muslim and international countries “will remain unchanged,” the king said during an address to the Cabinet. “We will work hard in the service of Islam, for the betterment

Riyadh, Feb 3: Saudi Arabia has asked several countries to shut down their Haj missions in the holy cities of Makkah and Madinah in the off-season, in a renewed bid to curb the mushrooming of illegal offices in these cities. The Haj missions would be allowed to operate during the Haj season for four months from Shawwal to Muharram every year. “A circular has been received by the Pakistani mission

Jeddah, Feb 2: Saudi Arabia is all set for a new era under Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman as the newly appointed ministers and regional governors took oath of office in front of the king at Al-Yamamah Palace on Sunday. King Salman urged the new governors and ministers to give top priority for the welfare and prosperity of citizens. “May Allah help us all to serve our religion