Middle East

Jeddah, Dec 29: Expatriate workers pay nearly SR100 million for their dependents’ medical insurance as some employers only cover their staff and not families, according to an insurance expert Abdullah Al-Banawi, a member of the insurance committee at the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI), told Arab News that the new decision to provide medical insurance to families of the expatriate

Jeddah, Dec 26: The Passport Department has issued new regulations stating that family visitor visas would now be limited to only six months, or 180 days, an online paper said, quoting an official spokesman. The period would start once a visitor arrives in the Kingdom and registers on the passport department’s computerized system, Lt. Col. Ahmed bin Fahad Al-Luhaidan was quoted as saying. He said

Jeddah, Dec 22: The Jeddah municipality closed down this month more than 100 restaurants and eateries across the city due to poor hygienic conditions as part of a campaign to ensure compliance with hygiene and safety specifications, Assistant Mayor for Branch Municipalities Nasser Al-Miteb said. “The most common violations noticed were the sales of rotten food, items with expired validity dates or

Jeddah, Dec 21: Saudi security forces killed four terrorists in a clash in the Awamiyah region on Saturday, according to the Interior Ministry. The troops raided a terrorist hide-out in Awamiyah town and killed the four in an exchange of fire. The dead were behind the killing of a member of the security forces and wounding of another last Sunday, a ministry spokesman said, quoted by the SPA. They

Jeddah, Dec 20: The multibillion-riyal Riyadh metro project has already seen hundreds of Saudi graduates employed and trained, said Riyadh Gov. Prince Turki bin Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz. Prince Turki said those employed had graduated from universities abroad where they had studied under the King Abdullah Scholarship Program. Speaking at the 10th meeting of the project’s contractors, he also said

Jeddah, Dec 17: Saudi Arabia will not allow illegal foreigner workers to stay in the Kingdom at any cost, said Labor Minister Adel Fakeih on Tuesday. “We’ll intensify the ongoing campaign to drive out all illegal workers,” he added. He said there is no justification for keeping violators of the Kingdom’s laws inside the country. “Only those people who respect and abide by the country’s laws and

Riyadh, Dec 15: The Passport Department has expedited the fingerprint registration of sponsors and residents accompanied by dependents above 15 ahead of the Jan. 21 deadline. “Those who have failed to get their fingerprints registered risk denial of access to all passport department services including the request for an exit-re-entry visa during an emergency,” said the spokesman of the department

Jeddah, Dec 14: Employers are not permitted to transfer workers from their original place of work to another location if this requires changing the place of residency, or if the transfer jeopardizes the health of an employee, the Ministry of Labor said. The ministry came out recently with details of the Kingdom's new labor law dealing with the rights and duties of both employer and employee, work

Riyadh, Dec 9: Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah on Monday announced a major Cabinet reshuffle, removing six ministers and appointing eight new ministers for health, higher education, transport, agriculture, social affairs, communications and information technology, culture and information, and Islamic affairs. The current oil and finance ministers would remain in place. The vacant

Jeddah, Dec 8: Under new laws for public taxis that come into effect in 45 days, commuters in the Kingdom will no longer hail cabs on the streets. Taxis will be provided with the most advanced communication technology, so passengers can call a taxi company to arrange a pickup. Sources involved in the new taxi legislation told local media that these regulations come as part of a set of solutions to