Middle East

Riyadh, Oct 27: Saudi women are demanding harsher and more official regulations against sexual harassment as they enter into new work domains. Families, social institutions and mosques are being urged to join forces in the campaign against harassment. Women who frequent malls and shopping centers face all types of woes, especially ladies whose jobs involve direct interaction with men. While some

Jeddah, Oct 26: The Ministry of Labor will bar sponsorship transfers and new visas for companies in the lower end of the green (safe) zone of the Kingdom’s nationalization scheme in a bid to encourage these companies to further enhance Saudi-to-expat ratios. The decision was also taken to prioritize services and incentives provided to companies with a healthier margin within the green zone. One

Jeddah, Oct 25: Gulf states are stepping up their awareness campaigns to alert young people about the dangers of extremism, said Kuwait’s Information Minister Sheikh Salman Al-Hamoud Al-Sabah. He said the new ‘Gulf Awareness’ programs would adopt a different approach with the aims of moving youth away from extremist and harmful views. Al-Sabah’s remarks followed a meeting of the Gulf information

Riyadh, Oct 24: Riyadh police arrested 247 illegal workers on Tuesday in the Malaqa and Manfouha districts in the capital. Acting on the orders of Riyadh Gov. Prince Turki bin Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz, security officers arrested the workers in the two districts located in the north and south of the capital. According to an official, most of the workers in Manfouha were from Ethiopia, and the

Riyadh, Oct 23: Eighteen million licensed vehicles are likely to be on Saudi roads by the end of this year, from 17 million last year, according to a study published by Al-Eqtisadiah daily. The number of licensed cars rose by 7 percent from 2011 to 2012, to 15.9 million vehicles, it said. This was a rise of 975,000 cars from the 14.9 million in 2011. About 81 percent of the registered vehicles in

Jeddah, Oct 22: Saudi Arabia’s Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdul Aziz Al-Asheikh says that the enemies of Islam are using social networking sites such as Twitter to spread lies about the religion and attack Muslims. Al-Asheikh, who is also the president of the Council of Senior Scholars, made the remarks during a show on Saudi television. The mufti called on Saudis using Twitter to think carefully about

Jeddah, Oct 21: The Education Ministry in coordination with the Labor Ministry has moved to facilitate the legalizing of the statuses of expatriate teachers working in international schools. It will be done through registration with the “Ajeer Service” of the Labor Ministry. All international schools were sent a notice to the effect by Mohammed bin Abdullah Al Murshid, director general of

Riyadh, Oct 20: Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah has instructed the Ministry of Social Affairs to pay the treatment costs of people with disabilities at rehabilitation centers. Prince Sultan bin Salman, chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Prince Salman Center for Disability Research (PSCDR), made the announcement in a media statement on the sidelines of the Fourth International

Riyadh, Oct 18: The Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities (SCTA) has created permanent jobs for 750,000 employees and increased the worth of the industry to SR72 billion, said Prince Sultan bin Salman, president of the organization, here recently. Prince Sultan quoted the statistics in response to a person who hacked his Twitter account and asked 11 questions about the performance of the

Riyadh, Oct 16: In a major operation on Sunday, the police arrested 459 expatriates of various nationalities, including 36 women, who violated the country's labor regulations. Among those arrested were two Yemeni beggars, who were carrying fake Saudi identity cards. The police raids were conducted on the orders of Riyadh Gov. Prince Turki bin Abdullah. The authorities here also hope their actions