Middle East

Tehran, Aug 10: A civilian airliner crashed on take-off in a residential area near Tehran's Mehrabad airport today, Iranian news agencies said, with reports that almost 50 people were killed. The plane was headed to the eastern city of Tabas, the IRNA and Fars news agencies said, and crashed at 9.18 am (0448 GMT). The official IRINN television channel said the plane crashed in the Azadi

Riyadh, Aug 10: Grand Mufti Abdul Aziz Al-Asheikh, who is also president of the Council of Senior Scholars, has warned young men against perverting the concept of “jihad” (struggle) and wreaking havoc in Muslim countries by killing innocent civilians in the name of Islam. Al-Asheikh also urged youth not to fall victim to such rhetoric propagated by terror groups. “We continuously witness ugly

Riyadh, Aug 10: The Ebola virus was not the cause of death of Saudi citizen Ibrahim Al-Zahrani, who died in Jeddah on Wednesday, the Health Ministry and World Health Organization (WHO) have announced. Preliminary post-mortem examination carried out on the body confirmed the findings, according to Rana Saydalani, an official spokesman from the WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean. “We

Jeddah, Aug 9: The Ministry of Labor has issued more than 220,000 visas to recruitment companies and establishments in both the private and public sector, said Abdulaziz Al-Harbi, director-general of employment. Around 176,000 visas were given to companies in the public and private sector, while the rest were allocated for domestic recruitment, he said. Labor Minister Adel Fakeih announced in

Jeddah, Aug 8: The Haj Ministry has instructed 62 companies to provide low-cost Haj services during the upcoming season at a rate of SR2,500 to SR5,000. The low-cost Haj program is expected to benefit 41,000 pilgrims this year. The ministry has divided companies providing the low-cost services into seven categories, with the first charging SR5,000, the second SR4,800, the third SR4,400, the fourth

Jeddah, Aug 6: Authorities are gearing up to ensure the timely departure of foreign Umrah pilgrims over the next few days as the current Umrah season draws to a close. Almost 90 percent of foreign Umrah pilgrims had left the Kingdom by the end of Ramadan, while remaining pilgrims continue to leave the country daily. The last departure date for foreign pilgrims is Aug. 11, according to officials.

Abu Dhabi, Aug 6: As the UAE’s real estate stages a strong rebound from historic lows after the global financial crisis, Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan is seen to be an active player in the emirate’s fast-growing industry. The legendary film star, entertainment mogul, sports magnate and the business-savvy actor is going to be back in the emirate’s property business with a bang by launching a

Jeddah, Aug 5: The Labor Ministry has closed down an employment firm for alleged involvement in various malpractices, including swindling money from Saudi trainees and private companies and making up nationalization figures. The company had signed contracts with a several firms to recruit Saudis after training and instead, used Saudis who are not registered with the General Organization for Social

Jeddah, Aug 4: A Saudi-French archaeological team has unearthed in Najran what might be considered the oldest inscription in the Arabic alphabet, said a spokesman from the French Foreign Ministry. “The epigrapher Frédéric Imbert, a professor at the University of Aix-Marseille, found the Nabatean Arabic inscription about 100 km north of Najran near the Yemeni border,” said the spokesman. “The first

Abu Dhabi, Aug 3: Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah received at his palace in Jeddah Sheikh Gen. Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces. The Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi conveyed the greetings of UAE President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al-Nahyan to the King. In turn, the King sent his greetings to President Khalifa