Middle East

Jeddah, Jul 23: Authorities at Makkah and Madinah have reported a lower-than-expected turnout of worshippers who have registered for “itikaf” (total seclusion) at the Grand Mosque and Prophet’s Mosque. Thousands of Muslims confine themselves to mosques across the Kingdom during the last ten days of Ramadan. “A total of 5,400 people have registered for itikaf at the Grand Mosque and Prophet’s

Gaza, Jul 22: Palestinian resistance fighters have killed over 40 Israeli soldiers since Tel Aviv started its offensive on the besieged Gaza Strip. Al-Qassam Brigades, which is the military wing of Palestinian resistance movement Hamas, said that its forces killed 15 more Israeli forces in eastern Gaza City on Monday alone. The Palestinian fighters also targeted an Israeli Merkava-4 tank in the

Beirut, Jul 21: Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah has vowed that his resistance party will stand by the resistance in Gaza. “ Hezbollah and the Lebanese resistance will stand by the Palestinian people’s uprising and resistance in our heart, willpower, hope and destiny,” Nasrallah said in a late-night telephone call to Hamas chief Khaled Mashaal, a Hezbollah statement said Monday. Nasrallah

Jeddah, Jul 19: The Jeddah Passport Department is working overtime to meet the rush of passport renewal requests ahead of the Eid holiday. The department’s headquarters in the Rehab District has been approached by double the number of clients in comparison with other months despite the shorter working hours. Khalafallah Al-Tuwaijri, director-general of passports for the Makkah region, said

Riyadh, Jul 19: Two large mosques in the capital have made extensive arrangements for Muslims who would like to perform “itikaf” (meditative seclusion) during the last 10 of the holy month of Ramadan. The management of the Al-Rajhi Mosque at Exit 17 and the King Khalid Mosque in Ummul Hammam had instructed the mosque authorities to make arrangements for those men and women who want to perform

Riyadh, Jul 18: Companies and individuals are showing great generosity during Ramadan, according to many people polled here recently by Arab News. Monther M. Tayeb, a press relations and communications director of a multinational company in the Saudi capital, said: “Local companies and individuals show it during Ramadan. Companies give free food to their fasting employees, and non-Muslims, for

Jeddah, Jul 18: The salaries of expatriates in the private sector rose by 25 percent while those of Saudis declined by 1 percent during 2013, according to a report published by Al-Eqtisadiah business daily on Thursday, quoting figures released by the Labor Ministry and the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA). “The salaries of expats during the year rose by 25 percent or SR236 from an average

Dammam, Jul 17: The best time to exercise in Ramadan is an hour before breaking the fast or two to three hours after it for 30 minutes, says a local expert. Raida Al-Habib, a therapeutic and physical nutritionist, said that healthy eating at night and in the morning was also important. “Each meal should have a variety of small amounts of food such as cooked vegetables, the main dish and fruits

Jeddah, Jul 17: Civil Defense officers have evacuated all 256 guests from a hotel in Misfala district of Makkah in the early hours of Wednesday after a fire broke out in one of its rooms, sabq.org reported. Three firefighting teams took part in putting out the blaze and rescuing the hotel guests. The fire started from a room in the first floor of the nine-story building. Civil Defense officers

Makkah, Jul 16: Cleaners at the Grand Mosque in Makkah are facing tough time cleaning the mosque’s courtyard because of the large amount of food brought in by visitors to break their fast. Speaking on the issue, an official at the mosque, said: “Pilgrims and visitors at the Grand Mosque don’t need to bring in their own food as authorities are supplying over a million iftar packs to them daily,”