Middle East

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,”

Jeddah, Jul 15: Prince Saud bin Musaed bin Abdul Aziz, president of the Gammon Group, has highlighted the strong relationship between Saudi Arabia and India. “We hope the Saudi-Indian relations would reach greater heights in the coming years,” he said while addressing an iftar party organized by the group. He said many major Indian companies are interested in doing business in Saudi Arabia to make

Gaza City, Jul 14: Some 40 more Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s ongoing airstrikes on the besieged Gaza Strip over the past 24 hours. This comes after Israeli warplanes targeted several residential areas of the besieged enclave. Palestinian officials say at least three people including a woman were killed on the seventh day of Israeli airstrikes on Monday. Two of the victims died of

Jeddah, Jul 14: Saudi Arabia has criticized the UN Security Council for not taking effective action to prevent the Israeli military aggression against Gaza. “The Security Council statement on Israel’s attack on the Gazans was not up to the expectations of its members and the stature of the international body,” said Abdullah Al-Muallami, the Kingdom’s permanent representative to the UN. Al-Muallami

Gaza City, Jul 13: Palestinian families flee their homes in northern Gaza Strip as the Israeli military is preparing to unleash large-scale bombardment of the besieged territory. The displaced families have sought refuge at a United Nations school in Gaza City. “What has happened to us is that we didn’t want to leave the house. But they threw bombs on us, firing with their tanks, from the sea

Abu Dhabi, Jul 13: The girl, who was one year and seven months old, died due to suffocation and tiredness caused by high temperatures. An Emirati girl suffocated to death after her parents “forgot” her in their car in Al Ruwais City in the Western Region on Thursday night. The girl, who was one year and seven months old, died due to suffocation and tiredness caused by high temperatures. Colonel

Jeddah, Jul 13: A high-ranking official at the Haj Ministry has advised Saudis and expats to perform Umrah only once during Ramadan to give others a chance to do it with ease. Civil Defense has sent text messages to Saudis and expats urging them not to perform Umrah more than once. Hussein Al-Sharif, undersecretary at the Haj Ministry, said efforts to reduce the number of pilgrims are only

Kuwait, Jul 12: A 60-year-old Jordanian man died while praying at a mosque in Kuwait and doctors said he had suffered from a massive heart attack. The man was performing dawn prayers along with many other Muslims in the capital Kuwait City when he collapsed, newspapers said, adding that he was rushed to hospital but was already dead.

Makkah, Jul 11: Sharif Mashoor Al-Manami, undersecretary of the Presidency of the Two Holy Mosques Affairs, has confirmed that more than 100 violators of work and residency regulations were arrested for renting out wheelchairs at the Grand Mosque in Makkah. He told Arab News that the violators have been referred to the Passport Department in Makkah for further investigation. Al-Manami warned all