Middle East

Riyadh, May 30: Chatting between unrelated males and females on social networking sites is forbidden in Islamic law, said Abdullah Al-Mutlaq, a member of the committee of senior scholars. Al-Mutlaq said that having one-on-one chatting sessions is a form of “khulwa,” the Islamic term for free mixing, which he said is a gateway to sin. Al-Mutlaq’s statements came in response to a question asked on a

Jeddah, May 29: Haj Minister Bandar Hajjar has warned domestic Haj service operators against increasing Haj service charges, adding that companies that impose exorbitant prices would be fined up to SR100,000. “Monitoring panels have noticed that 52 companies have hiked prices during the last Haj season,” he said, adding that their cases have been transferred to a ministerial committee for punitive

Jeddah, May 28: The sun would be directly over the Kaaba in Makkah today at midday, in a celestial phenomenon known as “zero shadow,” the Jeddah Astronomical Society said on Sunday in a statement. On Wednesday, the sun will rise at 5:38 a.m. from the northeast horizon and eventually move over the Kaaba at 12:18 p.m. The Kaaba will lose its shadow briefly. The planetary phenomenon occurs twice

Jeddah, May 28: A young Saudi national has died in Qassim after falling from a pickup truck when the driver performed a drifting stunt, according to local media. This was the first death recorded from drifting since the final examinations started on Sunday, according to the report. Young Saudis engage in drifting maneuvers during examination periods. “The dead man was traveling in a Hilux pickup

Jeddah, May 26: The Labor Ministry announced Sunday that it has finalized seven new regulations, including a law that allows expats to transfer their sponsorship onto new employers without the permission of their current sponsors. Ahmed Al-Humaidan, deputy minister for labor policies, said a working team has been appointed to conduct more studies on the draft law that restricts the stay of expats

Dammam, May 25: A nursing college student has died in the Eastern Province after contracting the swine flu (H1N1) virus, said the region’s Health Affairs Directorate. Her death is the first caused by the virus in two years. Meanwhile, the Health Ministry announced one MERS death and four infections on Saturday, adding that two patients have recovered. The victim was a 40-year-old woman, who was

Riyadh/Jeddah, May 24: The Health Ministry has stepped up efforts to reach out to people across the city to raise awareness about protection from the deadly coronavirus amid increasing concern among people. The ministry reported three new cases of the MERS-CoV and the death of a 46-year-old man on Friday. The new patients included one each in Jeddah, Madinah and Makkah. Four more patients were

Riyadh, May 22: A Riyadh-based Saudi company has introduced an online taxi service that can be accessed via smartphones and on a toll free number. “MyTaxi Saudia” has begun providing services, with a soft launch held at the first Saudi Mobile Expo, which concluded in Riyadh on Wednesday. MyTaxi Saudia was one of the exhibitors at the expo. “The Riyadh-based company operates under the slogan ‘Any

Madinah, May 21: Madinah’s Haj Ministry branch has launched an e-communication service on several social networking sites, such as Twitter and Facebook, for the very first time. The ministry’s branch has also provided a mobile number and a landline for addressing inquiries and complaints around the clock. Muhammad Al-Beijawi, branch head, said the move comes as part of efforts to improve Haj and

Jeddah, May 20: The Kingdom on Monday announced a temporary ban on the import of live cattle from Brazil following the discovery of new cases of the foot-and-mouth disease in one of the country’s provinces, according to the Ministry of Agriculture. This comes in addition to an existing ban on beef imports from the country. Brazil was one of the largest suppliers of beef to the Kingdom, exporting