Middle East

Riyadh. May 18: Five more deaths from the MERS coronavirus were announced on Saturday by the Health Ministry bringing the death toll to 168 since September 2012. The ministry said nine more confirmed cases of MERS have been reported in last 24 hours, bringing the total number of infected cases to 629 since the outbreak of the chronic disease. The latest fatalities are three patients from a

Jeddah, May 17: The Ministry of Labor caught 500 Saudi girls involved in fake Saudization efforts in the past year. The girls colluded with business owners and some businesses to falsely represent themselves as having achieved the required Saudization percentage for the companies that will prevent them from lapsing into the red category. The human resources fund Hadaf came to know about the fraud

Riyadh, May 16: Health authorities on Thursday announced the deaths of another three people from the MERS respiratory virus, taking the country's toll to 160. The death toll rose as US reports said airline crews have also been told to be on the lookout for passengers suffering from symptoms and report them to the authorities if they appear ill. Asian transport hub Singapore said it will begin

Jeddah/Geneva, May 15: The Ministry of Health reported five deaths and 16 new cases of the MERS coronavirus, which included a two-year old infant with congenital problems in Madinah, on Wednesday. However, the WHO said the spread of the puzzling virus doesn’t yet constitute a global health emergency. The decision was made after a meeting of WHO expert group. “Calling a global emergency in a world

Riyadh, May 13: Five people died and eight were infected with the MERS coronavirus on Monday, bringing the death toll to 147 since September 2012. The new cases included five women, according to the Health Ministry. Four patients, all women, were diagnosed in Riyadh, while two were reported in Jeddah and two in Madinah. Patients in Riyadh were aged 31, 60, 74 and 80, one of whom died at a private

Jeddah, May 12: The Federation of International Football Association (FIFA) has agreed to discuss the issue of Israel’s transgressions against Palestinian sports, said Prince Nawaf bin Faisal, head of the Youth Welfare Presidency. “Israel will be either expelled or suspended from FIFA if it did not apologize for its action against Palestinians and provide guarantees,” he said. “Being the chairman

Riyadh, May11: Saudi Arabia has announced 13 more deaths from the Mers coronavirus, as the World Health Organisation prepared for an emergency meeting over worries about the spread of the disease. The Middle East Respiratory System coronavirus has now killed 139 people and infected 480 in the kingdom since it first appeared in 2012, accounting for the bulk of cases registered across the globe. In

Jeddah/Riyadh, May 11: The Ministry of Health has issued an advisory stating that face masks should be worn by patients who have been diagnosed with the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), as well as people who come into regular contact with patients, such as family members and medical staff. The advisory, issued via SMS to residents, followed a meeting held between local and international

Jeddah, May 10: Saudi Arabia's grand mufti has condemned Nigeria's Boko Haram as a group "set up to smear the image of Islam" and condemned its kidnapping of over 200 schoolgirls. Sheikh Abdulaziz Al Al-Sheikh said the group was "misguided" and should be "shown their wrong path and be made to reject it." His remarks came as religious leaders in the Muslim world denounced Boko Haram leader Abubakar

Riyadh, May 9: Saudi Arabia's death toll from MERS has risen by five to 126 fatalities since the mystery respiratory virus first appeared in the kingdom in 2012, the health ministry said today. Two men, aged 47 and 60, died in the western city of Medina on Wednesday, an 84-year-old man died in Mecca and a fourth died in the Red Sea port of Jeddah. All three cities are closely associated with the