Middle East

Jeddah, Apr 12: The police have arrested an Ethiopian maid for murdering a Saudi woman in a rural district in Taif on Thursday. The African woman in her thirties hacked her employer, who was in her fifties, to death with an axe while she was praying the noon prayer at her house in Maisan, 130 km south of Taif, said Lt. Col. Ati Al-Qarshi, police spokesman in Makkah. “After receiving the report

Jeddah, Apr 10: A young Saudi man died and another was seriously injured when a bloody fighting erupted between groups of youth involved in the dangerous game of drifting in Al-Kharj, about 80 km south of Riyadh. The fighting took place in King Saud Street on Wednesday evening, according to the Al-Arabiya website. The news channel said the victim died of a bullet wound, while the injured man

Jeddah, Apr 6: Saudi Arabian Airlines has no plans to raise domestic ticket prices since the domestic sector is not profit motivated, said a top official. “Fares are pre-set and the carrier has no intention of raising prices,” said Saad Al-Suleiman, director of Passenger Service and Sales at Saudi Arabian Airlines. Al-Suleiman was speaking at the launch of the airline’s first nonstop service from

Jeddah, Apr 5: All private businesses must provide medical insurance for their workers and families, including Saudis and expatriates, by next month, the Health Insurance Council has decided. “The insurance coverage must be given to all workers irrespective of the salaries they receive,” the council stated. The decision would allow Saudis and expatriates access to advanced health services. It does

Riyadh, Apr 4: The Ministry of Health has announced quarantine measures for Haj and Umrah pilgrims who are coming from countries that have a high rate of infectious diseases. The ministry had sent out the circular to the Foreign Ministry that would be circulated among overseas missions spelling out the requirements for visa issuance for various countries. Ziad Al-Memish, undersecretary to the

Jeddah, Apr 3: Giving another boost to the Kingdom’s higher education, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah has ordered the establishment of three new universities in Jeddah, Bisha and Hafr Al-Baten. It brings the total number of public universities in the Kingdom to 28. Higher Education Minister Khaled Al-Anqari said King Abdulaziz University’s branches in north Jeddah as well as the

Jeddah, Apr 2: Saudi scholarship students and other passengers are delighted as Saudi Arabian Airlines’ (Saudia) launched direct flights to Los Angeles. “This is very good news,” said Abdelelah Saaty, dean of the College of Business in Rabigh, who is a regular traveler to the US and had obtained his master’s degree from the University of Southern California. “Before launching this new Saudia

Jeddah, Mar 31: The body of an Indian expat who had fallen into a coma after being hit by a car within merely two months of arriving in the Kingdom was finally repatriated on Saturday after almost two years since the fatal incident occurred. Thirty-one-year-old Zahid Hussain, from Bihar in India, had arrived in a remote village near Khamis Mushait in May of 2012 to work as a heavy vehicle driver

Riyadh, Mar 29: The Labor Ministry has announced tough new measures to curb the illegal trade in visas, with a one- to two-year recruitment ban on companies involved in such activities. If the number of expatriates transferred by a company to other employers exceeds 15 percent, it would only be allowed to recruit new workers after one year, a ministry official said. “If the transfers are more than

Riyadh, Mar 28: Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah has appointed his half-brother and country's former intelligence chief Prince Muqrin bin Abdul Aziz as the deputy crown prince, paving the way for him to become a future monarch. "Prince Muqrin will receive oath of allegiance as crown prince in case the position becomes vacant, and as king in case the positions of king and crown prince become vacant," a