Middle East

Jeddah, Apr 19: Makkah is bracing for the increased number of visitors and pilgrims in the holy month of Ramadan. Authorities including the Presidency of the Grand Mosque and Prophet’s Mosque, the Civil Defense, the Police Department, the Makkah Municipality, the Haj and Health ministries have begun strategic planning in their preparations to facilitate the visitors. There is expected to be a 15

Riyadh/Jeddah, Apr 17: Experts from the World Health Organization (WHO) will arrive in the Kingdom on April 28 to investigate the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) coronavirus outbreak in the country.This comes after the National Scientific Committee for Infectious Diseases (NSCID) held a teleconference with WHO officials in Geneva and Cairo on Tuesday, according to an official from the

Riyadh, Apr 15: Five more MERS cases, including one fatality, were reported in Jeddah on Monday. An official from the Ministry of Health said the latest victim was a 70-year-old expat living in the Western Province. “Three citizens and a 56-year-old foreign worker have also been affected by the virus; their condition is said to be stable,” the official said. The three Saudis who were infected were

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