Middle East

Jeddah, Jan 15: Jeddawis noted illegal expatriates disappeared from the streets during the first weeks that followed the end of the amnesty period to avoid being deported, but now with the crackdown campaigns receding they are back at their old places in various parts of the city. However, sources from the Ministry of Interior stressed that the campaigns against the violating expatriates were

Dubai, Jan 14: Dubai fired 479,651 shells of fireworks on New Year’s eve, dazzling its way into the record books. Not only did Dubai succeed in breaking the world record in the world’s “Largest Fireworks Display” category, the emirate also managed to smash it by firing roughly 80,000 shells per minute and 1,332 fireworks per second. Revealing the details of the record, Guinness World Records said

Dubai, Jan 13: New traffic signs will be introduced on Dubai roads soon as the Roads and Transport Authority prepares for the launch of the Dubai Tram later this year. Most of the new road signs are related to the tram and railway, while a few are for speed breakers and pedestrian crossings. “Since Dubai Tram will share road space with other vehicles, it is important that we introduce new signs to

Abu Dhabi, Jan 12: The UAE carriers Emirates and Etihad Airways have been rated among the top four airlines in the world in terms of safety and offering in-flight products in a survey conducted among 448 airlines. Top of the list is Qantas which has a fatality free record in the jet era (since 1951), followed by Air New Zealand, Emirates and Etihad Airways. Making up the top ten with seven stars

Dubai, Jan 11: Of the many country pavilions in the Global Village, the India Pavilion stands out in terms of size and variety. It is the largest pavilion at the village. Spread across an area of 11,500 square metres, it is popular with both residents and tourists alike. “The India pavilion presents a kaleidoscopic view of India’s rich tradition and culture not only to multinational visitors but

Jeddah, Jan 10: Inspection teams from the Labor Ministry have been actively conducting raids on retail market areas in Jeddah to check the status of employees who are working inside shops located in popular market areas. In a surprise field visit on Thursday, inspection teams carried out ad hoc inspections in a popular mobile phone market located on Palestine Street in Jeddah. Arab News was

Jeddah, Jan 9: The Presidency of Meteorology and Environment (PME) announced on Wednesday that there would be medium to heavy rainfall, thunderstorms and winds over Al-Jouf, the Northern Border Province and parts of Tabuk starting from Thursday. The PME did not rule out snowfalls in Turaif, Al-Qurayyat, Arar and the Tabuk highlands. It said there would be medium rainfall and thunderstorms from

Jeddah, Jan 9: Airfares from India to Jeddah have increased by as much as 150 percent ahead of the birthday of the Prophet (peace be upon him) on Jan. 14. According to travel agents in India, Saudi diplomatic missions are issuing Umrah visas in the Hijri month of Rabi Al-Awwal for the first time. This explains the surge in Umrah visa applications at around the time of the “mawlid nabawi” (Arabic

Jubail, Jan 8: Jubail residents have called on major companies in the region to help clean up and rebuild parts of the city hit by severe floods on Monday. They accused certain private industrial companies of making billions every year but not using this money to help improve the city’s infrastructure and provide jobs for Saudis. Ahmed Al-Qarni, a resident, said: “The population of the city has

Jeddah, Jan 8: Civil Aviation authorities cancelled 120 domestic and international flights to and from Prince Mohammed Airport in Madinah following the crash-landing of a leased Saudi Arabian Airlines (Saudia) aircraft on Sunday. Many passengers had rerouted their flights to King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah to avoid waiting 24 hours at Madinah airport to get connections to their