Middle East

Makkah, Oct 14: As per the yearly custom, the Kiswa, the black cloth with golden embroidery covering the Holy Kaaba, will be changed on Monday (Dhul Hijja 9), an official of the General Presidency of the Affairs of the Two Holy Mosques announced here on Sunday. Director General of Kiswa Factory in Makkah Dr. Mohammed Abdullah Pajudeh said more than 240 workers and employees are working in the

Jeddah, Oct 7: Four Saudi women were granted licenses on Sunday by the Ministry of Justice to practice law in the Kingdom’s courts. Up until the implementation of this decision, Saudi women who graduated from law school were previously employed as legal consultants, but were banned from practicing law in the courtroom and were not given attorney status. They also could not own and operate law

Jeddah, Oct 6: Saudi Arabia will continue to slash the number of domestic and foreign pilgrims for two more years until the ongoing mataf (circumambulation area around the Holy Kaaba) expansion project is completed to ensure the safety of pilgrims, a senior official said. “The Kingdom decided to reduce foreign pilgrims by 20 percent and domestic pilgrims by 50 percent this year because of the

Doha, Oct 5: Fifa has launched a consultation process to decide whether to stage the 2022 World Cup in Qatar outside the traditional June-July slot and will not make a decision until next year, president Sepp Blatter said on Friday. “The executive committee decided to launch a consultation process among main stakeholders for Qatar 2022 dates,” Blatter said on Twitter. “No decision will be taken

Madina, Oct 2: A metro station and a public bus station will be established at the newly constructed Prince Muhammad International Airport (PMIA) in Madinah, Mamdouh Tarabishi, CEO of the airport, has said.The SR4.5 billion expansion project will be completed by 2015.He said the metro and rapid bus transport system would facilitate the transport of pilgrims from the airport to the Prophet’s Mosque

Makkah, Oct 1: The General Presidency of the Two Holy Mosques has announced that the lock of the Kaaba was changed after officials washing the Kaaba noticed it was rusty. The lock was made 30 years ago. The new lock was handed to the senior “sadin,” the Kaaba’s key keeper, Shiekh Abdulqader Al-Shaibi. The statement clarified the controversy over having the lock changed, which came at the request

Jeddah, Sep 30: Saudi officials and businessmen on Sunday welcomed Education Minister Prince Faisal bin Abdullah’s statement emphasizing the need to create more job opportunities for Saudis by developing the economy and implementing huge investment projects. “I would say that Saudization (nationalization) and employment is not the solution,” the minister said in an interview published on Sunday.

Jeddah, Sep 29: The move to shift government departments from Mina to a new administration complex in Muzdalifah would create 23 percent extra space in the tent city to accommodate 185,000 more pilgrims this year, said Sultan Al-Dossary, spokesman of the Makkah governorate. The first phase of the complex has been completed on an area of 1 million square meters. Most of the non-essential government

Washington, Sep 28: President Barack Obama and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani spoke by phone on Friday, the highest-level contact between the two countries since the Iranian Revolution in 1979 and a sign that both sides are serious about reaching a pact on Iran's nuclear programme. Obama had hoped to meet with Rouhani earlier this week while both men were in New York for the United Nations

Baghdad, Sep 23: A suicide bomber struck a Sunni funeral in Baghdad on Sunday, killing at least 12 people, Iraqi officials said, a day after blasts targeting Shia mourners killed more than 70. Major attacks have alternatively hit Sunnis, Shias, and then Sunnis again over the past three days. Iraq was ravaged by bloody Sunni-Shia violence that peaked in 2006-2007 and killed thousands of people, and