Middle East

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

Jeddah, Sep 22: The Jeddah Islamic Port (JIP) has installed 40 state-of-the-art fingerprint and other devices to detect fake Haj permits and other false documents. However, Sahir Tahlawi, director general of JIP, told Arab News that no case of bogus Haj document has yet been uncovered. "The arrival of pilgrims has been going according to plan. There is full coordination around the clock with the

Jeddah, Sep 21: Jubilation is around the corner for Saudi society, which will be celebrating the country’s National Day on Monday. A myriad of cultural and recreational activities will be held to express their patriotic fervor for the nation. Riyadh, considered the foundation for the modern Kingdom, is at the forefront of celebrations, but people in various regions are also getting ready to

Moscow, Sep 18: Syria has turned over materials to Russia which aim to show that a chemical weapons attack last month was carried out by the rebels, a top Russian diplomat visiting Damascus says. The August 21 attack precipitated the current high tensions over Syria's chemical weapons and sparked a plan under which Syria is to abandon the weapons. A report by UN investigators confirmed that

Dubai, Sep 18: The futuristic Dubai World Central Al Maktoum International Airport, envisioned to be the world’s largest airport complex when fully completed, is set to open for passenger flights next month following the certification for operation of its new passenger terminal. The General Civil Aviation Authority, or GCAA, the sole regulator of all licenced airfields within the UAE, has