Middle East

Madinah, Aug 13: The demolition of over two-thirds of buildings surrounding the Prophet's Mosque from the east have been completed for the mosque’s grand expansion ordered by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah. The demolition work started early July and has been continuing ever since. So far, 10 big buildings have been demolished, including the Awkaf building, the Al-Wiladah mosque

Jeddah, Aug 12: The rising prices of gold during the past two weeks caused stagnation in the Saudi market, and pushed gold merchants to activate sales because factories didn’t halt their production, according to the National Committee for Precious Metals. The price of the precious metal has registered the second weekly decline, while the dollar has recovered from its lowest value since seven weeks

Cairo, Aug 9: Millions of Muslims paid respects at ancestral graves, shared festive family meals and visited beaches and amusement parks Thursday to mark the end of the fasting month of Ramadan, but violence and political tension overshadowed holiday joy in hotspots like Egypt, Yemen and Afghanistan. The three-day Eid Al-Fitr holiday, which caps Ramadan, also highlighted the long-running divide

Riyadh, Dubai, Aug 7: Shawwal moon has been sighted in the UAE and tomorrow (Thursday) is Eid Al Fitr, the UAE Moon Sighting Committee said. Eid Al Fitr moon has been sighted in Saudi Arabia and tomorrow is the first day of Shawwal, Geo TV reported quoting an official statement. Oman announced that Shawwal moon has not been sighted and Eid Al Fitr will be marked on Friday. Earlier Story Meeting of

Dubai, Aug 6: This year’s Ramadan could end in 28 days as Saudi’s supreme court has asked Muslims across the country to look for the new moon today evening. Sighting the moon later today would mean Muslims could celebrate Eid Ul Fitr on Wednesday which would correct an earlier moon-sighting error. According to newspapers in Saudi, a statement issued by the court read, “Those who witness the moon

Makkah, Aug 6: Two million worshippers spent the 27th night of the holy month of Ramadan in the Grand Mosque seeking God's blessings. High security and integrated services contributed to a smooth flow of movement among worshippers filing in and out of the Grand Mosque. Security forces were deployed for crowd management, in addition to a special emergency force, the security force for Haj and Umrah

Jeddah, Aug 5: Saudi Arabian Airlines’s recent joining with SkyTeam, a group partnership of 19 airlines world-wide, has left passengers traveling on the Kingdom’s carrier confused over baggage allowances. Saudia had previously allocated a baggage allowance of 32kg per bag for guest class passengers and two 32kg bags for first and business class passengers on international flights. The baggage

Tehran, Aug 4: Hasan Rouhani has taken his oath of office, the final step in his inauguration as Iran’s new president. Mr. Rouhani, who replaces Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, was sworn in during an open session of parliament on Sunday with State TV broadcasting the ceremony live. Iran’s media and officials have treated Mr. Rouhani as president since Saturday, when he was endorsed by the country’s Supreme

Jeddah/Abha, Aug 4: Makkah Emir Prince Khaled Al-Faisal was personally following up the search operation for several people who went missing during the heavy rains that lashed Qunfudah governorate over the past two days. Civil Defense spokesman Col. Saeed Sarhan said rescue teams were dispatched to several locations after two people had been reported missing. A Saudi young man was found dead seven

Riyadh, Aug 3: More than 1,300 volunteers work daily during the holy month of Ramadan to serve food on a plastic trail extending 4 kilometers along the ground of the Grand Mosque in Makkah. The table is always full of coffee and dates to feed the crowds of pilgrims and visitors from inside and outside the Kingdom. The administration at the Grand Mosque has also offered around 100,000 kg of de