Middle East

Jeddah, Jun 20: Saudi banking experts here say that the Kingdom has the safest banking system in the Arab world. This comes in response to CNBC Arabia reporting earlier this week that the Kingdom recorded 5,000 fraud cases out of 1.3 million ATM cash withdrawals recently. The experts say that the security of the Saudi banking system and its top ranking in the Arab world has been confirmed by the

Jeddah, Jun 16: In an unprecedented move aimed at preventing congestion and stampedes and ensuring safety of the guests of God, Saudi authorities have urged domestic and foreign pilgrims to postpone their Haj plans for this year if possible due to ongoing expansion work at Makkah’s Grand Mosque. The call follows the government’s decision to reduce the number of foreign pilgrims by 20 percent and

Jeddah, Jun 16: Remittances from Saudi Arabia by expatriate workers to their home countries are likely to decline due to the new labor laws, according to Fadhel Albuainain, economist and banking expert. “The launch of the new, accurate labor system and the implementation of the salary protection program in the future will help reduce the amount of transferred money out of the Kingdom by

Tehran, Jun 15: Partial results from Iran’s presidential election are giving reformist Hassan Rohani a major lead with principlist candidate, Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, trailing in the second place. Iran's Interior Ministry says according to the latest vote tally, out of 31,106,865 valid votes from 32,189,621 total votes counted so far in the country's 11th presidential election, reformist candidate

Makkah, Jun 15: Thousands of laborers will be working around the clock to keep the holy city of Makkah clean during the month of fasting that commences July 9. The Makkah Municipality has approved a comprehensive plan to clean, collect garbage and monitor shops to ensure they adhere to food and safety standards. The workers will be deployed along roads and tunnels and ensure that streetlights and

Makkah, Jun 14: Riots broke out late Wednesday in the residential compound of a company carrying out development projects in the city's Central Area. Indian workers, who mistakenly believed the death of their colleague who died from an unspecified work-related injury, was reported as a non-work-related injury by the company, gathered in large numbers and went on a rampage in their residential

Geneva, Jun 13: Labor Minister Adel Fakieh said here on Wednesday that initiatives and programs launched recently in the Kingdom have given distinctive results in providing suitable job opportunities to Saudis and increasing women’s participation in the labor market. Addressing an International Labor Conference, he said that the Nitaqat program for Saudization of jobs launched in June 2011 has

Riyadh, Jun 12: The traffic police and security forces will increase patrols on the Kingdom’s road network to prevent illegal expatriate workers from moving around after the grace period ends on July 3, according to a leading traffic official. Maj. Gen. Khalid Nashat Al-Qahtani, commander of the highway patrol, said violators would not be allowed to move freely across the Kingdom. “Comprehensive

Jeddah, Jun 11: A state-of-the-art pilgrim city will be established in Madinah on an area of 1.6 million square meters along Hijrah Road with modern facilities and public transport systems to house 200,000 faithful who come for Haj and Umrah. “Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah has instructed the Finance Ministry to implement the project,” said Madinah Gov. Prince Faisal bin Salman

Jeddah, Jun 10: Rioting Indonesian expatriates set fire to a part of their consulate in Jeddah's Rehab district on Sunday in an attempt to force their way in, officials said. Eyewitnesses said the rioters, who were among thousands of Indonesian expatriates seeking to correct their status as illegal foreign workers, were apparently frustrated by the long wait to get their cases resolved. Several