Middle East

Riyadh, Apr 8: The number of runaway housemaids seeking refuge at the Sri Lankan mission has doubled following the government’s enforcement of the Nitaqat program in recent weeks, a senior official from the Sri Lankan Embassy has said. The Lankan mission in Riyadh receives around 10 runaway maids a day from the central province. “We have witnessed a remarkable increase in the number of runaway

Riyadh, Apr 6: With top level talks planned between India and Saudi Arabia over the fallout of the Kingdom’s Nitaqat program, the Indian government is reportedly planning to provide free air tickets for thousands of “deserving workers” to go back home. Oommen Chandy, chief minister of the southern Indian state of Kerala from where the majority of Indian workers in the Kingdom come, told reporters

Jeddah, Apr 4: The Ministry of Labor’s surprise checks of shops, institutions and businesses have wreaked havoc on the lives of many expatriates. Expat workers told Arab News of the closures of their employers’ grocery shops, beauty parlors, salons, cafeterias, electric and plumbing stores and private schools. The expatriates asked for a legal solution to this problem. Workers said that while they

Riyadh, Apr 1: Saudis across the Kingdom have welcomed the new Shoura Council proposal to increase end of service benefits (ESB) of civil servants, saying it would encourage public servants to work hard and improve the living conditions of retirees. A Shoura meeting, chaired by Vice President Muhammad Al-Jafri, approved the proposal made by a former member Ehsan Abdul Jawad and instructed the

Jeddah, Mar 30: Ninety percent of Saudi women's businesses are dominated by expatriates, who are most often married to these women citizens, said a business leader in Jeddah. Abdullah bin Mahfouz, a member of the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI), said these businesses should be considered illegal cover up enterprises and outlawed by the government. There are 130,000 businesses

Jeddah, Mar 29: In another significant move to Saudize jobs and prevent cover-up businesses, the Labor Ministry has instructed the so called “owners” of small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) to work for their firms full-time and register their names with the General Organization for Social Insurance. “Saudi owners working in their own firms should not have any other jobs,” said Hattab Al-Anazi

Dubai, Mar 28: After months of speculation, prototypes and feedback from the public, it appears Dubai Police has finally shifted gear to unveil its all-new patrol car to protect the city streets. The authorities unveiled the images on micro blogging site Twitter, with the Chevrolet Camaro two-door prototype having many online enthusiasts reminiscing of supercar KITT in the popular ‘Knight Rider’

Jeddah, Mar 27: An agreement is expected to be reached between the Saudi telecommunication sector and operators of WhatsApp, Viber and Skype, Al Arabiya reported Tuesday, after the Saudi government threatened to block the messaging applications earlier in the week. A source told Al Arabiya that the Saudi Communications and Information Technology Commission (CITC) officially requested the Saudi

Dubai, Mar 27: An SMS message sent by a husband to his wife containing the word ‘divorce’ is enough to make the divorce valid, according to a fatwa of Dubai’s Department of Islamic Affairs and Charitable Activities. A report in the Arabic newspaper ‘Al Ittihad’ said the fatwa came in response to an enquiry by man who wanted to know whether the SMS message he had sent to his wife telling her that

Jeddah, Mar 26: The Cabinet yesterday passed a law that would allow spouses accompanying King Abdullah Foreign Scholarship students to receive special monthly allowances. “If a scholarship student is accompanied by his Saudi wife at the place of his study he would be entitled to have an extra payment equal to his basic monthly allowance,” the Cabinet said. The same extra payment shall be given to