Middle East

Jeddah, Mar 26: The Council of Ministers yesterday issued a new law making independent national identity cards mandatory for Saudi women within a period of seven years. Saudi males 15 years old and older should also obtain separate identity cards. “A Saudi citizen completing 15 years of age must have a national ID card of his own, and this shall be optional for those between 10 and 15 years,” the

Jeddah, Mar 25: Makkah Gov. Prince Khaled Al-Faisal yesterday distributed free residency permits (iqamas) to the first applicants of the Burmese community in a historic move to legalize the status of nearly 500,000 refugees in the Kingdom. “This is one of the beautiful moments in my life,” said Prince Khaled while addressing a ceremony at Kudai near Makkah. He thanked Custodian of the Two Holy

Jeddah, Mar 24: At least 2 million expatriates may lose their jobs or leave the Kingdom shortly as about 250,000 small and medium enterprises will be listed in the Red category of the Labor Ministry’s Nitaqat system on Wednesday. “About 250,000 trade, industrial and service firms have been given warning that their work permits would not be renewed because they have so far failed to employ at least

Jeddah, Mar 23: A large number of Umrah pilgrims arriving from Asian countries this week are about to set a new record. The Ministry of Haj has indicated that more than 6 million pilgrims are likely to come for Umrah this year, up from 5.5 million last year. The season opened on Dec. 14 last year, and will close on Aug. 22. Airlines operating flights to Jeddah are reportedly fully booked for Umrah

Kuwait City, Mar 21: Kuwait, where expats make up 68 percent of the population, plans to reduce the number of foreigners living in the Gulf state by 1 million over the next decade, a minister said. “The ministry will take decisions and measures... aimed at reducing the number of expatriate workers by 100,000 every year for 10 years to reach one million,” Social Affairs and Labour Minister Thekra

Riyadh, Mar 20: Saudi Arabia has arrested 16 Saudis, an Iranian and a Lebanese for espionage. “The men were arrested in Makkah, Madinah, Riyadh and Eastern Province,” said Mansour Al-Turki, spokesman of the Interior Ministry. The arrests took place after the ministry received information about spying by a number of Saudis and expatriates in the country for the benefit of a particular country.

Riyadh, Mar 19: Saudi Arabia has announced new measures at the Cabinet meeting chaired by Crown Prince Salman, second deputy premier and minister of defense. The Council of Ministers yesterday adopted a series of decisions to drive out illegal foreign workers who violate the Kingdom’s residency and labor regulations. The move also targets illegal coverup businesses. "The amendments to the

Jeddah, Mar 18: Madinah Gov. Prince Faisal bin Salman yesterday commended the Labor Ministry’s efforts to create more job opportunities for Saudis and eradicate the country’s unemployment problem. He received Labor Minister Adel Fakeih who gave the governor a presentation on the ministry’s present and future programs, especially for the Madinah region. “There is a clear instruction from the Saudi

Tehran, Mar 17: Iran launches the indigenously-manufactured Jamaran 2 destroyer in the Caspian Sea near the northern port city of Bandar Anzali in the presence of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Jamaran 2, a Wave-class warship, has been designed and built by the experts at Iran’s Defense Ministry and has state-of-the-art navigation equipment and complex defensive systems. The production line of the

Jeddah, Mar 15: Inspired by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah’s interfaith dialogue initiative, the Kochi-based International Interfaith Dialogue India (IIDI) recently organized a seminar that stressed the unity of God and the need to spread moral values promulgated by all religions. “It was a successful seminar as it brought together leaders of different religious faiths in India