Middle East

Jeddah, Feb 27: About 34 percent of foreign workers in the Kingdom seek to return home due to several reasons including rising cost of living. An HSBC survey has confirmed that most expats in Saudi Arabia find integration difficult and raising children expensive. “Despite the strong economy and the pull of job opportunities, it is unhealthy for the Saudi economy to let expats leave,” said

Tehran, Feb 26: The granting of the Best Picture Oscar to the Iranophobic movie Argo has long been foreseeable as the Machiavellian maneuvering of Hollywood propaganda harbors a much more elaborate imperialistic scheme, political analysts say. “I put my money on this film to win the Best Picture Oscar (even though there is nothing remotely “best” about it) especially if Obama can pull off winning

Jeddah, Feb 25: Thirty women Shoura members took part in the discussions of the Saudi consultative body for the first time yesterday. “It was a historic day for Saudi women,” said one female member. The meeting appointed three women as deputy chairpersons of subsidiary panels. Zainab Abutaleb said yesterday’s Shoura session that began at 10 a.m. was well organized, adding that it discussed a

Dubai, Feb 24: As a host country for more than 200 different nationalities and a vibrant hub of international commerce, trade and tourism, the UAE today is one of the most connected nations on the planet. Dubai, the bustling nerve centre of the Arab world’s second largest economy and one of the most sought-after shopping, conference and exhibition destinations in the world — well-connected to the

Riaydh, Feb 24: The Ministry of Justice has finalized the schedule to fill the jobs at the reconciliation centers, which was approved last week by the Council of Ministers. According to Muhammad Fu’aym, assistant deputy minister of justice for judicial referral, said the cases will be promptly referred to the centers, but the step will not be mandatory. No deadline was given for the time period

Riyadh, Feb 23: Saudi Arabia’s per capita income rose 27.2 percent from 2010 to 2011 following an increase of 17.1 percent from 2009 to 2010, according to a report by the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA). Preliminary figures indicate that expenditure on GDP increased by 31 percent to SR 2.239 billion, “including import duties,” during 2011, said the report. This compares to SR 1.709 billion

Riyadh, Feb 20: Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah on Tuesday swore in the country’s first female members of the Shoura Council, along with their male counterparts, and urged them to carry out the job with responsibility. “I am happy to meet you at the opening of the sixth Shoura session in which women are taking part for the first time. May Allah bless you all with good vision and

Riaydh, Feb 19: Dr. Muhsen Al-Hazimi, chairman of the Health Commission at the Shoura Council, said that the 12-year-old girl who receive an HIV-tainted blood transfusion has yet to be declared HIV-positive and there is a good possibility that her sickle cell anemia is hindering the progress of the virus. Dr. Al-Hazimi said that girl is carrying half a liter of contaminated blood, while the total

Jeddah, Feb 16: Over six million Umrah pilgrims are expected in Saudi Arabia this year, one million more than last year, said Minister of Haj Bandar bin Mohammed Al-Hajjar, in a statement carried by the Saudi Press Agency yesterday. “The number of Umrah pilgrims is expected to cross the one million mark in the month of Ramadan alone. An average of 400,000 pilgrims are arriving every month this

Jeddah, Feb 15: The Ministry of the Interior has ordered provincial governorates to record the actual jobs held by expats in their iqamas, according to an official at the Ministry of Labor. The order was issued to rectify violations committed by a number of expats when they work at jobs other than that mentioned on their residence permits, Undersecretary at the Ministry of Labor Abdullah Abu