Middle East

Dubai, April 30: Plumes of thick black smoke covered Dubai as a cargo dhow, the same vessel which caught fire in February and was under repair, gutted on Deira Creek around 3.30pm on Sunday. The cause of the fire is not yet known. According to Afnan Aqeel, an eyewitness, the fire spread rapidly because of the windy weather, making it difficult to bring the fire under control quickly. The fire was

Riyadh, April 29: India Islamic Culture Center (IICC), an apex Islamic center with a mandate to provide a unified platform for promoting Islamic heritage and interfaith harmony, is planning to open regional chapters across India to give greater wingspan to its activities. “A total of five chapters including one in the eastern Indian state of Bihar have been proposed,” announced Sirajuddin Qureshi

Riyadh, April 29: Minister of Defense and Chairman of King Abdulaziz Research Center (KARC) Prince Salman received a delegation from the Al-Abu Milha family on Saturday. The delegation delivered a series of historic documents including letters addressed by Kings Abdulaziz, Saud and Faisal and other princes and officials to their family leader Abdulwahab Abu Milha. The documents covered the period

Makkah, April 29: The government has announced new Haj policy for 2012 raising expenses and placing a restriction on performing Haj only once in five years. Religious Affairs Minister Khurshid Shah while spelling out details, said Haj expenses have been increased by Rs21,000 for economy and Rs47,000 for green category. Exchange rate rise on Saudi Rial has led to the increase, Shah said. There will

Sharjah, April 28: A massive fire broke out at around 2:30 am on Saturday morning on the north side of Al Tayer buliding in the Al Nahda area of Sharjah. Panic spread among the residents living in the building when fire broke out but they managed to escape unhurt. But residents fear many pets left behind by them in the 34 floor residential building may not survive the fire. The reason for the

Riyadh, April 28: Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah received Qatari Crown Prince Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani at his palace in Riyadh yesterday. The king and the Qatari crown prince discussed the current Islamic, Arab and international developments and reviewed ways to further boost bilateral cooperation between the two countries. Sheikh Tamim also conveyed the greetings of the

Dubai, Apr 27: A 35-year-old Indian driver was sentenced to death here for brutally murdering his former boss, also an Indian, by bludgeoning him with a hammer and stabbing him 30 times following a dispute over salary. The Dubai Court of First Instance on Wednesday sentenced the driver, identified only as N K, to death. The verdict remains subject to appeal within 15 days. The victim allegedly

Cairo, April 27: Cairo Egypt's street children are in worse shape due to violence and political manipulation in the wake of the popular revolt that toppled former president Hosni Mubarak more than a year ago, according to activists. "Since Mubarak's overthrow, the [ruling] military council has been responsible for increasing the abuses suffered by street children," said Ahmad Moshli, a legal

Riyadh,April 27: Dr. Abdullah Omar Naseef, former deputy chairman of the Shoura Council, has supported the present system of appointing qualified members to the Saudi consultative body. “Shoura is an important system and it needs people of experience and wisdom to run the show. I think people who call for elections have not taken this important point into consideration,” he said. In an exclusive

Chennai, April 26: It was a torturous homecoming for P Periaswamy, a resident of Karkudi village in Perambalur district, who was enslaved by his employer in Saudi Arabia for 18 years. When the 45-year-old finally landed in Chennai on Wednesday morning, the airport police detained him for a couple of hours suspecting him to be the husband of a deserted woman. Periasamy, who went to Saudi Arabia