Middle East

Jubail, April 16: The Annual General Assembly meeting of Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC) held on Saturday, under the chairmanship of Prince Saud bin Abdullah bin Thunayan Al-Saud, chairman of the Royal Commission for Jubail and Yanbu, and chairman of SABIC, approved payment of SR15 billion dividends to shareholders at SR5 per share for its operations in 2011. The company had distributed

Abu Dhabi, April 15: The United Nations Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially women and children, Joy Ngozi Ezeilo, has commended the UAE experiment in combating trafficking in persons. She lauded the UAE as a ‘model’ in fighting crimes of human trafficking and hoped the UAE would further develop such preventive mechanisms to put an end to these crimes. The UN expert made her

Riyadh, April 15: If you are looking for a rich wife, then read this story. A Saudi woman is offering SR5 million (Dh4.9 million) to get married — even if it is a Misyar marriage. But wait. The woman has conditions which she will not reveal now. The main thing is that the new husband must “appreciate marriage life.” The woman published the attractive offer in the Saudi Arabic language magazine Roa

Geneva, April 15: UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said yesterday the Syrian government had the prime responsibility to stop the violence in the country and withdraw its forces from urban areas in line with international mediator Kofi Annan’s peace plan. Ban and Annan, who held 90 minutes of talks in Geneva, issued a statement welcoming the UN Security Council’s adoption of a resolution

Abu Dhabi, April 15: The President, His Highness Shaikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, and His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said of Oman held talks in Al Ain City on relations between the two countries and ways to promote them in various spheres. The talks were held in presence of His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai. They

Abu Dhabi, April 14: The high-level Indo-UAE 10th Joint Commission Meeting (JCM) for economic, scientific and technical cooperation will take place in Abu Dhabi tomorrow. S. M. Krishna, Minister for External Affairs, is leading a delegation of 20 representatives from different ministries of India, Indian Ambassador to the UAE M. K. Lokesh told Khaleej Times. Lokesh said the JCM between India and

Abu Dhabi, April 13: The UAE on Thursday recalled its ambassador to Iran for consultations, a day after Foreign Minister Shaikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan condemned a visit by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to the UAE’s island of Abu Mousa, occupied by Teheran since 1971. ‘The Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned today UAE Ambassador to the Islamic Republic of Iran Saif Mohammed Obaid Al

Shrajah, April 13: Police are investigating the death of three people who allegedly fell from high buildings in different parts of Sharjah on Wednesday. In the first incident, a 40-year-old Yemeni, identified as Samir Salih, allegedly fell from the 12th floor of the Abu Jumaizah building in Al Majaz area. The police rushed to the scene after the operation room received a call from a passerby at

Madinah, April 13: The Ministry of Commerce and Industry has formulated a plan to check any rises in commodity prices and is closely monitoring the markets to end any monopoly of goods, Minister Tawfiq Al-Rabiah has said. Al-Rabiah, who is also the chairman of the board of directors of the Saudi Industrial Property Authority (Modon), made the remarks following a tour of the industrial city in

Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says the West invaded Afghanistan with the main purpose of dominating the Eastern bloc, particularly Russia and China. “Western powers dispatched troops to Afghanistan to prepare the ground for dominating the Eastern bloc. All their claims and pretexts for establishing security in Afghanistan are sheer lies,” said President Ahmadinejad in the southern port city