Middle East

Riyadh, Feb 14: Thirteen more mosques across Saudi Arabia have been shut temporarily as Covid cases continued to increase. According to the kingdom's Ministry of Islamic Affairs, Call and Guidance, 57 mosques have been shut over the past six days because of confirmed Covid cases. The latest closures happened in Riyadh after cases were reported among worshippers. Arab News reported that Imams of

Manama, Feb 14: Infectious Disease Consultant and Microbiologist at the BDF Hospital and member of the National Medical Taskforce for Combating the Coronavirus (Covid-19), Dr. Lt. Col. Manaf Al Qahtani, highlighted the importance of taking extra precautions in light of the prevalence of a variant Covid-19 strain, more highly transmittable than the original Covid-19 strain. Dr. Al Qahtani noted

Dubai, Feb 13: International Monetary Fund (IMF) has reiterated that Oman is planning to introduce income tax on high income earners as part of its medium-term fiscal balance plan. The Fund welcomed the fiscal balance plan and said introducing value-added tax (VAT) in 2021, a personal income tax on high-income earners being developed, and full-year impact of the expansion of the excise tax base in

Lebanon, Feb 11: Lebanese Prime Minister-designate Saad Al Hariri on Wednesday dined with French President Emmanuel Macron to discuss the crisis in Lebanon and the difficulties in forming a new government, according to Hariri’s Twitter account. “Presidents Hariri and Macron discussed the internal Lebanese difficulties that hinder the formation of the government and the possible ways to overcome

Riyadh, Feb 11: Hours after an attack on Saudi Arabia’s Abha International Airport caused a civilian plane to catch fire on Wednesday, the Arab Coalition forces managed to thwart another attack by Yemen’s Houthi militants on Khamis Mushait. The Arab Coalition announced that its forces had intercepted and destroyed an explosives-laden drone launched by the Houthi militia towards Khamis Mushait

Riyadh, Feb 6: Saudi Arabia reaffirmed support for a “comprehensive political solution” in Yemen, state media reported on Friday, after President Joe Biden delivered his key foreign policy speech. “The kingdom has affirmed its firm position in support of a comprehensive political solution to the Yemeni crisis, and welcomes the US emphasis on the importance of supporting diplomatic efforts to

Dubai, Feb 5: The Ministry of Health and Prevention announced that 158,786 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine were administered in the past 24 hours on Friday. The total number of doses dolled out until Friday stood at 4,008,160 with a rate of vaccine distribution of 40.53 doses per 100 people. This is in line with the Ministry's plan to provide the COVID-19 vaccine to all members of society and

Doha, Feb 5: Qatar has re-imposed a raft of restrictions on education, leisure and business activities, including closing indoor swimming pools and theme parks and restricting restaurant capacities. It is the latest Gulf state to tighten restrictions in recent days in a bid to curb the spread of the coronavirus as infections have risen. Qatari markets should now operate at 50 per cent capacity

Kuwait City, Feb 4: A minor earthquake was registered in Al-Manaqeesh area in the southwest of Kuwait today. The intensity was 3.0-magnitude. Kuwait National Seismic Network (KNSN) confirmed the earthquake report. In a statement, KNSN Chief, Dr. Abdullah Al-Enzi, said that the earthquake occurred at 9:27 a.m. Kuwait time at a depth of 14 kilometers underground.

Beirut, Jan 31: Protests in Lebanon's second-largest city, Tripoli, have led to the injury of at least 70 children over the course of one week, according to the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF). "Clashes between police and demonstrators in Tripoli, in northern Lebanon, have resulted in unacceptable injuries among people. At least 70 children were injured over the