MECCA - Flash flooding killed a man and three children in the Mecca region of Saudi Arabia on Thursday, as waist-high water snarled traffic in the nearby Red Sea port of Jeddah, where 123 people died in flooding last year.The governor of Mecca, Prince Khaled al-Faisal, reported the deaths and added

Water, electricity charges and fuel costs set to increase Dubai: Revised form of water and electricity bills, as well as an additional fuel surcharge will be added to Dubai residents statements starting from tomorrow.The Supreme Council of Energy in Dubai announced a 15 per cent increase in water an

The men were sentenced to death by the Sharjah Sharia Court of First Instance in March 2010 for killing the PakistaniSharjah,December 31, 2010: Seventeen Indian bootleggers facing death sentence for killing a Pakistani have won a reprieve when the family of the deceased agreed to pardon them if they

The two new aircraft have already been inducted into the fleet, flying on Gulf Air's short and medium haul routes.Manama: Gulf Air has added two Airbus A320 aircraft that take the number of new aircraft in the airline's fleet to 14 in the last 14 months.The two new aircraft have already been inducte

Almost all emirates in the country recorded light to moderate rainfall on Monday even as cloudy conditions prevailed, bringing down temperature. Al Rashidiya, Al Qusais, Al Twar and Al Nahda areas in Dubai had short spells of heavy rain between 11am and 12 noon, while Al Rolla, Buhairah Cornic

ABU DHABI - In a move that is likely to drastically change the labour market scenario in the country, the Ministry of Labour (MoL) said all companies have to employ at least 20 per cent Emiratis of their total number of staff. Announcing details of the new decision at a seminar at the Armed For

Dubai: Some categories of expatriate workers who had previously been barred from sponsoring their children and family members can now do so by depositing Dh5,000 per person, a senior Ministry of Interior official has said. Major General Nasser Al Awadi Al Menhali, Assistant Undersecretary for Natur

DUBAI - Expatriates are a threat to the UAE's national identity and the country should impose quotas on all nationalities to keep the population in check, Dubai's police chief said in remarks published on Monday."Today Emiratis are very concerned about their national identity, as the number of forei

DUBAI - Police are seeking the arrest of a woman who allegedly strangled her newborn baby and dumped him in a bathroom rubbish bin at Dubai airport, local daily Gulf News reported on Monday.The woman apparently gave birth to the baby in the bathroom before tying him with the umbilical cord, putting

JEDDAH, Dec 23, 2010: Professor Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, secretary-general of the 57-member Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), on Wednesday emphasized the need for a strong media to confront the smear campaign against Islam and Muslims."There is big negligence from the part of Islamic media

JEDDAH, Dec 23, 2010: Makkah Gov. Prince Khaled Al-Faisal announced Wednesday the government's plan to establish an airport in Qunfuda, a town on the Red Sea, south of Jeddah, as well as a seaport and an industrial city in Al-Leeth, another town on the Red Sea.He made this comment after launching a

Child birth charges will soon go up 100 per cent at all Ministry of Health affiliated hospitals for those who do not have a health cardAbu Dhabi: Child birth charges will soon go up 100 per cent at all Ministry of Health affiliated hospitals if you do not have a health card, according to a circular

RIYADH, Dec 22,2010 (Arab News): Prince Muqrin, director of intelligence, on Tuesday launched a special security unit named The Falcons under his department and said the new force would carry out its duties in a professional manner.Speaking to reporters after the launching ceremony at the department

Abu Dhabi/Dubai, Dec 22,2010: Certified typing centres across the country processed 40,000 ID card pre-registration applications per day during the past week, a top official told Gulf News.EIDA transferred the pre-registration process including filling out the application forms, scanning the identif

Workers who complete at least two years of contract period will not need former employer's consent to switch jobs.Abu Dhabi: Beginning January 1, 2011, foreign workers switching jobs will not need a no-objection certificate from former employers as the Ministry of Labour will make the decision, a se

Etisalat is to cut at least 300 jobs in the UAE as it looks to reduce its Dh4 billion (US$1.08bn) staff bill amid greater competition in the domestic market.The telecommunications operator says about 3 per cent of its 10,460 UAE employees will lose their jobs, in what will be Etisalat's first major

Madinah, December 18 (Arab News): Police dispersed rioting mobs in the Osbah district close to Quba Mosque in Madinah on Thursday. A few people were lightly injured while many cars and house windows were vandalized."Groups of youths started rioting and throwing stones. Some people were injured and m

JEDDAH, Dec 19,2010 (Arab News): Studies have been conducted on prospects of establishing an inner-city monorail system for the holy city of Makkah to facilitate transportation of pilgrims and worshippers to the Grand Mosque and reduce traffic congestion in the city."We have proposed this project as