Gulf news
New Saudi-Oman highway to reduce distance by 800 km
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia and Oman have completed the construction of a mega road project linking the two countries. “The new road, which will cut the distance between Saudi Arabia and Oman by about 800 km, will be opened soon for public,” said Ahmad Hilal Al-Busaidi, Omani ambassador, Wednesday. Al-Bu
KSA-hosted Umrah for US ‘clockmaker’ harassed by school
JEDDAH: The Kingdom is hosting for Umrah the American student who was recently wrongfully arrested after a teacher at his school in Texas mistook his homemade clock for a bomb. Ahmed Mohammed Al-Hassan, who is of Sudanese origin, would also visit relatives in Jeddah during his trip, according to
Maximum of 5 expat visas for every Saudi family
JEDDAH: Every Saudi family is entitled under certain conditions to a maximum of five visas for household workers through the Musaned website, while expatriate families and citizens married to foreigners are entitled to two each. Saudi families can recruit a woman household worker, man household wor
Saudi Arabia donated $115 billion to help 90 countries
JEDDAH: Faisal bin Hassan Trad, the permanent representative of Saudi Arabia to the United Nations Office in Geneva, said the Kingdom has been the most generous country in the world in the field of development and humanitarian aid over the past four decades. “Saudi Arabia donated, during this perio
KSA likely to see 30 million religious tourists by 2025
JEDDAH: The number of religious tourists is expected to rise from 17.5 million recorded last year to between 25 and 30 million in 2025, which would be a boost to the country’s economy, say economists. The contribution of religious tourism to the non-oil sector of the country’s Gross Domestic Prod
BMJD get-together programs announced
01 October, 2015 | Press Release| Bhatkallys News Bhatkal: Preparations for a grand BMJD get-together program to be organized on November 13, 2015 are on its way. The details of programs are as given below: 1. Drama Script Competition: Participants will have to write script that contains at
Expats can make family visit visas permanent
A visit visa can be converted into a permanent residency permit for a close family member of an expatriate worker under special conditions, a senior Passport Department official said during a phone-in service with Arab News readers on Wednesday. “Yes, this is possible,” said Col. Mohammed Al-Hussai
Saudi Arabia says there is 'no future' for Assad in Syria
Saudi Arabia has called on Bashar al-Assad to give up power or be removed by force, raising the global stakes at a time when the Russians are shipping troops and military hardware to Syria in an effort to prop up its beleaguered leader. The threat was made on Tuesday by Saudi Arabia’s foreign min
Saudi Arabia denies gas claim in Mina tragedy
Dubai: The health ministry in Saudi Arabia has dismissed a claim that the stampede in Mina on the first day of Eid Al Adha was caused by poisonous gas. “Such an allegation is totally groundless and lacks scientific credibility,” Faysal Al Zahrani, the spokesperson for the ministry, told Saudi dai
Al-Aqsa tensions trigger clashes across West Bank
Clashes have erupted across the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, as a result of ongoing confrontations between Palestinians and Israeli forces at the al-Aqsa Mosque compound. Along with other Knesset members from the Arab Joint List coalition, Jamal Zahalka was present at the al-Aqsa
BMJD to organize get-together on Nov 13
28 September, 2015 | Correspondent | Bhatkallys News Bhatkal: BMJD is going to hold a grand get-together program for community members on 13th of November 2015, informed program convener Mohammed Yusuf Barmawar speaking to media persons in a press meet. The get-together function will be organi
100,000 tweets support hashtag defending KSA
RIYADH: “If my denunciation came from an imbecile, it is a testimony to my perfection,” is how the Twitter hashtag that defends the Kingdom and its services offered to the guests of God started. Three hours after the setting up of the hashtag, it collected more than 100,000 spontaneous tweets that
Crush cause: 300 Iranians violated rule
JEDDAH: As the probe into the stampede in Mina continues, an Iranian official has confirmed that a group of 300 Iranian pilgrims coming from the opposite direction caused the crush, according to media reports quoting Iranian sources. Quoting the Iranian official, Asharq Al-Awsat, a sister publica
Mina stampede deaths rise to 769
MAKKAH: Health Minister Khalid Al-Falih on Saturday said the number of pilgrims who died in Thursday’s stampede in Mina has risen to 769. Al-Falih said the number of injured has also jumped to 934, of which many are still confined in hospitals. “The latest statistics up to this hour reveal
Pilgrims stream out of Mina as Haj 2015 ends
MINA: Pilgrims streamed out of Mina after performing the ritual stoning of the devil for one last time on Saturday. There was no respite from the hot weather and the mercury hovered around 45 degrees Celsius in the afternoon. The pilgrims had poured into the Jamrat Complex since morning to per
Saudi Haj management needs toning up
Dr Syed Zafar Mahmood President, Zakat Foundation of India ZakatIndia.org On 11 and 24 September 2015 two incidents occurred in the Muslim sacred Hejaz region of Saudi Arabia causing death of 935 Haj pilgrims and grievous injury to 1,257. Including these, from 1975 till date, 14 mishaps have occ
King: No one will be allowed to disrupt Islamic harmony
MINA: The Kingdom will continue to play its role at the regional and international level for Arab and Muslim unity and will not allow anyone to drive a wedge between them or disrupt the harmony, said Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman on Friday. He was speaking at an annual reception in
Pilgrims stone the devil for 2nd day
MINA: Pilgrims continued to perform the mandatory rituals of Haj on Friday despite a massive stampede a day earlier. Few pilgrims slept on Thursday night, thronging major roads and bridges as wailing ambulances continued to ferry the dead and injured to hospitals and morgues in and around Mina.