Gulf news

Shoura member wins UN Population Fund Award

Saudi Shoura Council member Thoraya Obaid has been given the United Nations Population Fund Award for 2015 in recoginition of her services in the field of health and housing. The United Nations Organization first created the award to honor distinguished efforts in the field of health and housing in

Saudi health minister sacked after leaked video shows heated row

A recently leaked video involving a Saudi minister in a squabble has been a hot topic in the kingdom. Health minister Ahmed Khatib was filmed having a heated argument with another citizen, in which he was shouting and making angry gestures. He was later relieved of his duties in an order by Sa

No Zamzam water without passport

Zamzam water has a special place in the hearts of Muslims as something revered and unique. Every year millions of pilgrims travel to Saudi Arabia for Umrah and Haj from outside and inside the country. Many Muslims drink Zamzam as sacred water that can cure their health problems, but sometimes pilgr

Private sector employees want reduced working hours

Seventy-nine percent of private sector employees have asked that working hours be reduced to between 35 and 40 hours instead of the current 48 hours per week, according to a survey conducted by the National Center of Dialogue. Surprisingly, some 21 percent of the employees asked for an increase in

KSA-Qatar bond gets stronger

Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman receives Qatar Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani and his accompanying delegation at Al-Auja Palace in Diriyah on Thursday. King Salman accompanied Sheikh Tamim on a tour of Al-Auja Palace to show the royal guest historical photos of the late King Abdu

Ministry postpones higher Saudization quotas

Minister of Labor Adel Fakeih has postponed implementing new legislation that would have forced private companies to raise their Saudization levels. The move is to help the private sector understand the new amendments, the minister was quoted as saying in a local publication on Wednesday. The ame

Sharjah bus paper ticket up by Dh1, no hike in fare for prepaid card users

Sharjah — The Sharjah Roads and Transport Authority (SRTA) on Wednesday announced a Dh1 hike in the fare of its public buses. The fare, however, remains unchanged for trips undertaken with the Sayer prepaid card. A senior SRTA official revealed that about 14,720 passengers use paper tickets daily

Top Typhoon jets deployed in air raids

The Saudi Air Force has deployed top Typhoon jets, known for their maneuverability and speed, for the first time in the bombing campaign on Houthi positions in Yemen. Only six countries in the world own Typhoon jets. They are Saudi Arabia, Austria, Germany, Italy, Spain and Britain. The Kingdom bou

New smart police cars to be on roads soon

The Kingdom is set to introduce a fleet of new patrol cars with sophisticated new technology to identify people by their number plates and fingerprints. The black and white vehicles will be launched by Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Naif, second deputy premier and interior minister, on Tuesday. A

2,413 medical errors in a year

The number of recorded medical errors in the Kingdom amounted to 2,413 cases over a period of one year, with Riyadh and the Eastern Province accounting for 20 percent and 17.6 percent of the cases, respectively, according to official data. The number of court hearings on medical errors reached 2,83

Houthi rebels mix poison in 2000 Zamzam water bottles: Saudi police

South Police have stopped the purchase of Holy Zamzam water from local shops following a report which claimed that Houthi rebels mixed poison in 2000 bottles. Makkah: According to report, Police have recovered huge amount of poisonous water and taken it into its custody for laboratory test. Po

Decisive Storm brought glory to the Islamic world, says Al-Sudais

Sheikh Abdul Rahman Al-Sudais, head of the Presidency of the Two Holy Mosques, said that the Kingdom’s efforts to defend the oppressed and deter the oppressors have added prestige, power and glory to the Arab and Islamic nations. In an interview with Saudi TV Channel 1, the widely respected religio

New labor courts to start operations in Muharram 1438AH

Labor Minister Adel Fakeih disclosed recently that the affiliation of labor dispute settlement bodies with the Ministry of Justice will soon come to an end and will be transferred to the Ministry of Labor, pending the launch of the new labor courts in Muharram 1438AH. The minister was speaking foll

Tourism sector will provide 400,000 jobs in five years

The tourism sector will throw up employment opportunities to more than 400,000 people in the next five years and all-out efforts are being made to train Saudis for these jobs, an official of the Human Resources Development Fund (HRDF) has said. The organization is conducting studies and assessment

Four million Burmese entitled to get iqama

Four million Burmese residents in the Kingdom are now entitled to obtain an ‘iqama,’ turning many of their dreams of long-term residence and stability in the Kingdom into a reality. Sheikh of the Burmese community in Makkah, Abu Alshamaa Abdulmajeed, said a large number of Burmese citizens have b

Riyadh schools forced to close due to severe sandstorm

All schools in the Riyadh region, including the ones run by expat communities, will remain closed Thursday. The Education Department announced the suspension of schools on April 2 because of a major sandstorm that hit Riyadh on Wednesday. King Saud University’s Badran Al-Omar announced the suspens

Yemen action ‘to continue until Hadi is back in power’

The operation in Yemen would continue until the legitimate government is back in power, Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal said on Tuesday. Briefing Shoura Council members at their 26th session chaired by Abdullah Al-Asheikh, Prince Saud also lashed out at Iran for what he described as its di

King Salman consults citizens, urges unity

Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman consulted with former ministers, military officers and citizens at Al-Yamamah Palace in Riyadh on Tuesday, and said the country remained unified and peaceful despite disturbances on its border. “I am delighted to meet and see you. Thank God you are fine