Middle East

Kuwait City, Jun 29: Authorities on Sunday identified the suicide bomber behind an attack on a Shiite mosque that killed 27 people and injured 227 as a Saudi citizen who flew into the Gulf nation just hours before blowing himself up. The Interior Ministry named the bomber as Fahad Suleiman Abdulmohsen Al-Gabbaa and said he was born in 1992, making him 22 or 23 years old. It was not immediately

Makkah, June 27: About 220 Filipinos converted to Islam on the same day in Saudi Arabia after having Iftar (Ramadan evening meal) with Muslims. The 220 workers at a local company decided to embrace Islam after they were invited to the religion by the Islamic Guidance Office near the Western town of Makkah. "They had Iftar with us for a few days... we then decided to invite them to Islam and they

Jeddah, Jun 27: Family visit visas will continue to be issued throughout the year without any interruption, an informed source at the Directorate General of Passports said. Renewal of such visas will also be possible in accordance with the rules laid down by the government, the source added. “The total duration of visit visas will be six months and those could be extended in accordance with prior

Dubai, Jun 26: The cosmopolitan nature of Dubai coupled with a strong lifestyle consideration is making the emirate an extremely attractive real estate market for the global super rich, according to Wealth-X and Sotheby’s International Realty. In a report, titled, “The Europe, Middle East and Africa luxury residential real estate report 2015”, the companies reveal that the emirate has the

Riyadh, Jun 25: A Pakistani firm under investigation for fraud allegedly sold 1,198 fake degrees to Saudis between 2011 and 2015, a local publication reported on Wednesday. Pakistani authorities have already arrested the owner of Axact Company, Shoaib Ahmed Shaikh, in Karachi for allegedly selling thousands of fake degrees to customers worldwide during this period. Saudis received 1,198 fake

Riyadh, Jun 21: The Passport Department has announced that companies and individuals would no longer need to visit its offices from Aug. 16 because services would be available online and identity cards for expatriate workers would be sent through Saudi Post, a media report has said. Col. Khaled Al-Saikhan, assistant director of passports for technical affairs, said the new identity card for

Riyadh, Jun 19: The government will provide new machine-readable identity cards to expatriates from the first day of the Islamic year, or Oct. 14 this year, in a bid to fight fraud and improve the efficiency of its systems. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Naif, deputy premier and minister of interior, launched the “Muqeem” (Resident) card, which will replace the current one, in Riyadh on Thursday. The

Abu Dhabi, Jun 17: The UAE Ramadan Moon Sighting Committee has announced that Ramadan in the UAE for the Hijri year 1436 will begin on Thursday, June 18. Following the committee’s meeting at the Abu Dhabi Judicial Department, investigation, application of relevant Sharia laws, and contacts with neighbouring countries, Justice Minister Sultan bin Saeed Al Badi said in a statement that Wednesday

Riyadh, Jun 15: The Supreme Court on Sunday called on Muslims across the Kingdom to look for the Ramadan crescent on Tuesday, as it will decide the first day of the fasting month. Anyone who sights the crescent with the naked eye should register the testimony with the nearest court or report it to a competent authority, the court said. The fasting month is most likely to begin Wednesday. However

Dhahran, Jun 14: King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM) has been ranked first among the region’s Top 100 universities, according to QS World University Rankings 2015. According to the report, the American University of Beirut (Lebanon), King Saud University (Riyadh) and King Abdul Aziz University (Jeddah) followed respectively. Despite its name, KFUPM offers courses in a wide array