Middle East

Jeddah, Dec 17: Saudi Arabia will not allow illegal foreigner workers to stay in the Kingdom at any cost, said Labor Minister Adel Fakeih on Tuesday. “We’ll intensify the ongoing campaign to drive out all illegal workers,” he added. He said there is no justification for keeping violators of the Kingdom’s laws inside the country. “Only those people who respect and abide by the country’s laws and

Riyadh, Dec 15: The Passport Department has expedited the fingerprint registration of sponsors and residents accompanied by dependents above 15 ahead of the Jan. 21 deadline. “Those who have failed to get their fingerprints registered risk denial of access to all passport department services including the request for an exit-re-entry visa during an emergency,” said the spokesman of the department

Jeddah, Dec 14: Employers are not permitted to transfer workers from their original place of work to another location if this requires changing the place of residency, or if the transfer jeopardizes the health of an employee, the Ministry of Labor said. The ministry came out recently with details of the Kingdom's new labor law dealing with the rights and duties of both employer and employee, work

Riyadh, Dec 9: Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah on Monday announced a major Cabinet reshuffle, removing six ministers and appointing eight new ministers for health, higher education, transport, agriculture, social affairs, communications and information technology, culture and information, and Islamic affairs. The current oil and finance ministers would remain in place. The vacant

Jeddah, Dec 8: Under new laws for public taxis that come into effect in 45 days, commuters in the Kingdom will no longer hail cabs on the streets. Taxis will be provided with the most advanced communication technology, so passengers can call a taxi company to arrange a pickup. Sources involved in the new taxi legislation told local media that these regulations come as part of a set of solutions to

Jeddah, Dec 6: Saudi Arabia’s massive spending on infrastructure and overhaul of its regulatory environment has made the country even more attractive for foreign investors. This is according to Prince Saud bin Khaled Al-Faisal, deputy governor of the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA), who said that these developments have seen the Kingdom become one of the world’s leading

Jeddah, Dec 5: Forty-four major Saudi companies have only managed to fill 811 out of 2,758 jobs on offer at an employment fair organized by the Riyadh Chamber of Commerce and Industry (RCCI). A report prepared by the RCCI reportedly revealed that the companies could not fill all the vacancies because too few unemployed citizens turned up. The lackluster turnout came despite the jobs meeting the

Abu Dhabi, Dec 4: A 37-year-old American woman was allegedly stabbed to death following an altercation inside the washroom of a shopping mall on Al Reem Island in Abu Dhabi on Monday afternoon. The woman was rushed to the Shaikh Khalifa Medical City Hospital in a critical condition, where she succumbed to her injuries. The police have launched a manhunt to arrest the accused, whose gender has not

Jeddah, Dec 3: Saudi Arabian Airlines delayed one of its flights after a passenger claimed he saw the plane crash in a dream. The flight was supposed to travel from King Khaled International Airport in Riyadh to Jeddah on Tuesday morning. The Saudi man caused pandemonium when he stood up from his seat and proclaimed, according to local media: “I dreamt that this plane would crash.” The crew dealt

Jeddah, Dec 2: Mosques in the Kingdom will soon have close circuit cameras and a smart control system to monitor imams and muezzins (prayer callers) as they perform prayers, religious rituals and deliver sermons. The move will help record any irregularities or violations in the mosque. According to Abdullah Al-Howaimel, undersecretary for administrative and technical affairs at the Ministry of