Middle East

Beirut, April 25: Bashar Assad’s international allies must realize the Syrian president is “finished” and persuade him to step down to avoid further bloodshed, Tunisian President Moncef Al-Marzouki said in a newspaper interview published on Tuesday. “The Russians and Chinese, and the Iranians must understand that this man is finished and they cannot defend him. They must persuade him to leave

Sharjah, April 24: The massive fire that gutted Al Baker Tower 4 in the Taawun area of Sharjah earlier this year was caused by a cigarette butt, as was the case with the Kuwait Tower fire a year ago, officials have said. The report from the Sharjah Police forensic laboratory on the causes of the fire has revealed another big risk smokers in residential buildings pose to neighbours. According to

Riyadh, April 24: Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah held wide-ranging talks with Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk in Riyadh yesterday. The talks focused on a range of key regional and international issues with special reference to the efforts required to building essential support for political and business initiatives to be launched by the two countries for strengthening overall

Makkah, April 24: A member of the applied sciences faculty at Umm Al-Qura University has won a gold medal for her innovation at the 40th International Exhibition of Inventions of Geneva, which concluded on Sunday. Maha bint Muhammad Khayyat’s innovation was based on spatial control in silicon nanowire growth. Khayyat, a prominent woman physicist and deputy head of the Institute for Scientific

Dubai, April 23: His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of UAE and Ruler of Dubai, today announced an integrated strategy to establish the UAE as a global ‘centre of excellence’ for Arabic language. The announcement was made at the opening session of the first Mohammed Bin Rashid Policies Council, a new channel of communications with the community and

Sharjah, April 23: A Dh1.5m civil case against 17 Indians, who had earlier won a reprieve from death sentence, has been adjourned to May 7. The Sharjah Civil Court of First Instance on Sunday adjourned the civil case filed by two Pakistani brothers, who had claimed that they were assaulted by the 17men during a group fight of bootleggers in which another Pakistani expatriate, Misri Nazir Khan, was

Riyadh, April 23: Defense Minister Prince Salman yesterday opened the Prince Nasser bin Abdulaziz Autism Center that belongs to the Saudi Charitable Society for Autism. Prince Turki bin Nasser sent his thanks to Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah for his support for the center, which adheres to international standards. Prince Turki said: “Prince Salman’s dedication to this center

Dubai, April 22: Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Dr Anwar Mohammed Gargash has called on Iran to enter into negotiations with the UAE over the three islands occupied by Tehran and to refrain from using arrogant language. “The UAE today is not that small baby born on 2nd December 1971, rather it’s a key state with huge potentials,” Gargash reminded, calling on Iran to be a mature state and to

Dubai, April 21: Dozens of protesters clashed with police across Shiite villages close to the circuit where Bahrain's controversial Formula One Grand Prix takes place this weekend, witnesses said on Saturday. Dozens of people took to the streets late on Friday and set alight tyres near the villages of Damistan, Karzakkan, Malkiya and Sadad, all less than four kilometres from the Sakhir circuit

Jeddah, April 21: Thieves who illegally encroach on government lands will come under electronic surveillance by a number of government departments using aerial photos taken by satellites, local Arabic daily Al-Watan reported yesterday quoting the director of the media center of the Jeddah municipality. "The aerial photos are updated daily by the Geographical Data System Department (GDSD) which is