Middle East

Riyadh, Apr 24: Saudi King Salman will launch the construction of an "entertainment city" near Riyadh on Wednesday, authorities said, part of a series of multi-billion dollar projects as the kingdom seeks to diversify its oil-reliant economy. The 334-square kilometre project in Qiddiya, southwest of Riyadh, would rival Walt Disney and include high-end theme parks, motor sport facilities and a

Jeddah, Apr 24: The First International Conference on Humanizing Cities will take place from May 7 to 10 at Taibah University in Madinah. The event is being organized by the Development Authority of Madinah, under the patronage of Prince Faisal bin Salman, governor of Madinah region and chairman of the Development Authority of Madinah. The conference will review global trends in the areas of

Riyadh, April 24: The administrative chief of Houthi-controlled northern Yemen was killed in a Saudi-led coalition air raid last week, Houthi-run television reported on Monday. Saleh Al Samad was the most senior Houthi official to be killed by the coalition since it intervened in Yemen's civil war in 2015 to try and push back the Houthis. The Houthis' Al Masirah TV said Al Samad was killed on

Jeddah, Apr 21: The King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSRelief) distributed humanitarian aid including birth kits, personal bags and baby blankets to Syrian female refugees staying in Osman Hospital and Central Hospital in Kattermaya, Kharoub province of Lebanon on Friday. This distribution is within the framework of the assistance provided by the center for displaced Syrians and

Saudi air defense forces managed to intercept a ballistic missile fired by Houthi militias from Yemen headed in the direction of Saudi Arabia’s border province of Jazan on Friday. Earlier this week, Saudi air defenses shot down a previous ballistic missile attack by the Houthis. Colonel Turki Al-Maliki, the coalition's spokesman, said the missile was monitored by the Saudi Air Force to have been

Riyadh, Apr 19: It was a night to remember: Cinema returned to Saudi Arabia on Wednesday with the first major movie screening in 35 years in a spectacular new theater in King Abdullah Financial District in Riyadh. The gala screening of the Hollywood blockbuster Black Panther was attended by hundreds of invited guests in the sleek and chic complex — described by AMC cinema chain bosses as “the most

Riyadh, Apr 18: Saudi Arabia is ready, willing and able to deploy troops in support of any US-led effort to stabilize Syria, Foreign Minister Adel Al-Jubeir reaffirmed on Tuesday. “We are in discussions with the US, and have been since the beginning of the Syrian crisis, about sending forces into Syria,” Al-Jubeir said. The Wall Street Journal reported on Monday that US President Donald Trump’s

Abu Dhabi, Apr 15: The United Arab Emirates, UAE, has voiced its deep concern at the escalating developments in the Syrian arena and expressed its condemnation of the use of chemical weapons against civilians. The UAE also expressed its support to all international measures which aim to remove and destroy such internationally - prohibited weapons and stressed the need to prevent these weapons from

New Delhi, Apr 15: India has called for restraint after the United States, the United Kingdom and France launched air strikes on Syria, accusing President Basher al-Assad's government of using chemical weapons against civilians in a rebel stronghold near Damascus. New Delhi on Saturday urged "all parties" to "show restraint" and to "avoid any further escalation in the situation". India also called

Tehran, Apr 14: Iran warned of "regional consequences" today following a wave of punitive strikes in Syria by the United States, Britain and France. "The United States and its allies have no proof and, without even waiting for the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons to take a position, have carried out this military attack," said the foreign ministry in a statement. They "are