Middle East

Riyadh, Apr 6: Britain said Wednesday it would help Saudi Arabia to diversify its oil-dependent economy as British Prime Minister Theresa May visited the Kingdom. A statement from May’s office said the two discussed several issues including security and strengthening business ties. An earlier statement from May’s office said she would discuss with the monarch “tax and privatization standards to

Riyadh, Apr 5: Combating extremism and fighting terror were the focus of talks between British Prime Minister Theresa May and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Naif in Riyadh on Tuesday. May is on a two-day visit to the capital, and will meet King Salman and senior government officials. She was in Amman on Monday for the first leg of her tour. The focus of her visit to the two countries is to build

Jeddah, Apr 4: Saudi Arabia condemned a suspected terror attack that killed 11 people and injured dozens more when an explosion tore through a train carriage in a St. Petersburg metro tunnel on Monday. Russian news media reported that police were searching for a man recorded on surveillance cameras who was thought to have been involved in the attack, which coincided with a visit to the city by

Hatzor (Israel), Apr 3: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday the latest addition to Israel’s missile defenses meant that those seeking to destroy the Jewish state would be endangering their own existence. He was speaking at a formal ceremony to hand the “David’s Sling” system from its developers over to its Israeli air force operators. The medium-range interceptor, developed with US

Abu Dhabi, Apr 3: Two major lenders in the UAE, the First Gulf Bank (FGB) and the National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD), have completed a merger to become the largest bank in the country under the name First Abu Dhabi Bank. The new bank has total assets of $180 billion and capital of nearly $3 billion, making it one of the largest banks in the Middle East as well. Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al-Nahyan

Jeddah, Apr 2: Women can solemnize marriages, according to a fatwa by Sheikh Abdullah Al-Manea, a member of the Council of Senior Scholars. He told Okaz daily that the job is basically the documentation of marriage contracts, and “if the Ministry of Justice approves that, then there is no legal obstacle.” To qualify for a license, among other things, the applicant should have good conduct and no

Tehran, Apr 1: Iran has banned some of its women players from billiard sports competitions for a year for violating the Islamic codes of conduct at a tournament in China, sporting authorities announced. The Disciplinary Committee of Bowling, Billiard and Boxing Federation did not reveal the nature of the alleged offenses, saying it would name the transgressors later. “Women sent to China Open

Jeddah, Mar 31: Jeddah Gov. Prince Misha’al bin Majed kicked off the 10-day Jeddah Heritage festival Wednesday at Balad with the start of school spring break. Prince Misha’al said Jeddah is an important historical place, which has strong relationship with Saudi culture and architecture. He said Balad is developing not only as a venue to shop, but also a place for entertainment and showcase of

Jordan, Mar 30: Arab leaders on Wednesday adopted the Amman Declaration, issued at the conclusion of the Arab Summit in Jordan, reiterating their readiness to have a historic reconciliation with Israel in return for its withdrawal from land it has occupied since the 1967 war. The declaration, read by Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit, said Arab states would back Palestinian-Israeli

Geneva, Mar 29: A political deal to end the Syrian conflict is not possible without a strong US role, the opposition’s chief negotiator said, warning that Washington’s absence was threatening ongoing peace talks. Lead negotiator for the main opposition High Negotiations Committee (HNC), Mohammed Sabra, said the UN-backed talks in Geneva remained “stalled.” “There can be no real and viable