Middle East

Makkah: A man drowned and dramatic bolts of lightning struck Makkah as the city was lashed by thunderstorms overnight on Tuesday and early on Wednesday. Mohammed Al-Twaim, a teacher at Mina Elementary School, lost his life trying to escape from his car after it was engulfed by floodwater. As pilgrims tried to circumambulate the Kaaba in the Grand Mosque, lightning hit the landmark Fairmont Makkah

Damascus, Aug 22: Israeli fighter jets carried out strikes against targets in the Syrian capital Damascus shortly before midnight on Monday, wounding one soldier, Syria’s state-run media reported. The official news agency, SANA, said Israeli Air Force warplanes launched their missiles from over the Golan Heights, targeting a number of sites in and around Damascus. SANA said air defenses had

Riyadh, Aug 21: The number of employees in the accommodation and food services activities in Saudi Arabia, who are subjected to the social insurance' rules and regulations, has reached, by the end of the first quarter of 2023, to about 694,000 workers. The foreign workers including Indians constitute about 78.3% from the total workers who are in the field that include restaurants, hotels and

Riyadh, Aug 18: Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian met with Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Jeddah, Saudi Press Agency reported on Friday. The meeting came as part of the Iranian foreign minister’s visit to Riyadh on his first trip to Saudi Arabia since a landmark rapprochement deal in March. Both officials reviewed bilateral ties and explored future opportunities

Riyadh, Aug 17: Saudi Arabia hopes to see Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi visit the Kingdom following an invitation from King Salman bin Abdulaziz, Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan said on Thursday in a press conference with his Iranian counterpart. Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian arrived Thursday in Riyadh on his first trip Saudi Arabia since a landmark

Extremist Israeli settlers have been violently taking over Palestinian lands and forcing hundreds of Palestinians to leave their homes, leading to the disappearance of some Palestinian communities off the map, an independent humanitarian organization says. The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) said in a report on Thursday that around 500 Palestinians from seven communities have been forcibly

An Indian cold medication that was sold in Iraq is tainted with toxic chemicals, according to a test commissioned by Bloomberg News. With this, it becomes the latest in a series of alarming revelations about syrup medicines used by children around the world. According to Valisure LLC, an independent US laboratory, a bottle of Cold Out purchased at a pharmacy in Baghdad in March contains 2.1%

Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Hajj and Umrah has launched a campaign to raise awareness about rights of pilgrims arriving from abroad in the kingdom to perform Umrah or lesser pilgrimage in Makkah, and visit the Prophet’s Masjid in Madinah. The campaign focuses on compliance with the rules governing the contractual relationship between the licensed service providers and overseas Umrah pilgrims. The

Ramallah, July 27: A Palestinian teenager has succumbed to his injuries after being targeted by Israeli forces in the head during a raid by the troops against the northwestern part of the occupied West Bank. In a statement released in early Thursday, the Palestinian health ministry identified the victim as Fares Sharhabeel Abu Samra. The 14-year-old, the statement added, received his injuries

Baghdad, July 20: Hundreds of Iraqi protesters have stormed the Swedish embassy in the capital Baghdad and set part of it on fire in protest against the second planned desecration of the Holy Qur’an in Sweden. The angry protesters, who were reportedly the supporters of prominent Iraqi Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, stormed the main gates of the embassy building on Thursday, holding up copies of the