JEDDAH: The line that was built from Damascus, Syria, to Madinah, Saudi Arabia, is a fascinating part of Hijazi history.Sultan Abdul Hamid II put great effort into modernizing transportation and communication during the Ottoman Empire. He laid telegraph lines and railways to connect Ottoman villages and built the Hijaz Railway to connect Damascus with Madinah.The…
DUBAI: US pop star Gwen Stefani closed the Dubai World Cup with a spectacular performance, joining the legacy of stars such as Jennifer Lopez and Kylie Minogue, who have headlined the event in the recent years. The 49-year-old artist performed after the world’s richest horse race on Saturday night at the Meydan Racecourse’s Apron Views.…
DUBAI: The United Arab Emirates’ economy grew by around 1.7 percent in 2018, slower than projected despite a boost from higher oil prices, official preliminary data showed.The UAE growth figures follow Dubai’s disclosure last week that its economy grew by 1.94 percent in 2018, its slowest pace since a contraction in 2009 when the economy…
DUBAI: Saudi Arabia’s economy grew in the fourth quarter of last year at its fastest rate since early 2016 due to an expansion in the oil sector, while non-oil growth was sluggish, statistics agency data showed on Sunday.Fourth-quarter gross domestic product grew by 3.59 percent from a year earlier. In the third quarter, annual growth…
HONG KONG: From smog breaks to pollution bonuses, Asia’s businesses are promising increasingly inventive perks in a desperate bid to lure executives to a region where toxic air engulfs major cities for much of the year.Health concerns are putting off those initially attracted by Asia’s growing economic opportunities, experts warn, so firms are struggling to…
HONG KONG: Thousands of people protested in Hong Kong on Sunday against a government plan to change extradition laws, fearing an erosion of personal freedom and the city’s status as an international business hub.The Hong Kong government proposal, announced in February, would grant the city’s leader executive power to send fugitives to jurisdictions not covered…
WASHINGTON: Border officials are aiming to more than quadruple the number of asylum seekers sent back over the southern border each day, a major expansion of a top government effort to address the swelling number of Central Americans arriving in the country, a Trump administration official said Saturday.It was the latest attempt to ease a…
HONG KONG: Thousands of people protested in Hong Kong on Sunday against a government plan to change extradition laws, fearing an erosion of personal freedom and the city’s status as an international business hub.The Hong Kong government proposal, announced in February, would grant the city’s leader executive power to send fugitives to jurisdictions not covered…
TUNIS: Any moves to undermine Syria’s sovereignty over the Golan Heights should be rejected, Saudi Arabia’s King Salman told the Arab League summit on Sunday. US President Donald Trump last week signed a proclamation recognizing the Golan as Israeli, less than four months after saying Jerusalem is Israel’s capital. King Salman said at the Arab…
TUNIS: Any moves to undermine Syria’s sovereignty over the Golan Heights should be rejected, Saudi Arabia’s King Salman told the Arab League summit on Sunday. US President Donald Trump last week signed a proclamation recognizing the Golan as Israeli, less than four months after saying Jerusalem is Israel’s capital. King Salman said at the Arab…
RABAT: Pope Francis sought to encourage greater Christian-Muslim dialogue on Sunday, telling his flock that showing the country’s Muslim majority they are part of the same human family will help stamp out extremism.On his second and final day in Morocco, Francis told Catholic priests and sisters that even though they are few in number, they…
TABUK: The first Saudi Environmental Week, organized by the Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture, has come to an end in Tabuk.The event, operating under the motto “protecting our environment for our society’s well-being,” saw several awareness-raising initiatives and guidance events hosted throughout the region, and was launched by the undersecretary for Tabuk, Ahmed Al-Hujaili.Over…
NEW YORK: Saudi Arabia has reiterated its condemnation of persistent actions by Israel that violate the rights of the Palestinian people, in particular with regard to settlements. The Kingdom stated its categorical rejection of Israeli policies and practices, along with false and illegal plans, that it described as flagrant violations in defiance of international law,…
Ziad Al-Yousef, the managing director of Saudi Payments, plays an influential role within the payments and financial services communities in the public and private sectors not only in Saudi Arabia but throughout the Middle East. Between 2000 and 2005, he studied for a bachelor’s degree in information systems at King Saud University. He then joined…
INTERVIEW: Jumeirah Group CEO Jose Silva explains leisure group’s plans in the ‘bucket list’ age DUBAI: Jose Silva, CEO of the Jumeirah Group, is a hotelier, restaurateur, tourism expert and an authority on luxury lifestyles. But he does not see any of these roles as his primary focus.He is, by his own description, a purveyor…
WASHINGTON: Border officials are aiming to more than quadruple the number of asylum seekers sent back over the southern border each day, a major expansion of a top government effort to address the swelling number of Central Americans arriving in the country, a Trump administration official said Saturday.It was the latest attempt to ease a…
WASHINGTON: Border officials are aiming to more than quadruple the number of asylum seekers sent back over the southern border each day, a major expansion of a top government effort to address the swelling number of Central Americans arriving in the country, a Trump administration official said Saturday.It was the latest attempt to ease a…
WASHINGTON: Border officials are aiming to more than quadruple the number of asylum seekers sent back over the southern border each day, a major expansion of a top government effort to address the swelling number of Central Americans arriving in the country, a Trump administration official said Saturday.It was the latest attempt to ease a…
ANKARA: Turks began voting on Sunday in local elections that President Tayyip Erdogan has described as a matter of survival for the country. Erdogan, who has dominated Turkish politics for more than 16 years thanks in part to strong economic growth, has become Turkey’s most popular, yet also most divisive, leader in modern history. However,…
RABAT: Pope Francis will hold mass Sunday for nearly 10,000 members of Morocco’s Catholic minority, on the second day of a visit during which he has already met migrants and trainee imams. The Argentine pontiff will begin the day at a social center near Rabat, before meeting religious leaders at the cathedral in the Moroccan…
