Umrah visa validity limited to 14 days

The Ministry of Haj has decided to limit the validity of Umrah visas to only 14 days because of the ongoing work to expand the mataf — the open area around the Holy Kaaba.

According to a circular sent two days ago to Umrah agencies in the Kingdom and Saudi missions abroad, the new rule comes into effect from Monday, June 10.

There will be no one-month visas this year.

Tehran, Bishkek review facilitating visa issuance

Dushanbe : Iran's Ambassador to Kyrgyzstan Ali Najafi discussed facilitation of visa issuance for Iranian and Kyrgyz nationals in a meeting Tuesday with two members of the Kyrgyz Parliament, Asil Boyok Zhinibikov and Nazar Ali Arefov.

During the meeting, Najafi briefed the two Kyrgyz parliamentarians on his plans to help further promote mutual cooperation between Tehran and Bishkek during his mission.

Meanwhile, Zhinibikov said that facilitation of visa issuance for nationals of the two countries and consequently, attracting more foreign tourists and investments to Kyrgyzstan would lead to further progress and prosperity of the Central Asian country.

Thousands of Yemenis deported from Saudi Arabia

Sana: Saudi Arabia has begun deporting thousands of Yemeni labourers following new regulations requiring foreigners to work only for their sponsors, a Yemeni official said on Monday, a move that could “significantly damage” the poor country’s economy.

Some two million of Yemen’s 25 million citizens work abroad, more than half of them in larger and richer neighbour Saudi Arabia. Remittances bring in $2 billion (Dh7.34 billion) a year to Yemen, a country still grappling with revolt, a separatist movement and an Islamist insurgency.

Iran slams Arab League support of Syria rebels

Iran's envoy to Syria on Sunday blasted the Arab League's decision to grant Syria's seat at the Arab Summit to the opposition, saying that it would only complicate the crisis, Iran's semi-official news agency Fars reported.

With Syrian membership to the Arab League suspended in November 2011, the seat at Tuesday's summit was filled by Moaz Alkhatib, the leading figure among Syria's opposition coalition that is battling to overthrow Syrian President Bashar Assad

"Arab states make historical mistakes in dealing with the Syrian crisis so that the Arab nations and the Syrian people will always remember them," Fars quoted Iran's Charge d'Affaires in Damascus Abbas Golrou as saying.

Kuwait hangs three, including a Pakistani, in first executions since 2007

KUWAIT CITY: Authorities in Kuwait on Monday hanged three convicted murderers in the first executions in the Gulf state since May 2007, the ministry of justice said.

The men, a Pakistani, a Saudi and a stateless Arab, were hanged at the central jail, west of the capital Kuwait City, in front of judicial and security officials, the ministry said.

The Pakistani was convicted of killing a Kuwaiti couple and the Saudi of murdering a compatriot.

The stateless Arab was hanged for killing his wife and five children after claiming he was a long-awaited imam.

Saudi Arabia arrests 18 suspected spies

The Saudi authorities have arrested 18 suspected spies, including an Iranian and a Lebanese, on charges of espionage for a foreign country, the interior ministry said.

"Sixteen Saudis, an Iranian and a Lebanese were arrested in co-ordinated and simultaneous operations in four regions of the kingdom," including the capital Riyadh and Mecca, the ministry said in a statement on Tuesday.