“I wish I could have more hotels in Mecca,” said Jan Smits, InterContinental’s chief executive officer for Asia, Middle East and Africa. “In four months, you make 70 percent of your income. It’s a really strong market and it’s one of the most unique in the world.” The company has been in the …
The King Abdullah Scholarship Program has sent some 140,000 Saudi students to study abroad. Started in 2005, the scholarship program has so far cost the government more than 20 billion riyals ($5.3 billion); it covers all tuition plus living expenses. For women, who make up just over 20 percent …
Iraq’s once-battered oil sector is further eclipsing production in Iran, relieving pressure on world oil markets and facilitating the imposition of draconian new sanctions on Iran. Iraq’s once-battered oil sector is further eclipsing production in Iran, relieving pressure on world oil …
International and regional operators are seeking to cash in on a boom in Saudi Arabia’s budget hotel market, according to experts. Between now and 2014, around 1690 budget hotel rooms are expected to come online in Saudi Arabia, research by hospitality consultancy Christie + Co revealed….
A Saudi court has sentenced 11 men to up to 15 years in prison for membership of a cell linked to al Qaeda that planned to attack U.S. forces in Kuwait and state-owned Saudi oil giant Aramco, Saudi media reported on Wednesday. The 11 were among thousands of people rounded up as the world’s …
Saudi Arabia which has one-fifth of the world’s proven oil reserves and maintains the world’s largest oil production capacity of 9.9 million barrels a day, may proceed with further underwater oil-drilling in the western province if seismic data supports the plan. Saudi Arabia’s output rose …
Buoyed by support from his country’s NATO allies, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned Syrian forces on Tuesday to stay clear of their troubled border or face a Turkish military response to any perceived threat, following the disputed downing of a Turkish warplane….
By 2020, nearly half of the crude oil America consumes will be produced at home, while 82% will come from this side of the Atlantic, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. By 2035, oil shipments from the Middle East to North America “could almost be nonexistent,” the …
A Saudi civil defense official says a train derailment has injured 35 passengers, one critically, on the kingdom’s lone passenger line. Captain Mohammed al-Hamadi told reporters that the accident took place Wednesday on a train going from the eastern port of Dammam to the capital Riyadh. He …
The tasks in front of Morsi are daunting. Investment in Egypt has collapsed since Hosni Mubarak was driven from power by a popular uprising in January and February of 2011, the country’s senior officers have demanded an increased share of formal political power, and a politicized judiciary has …
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As the contribution of tourism sector in the Saudi GDP is seven percent, considered too low, businessmen have called for developing infrastructure and joint partnerships to diversify the Kingdom’s tourism portfolio with leisure and health travel. The Kingdom’s religious tourism accounts for …
Human-rights activists on Tuesday challenged Saudi Arabia’s commitment to fielding women athletes at the Olympics, after it emerged that the equestrian deemed the best prospect to be the Saudis’ first female competitor had been disqualified this month. Enlarge Image European Pressphoto …
Emirates will add a total of 73 additional flights to and from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia during Ramadan, adding to the carrier’s already robust service schedule. Jeddah and Medinah Al Munawarrah will benefit from the extra services, put in place to serve the large number of passengers …
Visa has prepared its latest “Tourism Outlook: UAE” report, comparing tourism receipts from across the UAE in 2010 and 2011, in order to provide a unique insight into where and how international visitors are spending their money. The report reveals that Saudi Arabia is the fastest-growing GCC …
Olayan Group, one of the largest conglomerates in Saudi Arabia, has concluded its maiden issue of an Islamic bond (sukuk), according to sources. It is one of a number of Saudi entities that have priced their first local currency sukuk this year as interest in the country’s debt market grows …
The upcoming Arab economic summit in Riyadh would focus on promoting intra-Arab trade, which is now estimated at a tiny 10 percent against a whopping 70 percent intra-EU trade, said Abdullah Al-Mubti, president of the Council of Saudi Chambers, yesterday. Speaking to reporters, he said a …
The eldest son of Egypt’s new president Mohammed Mursi said he is planning to stay in Saudi Arabia where he works as a doctor despite his father’s election victory, according to a newspaper interview. Ahmed Mohammed Mursi, a doctor at the Urology and General Surgery department at a hospital …
In my previous post from and about Istanbul, I noted, by way of conveying the Islamic-yet-Western feel of the city, the very high ratio of uncovered female heads to covered female heads. I then got an email in which a woman living in Istanbul said it sounded like I had been spending my time in …
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