Islamic State's Saudi ‘mufti’ slain in Iraq

A Saudi mufti with the Islamic State (IS or Daesh) has been killed in Iraq by the country’s armed forces, says an Iraqi news site, quoting an Iraqi military commander.

“Daesh mufti Abu Osama Al-Qahtani was killed inside a building in Baiji, Tikrit, along with four of his assistants in an air raid that targeted an IS meeting on Tuesday,” Lt. Gen. Ali Al-Freiji, commander in Saladin province, was quoted by Waradana as saying.

Rocket landings at Saudi-Iraq border under probe

Three Hawn rockets fell on Monday in a desert area near the northern border area of Jadida Arar, but caused no injuries or damages, a spokesman of the Border Guards has revealed.

An investigation has been launched to identify the source of the rockets, Maj. Mohammed Al-Ghamdi, the spokesman, told Arab News.

He said security forces are prepared to protect all the country’s borders. This includes tackling smugglers on the southern border and dealing with any fallout arising from the Iraq crisis.

Saudi arms will arrive soon: Syria rebel chief

The new head of the opposition Syrian National Coalition said he expected advanced weapons supplied by Saudi Arabia to reach rebel fighters soon and that the Geneva peace conference “is not possible” for now due to their currently weak military position.

Ahmad al-Jarba, who has close links to Saudi Arabia, told Reuters in his first interview since being elected president of the coalition on July 6 that the opposition would not go to a proposed peace conference in Geneva sponsored by the United States and Russia unless its military fortunes improve.

United Arab Immoralates: Saudi Sheikh slaps travelers to Dubai with fatwa

A Saudi cleric has sparked controversy when he issued a fatwa (religious edict) this week barring travel to Dubai because of the spread of “immoralities” there.

Sheikh Mohamed al-Shanar used his Twitter account to answer a question by a woman on whether a woman can visit Dubai without a male guardian.

“A woman asks me if it she may go to Dubai without a guardian. I answer her saying: going to Dubai is forbidden, whether she was accompanied by a guardian or not [because of the spread of immoralities], and sins increase if traveling without a guardian was not a necessity,” the cleric said on his Twitter account.

Nitaqat fallout: 18,000 Indians prepare to leave Saudi

Over 18,000 Indians have approached the Indian embassy in Riyadh seeking ‘emergency certificate’ to leave Saudi Arabia amid concerns about possible job losses due to implementation of a new labour law .

“Nitaqat” that seeks to reserve 10 per cent jobs for locals.

The Indian workers have applied for issuance of Emergency Certificate (EC) to leave the country as they had given their passports to the sponsors.

India helping Nitaqat-hit expats

Saudi Arabia and India have agreed to set up a joint panel “to evolve mechanism” for addressing problems faced by Indian workers hit by the Nitaqat scheme in Saudi Arabia.

The first meeting of the joint panel, which will also discuss ways and means to maximize the availability of alternative jobs for affected workers, will be held in Riyadh on Wednesday.

Addressing a press conference after holding talks with Minister of Labor Adel Fakeih in Jeddah yesterday, Indian Minister of Overseas Affairs Vayalar Ravi, said: “The Indian side has conveyed its concerns to the Saudi officials, who have assured all possible support.”

Saudi Arabia calls for strong stand against terrorism

Saudi Arabia condemned the bombings in Boston and in Iraqi cities recently, stressing the need for the international community to take strong stand against terrorist attacks.

“The international community is required to take a determined stand against all acts of violence and terror whatever might their source be and bring an end to the dastardly acts that target innocent people with the least consideration of humanitarian values,” Minister of Culture and Information Abdul Aziz Khoja said in a statement to the Saudi Press Agency yesterday.

Saudi Arabia denies paralysis punishment

Saudi Arabia has denied reports that a court in the kingdom has ordered a punishment of paralysis for a man who caused the paralysis of a friend.

A Saudi justice ministry spokesman said the reports about the sentence were completely false.

The justice ministry said on its twitter account that the judge in the case decided to dismiss demands for such a sentence.

Reports of the sentence sparked widespread condemnation.

Amnesty International, the human rights organisation, called for the sentence to be annulled.

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.