Middle East

Secretary-General of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi affirmed that the GCC countries have taken concerted steps to promote human rights and preserve human dignity under the guidance of their Majesties and Highnesses, the leaders of the GCC countries.This statement came during his speech on the occasion of …

SYDNEY — The Australian government says it will halve the migration intake within two years in a bid to fix the country’s “broken” immigration system. The annual intake will be slashed to 250,000 — roughly in line with pre-pandemic levels — by June 2025. Visa rules for international students and …

Saudi Gazette report RIYADH — The National Center for Security Operations (911) provided its services in 2023 until Dec. 8 to more than 28 million beneficiaries in the regions of Riyadh, Makkah and Al-Sharqiyah. The average response time to these calls was 2 seconds, while reports were transferred to the …

Hamas militants released a third group of hostages including a four-year-old American girl on Sunday with more Palestinian prisoners freed in exchange, as a source close to the group said it was willing to prolong a truce.The transfers under a four-day ceasefire that started Friday have been the first relief …

LONDON — About 200 members of Afghan special forces, trained and funded by the UK, face imminent deportation to their Taliban-controlled homeland, the BBC has learned. The figures — gathered by a network of Afghan veterans — reveal the scale of what one former UK general calls a “betrayal” and …

Okaz/Saudi Gazette RIYADH — The Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development has made drastic reduction in the amount of penalties for the violations of the Labor Law and its Executive Regulations, reaching up to 94 percent, compared to the amounts of penalties that were previously endorsed in the schedule …

Under a night sky illuminated by moonlight rather than flares and explosions, Gaza resident Ibrahim Kaninch sat by a small bonfire outside his partially destroyed house, feeding the flames with bits of cardboard as he heated up water for tea. The peaceful scene, on the second night of a temporary …

DOHA — The UN Secretary-General on Sunday pledged that he would “not give up” on appealing for a humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza, adding that inaction on the Security Council was undermining its credibility. “The preeminent forum for the peaceful resolution of international disputes is paralyzed by geostrategic divisions,” António Guterres …

Okaz/Saudi Gazette RIYADH — Minister of Health and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Saudi Food and Drug Authority (SFDA) Fahd Al-Jalajel inaugurated the Breakthrough Medicines Program at the authority’s headquarters in Riyadh on Sunday. The Breakthrough Medicines Program aims to give patients with life threatening or seriously …

Hundreds of makeshift tents stand in a desolate landscape at the foot of Gaza City’s ruined Al-Shifa hospital. At least 30,000 people have taken refuge in its grounds between piles of rubble and waste after Israeli forces raided the medical facility last month, an AFP correspondent reported from the hospital. …