Author: Editorial Team

RIYADH — The National Center for Security Operations (NCSO) received 2,966,795 calls through the unified emergency number (911) in the regions of Makkah, Madinah, Riyadh, and the Eastern Province during May 2026. This falls within NCSO 911’s mandate to receive calls and route them to the relevant security and service agencies within their jurisdictions, using advanced automated systems operated by specialized multilingual personnel, ensuring high accuracy and professionalism around the clock. The total number of calls received was 986,077 in Makkah region, 245,173 in Madinah region, 1,201,900 in Riyadh region, and 533,645 in the Eastern Province. Source: Saudi Gazette

MAKKAH — The Royal Commission for Makkah City and Holy Sites has announced the awarding of six development sites under the Developed Districts Program, spreading over a total area of more than 2.7 million square meters with investments valued at SR13.3 billion. The initiative is part of the commission’s efforts to enhance the urban environment, support economic growth, improve the quality of life, and advance sustainable development in the holy city. The commission stated that the awarded sites are located in the neighborhoods of Jurhum South, Al-Khalidiyah, Al-Hajlah, Al-Hindawiyah East, Al-Hindawiyah South, and Al-Hindawiyah West. The projects will be implemented…

The Ministry of Islamic Affairs, Dawah and Guidance, represented by its Tabuk Region branch, began distributing the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques’ gift of Holy Quran copies and translations of its meanings to pilgrims departing through Halat Ammar border crossing after completing their 1447 AH Hajj rituals. The gift includes copies of the Holy Quran and translations of its meanings published by King Fahd Glorious Qur’an Printing Complex in Madinah in several world languages. The copies are being distributed through field teams at the crossing. The ministry continues the distribution program across all land, air, and sea entry points as part…

Anas Naim, Managing Director Middle East and Turkey, Orange Business, and Sahem Azzam, President IMEA & Inner Asia, Orange Business. Orange Business executives discuss resilience, secure connectivity, data sovereignty, and the UAE’s rise as a digital-first nation in this joint interview.Rising geopolitical uncertainty, distributed IT environments and accelerating AI adoption are forcing enterprises across the Middle East to rethink how they approach resilience, security and operational continuity. Organisations are moving beyond traditional disaster recovery models and focusing on integrated digital infrastructure that combines cloud, networking, cybersecurity and data governance into a unified operational framework.  Sahem Azzam and Anas Naim share insights in a joint…

DUBAI — Iranian strikes have damaged 20 US military sites since the start of the US-Israeli war against Tehran in February, a BBC analysis of satellite images and videos showed Monday. Iran has attacked key facilities across eight countries in the Middle East since February 28, causing extensive damage to state-of the-art air defense systems, refuelling aircraft and radars. Tehran has targeted both US bases and shared military facilities in retaliation to the US-Israeli strikes across Iran and Lebanon over the past three months. The Pentagon has said it has hit more than 13,000 targets in Iran since the start…

RIYADH — The Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed Saudi Arabia’s strongest condemnation and denunciation of the repeated and heinous Iranian attacks against Kuwait. In a statement, the ministry said: “The Kingdom reiterates its categorical rejection of these assaults that undermine the sovereignty of the State of Kuwait, constituting a clear violation of international law and the Charter of the United Nations, and affirms that such violations jeopardize international efforts aimed at restoring security and stability in the region.” Saudi Arabia expressed its solidarity with Kuwait, both government and people, reaffirming its full support for all measures Kuwait takes to safeguard…

Ghenwa Yehia is the recipient of the 2025 Rosalynn Carter Fellowship for Mental Health Journalism as a UAE Fellow. This story begins a four-part series supported by the RCFMHJ. In December 2021, I received a voice note from my aunt. She was planning to visit her daughter, my cousin, in Doha, Qatar, and I was thrilled at the chance to see her again.  Now I know, for most people, family visiting can be a source of stress. But as a Lebanese-Canadian-first-generation-immigrant-turned-expat whose family is literally scattered across continents, any opportunity to reconnect is more than welcome. My maternal aunt in…

DUBAI — The United States conducted “self-defense strikes” over the weekend against Iranian radar and drone command-and-control facilities in Goruk and on Qeshm Island, the US Central Command (CENTCOM) said late Sunday. “The measured and deliberate strikes occurred on Saturday and Sunday in response to aggressive Iranian actions that included the shootdown of a US MQ-1 drone that was operating over international waters,” CENTCOM said in a statement. “US fighter aircraft swiftly responded by eliminating Iranian air defenses, a ground control station, and two one-way attack drones that posed clear threats to ships transiting regional waters,” CENTCOM said. “No American…

Data issued by the Statistical Center for the Cooperation Council for the Arab Countries of the Gulf (GCC-Stat) indicate that the GCC countries recorded a 3% decline in the annual rate of groundwater extraction over the past nine years, alongside an increase in the share of renewable water resources, which reached 25.5% in 2024. This reflects the growing focus on implementing sustainable water resource management policies, as the GCC countries continue to pursue strategic directions aimed at enhancing the sustainability of water resources and achieving water security for future generations through reducing dependence on groundwater and increasing the share of…

Dhahran, Saudi Arabia – Global automation leader Emerson today announced it will co-develop next-generation corrosion management solutions for the Saudi Arabian Oil Company (Aramco), one of the world’s leading integrated energy and chemicals companies.   For Aramco, corrosion management is a strategic priority tied directly to operational performance, safety and environmental responsibility.  Continuous corrosion monitoring eliminates difficult, inefficient and dangerous manual corrosion measurements and provides a reliable digital data stream for improved decision making.  Emerson and Aramco sign an agreement to co-develop next-generation corrosion management solutions for the Saudi Arabian Oil Company (Aramco), one of the world’s leading integrated energy and chemicals companies.   Emerson’s advanced corrosion monitoring platform delivers real-time insights that enable the energy industry to prevent…