Thousands of applications belonging to 27 nationalities from 50 countries have been received in Saudi Arabia for 'premium residency', according to local media reports. Bandar Suleiman Al-Ayed, CEO of the Premium Residency Centre (PRC), is quoted by the Saudi Gazette as saying that delivery of the first batch of Special Privilege Iqama - commonly referred to as the Saudi “green card” - are due to be delivered in the “coming weeks”. He revealed that doctors, engineers, investors and people seeking stability in the country were among those to have expressed an interest in the iqama since applications opened on June 23. The Special Privilege Iqama does not entitle the holder to Saudi citizenship,

An Australian woman has had her legal case against Emirates airline thrown out after claims she collapsed on a long-haul flight as a result of being denied enough water were dismissed by a judge at the Victorian supreme court. Lina Di Falco, 54, was suing for damages after claiming that a lack of water on a flight from Melbourne to Dubai caused her to faint and fall, hurting her ankle. Di Falco claimed during the trial that the injury caused her constant pain, forced her to take two months off work and led to the breakdown of her marriage. However, Justice Jacinta Forbes found on Tuesday that Emirates had no liability. She has invited parties to make submissions on costs. It has been reported

Thirty-five foreigners were killed and four others injured when a bus collided with another heavy vehicle near the Muslim holy city of Medina, Saudi state media said on Thursday. The accident on Wednesday involved a collision between "a private chartered bus... with a heavy vehicle (loader)" near the western Saudi Arabian city, a spokesman for Medina police said, according to the official Saudi Press Agency. Those involved were Arab and Asian pilgrims, according to local media, who carried pictures of the bus engulfed in flames and with its windows blown out. The injured have been transferred to Al-Hamna Hospital, SPA added, and authorities have launched an investigation. The accident comes after

The parents of a British teen killed in a road crash involving a US diplomat's wife met with President Donald Trump at the White House on Tuesday to urge that she be returned to the UK to face justice. Trump met with Tim Dunn and Charlotte Charles and dropped a "bombshell" that the woman at the wheel, Anne Sacoolas, was in the building and willing to meet them. The couple said they refused. More: Johnson urges US to give up diplomat's wife over fatal crash "We made it very clear that, as we've said all along, we will meet with her... and we would still love to meet with her, but it has to be on our terms and on UK soil," Charles told reporters after the meeting, which lasted about 15 minutes.

New pictures of Kim Jong Un riding a white horse through a winter landscape to the summit of Mount Paektu, a sacred peak for North Koreans, have fueled speculation that the young leader may be set for a major policy announcement. The images released by the official KCNA news agency were accompanied by a gushing text, that noted the “noble glitters” in Kim's eyes, and labelled his snowy, horseback ride “a great event of weighty importance” for the nation. Accompanying officials were left convinced that “there will be a great operation to strike the world with wonder again and make a step forward in the Korean revolution,” the agency said. Analysts said the hike may signal a new policy direction

Thirty-five people have been killed and four injured after a passenger bus collided with a truck in the Saudi province of Medina, a police spokesman said. The "private chartered bus", carrying 39 pilgrims from Asian and Arab countries, collided with a "heavy vehicle" in the town of al-Akhal on Wednesday, the spokesman was quoted by official Saudi Press Agency (SPA) as saying. More: Saudi football team criticised for occupied West Bank match Aramco set to pay up to $450m in fees to IPO advisers Saudi Arabia and Iran may finally be ready for rapprochement The agency said the crash happened around 7pm (16:00 GMT) on the road linking Mecca to the city of Medina. The injured have been transferred

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) - Iran's semi-official Tasnim news agency is reporting that President Hassan Rouhani's brother has begun serving a five-year prison sentence on corruption charges. Tasnim said Wednesday that authorities had transferred Hossein Fereidoun to Tehran's Evin prison. Earlier in October, Iran's judiciary said an appeals court lowered Fereidoun's sentence to five years from seven on bribery charges. The charges date back to 2016, and were brought by hard-liners who dominate the country's judiciary. Rouhani, a relative moderate within Iran's political system, changed his surname decades ago. Fereidoun had played a role as part of the team that negotiated Iran's 2015 nuclear agreement