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Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman announced a massive Cabinet reshuffle on Thursday, appointing Azzam Al-Dakhil, new education minister, Ahmed bin Aqeel Al-Khateeb new health minister, Adel Al-Toraifi, minister of culture and information and Abdul Lateef bin Abdul Malik Al-Asheikh new minister of municipal and rural affairs.King Salman, who ascended the throne on Friday, reappointed Prince Khaled Al-Faisal as governor of Makkah in place of Prince Mishaal bin Abdullah and Prince Faisal bin Bandar governor of Riyadh, replacing Prince Turki bin Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz. He removed Prince Bandar bin Sultan from the position of the secretary-general for National Security Council and special envoy of the king.Walid bin Mohammed Al-Samaani is the new justice minister, who replaces Mohammed Al-Eissa while Saleh bin Abdul Aziz Al-Asheikh was reinstated Islamic affairs minister, replaci...

Cases of sandfly disease are ‘on the rise’ in KSA

Health workers in the Kingdom have reported a rise in cases of Cutaneous Leishmaniasis (CL) disease,...

Over 38,000 Somali children facing starvation: UN

Nairobi: Over 38,000 Somali children are at “high risk” from dying from starvation despite hunger le...

Royal magnanimity: bonuses and other incentives announced

Generous bonuses and payouts will be given out to Saudi government employees, government scholars, retirees and other citizens under a package approved on Thursday by newly enthroned King Salman bin Abdulaziz, the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques.The King ordered the payment of two basic salaries to all Saudi state employees, including civilians and military officers, and two-month stipend to all government students insi...

65 husbands jailed for contempt of court

Courts in Riyadh have sentenced more than 65 men to prison terms ranging from 2 days to three months for their refusal to implement court rulings in favor of their former wives, the Ministry of Justice announced.The rulings made recently said that the men either refused to pay alimony or prevented children from visiting their mothers, the ministry said.Some verdicts were also issued against men who delayed in applying for...

SAUDI ARABIA »

King Salman’s expertise ‘vital for economic growth’

Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman is the right person to grow the economy because of his immense achievements as former governor of Riyadh and being a close confidant of previous rulers, said several business leaders and experts recently.Fahad Al-Hamadi, president of the Arab Contractor’...

US military essay contest to honor King Abdullah

The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff has established a research and essay competition in honor of King Abdullah, to be hosted by the National Defense University.King Abdullah oversaw the modernization of his country’s military during the time he spent as commander of the National Guard, a position he held from 1963 unt...

Al-Issa: KSA firm in dealing with human trafficking

Minister of Justice Mohammed Al-Issa said Thursday that human trafficking is a major criminal act according to Islamic law and is punishable by up to 15 years in prison and fines of up to SR10 million.The minister made this remark during a meeting at his office in Riyadh with a delegation from the US State Department. Durin...

Jeddah car cleaners defy orders of the municipality

Challenging orders and unconcerned with the damages they cause to the street’s asphalt, illegal car washers keep returning to Jeddah’s roads, despite municipal directives.These days it’s easy to see car washers working in front of malls, markets and government departments, as they get water from different sources, charging...

Vaccination campaign to combat pneumonia from Sunday

Beginning Sunday, the Ministry of Health will carry out a three-month vaccination campaign against pneumococcal disease, an infection caused by streptococcus pneumonia bacteria (“pneumococcus”).The bacteria can cause many types of illnesses, including pneumonia (infection of the lungs), ear infections, sinus infections, men...

King Salman is a friend of India, says diplomat

India is looking forward to having stronger relations with Saudi Arabia under the leadership of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman, who is a friend of India like King Abdullah, said Consul General B.S. Mubarak.“Our Prime Minister Narendra Modi held talks with King Salman on the sidelines of the G-20 summit in Bri...

Israr Award winners honored

In the presence of Labor Minister Adel Fakeih, and various other Saudi figures, the final winners of the first ever Israr Awards or “Best Commitment Award” were announced on Thursday at a grand event held at Prince Noura University. The program that was launched by the Human Resources Development Fund (HRDF) involves a comp...

Former Arab News staffer passes away

P.K. Mohamed, who edited Arab News opinion pages for 24 years from 1984 to 2008, died in India on Thursday.He was 77 and leaves behind a wife, son Mohamed Asad, and two daughters, Fouzia and Hasina. He was suffering from heart ailments for quite some time and had two angioplasties while in the Kingdom.He died while undergoi...

MoH’s Ehala electronic referral program benefits 186,000 patients

The Ministry of Health confirmed that 186,000 patients benefited from its online Patients Referral Program “Ehala” which links the different health institutions allowing them to access the patient’s information without the need to transfer him.Suleiman Al-Shouraei, general director of the program and assistant manager of th...

Pakistani expats welcome new envoy

The Pakistani community welcomed Manzoor ul Haq, a career diplomat who has taken up office as the country’s ambassador in Riyadh.Before taking charge in Riyadh, Haq was Pakistan’s ambassador to Egypt and was well-considered as an expert in the Middle East affairs for his country as he served as the director general of Middl...

Women victims in 45% of domestic violence cases

Women were the victims in 45 percent of domestic violence cases filed with the Ministry of Justice over the past 15 months, sources said recently.Over the past two months, there were 2,491 cases filed with the ministry. Of this, 12 percent of the women said that their parents refused to let them marry and 10.5 percent sough...

Buying cars online a dodgy business

The Interior Ministry has warned consumers that they should be wary of buying cars online because of the potential for fraud, particularly if bank accounts are registered overseas.The ministry had received a notification from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs that criminals are using certain websites to steal money from poten...

Detours irk Jeddah motorists

Drivers here are complaining that newly created detours on the city’s roads are causing more congestion than ever before.Most of the problems are caused by those set up by the traffic department on the Haramain Road to allow for the construction of the high-speed railway, they told Arab News recently.Maj. Gen. Wasalullah Al...

» Riyadh residents deplore lack of...

» 4-week drive to cut down on energy...

» Project to raise standard of Saudi...

» Flood orphan ‘adopted’ by royal family

» Help sought for bedridden child

» 35 years in prison for Saudi man in...

» Driver takes burning truck to fire...

» 3 expats detained with 16 kg gold

» Drug smuggler executed

» Saudi Customs keep country safe from...

» Horse set on fire in Tabuk

» Justice Ministry portal to ease...

MIDDLE EAST »

Iraq troops watched as Shiite militiamen executed 72 Sunnis

BAGHDAD: Survivors tell the same story: They were taken from their homes by men...

Key army base seized by Houthis near Sanaa

SANAA, Yemen: Yemen’s Shiite rebels took over a key military base south of Sanaa...

Simultaneous attacks in Egypt’s Sinai kill 26

EL-ARISH, Egypt: Militants struck more than a dozen army and police targets in t...

US Senate panel advances Iran sanctions bill

WASHINGTON: The US Senate Banking Committee approved a controversial measure Thu...

Japan studying latest message in Mideast hostage crisis

TOKYO: Japan was studying the latest message purportedly from the Islamic State...

WORLD »

Europe sets new Russia sanctions

MOSCOW: Europe prepared Thursday to draft even tougher sanctions against Russia...

WHO: Ebola epidemic on the decline

LONDON: Weekly Ebola infections in west Africa have dropped to below 100 for the...

Uncertain future in Malaysia for Rohingya asylum seekers

BUKIT MERTAJAM, Malaysia: Abul Kassim, a Rohingya asylum seeker, was snatched fr...

UNICEF seeks $3.1bn aid for ‘new generation’ of crises

GENEVA: The UN children’s agency launched a record $3.1 billion aid appeal on Th...

China 2015 military drills to focus on ‘winning local wars’

BEIJING: China’s military training this year will focus on “improving fighting c...

SPORTS »

ALJ United Leasing beats AVK; Bindawood wins, Uncle Majid bounces...

Abdul Latif Jameel United Leasing Co. Ltd. Brought down AVK 77-74 in the first...

MC Hammer claims honors in OSN-FTBJ 49th Open Conference

Saturday leaguers swung back to action after a long holiday break and league lea...

Pagtalunan, Lim January champs in OFBC monthly tourney

The OFBC’s first in a series of monthly tournaments to culminate in the Bowler o...

Ahlin rules Riyadh Wheelers 80km road race

With club champion Thierry Mathy not racing due to illness, the Riyadh Wheelers...

Blatter submits bid for fifth term as FIFA president

PARIS: FIFA boss Joseph Blatter on Thursday submitted his candidature for a fift...

ECONOMY »

ConocoPhillips cuts oil drilling budget again

NEW YORK: Oil company ConocoPhillips has slashed its 2015 drilling budget, cutting it for the second time in less than two months as falling oil prices pressure petroleum...

Funds turning positive on Saudi Arabia as oil stabilizes

JEDDAH: Middle East funds are turning positive on Saudi Arabia’s stock market because of signs that oil prices are starting to stabilize, the latest Reuters survey of asset managers shows.Many fund managers became bearish on Saudi Arabia in the past few months as the oil price plunge promised to slash the earnings of petroc...

Tadawul: Investors cash in on large-cap stocks

Saudi Arabia’s benchmark stock index recorded mild losses (-0.38 percent) on Thursday, as investors cashed in on large-cap stocks.Large Cap with 0.73 percent fall suffered worst of all market cap indices. The bellwether SABIC (Saudi Basic Industries Corp.) dipped by 2.54 percent, closing at SR 86.29.However, the Tadawul ind...

Oil slumps to near six-year low under $44

LONDON: New York oil prices tumbled to a near six-year low underneath $44 per barrel on Thursday, as record-high US crude inventories deepened worries over the global supply glut.West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for March delivery dived to $43.57 a barrel, a level last seen on March 12, 2009.The contract later stood at $43.87,...

Ford profit beats estimates, but European outlook worsens

DETROIT: Ford Motor Co. said it would keep relying on North America for its profit this year as the No. 2 US automaker signaled that losses in Europe would be more than previously forecast.Ford had previously estimated losses from Europe at about $250 million in 2015. On Thursday, however, it backed away from that forecast,...

SR520m deals for Jubail and Ras Al-Khair projects

Prince Saud bin Abdullah bin Thunayan, chairman of the Royal Commission for Jubail and Yanbu (RCJY), has signed three contracts worth SR520 million to provide essential equipment and develop industrial zones in Jubail and Ras Al-Khair industrial citiesThe first deal was signed with Al Harbi Trading & Contracting Co., wh...

Philippines confident of faster growth

MANILA: Philippine officials voiced confidence the country had escaped a “boom-bust cycle” as they predicted that economic growth would accelerate in 2015, after expansion last year beat international expectations.The economy grew 6.9 percent in the fourth quarter of 2014, new figures showed, offsetting weaker growth in the...

LG Electronics net profit soars 125% in 2014

SEOUL: South Korea’s LG Electronics said its net profit last year soared 125 percent, boosted by surging sales of its flagship smartphones and television sets.Net income reached 501.3 billion won ($462 million) in 2014, compared with 222.7 billion won a year earlier. Operating profit, meanwhile, was up 46 percent to 1.82 tr...

Samsung posts first annual profit decline in three years

SEOUL: Samsung Electronics posted its first drop in annual net profit in three years and saw resurgent arch-rival Apple barge in on its pole position as the world’s top smartphone maker.The South Korean firm, whose key mobile phone operations have struggled in the face of intense competition from cut-price Chinese rivals, a...

Facebook beats forecasts with strong profit gains

SAN FRANCISCO: Facebook said that profit soared on the wings of mobile ad revenue but stressed it is more concerned with investing in the future than making quick cash.While earnings figures surpassed market forecasts, Facebook executives strived to temper expectations, while stressing they plan to continue aggressively inv...

Demand for airplanes lifts Boeing’s Q4 profit

DALLAS: Boeing Co.’s fourth-quarter profit rose 19 percent as demand for commercial airliners trumped weakness in its defense business.Investors looked past a muted outlook for 2015 earnings and sent the shares to a 52-week high.Chicago-based Boeing and European rival Airbus have prospered as airlines around the world have...

McDonald’s CEO steps down as sales decline

NEW YORK: McDonald’s CEO Don Thompson is stepping down as the world’s biggest hamburger chain fights to hold onto customers and transform its image.The company said Thompson, who has been CEO for two-and-a-half years, will be replaced by Steve Easterbrook, a company veteran who rejoined McDonald’s as its chief brand officer...

Shell cuts spending as sliding oil prices hit profits

LONDON: Energy giant Royal Dutch Shell has announced an eight-percent drop in annual net profits owing to a slump in global oil prices and said it would accelerate spending cuts.Profit after tax dropped to $15.05 billion (13.3 billion euros) in 2014 compared with the Anglo-Dutch company's performance one year earlier, slipp...

OPINION »

KAMAL ADNAN KHASHOGGI

King Abdullah’s education plans stood out

I would like to express my deepest condolences to fellow citizens on the passing...

Aijaz Zaka Syed

Barry, Narry and the danger lying ahead

So how do you go from being an international pariah for 12 long years to becomin...

Siraj Wahab

India’s most feared ‘Common Man’

The passing away of celebrated cartoonist R.K. Laxman in Pune, India, on Monday...

Bikram Vohra

All suited and booted

The last person to be given a sartorial dressing down was an emperor and he had...

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ART & CULTURE »

Telling ‘The Story of Kamin’ — one pen s...

It takes imagination, time, patience and a lot of creativity to create a piece of art. A canvas, a freshly painted white wall, a restaurant napkin or on the side panels of a notebook can all be materials to create something amazing after a moment or two of inspiration. For some, the act of creativity is an innate feeling and it can result in ama...

Abdullah Qandeel’s art: A thin...

Purists alarmed at increasing...

Filipino wins in photo expo

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY »

Facebook, Instagram suffer global outage

PARIS: Facebook, the world’s most popular social network, and its Instagram photo-sharing site were interrupted temporarily Tuesday, provoking panic, rumors of a hack, and jokes of how more than one billion users were struggling to cope.
“This was not the result of a third party attack,” Facebook said in a statement after its services were...

Cosmic puzzle settled: Comets...

Turn your smartphone into a sc...

KSA’s digital generation

FASHION »

Hatem Al-Akeel: Revolutionizing the humb...

Knowledge is key in the fashion industry. Knowing what works and what doesn’t is what helps improve a designer in their quest for innovative designs. Inspired by different cultures, attentive to the latest in the fashion world and keen on details is what defines Hatem Al-Akeel. Coming from no background in design, he ventured in the world with h...

Anton Heunis: The hawk-eyed je...

Hair masks: Top 10 tips for lo...

Argan oil: The Moroccan ‘liqui...

TRAVEL »

Discovering the Kingdom

Historical monuments and sites can be found throughout Saudi Arabia. The Kingdom has many attractions designed for those who want to know more about the country. The Kingdom offers several tourist places such as atmospheric souqs and villages reflecting the heritage and culture of Saudi Arabia.
This place is more than a harsh desert. We hav...

SCTA suspends ongoing tourism...

Tourist arrivals in Jeddah inc...

Japan’s modern architecture on...

FOOD & HEALTH »

California declares electronic cigarettes a health threat

SACRAMENTO, California: California health officials say electronic cigarettes are a health threat, especially to children, and should be strictly regulated like tobacco products.A report released Wednesday by the California Department of Public Health says e-cigarettes emit cancer-causing chemicals and get users hooked on nicotine. California Health Officer Ron Chapman says new generations of young people will become nicotine addicts if the products remain largely unregulated.E-cigarettes heat liquid nicotine from cartridges into inhalable vapor without tar and other chemicals found in traditional cigarettes. E-cigarette makers say their products are far safer than tobacco.Other states...

You quit smoking, now what?

Ever wondered what happens after you quit smoking? Many people fall back and get back to their bad habits. There are many reasons for this, some of which are mental while others are physical.We just found out about smoking detox where you can literally detox cigarettes out of your body. “This can only be assisted by controlling what you eat and drink on a daily basis. To be able to get the maximum benefit out of this type of detox, begin by quitting cigarettes right on the spot,” said pulmonologist Dr. Khalil Saad. “Your body will take its time to fully recover and this could take up to a period of years. Smoking is very harmful and your body cannot kick out the toxins in a short period of...

Our kids’ bodies contaminated with chemicals (Part 12)

In the last two articles, Parts 10 and 11, I revealed to you the many toxic aspects of fast foods. Children are exposed to myriads of synthetic chemicals, high amounts of simple sugars, salts, artificial sweeteners, and trans fat, which the fast food and beverage industries add to hamburgers, fries, frying oils, ice-creams, sodas, soft and energy drinks, snack bars, and others to enhance flavor, texture, consistency, color, and more. Their ploy is to get you and your children addicted to their products and concoctions. Unfortunately, these toxic substances are not studied sufficiently. As a result, we see their health-harming effects in the forms of asthma, allergies, nutrient deficiencies...

OFFBEAT »

Bangladesh cinemas ban top actor over Hindi film protests

DHAKA: Bangladesh cinemas will boycott movies starring the nation’s top actor after he led protests against the first sc...

Campbell steals show at couture as Bruni is mobbed

PARIS: Singer Carla Bruni, actress Catherine Deneuve and burlesque performer Dita Von Teese were among regulars attending the spectacular displays at Paris’ haute couture week Wednesday.Sophie Hunter, the fiancée of Oscar-nominee Benedict Cumberbatch, meanwhile, caused much fracas when she attended Valentino hiding her baby bump.But it was surely Naomi Campbell who stole the show, strutting out panther-like at Jean Paul Gaultier despite being dressed as a bouquet of flowers. It’s good to know that high fashion still retains its humor.Here are the tidbits and highlights of the 2015 spring-...

Lohan’s community service questioned in court

LOS ANGELES: A Los Angeles judge on Wednesday gave a prosecutor more time to investigate whether actress Lindsay Lohan failed to complete her community service requirements in a reckless driving case.Santa Monica city prosecutor Terry White will present his findings in court on Feb. 18 after disputing Lohan’s claim that she completed her sentence while living in London, Lohan’s attorney, Shawn Holley, said.The 28-year-old “Mean Girls” star was ordered to complete 30 days of community service in addition to rehabilitation and therapy as part of a 2013 plea deal after she crashed her Porsche...