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King shakes up Cabinet; Riyadh, Makkah governors replaced

A huge Cabinet revamp has taken place following a royal decree issued by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman. Prince Turki bin Abdullah has been relieved as governor of Riyadh, and so with Prince Mishaal bin Abdullah as Makkah governor. Prince Faisal bin Bandar was replaced as Qassim governor by Prince Faisal bin Mishaal. Health Minister Prince Faisal bin Abdulaziz was given back his former post as governor of Makkah. Ahmed Al-Khateeb is the new health minister. Prince Khaled Bandar was removed as intelligence chief and replaced by Brig. Gen. Khaled Al-Humaidan. Prince Bandar bin Sultan was removed as National Security Council chief. Prince Miteb bin Abdullah remains as Minister of the National Guard. Also left untouched were veteran Oil Minister Ali Al-Naimi, Finance Minister Ibrahim Alassaf, Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal, Labor Minister Adel Fakeih, Commerce an...

Business leaders: New Nitaqat quotas ‘difficult to implement...

Businesspeople say the new Saudization quotas the Labor Ministry is introducing on April 20 would be...

Saudi, US position on Iran N-crisis unchanged

Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman and US President Barack Obama tackled a range of sensi...

2-month bonuses announced

Saudi government employees will receive a two-month salary bonus under a royal decree issued on Thursday by newly enthroned King Salman bin Abdulaziz, the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques.Two-month bonuses also await students currently receiving stipends from the government, as well as for retirees receiving pension, social security beneficiaries and physically challenged Saudis.King Salman also granted a general pardon...

Over 38,000 Somali children facing starvation: UN

Nairobi: Over 38,000 Somali children are at “high risk” from dying from starvation despite hunger levels improving by almost a third across the war-torn nation, UN experts said Thursday.The grim assessment, based on the latest data collected by the UN, comes just over three years since intense drought and war sparked famine in the Horn of Africa nation, killing more than a quarter of a million people.In total, over 731,00...

SAUDI ARABIA »

Riyadh one of world's 50 safest cities

Riyadh ranked 46th in the list of the world’s 50 safest cities for 2015, with Tokyo topping the list and Jakarta trailing at the end, according to the annual report drafted by The Economist magazine. In its evaluation of the 50 safest cities, The Economist used four indicators including the quality...

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 parking spaces at KKIA

Residents of the Saudi capital have complained of lack of parking spots at the King Khaled International Airport (KKIA) at certain times of the day.“It’s probably high time concerned authorities devised ways to provide parking spots available at any time of the day to motorists ,” said Mohammed Haider, a Pakistani.He said t...

4-week drive to cut down on energy consumption

The Saudi Energy Efficiency Center (SEEC) plans to launch a four-week awareness campaign next month, which aims to increase the awareness of motorists regarding fuel consumption of their cars, local media said.The campaign is primarily intended to focus on the importance of raising the level of energy efficiency in the land...

Project to raise standard of Saudi public schools

The newly formed Public Education Evaluation Commission (PEEC) will launch on Sunday its first project on the national education curriculum standards for public schools.The event at Al-Faisaliah Hotel will be attended by Prince Khaled Al-Faisal, minister of education, according to a source from PEEC.Conducted under the them...

Flood orphan ‘adopted’ by royal family

She was barely 13 years of age when the devastating floods in Jeddah a few years ago killed eight members of her family.Aseela Al-Otaibi was grief-stricken, but assistance and love came in the form of the late King Abdullah, late Crown Prince Sultan and Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman, who together gave her SR...

Help sought for bedridden child

The family of a sick child here has launched an appeal for funds to help pay for his treatment overseas.Saud Muhammad Abdullah Al-Zahrani, the five-year-old boy, has been virtually bedridden since birth. The father of the youngster claims that mistakes were made by doctors at a hospital in Al-Baha that resulted in his condi...

35 years in prison for Saudi man in Vegas case

LAS VEGAS: A Saudi Arabian air force sergeant who arrived in Las Vegas for New Year’s Eve two years ago may never get to leave Nevada after being sentenced Wednesday to a minimum of 35 years in state prison for kidnapping and sexually abusing a 13-year-old boy at a Las Vegas Strip hotel.Mazen Alotaibi, 25, stared at the cou...

Driver takes burning truck to fire station

The driver of a burning waste truck managed to move it to the nearest Civil Defense squad in Al-Jamoum. The driver noticed flames and fumes coming out of the waste compression unit of the truck so he headed for the nearest Civil Defense site in the governorate, asking for help. Civil Defense officers managed to extinguish t...

3 expats detained with 16 kg gold

Makkah police have arrested three expatriates for being in possession of 16 kg gold without proper documentation. Officers stopped the men because they were driving suspiciously in a luxury 2011 vehicle. The three men are all Yemeni nationals. When police searched the vehicle, they found a diplomatic suitcase containing the...

Drug smuggler executed

A Pakistani national was executed on Tuesday for smuggling drugs into the Kingdom. Latif Khan Noor Zada was arrested in Jeddah with a large amount of heroin, the Interior Ministry said in a statement. The man was referred to the General Court, which convicted him of drug smuggling on evidence furnished by the prosecutors an...

» Saudi Customs keep country safe from...

» Horse set on fire in Tabuk

» Justice Ministry portal to ease...

» Primary school pupils boycott classes...

» Shoura OKs executive body to deal...

» English proficiency tests launched in...

» New envoy to bolster Saudi-Irish ties

» Young man held for blackmailing woman...

» Mobile scales to help monitor cargo...

» Filipinos in Al-Khafji register for...

» Workshop offers jobs for women

» Obama visit to boost relations

MIDDLE EAST »

Japan studying latest message in Mideast hostage crisis

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

Massive destruction in Kobani after Kurds win

KOBANI: Rubble strewn streets, gutted buildings: The ferocious battle for the Sy...

Hezbollah will pay ‘full price’ for deadly attack: Israel

MAJIDIYA, Lebanon: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned Lebanon’s Hezbollah...

Jordan offers to free female militant if IS releases pilot

AMMAN: Jordan offered Wednesday to free a female terrorists in exchange for a Jo...

Syrian, Iraqi refugees’ plight moves Jolie

DOHUK, Iraq: Actress Angelina Jolie, the special envoy for the United Nations Re...

WORLD »

Philippines warns ASEAN over China reef reclamation

MANILA: The Philippines has urged fellow Southeast Asian nations to demand that...

Malaysia declares MH370 an accident, passengers dead

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia has formally declared missing flight MH370 an "accident"...

Philippines mourns commandos killed in anti-terror bloodbath

MANILA: A long, slow procession of coffins draped in the Philippine flag poured...

Modi fires top India diplomat, tightens grip over policy

NEW DELHI: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has fired the country’s highest r...

New Sri Lanka govt plans fresh war crimes probe

COLOMBO: Sri Lanka is planning an investigation into accusations of human rights...

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 »

Sabria S. Jawhar

Testimony to KSA’s significance

President Barack Obama’s high-profile, bi-partisan delegation to Riyadh this wee...

António Guterres

Aid in a world of crisis

Never in the 64-year history of the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) has it...

Dan Steinbock

The decline of US military innovation

THE United States is at risk of losing its military edge. America’s armed forces...

Rajeev Sharma

Spoiling Modi’s party

AFTER his trip to the United States last September when Indian Prime Minister Na...

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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 »

Spacey skips award shows to help aspiring Arab actors

SHARJAH, United Arab Emirates: Kevin Spacey skipped the Screen Actors Guild awards, which handed him a win for his wildl...

‘Selma’ director, star to pair for Katrina movie

LONDON: Ava DuVernay, the director of the Martin Luther King historical movie “Selma,” is set to again team up with the film’s star David Oyelowo for a new project about Hurricane Katrina.DuVernay and Oyelowo, who were both finalists at this year’s Golden Globes, will “develop a new narrative feature film chronicling a sweeping love story and complex murder mystery during the time of Hurricane Katrina,” Participant Media said Monday.The project will mark the pair’s third collaboration after “Middle of Nowhere” and “Selma,” which has been nominated for this year’s Academy Award for Best...

Gaga, Bennett set for Grammy Awards

NEW YORK: The Grammy Awards will feature a number of collaborative performances, including Lady Gaga with Tony Bennett and Adam Levine with Gwen Stefani.The Recording Academy said Tuesday that Annie Lennox also will be paired with newcomer Hozier and Jessie J with Tom Jones at the Feb. 8 show in Los Angeles.Gaga and Bennett’s duet album, “Cheek to Cheek,” is nominated for best traditional pop vocal album, where their competition includes Lennox. Hozier is nominated for song of the year for the hit, “Take Me to Church.”Beyonce, Pharrell and Sam Smith are the leaders with six nominations apiece...