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The government’s reserves and deposits with the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA) dropped at the end of January to SR1.39 trillion, the lowest level in 21 months.  This was a 2 percent change on a monthly basis compared to December, and 8 percent change on an annual basis compared to January last year.  “The reserves and deposits of the government is part of the liabilities in SAMA’s financial statements, which amounts to SR2.79 trillion, equal to its assets,” Al-Eqtisadiah reported.  The assets include investments in security bonds, deposits with banks abroad, cash, foreign exchange, gold, and other assets. “The government reserves and deposits are divided into three categories, the general reserve of the government, allocations for government projects and government’s current account.”  Commenting on the fall in reserves and deposits, John Sfakianakis, Middle East director at Ashmor...

No Umrah for sealed Gazans

GAZA CITY: With the war-battered Gaza Strip’s borders closed, thousands of people have been shut out...

Kingdom, UK cement security, political ties

Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Naif, second deputy premier and minister of interior, who wrapped u...

Afghan avalanche death toll rises amid rescue

KABUL, Afghanistan: An Afghan official says the death toll from a massive avalanche in a valley near the capital Kabul is rising as rescue teams gain access to villages that have been buried beneath deep snow for days.Mohammad Aslam Syas, deputy chief of the Afghanistan National Disaster Management Authority, says 186 people have been confirmed dead in the hard-hit Panjshir Province, 100 kilometers (60 miles) northeast of...

Disabled children left at shelters crave family love

Many Saudi families are abandoning their disabled children at the country’s social care institutions, which is affecting the physical and mental well-being of these young people, and their ability to integrate into the community, say experts.Specialists at the Comprehensive Rehabilitation Center for Women in Dammam said that people with mental and physical disabilities need contact with their relatives.Rabab Al-Marhoun, a...

SAUDI ARABIA »

‘Difficult to restore all 4,000 Asir villages’

Muhammad Al-Umrah, the director general of Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities (SCTA) in Asir, has admitted that it is very difficult to renovate and restore the nearly 4,000 historical villages in the region according to the information provided by the Urban Observatory.He noted that the p...

JCCI launches career training program for youth in 13 fields

The Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI) held a career training program for Saudi job seekers in 13 career fields at Ismail Abu Dawood Hall in Jeddah on Wednesday. The program was organized in cooperation with the National Recruitment Program.Prior to the event, registration for the training and rehabilitation pro...

MERS claims 2 more lives

The Ministry of Health announced on Friday that the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) had claimed two more lives.The people who died were two Saudi men aged 84 and 51, from Queiyah and Hofuf. They were non-medical personnel and had pre-existing illnesses. There were no infections recorded in the 24 hou...

Google Maps a relief for Jeddah motorists

Google Maps has become a source of considerable help for motorists wishing to avoid the highly crowded roads in Jeddah. Recently, it has been helping them to choose the the least busy roads to use in order to reach their destination. The most crowded of streets witnessing the highest level of traffic incidents on weekdays i...

Dozens of Riyadh shops closed

Over 824 shopkeepers have been reported in Riyadh for storing and selling goods under unsavory conditions, posing public health hazards for the community.A team of field inspectors at the Riyadh municipality booked these offending shops on Wednesday, which according to the municipality reports, led to the closure of 28 shop...

Aramco plants 2,300 trees with water-saving polymer

A Riyadh-based group has planted 2,300 trees of six varieties for Saudi Aramco in Qurais, Eastern Province, with the use of a super water-saving polymer it had invented.“There have been several delays in planting the trees due to the winter season, during which the different varieties could have frozen,” said Ibrahim Alalim...

Travel ban on doctor linked to case of Althubayti

The General Health Affairs Directorate in the Eastern Province has decided to refer the case of the medical error in the treatment of journalist Mohammed Althubayti to the attorney general, while the physician who oversaw the health condition of the patient has been banned from traveling. In a press statement issued Thursda...

Experts want demand for excessive diya outlawed

Blood money, or diya, as defined by the Kingdom's Shariah law stands at SR300,000 for manslaughter and SR400,000 for murder, but in reality the family of the murder convict ends up paying millions to blood money brokers.Mefleh Al-Qahtani, chairman of the Human Rights Commission, described those brokers as having no conscien...

Schools want personal data of drivers

A number of educators have warned against using private transport means to commute female students to school, arguing that many ethical, economic and social adverse implications might result from it.One of the tasks entrusted to female transport supervisors at schools is to follow up and supervise private transport means pr...

Counseling helps 2,950 extremists mend ways

Maj. Gen. Nasser Al-Mutairi, director of the Mohammed bin Nayef Center for Counseling and Care, said that his facility has reformed 2,950 young men who are now all fully integrated in society.Nasser made these remarks on Monday, during a lecture at the headquarters of the Muslim World League, where several Saudi experts ta...

Council of Senior Scholars now using new media

For decades, the Council of Senior Scholars has only used the quarterly Journal of Islamic Research to communicate with the public. Now it has decided to also employ new media platforms for this task.The council recently opened an account on Twitter because its members believe this is the way to communicate with young peopl...

Environment friendly houses for Riyadh recommended

There is a growing need in the Kingdom to build cheap and environmentally friendly houses for the Saudi capital's increasing population, according to an expert from a well-known architectural firm in the kingdom.“According to World Bank (WB) figures, the population of the Saudi capital is increasing by at least 150,000 year...

Saudi man sentenced to death for apostasy

A court in Hafr al-Batin has sentenced a Saudi citizen to death for insulting Allah, as well as the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and his daughter Fatima, a local daily reported.The court issued a preliminary ruling based on charges leveled by the prosecutor against the citizen who was charged with insulting the Prop...

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MIDDLE EAST »

Kurd rebel leader in Turkey calls on militants to attend disarmame...

ISTANBUL: Jailed militant leader Abdullah Ocalan called on his followers to atte...

Cameron vows justice after media unmask ‘Jihadi John’

LONDON: Prime Minister David Cameron vowed to defeat radical terrorists and defe...

Banksy leaves his mark in Israel-leveled Gaza Strip

GAZA: World-renowned graffiti artist Banksy has caused a stir in the Gaza Strip,...

Iraq statue-smashing video sparks outrage, heritage fears

Baghdad: A video of jihadists in Iraq gleefully smashing ancient statues to piec...

Syria domestic, exiled opposition agree crisis roadmap

Beirut: Syria’s main domestic and exiled opposition groups said Friday they had...

WORLD »

Obama condemns ‘brutal, vicious’ Nemtsov killing

WASHINGTON: US President Barack Obama condemned what he called the “brutal” and...

Russian opposition leader Nemtsov's murder 'meticulously pla...

MOSCOW: The murder of Russian opposition politician Boris Nemtsov was carefully...

Canada worried as growing number of youths join jihad

MONTREAL: Concerned about a growing number of Canadian youths traveling overseas...

UN condemns IS barbarity in Iraq

NEW YORK: The UN Security Council has condemned what it described as the latest...

India’s Modi meets incoming Kashmir leader after deal

SRINAGAR: Narendra Modi and Kashmir’s incoming chief minister put the finishing...

SPORTS »

Cool-headed Williamson steers New Zealand to victory in thriller

AUCKLAND: As Kane Williamson’s career has grown in stature over the past 12 mont...

Ashwin spins out UAE on bouncy Perth as India marches on

PERTH: India’s World Cup confidence continued to climb as they thrashed the Unit...

India beat UAE by nine wickets at World Cup

PERTH: India beat the UAE by nine wickets at the World Cup, the defending champi...

Misbah to Pakistan: not time to panic at World Cup

BRISBANE: Misbah-ul-Haq can’t see any reason for his Pakistan squad to panic, de...

WORLD CUP: India’s off-spinner Ashwin leaves UAE in a spin at Per...

PERTH: Off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin claimed four wickets to lead a strong Ind...

ECONOMY »

India cuts corporate tax rate to woo back investors

NEW DELHI: India has announced a cut in corporate taxes and other initiatives for a more stable and predictable tax regime in a bid to woo foreign investors and spur fast...

RCJ conference focuses on construction projects, opportunities

The Royal Commission of Jubail (RCJ) organized a conference on construction opportunities, in collaboration with MEED, in which experts and specialists took active part.Ahmed bin Mutair Al-Balawi, GM of technical affairs in the RCJ, presented the Ras Al-Khair industrial project and explained the government's aims and object...

KAEC continues to attract local and international firms

Several local and regional industrial factories in Jeddah intend to transfer their industrial activities from Jeddah to the Industrial Valley at King Abdullah Economic City (KAEC) for its strategic economic location. An estimated 50 percent of Jeddah factories will be expected to change their location during the next few ye...

Sterling steadies after hitting 7-year high vs euro

LONDON: Sterling steadied after a rollercoaster week which has seen it scale seven-year highs against the euro even as doubts appear over how much more it can gain ahead of a potentially unsettling election in May.Helped by an afternoon recovery in Europe for the euro against the dollar, the pound bounced back from lows bel...

Japan inflation falls on lower energy costs

TOKYO: Japan’s inflation rate has fallen to its lowest level since just after Tokyo launched a high-profile offensive aimed at conquering years of falling prices and tepid growth, data showed.The disappointing figures — weighed by weak consumer spending and falling energy prices — challenge Bank of Japan chief Haruhiko Kuro...

Turkish central bank chief to stay put after lira hits record low

ISTANBUL: Turkish Central Bank Governor Erdem Basci sought to calm jittery investors, appearing to dismiss rumors that he would resign and giving a brief lift to the lira currency after it tumbled to a record low.Basci’s future, and the independence of the central bank, have been a concern for investors, particularly since...

German MPs approve Greek bailout extension

BERLIN: Germany’s parliament has approved an extension of Greece’s bailout after Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble, who has voiced doubts about whether Athens can be trusted, promised he would not let Greece “blackmail” its euro zone partners.With 542 members of the Bundestag voting “yes,” including almost all of Chancell...

Gap between Brent vs WTI crude oil prices expands

SINGAPORE: US shale oil is deepening the discount of US crude prices to global benchmarks, with the price gap turning into the de facto indicator of the health of American shale supply, a shale spread of sorts.The gap between West Texas Intermediate (WTI) and Brent expanded to its biggest in a year at almost $12 a barrel as...

India in ‘sweet spot’ of lower deficits, more growth

NEW DELHI: India can increase investment to drive economic growth without borrowing more, a key government report said, in an indication that Finance Minister Arun Jaitley will stick to debt targets in his maiden full-year budget on Saturday.The Economic Survey, the basis for Jaitley’s budget for the fiscal year starting Ap...

Fast growing IAG outpaces continental airline rivals

LONDON: British Airways-owner International Airlines Group raised its 2015 profit forecast by more than 20 percent, outperforming struggling continental rivals and sending its shares to an all-time high.IAG, which is trying to acquire Ireland’s Aer Lingus , said that the profit increase would be driven by cost control acros...

Qatar takes full control of prime Milan development

MILAN: Qatar’s sovereign fund has acquired full ownership of Milan’s most important business district after buying out other shareholders, property group Hines Italia announced.The Qatar Investment Authority has owned 40 percent of the Porta Nuova business district since 2013.Hines, insurer Unipol and several investment fun...

BASF meets targets but sees ‘uncertain’ year in 2015

LUDWIGSHAFEN, Germany: German chemicals giant BASF said it met its 2014 earnings targets but the outlook for 2015 was uncertain in view of volatile oil prices and currency developments.“We achieved our goal for 2014: we increased earnings, despite the disappointing economic development in Europe,” CEO Kurt Bock told the gro...

AirAsia posts losses in 4Q amid higher cost, weaker currency

KUALA LUMPUR: Southeast Asia’s top budget carrier, AirAsia, said it suffered a net loss of 428.51 million ringgit ($120 million) in the quarter ending in December, hit by higher costs and a weaker currency.It was a reversal from a net profit of 169 million ringgit ($47 million) in the same period a year earlier, and was its...

OPINION »

Harun Yahya

Understanding Turkey’s stance

Last Sunday, the global media reported that Turkish tanks had rolled into Syria...

Abdulrahman Al-Rashed

Rich leader of a poor nation

According to international organizations, during his tenure as Yemen’s president...

Paul R. Gregory

Natural gas diplomacy

Russia watchers are rightly focusing on the latest brittle cease-fire in Ukraine...

Jamal Doumani

Getting the whole picture

Movie buffs would no more consider missing out on Oscar night than football fans...

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ART & CULTURE »

Ba9ma Banat: Reviving the Prophet’s lega...

Dareen M. Edress is the marketing manager of “Ba9ma Banat,” an innovative institution that revives the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) among young girls through different programs and interesting products such as calendars, diaries and books comprising the sayings of the Prophet (pbuh).
In a conversation with Arab News...

Dubai gets its first taste of...

Saudi steals show with his art...

The mural that stole the natio...

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY »

Oscars cause greater piracy

An Irdeto study published recently showed there was a 385 percent increase in global piracy rates for Oscar nominated films. Irdeto, which specializes in helping content owners minimize the impact of piracy, monitored illegal downloading activity in over 200 countries from Jan. 1 until Feb. 14 and found that this spike and the continuing growth...

‘YouTube Kids’ launched

Get rid of cable complications

Get cleaning and organization...

FASHION »

The secret style of a Vogue Overdosed

Ghalia Mahmoudi is a happening fashion blogger who writes about local and international fashion and style. She is a marketing student sharing her fashion addiction with the world through her blog www.vogueoverdosed.com.
Stylish people have always surrounded Mahmoudi...

Alex Soldier: Jewelry that is...

Fashion designers pin hopes on...

Fight and win cellulite battle

TRAVEL »

Edinburgh: A city of history and culture

Soaked in Celtic and medieval history, Edinburgh is a cultural tapestry that’s largely visually defined by hills, cathedrals, and the bold stone towers of Edinburgh Castle. The city is very festive where people like to celebrate everything from art, music, and food to theater, sports and comedy.
One of the most touristic activities in the...

Johannesburg: Heart of S. Afri...

Get inspired by Cuba

Discovering the Kingdom

FOOD & HEALTH »

90% of Gulf camels ‘MERS-infected’

About 90 percent of camels in the Gulf region are carriers of the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV), which requires the urgent need for a vaccine, according to a leading Health Ministry official.In addition, the virus can be transmitted over a 1-meter distance, Abdullah Asiri, undersecretary for preventative health at the ministry, was quoted as saying in a local publication on Tuesday.Asiri said that 50 percent of camels in Al-Ahsa region carry the virus. A person who comes into contact with infected camels can transmit the virus to family members without showing symptoms of the disease, he said.He said mass extermination of these camels was not an acceptable solution...

The Parkinson’s mystery

Parkinson's disease is a degenerative neurological disorder that affects around seven million people globally, and one million in the United States alone, usually afflicting people older than 50. The disease strikes 2 percent of those over age 65, and 5-10 percent of cases occur in people under 50. The cause remains unknown, preventing us from arresting the disease’s development — though environmental and occupational factors loom large in recent research.Chinese and Indian texts from 1,000 BC appear to describe a similar affliction. But James Parkinson was the first to describe the disease in detail, in 1817. Those developing Parkinson’s suffer slow movement, tremors, stiffness, difficulty...

A breakfast spot that is not just a morning place

Riyadh has grown so much in the last 10 years and this is particularly noticeable when you look at restaurants. Nowadays most restaurants have opened outlets in Riyadh’s new districts. This is the case with Can Café. This fashionable coffee shop has a branch on the trendy Al-Tahliya Street lined up with some of the best restaurants in the capital and another outlet on Omar Bin Abdul Aziz Road (Exit 14) in the Rabwa district. Can Café is a good place to have breakfast food at any time of the day! You can order “Four pieces of French Toast with maple syrup, orange juice and American coffee” for SR32. “French Toast”, known in French as “Pain Perdu”is a delightful dessert consisting of slices...

OFFBEAT »

World’s biggest private Harry Potter collection on display

MEXICO CITY: A young Mexican’s fascination with Harry Potter has grown into the world’s biggest private collection of to...

70 years on, survivors keep memory of Battle of Manila alive

MANILA, Philippines: Seventy years have not dulled the memories of survivors of the monthlong Battle of Manila. The mass killings by Japanese forces, the loved ones lost and the desperation are etched in their minds, as is the elation when American forces finally rescued them in the closing months of World War II.The US liberated the Philippine capital from the Japanese, but not before Manila was destroyed and more than 100,000 civilians killed. About 16,000 Japanese soldiers and 1,000 US troops also died in the fighting from Feb. 3 to March 3, 1945.Manila was the second-most devastated city...

Mr. Spock, 83 ‘beamed up’

LOS ANGELES: Leonard Nimoy, world famous to "Star Trek" fans through a beloved cult TV series and a half-dozen films as the pointy-eared, purely logical science officer Mr. Spock, has died.Nimoy's son, Adam, says the actor died Friday morning in Los Angeles of end-stage chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. He was 83.Although Nimoy followed his 1966-69 "Star Trek" run with a notable career as both an actor and director, in the public's mind he would always be Spock.The famous catchphrase “Beam me up, Scotty” refers to the transporter device, which was often operated by chief engineer...