AL-JOUF: Following the success of last year’s Olive Festival, an olive city named Al-Zaytoun will be built in Al-Jouf, said Muhammad bin Al-Nasser, the city’s mayor. “A large plot with all basic amenities will be designated for the city,” Al-Nasser said, adding that he expects the city to help attract investors in olive and olive oil industry. He said there are more than 13 million olive trees in the area and that more trees were being planted. Al-Jouf Gov. Prince Fahd bin Badr has given top priority to the cultivation and production of olives. The prince sponsored the first olive festival last year and will sponsor a second festival early next month.

KFSH to organize cardiology course

JEDDAH: The King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center in Jeddah will conduct the first CT Angio/Cardiac MRI course in collaboration with the Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School. Experts will make presentations concerning cardiac MDCT capabilities, imaging protocols and clinical applications at the two-day conference at Jeddah Hilton starting on Nov. 16. Leading cardiologists and radiologists from the US will conduct the course, which has been designed to assist participants to apply new techniques to enhance clinical practice.

SR18m to help Iraqi refugees

RIYADH: The Kingdom has donated SR18 million ($5 million) to the UN Refugee Agency to help Iraqi refugees in Syria and Jordan. There are over four million uprooted Iraqis; 2.2 million are in Iraq while the rest are abroad, the majority in Syria and Jordan. The UNHCR appealed for $261 million this year to fund its operations to help Iraqi refugees.

Victim’s relatives pardon killer

MAKKAH: Following the efforts of the Reconciliation Committee and the intercession of Makkah Gov. Prince Khaled Al-Faisal, a death row prisoner here was pardoned by relatives of his victim. Rami Jalal killed Turki Al-Sahli following a dispute and had been convicted by a local court. The Reconciliation Committee has so far secured pardons for 131 people condemned to death.

240 rounded up in crime sweep

MAKKAH: Security authorities in Makkah, including police, traffic police, the General Investigations Department and the Passport Department, arrested 240 criminals and violators of residence regulations as part of a five-day anti-crime campaign, entitled “Ziya.”

2 held over assault on school official

RIYADH: Two men who stabbed a school administrator during a school assembly in Wadi Dawasir on Tuesday have been arrested. According to eyewitnesses, pupils began screaming and running in different directions when the attack took place, Al-Watan newspaper reported yesterday. Police said teachers and older pupils overpowered one of the men. The second man escaped but later surrendered to police. The administrator is receiving treatment at a local hospital, Al-Watan said.