King Salman receives written message from Qatar emir

King Salman receives written message from Qatar emir
The message was received by the Kingdom’s foreign minister during a meeting with the Qatari ambassador to Saudi Arabia on Wednesday. (SPA)
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Updated 29 June 2022

King Salman receives written message from Qatar emir

King Salman receives written message from Qatar emir
  • Kingdom’s FM and Qatari ambassador to Saudi Arabia discussed bilateral relations and ways of enhancing them

RIYADH: King Salman received a written message from the Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani on Wednesday, Saudi Press Agency reported.

The message touched on “brotherly relations” between the two countries and was received by the Kingdom’s Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan during a meeting with the Qatari ambassador to Saudi Arabia Bandar bin Muhammad Al-Attiyah.

The two officials discussed bilateral relations between their countries and ways of enhancing them in various fields during the meeting in Riyadh.

They also exchanged views on regional and international issues of common interest.


Kingdom arrests 16,407 for violating residency, work, border laws

Kingdom arrests 16,407 for violating residency, work, border laws
Updated 01 April 2023

Kingdom arrests 16,407 for violating residency, work, border laws

Kingdom arrests 16,407 for violating residency, work, border laws

Riyadh: Saudi authorities arrested 16,407 people in one week for breaching residency, work and border security regulations, according to an official report.

From March 23-29, a total of 9,609 people were arrested for violations of residency laws, while 4,561 were held over illegal border crossing attempts and a further 2,237 for labor-related issues.

The report showed that among the 1,086 people arrested for trying to enter the Kingdom illegally, 22 percent were Yemeni, 74 percent Ethiopian, and 4 percent were of other nationalities.

A further 64 people were caught trying to cross into neighboring countries, and five were held for involvement in transporting and harboring violators.

The Saudi Ministry of Interior said that anyone found to be facilitating illegal entry to the Kingdom, including providing transportation and shelter, could face imprisonment for a maximum of 15 years, a fine of up to SR1 million ($260,000), or confiscation of vehicles and property.

Suspected violations can be reported on the toll-free number 911 in the Makkah and Riyadh regions, and 999 or 996 in other regions of the Kingdom.


New business club launched for young Saudi, French entrepreneurs

New business club launched for young Saudi, French entrepreneurs
Updated 01 April 2023

New business club launched for young Saudi, French entrepreneurs

New business club launched for young Saudi, French entrepreneurs
  • The French Saudi Youth Business Club is intended to be a platform for young entrepreneurs from both sides to connect and collaborate

RIYADH: The French Embassy in Riyadh recently organized a sahoor to celebrate the launch of the French Saudi Youth Business Club.

Ludovic Pouille, France’s ambassador to the Kingdom, thanked Mohammed Mourchid, one of the organizers of the business club, for his exceptional efforts in organizing the initiative. He also thanked Riyadh Al-Zamil, a member of the board of directors of the Riyadh Chamber of Commerce, for his “unconditional support.”

Mourchid told Arab News: “This initiative is the result of a number of observations, notably that relations are excellent between our two countries in various strategic sectors, but that this is not necessarily reflected at the level of youth. More than 70 percent of the Saudi population is under the age of 30, and youth represents the future. Both in France and in Saudi Arabia, our leaders are also young.

“This initiative will make it possible to create a solid bridge between young Saudis and young French people,” Mourchid added.

Al-Zamil told Arab News he was deeply honored to be part of the club. “I am personally committed to supporting all initiatives to ensure a bright future for our children and great-grandchildren,” he said.

Racha Al-Khamis, vice president of the Saudi Arabian Boxing Federation and member of the Asian Boxing Federation, stressed that women are able to contribute to the development of Saudi society and are capable of making a difference in all areas.

She said that her success as a woman was primarily due to her father, who always treated her as an equal to her brother. “My father used to mentor us. I used to get the same criticism as my brother,” she said.

The French Saudi Youth Business Club is intended to be a platform for young entrepreneurs from both sides to connect and collaborate with each other. To achieve its goals, the club plans to organize business-related activities focusing on a range of topics, including innovation, technology, sustainability and future trends.

Partnerships have also been established with other organizations to create a broad network of young entrepreneurs and business leaders, according to the club.


16 qualify for semifinals of international Qur’an recitation, adhan contest

16 qualify for semifinals of international Qur’an recitation, adhan contest
Updated 01 April 2023

16 qualify for semifinals of international Qur’an recitation, adhan contest

16 qualify for semifinals of international Qur’an recitation, adhan contest

RIYADH: Abdullah Al-Dughri from Morocco and Hamid Al-Raisi from the UAE were the last two competitors to qualify for the semifinals of the international Qur’an recitation and adhan (call to prayer) competition.

Sixteen participants from 13 countries have now qualified for the competition’s semifinals, aired on the “Otr Elkalam” TV show.

The show, supervised by the General Entertainment Authority, and broadcast on MBC1 and the Shahid digital platform, has a total prize pool of SR12 million ($3.2 million).

The competition is designed to highlight the diversity of cultures in the Islamic world, and the vocal methods of reciting the Qur’an and raising the call to prayer.

Semifinal qualifiers are from Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Morocco, Egypt, Lebanon, Iran, Yemen, the UK, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Germany and Spain.

The semifinals in Qur’an recitation kicked off on Saturday with the participation of Mohammed Nour from Ethiopia, Salah Edin Metebid from Germany, Ahmad Alsayyed Ismail from Egypt, Abdulaziz Al-Faqih from Saudi Arabia, Abdullah Al-Dughri and Zakariya Al-Zirk from Morocco, Yunis Shahmaradi from Iran, and Mohammad Al-Habti from Spain.

The adan category will see the participation of Mohammed Hafez Al-Rahman and Ibrahim Assad from the UK, Issa Al-Jaadi from Yemen, Mohammed Al-Sharif from Saudi Arabia, Hamid Al-Raisi from the UAE, Rahif Al-Hajj from Lebanon, Dialdin from Indonesia, and Riyan Hosawi from Nigeria.

More than 50,000 entrants from 165 countries were whittled down to just 50 for the finals, held in Riyadh.

A jury of five members specialized in the Qur’an, maqams and vocal pitches evaluated contestants during the competition.

The jury consists of Sheikh Ahmed Nahas, the muezzin of the Grand Mosque in Makkah; Sheikh Mishari bin Rashed Al-Afasy, a reciter and imam of the Grand Mosque in Kuwait; Abdul Rahim Nabulsi, secretary-general of Reciters and Teaching Recitation in Morocco; Bahloul Saeed Abu Arqoub, an expert in maqamat and a judge in international Qur’anic competitions from Libya; and Sheikh Ahmed Mansour, leading reciter of the Al-Azhar Mosque in Egypt.

In addition to the main jury, Sheikh Adil Al-Kalbani, former imam of the Grand Mosque in Makkah, will serve as general supervisor of the competition, and Fahad Al-Andas, an imam and preacher at the King Faisal Air Academy for 27 years, will be the secretary-general of the competition.

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Saudi Crown Prince calls UAE’s newly appointed officials

Saudi Crown Prince calls UAE’s newly appointed officials
Updated 01 April 2023

Saudi Crown Prince calls UAE’s newly appointed officials

Saudi Crown Prince calls UAE’s newly appointed officials
  • The leaders highlighted the solid bilateral relations between Saudi Arabia and UAE

RIYADH: Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman held phone calls with the newly appointed senior officials of the UAE on Saturday, the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported.
Earlier this week, UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed appointed his eldest son Sheikh Khaled as the crown prince of Abu Dhabi, and his brother Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al-Nahyan as vice president of the UAE.
He also named his other brothers Sheikh Tahnoun bin Zayed Al-Nahyan and Sheikh Hazza bin Zayed Al-Nahyan the deputy rulers of Abu Dhabi.
The crown prince congratulated the officials on their new leadership roles, sharing hopes that the new appointments would enhance the UAE’s path towards prosperity and progress, and contribute to achieving people’s aspirations.

During the phone calls, the leaders highlighted the solid bilateral relations between Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

On Thursday, King Salman and the crown prince sent cables of congratulations to the UAE president upon the new appointments.


Saudi Arabia among top 5 donors for Turkiye quake fund

Saudi Arabia among top 5 donors for Turkiye quake fund
Updated 01 April 2023

Saudi Arabia among top 5 donors for Turkiye quake fund

Saudi Arabia among top 5 donors for Turkiye quake fund
  • UN raises quarter of $1 bn Turkey quake funds target
  • On Feb 6 a 7.8-magnitude earthquake killed more than 50,000 in Turkiye and nearly 6,000 in Syria leaving entire cities in ruins

RIYADH: The UN Office for Humanitarian Affairs on Friday thanked Saudi Arabia and other donor countries who contributed to raising over a quarter of the flash appeal issued by the UN following devastating earthquakes in Turkiye, the Saudi Press Agency reported.
The UN said it had raised $268 million in response to the $1 billion humanitarian funding appeal for relief work in Turkiye following the 7.8-magnitude quake on Feb. 6 and its aftershocks that devastated swathes of southeast Turkiye and parts of war-torn Syria.
OCHA spokesman Jens Laerke said that 27 percent of the appeal had been funded and the largest donors were Saudi Arabia, the US, Kuwait, the European Commission, and the UN Central Emergency Response Fund, while urging countries to provide support and contribute to financing the appeal.


He said that the aid comes in support of the response led by the Turkish government, adding that 9 million people were directly affected by the quakes and 3 million people had been displaced.
On Feb. 16, the UN launched the $1 billion appeal to help more than five million people in Turkiye and a twin flash appeal for Syria to help survivors over the first three months. The latter has raised $364 million of the $398 million requested.
The UN and other humanitarian agencies have reached more than 4.1 million people with basic household items and clothes, and 3 million with emergency food aid, while more than 700,000 people have received support to improve their living arrangements, including tents, relief housing units, and tent repair tools, Laerke said.


He added that 1.6 million have received water, hygiene and sanitation assistance and about 1 million liters of drinking water were delivered.
The UN humanitarian agency’s spokesman said that the Turkish Ministry of Health has been supported with 4.6 million vaccine doses, and 16 mobile health clinics, in addition to medicines and medical supplies for reproductive health and treatment of trauma and injuries.
“Now we are involved in the humanitarian emergency phase, where we look at what the survivors need,” Laerke told reporters in Geneva.
With AFP