RIYADH, 30 June 2003 — In a major move to curb illegal money transactions, Saudi Arabia has asked money exchange firms not to send remittances outside the Kingdom to unknown customers or dubious business entities. The money exchange firms, on the other hand, are also currently unifying their efforts to merge and form full-fledged licensed banking entities on a par with the Kingdom’s other commercial banks which offer the whole range of banking services.
RIYADH, 16 June 2003 — Frequent interruptions of the water supply have led to acute water shortages in different parts of the city during the seasonable hot weather. In some areas residents have left their homes because of undependable supplies of water.
RIYADH, 1 June 2003 — The Ministry of Islamic Affairs, Endowments, Call and Guidance has fired 353 imams and muezzins (prayer callers) while at the same time asking some 1,357 imams and muezzins to attend training courses to improve their performance.