RIYADH, 27 October 2004 — Car rental companies have cautioned customers about a new trend in automobile thefts. In one incident, Budget Rent-a-Car Company lost a brand-new Lumina driven by a customer only a few days ago when thieves adopted a novel technique to steal it. Budget alone lost three vehicles in one day. Similar incidents have been reported by other car rental companies.
RIYADH, 24 October 2004 — Saudi Arabia will expand its network of earthquake monitoring centers by adding three high-powered digital seismic stations within six months. The Riyadh-based King Abdul Aziz City for Science and Technology (KACST), the central scientific organization to monitor seismic activities with a mandate to report any tremor or aftershocks directly to the Saudi government, is working on the expansion project.
RIYADH- Saudi Arabia will release 5,500 prisoners, mainly convicted Asian and African workers serving prison terms in different jails. Only those foreign workers, whose cases are unrelated to such serious crimes as terrorism and drug-trafficking, will be released and deported during Ramadan following royal clemency to be granted by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd.