RIYADH/DAMMAM/JEDDAH, 14 May 2004 — India’s parliamentary election results yesterday stunned Indian expatriates across the Kingdom, who nonetheless welcomed the verdict in favor of Congress. More than one expat said the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government’s divisive communal politics cost it dearly, as did anger among the millions of rural poor who felt left behind by the country’s economic boom. “The economic benefits have failed to reach the hundreds of millions living in crushing poverty in rural India, where electricity, jobs and clean water are still luxuries,” one of them said.
RIYADH – Sky gazing was the order of the night yesterday evening as people enjoyed a total lunar eclipse. It was seen across the Kingdom from 9.49 p.m. to 1.30 a.m. The lunar eclipse reached its peak at 11.31 p.m. last night. Special prayers were held across the Kingdom during the eclipse as the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him had done at such times.
RIYADH – Canadian Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs V. Peter Harder, currently visiting Saudi Arabia as part of his Middle East tour, said that Arab governments including the Kingdom have initiated the process of reforms in political, social, educational, economic and legal spheres with an emphasis on the participation of their citizens in the process. He, however, observed that people in the region feel that the pace of reforms is too slow.
RIYADH, 23 April 2004 — Security has been stepped up across the capital after Wednesday’s bomb blast. Government offices, hotels, housing compounds, shopping malls, banks and embassies are all in a high state of alert. Most government offices and the commercial organizations imposed tighter restrictions on visitors, who were asked to produce ID. Major government installations and hotels were put under the special guard of the mobile police and truckloads of special forces with mounted machine guns.
RIYADH – Crown Prince Abdullah, deputy premier and commander of the National Guard, yesterday reaffirmed that Islam is a religion of peace and moderation. The crown prince was delivering the inaugural address at an international conference on Islam and terrorism, organized by Imam Muhammad in Saud Islamic University.
RIYADH – Crown Prince Abdullah, deputy premier and commander of the National Guard, will inaugurate an international conference on Islam and terrorism at Imam Muhammad In Saud Islamic University (IMSIU) today. The conference, titled “The Position of Islam on Terrorism, Violence and Extremism”, will bring together some 100 scholars from around the world.
RIYADH, 20 April 2004 — The International Energy Forum Secretariat (IEFS) is set to join an international oil data collection project called the “Joint Oil Data Initiative” (JODI). The aim of the project is to add accuracy to oil data gathered with the help of a standardized process in cooperation with many regional and international energy bodies. IEFS was established on the initiative of Crown Prince Abdullah, deputy premier and commander of the National Guard.
RIYADH, 13 April 2004 — Some 180 travel agencies face possible closure unless they submit details of all their staff before a new April 18 deadline. The new date was announced here yesterday evening following a meeting of a special task force of the Supreme Commission for Tourism (SCT) convened to discuss the lackluster response from travel agencies to the original April 5 deadline.
RIYADH, 2 April 2004 — Saudi Arabia, which boasts to have a number of world-class soccer fields and golf courses, can now use new technology called “Koro Systems” for the maintenence of tuff disclosed David Murphy, general manager of Delta Irrigation & Agricultural Services Company, here yesterday. The new system will maintain turf grass, repair the wear and tear of fields, and correct the compaction levels of the grass surface.
RIYADH-Growing concerns in the Gulf over depleting water resources have prompted Turkey to explore reviving an old scheme to export water to the Gulf. Studies suggest that water levels in Saudi Arabia have dropped dramatically. “We believe it would bring the two countries closer,” said Turkish Ambassador Ugur Dogan.