Water resource depletion and conservation efforts will top the agenda of a conference to be opened here today under the aegis of Crown Prince Salman, deputy prime minister and minister of defence. Several international experts concerned over quality water resources for future generations will participate in this three- day conference entitled "International Conference on Water Resources and Arid Enviornments ( ICWRAE)."

A road map of collaboration and cooperation to further strengthen the strategic relations between Saudi Arabia and Pakistan figured prominently in the talks between Crown Prince Salman, deputy premier and defense minister, and Hina Rabbani Khar, Pakistani foreign minister, here yesterday.

Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal will meet with Pakistani Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar to discuss a wide range of bilateral and regional issues, said Mohammed Naeem Khan, Pakistani ambassador to the Kingdom.

Students in the Indian city of Bangalore made a 42.6-meter long shawarma roll, producing a world record. The distinct dish of Arab origin was filled with grilled chicken and vegetables and its total weight exceeded 217 kilograms.

Rumors, theories and beliefs around whether or not the world will end today, as predicted by the Mayan civilization long ago, have prompted a senior Saudi scientist to dispel the rumor with evidence from science and religion.

The foreign ministers of the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) will hold a meeting on Saturday to review the arrangements made for the GCC summit and shortlist the topics that will be tabled for discussions before the heads of Gulf states on Dec. 24.

Key regional developments, particularly the intransigent attitude of Syria, Iran and Israel, will top the agenda of the summit of the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) in Bahrain next week. The ministerial council of the GCC has finalized the summit agenda, which is more focused on regional issues, closer defense cooperation, security threats, commercial cooperation and above all citizens' welfare.

About three weeks have passed since the tragic murder of Saudi diplomat Khaled Al-Enazi, but Yemeni security officials are hitting dead ends in their search for the killer, Saudi and Yemeni officials here said yesterday. “The Yemeni side is exerting all efforts to nab the criminals, who indulged in the heinous crime of killing an innocent Saudi Embassy official and a guard,” said a Yemeni diplomat who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, Austrian Vice Chancellor and Foreign Minister Michal Spindelegger and Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Garcia-Margallo will launch the King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz International Center for Interreligious and Intercultural Dialogue (KAICIID) in Vienna on Monday.

nterior Ministers of the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) signed a security agreement here yesterday, which will make them a unified force in the region.

The panel formed by the government to investigate the causes of the fuel truck accident in eastern Riyadh early this month, which killed at least 22 people, will present its report to Interior Minister Prince Muhammad bin Naif on Monday. “The panel has compiled a comprehensive report after speaking to several officials, eyewitnesses, as well those injured in the fuel tanker explosion,” said a reliable official source, while giving details of the investigation.

RIYADH: The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) is working to integrate its fast-track immigration services at airports, which will enable Gulf nationals to clear entry and exit points across the six Gulf states using their national ID cards.

RIYADH: The biggest cultural event organized by India in Saudi Arabia was inaugurated jointly by Deputy Minister of Culture and Information Dr. Abdullah bin Saleh Al-Jasser and Indian Ambassador Hamid Ali Rao here at King Fahd Cultural Center yesterday.

Several witnesses including the driver of the fuel tanker, which crashed into an overpass on a busy road in the Saudi capital on Thursday, killing 22 persons and injuring 133 instantaneously, is being questioned by the Riyadh police.

DHL Express, a leading logistics and express mail services company, has announced an ambitious plan to invest more than $20 million in Saudi Arabia to better tap into the country’s growing demand for logistics and mail services.

A delegation of top Saudi officials and businessmen will participate in the Arab-South American Summit in Peru on Monday and Tuesday to widen political, commercial and cultural links.

The Saudi Fund for Development (SFD), a state-owned organization set up by the Kingdom with a mandate to provide financial assistance and to stimulate economic growth in poor countries, has disbursed SR 37 billion in aid and loans so far. This does not include a number of soft loans and term financing for various projects especially in Africa and Asia including an SR300 million loan facility to finance the irrigation projects in Egypt.

A top official of the World Health Organization (WHO) yesterday warned that more young people are dying of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) in the Eastern Mediterranean region than in any other region across the world.

RIYADH: Vice Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Prince Salman held talks in Jeddah yesterday with Yemeni Prime Minister Mohammed Salem Basindawa. The talks focused on a range of bilateral and regional issues, the volatile situation in Yemen and the outcome of the recent two-day international donors’ conference.

RIYADH: Saudi security forces have arrested a wanted man following a gunfight in Awamiya in the Eastern Province town of Qatif on Sunday.

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia and all other member states of the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) are on course to become the latest to require the use of graphic warning labels on every cigarette packet brought into their territories.

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia will announce $1 billion in aid to support Yemen at a donor conference in Riyadh on Tuesday. The money to be released by the state-owned Saudi Fund for Development (SFD) will deposited with the Yemeni central bank, said a Reuters report quoting Yemeni Planning and International Cooperation Minister Mohammed Al-Saadi.

RIYADH: Deputy Foreign Minister Prince Abdul Aziz bin Abdullah will leave for Tehran today to attend the 16th Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) summit amid mounting pressure from Western nations and the Gulf bloc on Iran over its nuclear program, said Alauddin A. Al-Askary, deputy foreign minister for protocol affairs, in Riyadh yesterday. Prince Abdul Aziz and his accompanying delegation will also attend the ministerial meeting of the NAM member states to be held on Thursday in the Iranian capital.

A major donation campaign launched by Saudi Arabia to alleviate the suffering of Syrian civilians raised SR 552 million as of yesterday. The campaign under the title ‘Saudi National Campaign for the Support of Brothers in Syria,’ launched late last month by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah with a donation of SR 20 million, has been joined by a large number of philanthropists and donors, including businessmen.

RIYADH: For those who think that academics and sports do not go hand in hand, here is a brilliant girl, who has excelled in both fields. Wardah Talib, 18, a national-level table tennis player and captain of the Riyadh-based International Indian School (IISR), has won several awards and commendations at such a tender age.