RIYADH- The United Arab Shipping Company, owned by the five Gulf states including Saudi Arabia and Iraq, has acquired 10 new container vessels at a total cost of SR2.325 billion in order to expand its operations and modernize its fleet. This will help the USC to withstand stiff competition from over 80 shipping lines operating in the Gulf.

RIYADH, May 2 Dr. Othman A. Al- Rabia, Deputy Minister of Health for Planning and Development, announced here today that all obstacles have been cleared to implement the mandatory health insurance plan for Saudis and expatriates. What remains is the clearance of the Saudi Council of Ministers for the draft proposal, he added.

RIYADH, April 27 - An expatriate has been convicted and sentenced to 10 years of imprisonment by a court in Jeddah for breaking seven automatic teller machines (ATMs) and stealing SR1 million in cash. This expatriate worker was caught red-handed by the Jeddah police, following a tip-off, while he was trying to steal cash from an automatic teller machine of a bank.

JEDDAH, April 26 - Prince Sultan, second deputy premier and minister of defense and aviation, will begin a three-nation tour tomorrow which will take him to Tunisia, Iran and Pakistan, it was announced here today. Prince Sultan is scheduled to leave here tomorrow for a five-day official visit to Tunisia. During the visit, he will hold talks with President Zaine Al-Abidine Ben Ali and high-ranking Tunisian officials.

RIYADH, April 13 -Riyadh is set to become the first megacity of the Gulf with its population projected to touch 11.1 million by the year 2020. This figure will account for between 33 and 36 percent of the population of Saudi Arabia, one of the highest ratios of capital to national population in the world.

RIYADH, April 9 Saudi Arabia will observe the "GCC Traffic Safety Week" beginning tomorrow. The six-nation GCC has drawn up major plans to observe the 'GCC Traffic Week which is primarily designed to generate traffic awareness among Gulf nationals and among hundreds of thousands of expats working in the Gulf countries,

RIYADH, April 6 Crown Prince Abdullah, deputy premier and commander of the National Guard, has been invited by South African government to visit Pretoria. A senior South African diplomat said here today that Prince Abdullah will visit South Africa before President Nelson Mandela re- tires from active politics following June 2 general elections.

RIYADH, April 5 -Prince Abdulaziz ibn Ahmad called on the public and private sector organizations, including the Gulf governments, to exert greater efforts to prevent blindness. The call was made last night following the WHO's revelation that close to two million people will become blind every year if major prevention measures are not taken on local, regional and global levels.

RIYADH, April 4 - The Kingdom has launched a major trial program for biological control system, which will lower costs of crop protection and improve quality and quantity of yields besides being environmentally and economically advantageous. The Ministry of Agriculture and Water has given permission to two leading Saudi farms, Al-khalidiah  and Al- Shafi Farms, to  conduct maiden experiments on biological control systems.

RIYADH. March 17 - Dr. Adnan Muhammad Al-Wazzan, deputy minister of Islamic affairs, said here today that his ministry has set up a Holy Qur'an distribution committee to ensure that every pilgrim receives a free copy of the Holy Qur'an. These will be distributed among pilgrims during Haj this year from the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd.

RIYADH, March 6 - Dr. Abdullah Al- Turki, Minister of Islamic Affairs inaugurated a well-equipped Internet Unit of the ministry and the first website on Internet about Islam here tonight following the approval granted by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd. This is the first project of its kind, which has been launched on Internet to counter anti-Islamic propaganda.

RIYADH, Feb. 27 - In a move to generate awareness about the rationalization of water use in the public of the Gulf states, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) will observe a Gulf Water Week next month from March 15 to 22.

RIYADH, Feb. 7 Health Minister Dr. Osama Shubokshi said here last night that the Saudi National Telemedicine Network (SNTN) will be expanded shortly with the setting up of seven more regional telemedicine centers in different regions of the Kingdom. This will bring the total number of such centers to 13.

RIYADH, Feb. 1 Two major banks, the London-based Saudi International Bank (SIB) and Gulf International Bank (GIB), in which Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency has substantial shares, have announced plans to merge. The merger formalities will be completed during the first quarter of 1999 following regulatory approval.

RIYADH, Jan. 30 A group of 18 Iraqi refugees from Saudi Arabia's Rafha camp will be leaving for Tehran next week, bringing the total number of Iraqi refugees resettled in Iran to over 2,700 under the framework of a massive ongoing resettlement program launched by the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR).

RIYADH, Jan. 29 The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), in cooperation with the local chapter of the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), will hold a major seminar on the status of refugees and migrant people here tomorrow.

In Ramadan, a common sight in Saudi Arabia is a Muslim brushing his teeth with a chewing stick or miswak. This practice, highly recommended by Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), is rooted in a centuries old tradition of using miswak for its medicinal values: Plaque control, recession of gums, tooth wear, bleeding gums and periodontal pocket depth besides several other dental and oral diseases.

RIYADH, Jan. 4 - The Bangladesh Embassy said here today that two Saudi aid agencies have signed agreements to extend a SR64 million cumulative loan facility to Bangladesh to implement two major projects including an electricity project and an infrastructure project in this cyclone-prone Asian country.

RIYADH, Jan. 3 - The launch of the euro, the forthcoming Gulf Cooperation Council customs union and the GCC. European Union free trade agreement will substantially narrow the trade gap between the two economic blocs. The volume of trade between them in currently suffering an imbalance in favor of the EU of SR52 billion (12 billion euros) at the moment.

RIYADH, Feb. 4- The visiting Sri Lankan Minister of Tourism and Civil Aviation Dharmasiri Senanayake, who has been recently appointed as the chairman of World Tourism Organization (WTO), inaugurated a two-day travel workshop here. The event is primarily organized to promote Sri Lanka as a tourist destination especially in Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states.

RIYADH. Jan. 2 Many new companies plan to enter the Saudi medical insurance market with the medical insurance premiums registering an eight-fold increase from SR75 million in 1991 to SR600 million last year. The premium is likely to exceed SR1 billion this year following the move to implement a mandatory insurance scheme for over 6.5 million expatriates.

RIYADH, Dec. 31-  A consular team of the Pakistan Embassy will visit the Dammam region for two days beginning today to render consul services.

RIYADH, Nov. 30- Saudi Arabia plans to constitute a technical committee of pest control experts from private companies in a move to impose restrictions on those firms which have been involved in handling hazardous chemicals and pesticides. Saudi Arabian Standards Organization (SASO) has invited companies to suggest measures in this regard.

RIYADH, Nov. 26- A Saudi company has invented a unique chlorinator, believed to be the first of its kind in the world. It took Metito Co. several years of research to develop "Metito Mach 4 Chlorinator" which is designed for use with common chlorine cylinders and drums.

RIYADH, Nov. 19- A King Saud University official has announced major expansion plans in educational infrastructure and curriculum, saying that the College of Languages and Translation (COLT) will have new SR50 million premises soon.