RIYADH: Farouk Saad Hamad Al-Zuman, the first Saudi to leave his footprints on the earth’s highest summit, was felicitated at a ceremony held in Riyadh on Tuesday night by the New Zealand Embassy. Al-Zuman — nicknamed “Hillary of Saudi Arabia” after Sir Edmund Hillary, the New Zealander who was the first man to reach the top of Mt. Everest — was commended for the courage and conviction he showed in climbing the mount in May last year.
RIYADH, 26 June 2007 — It took 26 years, but the family of an expatriate royal driver who was accidentally run over and killed by another driver to King Khaled on Nov. 25, 1981, has received SR100,000 in blood money. “The whole credit to settle the case and pay blood money goes to Princess Moudhi bint Khaled ibn Abdul Aziz (daughter to the late king) who wanted immediate settlement of the matter as per Islamic justice system and as per the late King Khaled’s wishes,” said Anwar Hussain, the attorney representing the family of Omaruddin Bhutta, the worker who was killed in the accident.
RIYADH: Capt. Hanadi Zakaria Al-Hindi, the first Saudi woman pilot, hopes to return soon to the cockpit. Employed by Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, chief of the Kingdom Holding Company (KHC), the 29-year-old has been released from a Jeddah hospital following successful abdominal surgery. “The surgery will ensure my medical fitness, God willing,” said Al-Hindi yesterday by phone from Makkah. “I am hopeful that I will soon be flying again.” She thanked Prince Alwaleed for his “kind words, encouragement and support during this period.” Asked about her job at KHC, she said, “I am proud of myself and my family for supporting me, and I’m proud of Prince Alwaleed who has extended all help.”
RIYADH/DHAHRAN: Saudi Aramco and France’s Total said yesterday that they would invest SR36 billion to build the Jubail oil refinery. “The refinery is now expected to be fully operational by the second half of 2013,” said Khalid Al-Falih, chief executive of Saudi Aramco, in a statement. “Today we are marking a major milestone in our partnership with Total, which has been strong historically but is now stronger than ever.” The two companies have set up the joint venture Saudi Aramco Total Refining and Petrochemical Company” (SATORP) to build and operate the refinery.
RIYADH: A Saudi court has authorized the payment of SR200,000 in blood money to the family of Suryati Bint Dulbari Nurisman, an Indonesian maid in her 20s the authorities say was tortured and beaten to death by a Saudi housewife. “This is a case of brutal murder because Dulbari’s sponsor and his wife have been periodically beating her,” said Wishnu Krisnamurthi, a spokesman of the Indonesian Embassy. Krisnamurthi said he appreciated the role of Saudi officials in Al-Ahsa, Eastern Province, where the housemaid used to work for the family of a Saudi national. (The names of the Saudi and his wife are being withheld as per Arab News policy.)
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia has started production from its giant Khurais oil field. The Saudi Aramco’s mega oil project carried out at a cost of SR37 billion will bring more oil on stream than the production of Qatar or Indonesia and will boost the Kingdom’s production capacity from 11.3 million bpd to 12.5 million bpd this year. “The crude capacity of the Khurais field is 1.25 million bpd,” said Ali Al-Naimi, minister of petroleum and mineral resources. This is in addition to the 900,000 bpd Moneefa oil field expansion project that will be completed in 2013, two years later than the initial schedule, but only if global demand for crude warrants,” said the minister in a statement yesterday.
RIYADH: A landmark accord on monetary union among four members of the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) was signed here yesterday. This long-awaited common currency agreement signed by Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain and Qatar at the Conference Palace here calls for the establishment of the GCC Monetary Council this year that will pave the way for setting up a regional central bank in Riyadh. “This is a landmark accord,” said Saudi economist Ihsan Bu-hulaiga. “But it is highly desirable that other two members should also come on board and I am hopeful that the UAE and Oman will join at some point of time.”
RIYADH: Second Deputy Premier and Minister of Interior Prince Naif called for greater international cooperation to dry up sources of terrorism. He said terrorists are far away from the teachings of Islam. Speaking to reporters after signing a security agreement with Germany, Prince Naif denounced the smear campaign against Saudi Arabia. Prince Naif signed the agreement on Wednesday night with German Interior Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble, who wrapped up a two-day official visit to the Kingdom yesterday.
RIYADH/DAMMAM/JEDDAH: International Indian schools in Riyadh and Dammam have reported outstanding results at the All-India Senior Secondary Exam (Grade XII) conducted by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), New Delhi, whose results were announced yesterday. While the Dammam school (IISD) stood first in terms of the percentage of passes, the Riyadh school (IISR) made history by securing all the three top positions in terms of highest percentage of marks in all streams cumulatively.
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) have launched a major initiative under which they have identified eight countries to cofinance agriculture projects that would go a long way to ensuring food security.