Protective materials were used to shield some components from sand and extreme temperatures in Saudi Arabia RIYADH: The Haramain high-speed railway running between Makkah, Madinah and Jeddah is in the final stages of operational testing before its inauguration, Minister of Transport Nabeel bin Mohammed Al-Amoudi said on Monday. “This 450-km rail facility will be soon open for the public,” he…
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia celebrated International Literacy Day on Saturday with a pledge to raise its literacy rate from 94.4 percent to 100 percent in the near future. With illiteracy rates cut to below 5.6 percent, the Kingdom leads many Arab and Asian countries in achieving literacy targets. The current 94.4 percent literacy rate was achieved while boosting enrolment in thousands…
RIYADH: A package of incentives is to be offered to Saudi companies to list on the Riyadh-based stock market, with more initial public offerings (IPOs) expected next year, according to the CEO of the exchange. The Saudi Stock Exchange, known as Tadawul, expects IPOs to pick up next year, its chief Khalid Al-Hussan told Reuters, while the launch of stock index…
RIYADH: Parents in Saudi Arabia will spend millions of dollars on back-to-school shopping, according to retail analysts and market leaders.“Back-to-school is a major shopping event, and a sizeable amount is spent on school uniforms, shoes, books and other accessories,” Khaled Al-Ghanem, owner of the Al-Samran Stationery Store in Riyadh, told Arab News.Al-Ghanem said that “most hypermarkets, supermarkets, bookshops and stationery…
RIYADH: Enhancing Saudi-South Korean cultural ties will add “an important facet” to the “very wide-ranging” bilateral relationship, South Korean Ambassador Jo Byung-Wook told Arab News on Saturday. The Korea-Arab Friendship Caravan will be held in the Saudi capital on Oct. 14. More than 20 Korean artists will perform at the cultural event in the Riyadh-based King Fahd Cultural Center (KFCC),…
A senior Yemeni official has put Iran and Iranian-backed Houthi militias on notice, revealing for the first time that Houthis have ruthlessly killed 1,372 children and 814 women since war broke out in Yemen in 2014. Mohammed Askar, the Yemeni human rights minister, said: “Hundreds of children and women have been killed also from March to August this year.” The…
RIYADH: Localization of Saudi Arabia’s fast-growing, multibillion-dollar pharmaceutical industry will top the agenda at a high-profile food and drug conference in Riyadh next month. Regulation of pharmacy stores, strategic procurement of medicines, and food contaminants in Arab countries will be discussed at the three-day conference, organized by the Saudi Food & Drug Authority (SFDA), beginning on Sept. 25. “The SFDA…
RIYADH: German Ambassador Dieter W. Haller hosted an interfaith iftar dinner at the Marriott Hotel in Riyadh recently to share the blessings of Ramadan and to promote interfaith harmony, peace and cooperation. In his remarks, he underscored that “peace, love and tolerance are the essence of all faiths in the world, while Ramadan is a month of introspection, tolerance and restraint,…
RIYADH: Relations between Saudi Arabia and Nepal are poised for strong growth after the opening of the Saudi Embassy in Katmandu and the renewed Saudi pledge to extend aid and loan facilities for infrastructure projects in the south Asian country. “Nepal is also currently studying the clauses of a draft agreement to be signed with the Kingdom, which will facilitate deployment…
RIYADH: Three major Japanese banks will become operational in Saudi Arabia by October this year, said newly Japanese Ambassador Tsukasa Uemura. In an exclusive interview to Arab News on Sunday, the top diplomat said Japan has trained more than 10,000 Saudi engineers and technical personnel and will lend further support for an ambitious training program as part of the commitment…