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.
The statement that health care in Saudi Arabia is up to international standards or in some cases even better might be viewed by some readers as a gross exaggeration. But it is true. The Kingdom, in fact, can boast some 400 world-class health institutions and hospitals including specialized facilities that provide top-of-the-line treatment to the poor and the rich for a wide variety of diseases and disorders. The claim is not that Saudi Arabia has the best in the world, but it is way ahead of many countries and in certain fields on a par with the best.
A major Europ-ean Film Festival kicks off in Riyadh today with the screening of a 100-minute popular film “Empties” (Vrante Lahve, directed by Jan Sverak) at the German Embassy.
RIYADH: As part of an ambitious plan to ensure better working conditions for workers, India is negotiating with the Saudi government to fix minimum wages for its hundreds of thousands of blue-collar work force.
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia has intensified efforts to check the growing market of pirated CDs, DVDs, computer games and IT software, and launched raids to confiscate goods and detain those involved in the business. The raids and detainments were carried out by the Ministry of Culture and Information, which has urged people to respect the Kingdom’s copyright and intellectual property laws, a senior ministry official said yesterday.
RIYADH: Five Saudis wanted on terrorism and sabotage charges have been extradited to the Kingdom by Yemeni authorities, the Interior Ministry confirmed yesterday. “Yemen had handed over to us five Saudi nationals, but the name of only one — Abdullah Abdul Rahman Muhammad Al-Harbi — figures in the Kingdom’s wanted list,” said Interior Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Mansour Al-Turki, referring to the Kingdom’s list of 85 suspected terrorists. “The other four men have nothing to do with the list. Investigations are under way at the moment.”