RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s National Day, celebrated every year on Sept. 23, has come a long way in broadening the concept of unification over the years.Though the National Day meant unifying disparate sheikhdoms under the nation’s founder, the late King Abdul Aziz, its implications across the political, socioeconomic and cultural spectrum have not been lost on successive rulers.It was King Salman…
WASHINGTON: The US State Department has praised Saudi Arabia for its efforts to combat terrorism, describing the Kingdom as an active and key member in the global coalition to defeat Daesh.“Saudi Arabia has continued to maintain a strong anti-terrorism relationship with the United States and has supported the strengthening of bilateral cooperation between the two countries,” the State Department noted…
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia and Finland have agreed to boost cooperation in the health sector by enhancing knowledge sharing, capacity building, introducing new health technology and digital services. “The plan is to boost cooperation as Finland stands at the forefront in health technology, health science, research and expertise,” Pirkko Mattila, Finnish minister of social affairs and health, told Arab News in…
RIYADH: Saudi rail chiefs plan to turn the Kingdom into a global logistics hub with an expanded network of commercial and industrial freight services. The Saudi Railway Company (SAR) already moved 9 million tons of freight last year, delegates to a forum in Riyadh were told. Compared with other means of transport, trains have a lower carbon footprint, cost less,…
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: 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),…
RIYADH: Saudi banks, which are working to capitalize on economic reforms, have defied recessionary trends by posting profits during the first quarter of 2018. The banks have cumulatively reported a 7.5 percent year-on-year increase and an 18 percent quarter-on-quarter growth in net profit for the first quarter, thanks to lower interest expenses and provisioning charges. “The results are credit positive for…
RIYADH: Saudi curators and architects have teamed up under the banner of the Misk Art Institute and the Italian Embassy to place the Kingdom under the cultural spotlight in a major international architecture exhibition that will open in Venice on May 26. This is the first time the Kingdom will be represented at the exhibition with a national pavilion. In…
RIYADH: The German Embassy in Riyadh hosted a screening of three Saudi short movies in the presence of the directors. The large number of guests included Saudi filmmakers, artists and citizens, as well as members of the German community. The films were “A photographic memory” by Tareq Yosef Al-Dakheelallah, and “Daesh Girl” and “The Wife of the Rose” by Abdulmohsen Al-Mutairi. …