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 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,…
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 major exhibition featuring the cultural history and heritage of China will be inaugurated jointly by Prince Sultan bin Salman, chief of the Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage (SCTH), and Li Huaxin, Chinese ambassador, in Riyadh on Sept. 12. The exhibition, titled “Treasures of China,” marks the first major cultural relic show that Beijing has organized in…
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: 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: The Japanese government is offering scholarships to Arab students in Saudi Arabia, Yemen and Syria. Applications have opened for the Japanese Government Scholarship Program for higher studies in Japan for 2019. The Japanese Embassy in Riyadh said the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology in Japan will be offering scholarships to distinguished international students who wish to…
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia and the UAE have stepped up aid delivery to Yemen with two planeloads of relief supplies — one Saudi and the other Emirati — landing at Aden’s airport Friday.