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Snapshot of the Week Past |
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Alwaleed
Donates $6m to ADC on Its Anniversary
"At the ADC's gala dinner Sunday, attended by
nearly 2,000 Arab-Americans from throughout the
United States, Prince Alwaleed ibn Talal announced
he was donating $6 million to help the
American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, ADC,
to buy its own office building. The ADC's
three-day annual convention marked the 25th
anniversary of the founding of ADC.."
Saudi-German
College of Business Administration to Be
Established
"In order to provide job opportunities for
Saudis and check the influx of migrants into
Riyadh, a new college of business administration
with German collaboration will come up at a site
in the 266 sq. km industrial estate in Sudair,
over 200 km from Riyadh in the Central Province..
..The Saudi-German educational project, said to be
the biggest of its kind, is expected to be
completed by 2008.."
Sultan
Affirms Economic Reforms
"More than 130 experts from Saudi Arabia and
other Muslim countries are expected to debate
nearly 50 research papers at the third Islamic
economic conference, which was opened at Um Al-Qura
University in Makkah yesterday. In his inaugural
address to the conference, Prince Sultan, second
deputy premier and minister of defense and
aviation, emphasized Saudi Arabia's efforts to get
along with international economic
developments.."
Saudi
Arabia Urges Global Efforts To Secure Market
Stability
"Saudi Arabia said it was ready to boost
output but called for international cooperation to
secure market stability. The Saudi cabinet at its
weekly session stressed "its determination to
fulfill promises to guarantee the stability of oil
supply and prices", the official news agency
SPA reported. The cabinet also expressed readiness
to 'raise output as required by the supply and
demand factors in global oil markets, and in the
interests of both the producers and
consumers'.."
US
Educators Build Bridges of Understanding
"For 10 days, the people of Saudi Arabia and
the American teachers built new bridges across
those waters as they toured the Kingdom, learning
about the Saudi educational system, the country
and its people during a tour organized by the
Institute of International Education and Saudi
Aramco. The group of 16 teachers traveled to
Shaybah in the Rub' Al-Khali, picnicked on the
Gulf shores near Al-Aziziyah, rode camels outside
of Riyadh and shopped in Old Jeddah. Along the
way, they visited Saudi schools, from Dhahran
Ahliyya to Dar Al-Hekma Private Women's College in
Jeddah, and they learned about the country's rich
heritage and culture.."
Saudi
Stock Index Gains 6.87% in May
"With total value of shares traded in May
reaching a record SR369 billion, the Tadawul
All-Share Index (TASI) for May closed at 12,019.68
points compared with 11,246.55 for April, with an
increase of 6.87 percent. The index reached its
heights at 12,729.14 points on May 22, setting a
new benchmark.."
Kingdom,
Russia to Invest Jointly in Third Countries
"Saudi Arabia and Russia will set up joint
ventures in third countries as part of their
comprehensive cooperation program both within the
Kingdom and abroad.. ..Referring to bilateral
cooperation in third countries, Ambassador
Baklanov said the decision was taken in light of
the economic boom which both countries are going
through. While the Kingdom has huge resources
accruing from its oil revenues, Russia's revenues
also surged to a record $146 billion this year.
This factor was behind their decision to channel
investments into third countries.."
U.S
Pressures Saudi On Nuclear Monitoring - Diplomats
"The United States is trying to persuade
Saudi Arabia to drop its plan to sign an agreement
that would severely curtail the United Nations'
ability to monitor any Saudi atomic activity,
diplomats said on Wednesday. The `'small
quantities protocol'' is an accord states which
say they have little or no nuclear material can
sign with the U.N.'s nuclear watchdog, the
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
Diplomats close to the agency say it is a
dangerous loophole in the IAEA inspection
regime.."
International
Islamic Conference Focuses on Medical Ethics
"A three-day international Islamic conference
on medical ethics ended here yesterday. The
conference, which claimed to be the first of its
kind, was held at the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce
and Industry.. ..'The aim of holding this
conference," said the chairman of the
organizing committee, Dr. Sulaiman A. Karsou,
"was to educate doctors, nurses and
administrators on how to handle various situations
such as patient confidentiality. We felt the need
to address the various ethical dilemmas doctors
face on a daily basis because ethics are not
taught at our universities and those working in
the medical field must know how to deal with
various situations'.."
Italy
Keen to Train Saudi Students
"Italy is interested in attracting Saudi
students to its universities. Italian Ambassador
to the Kingdom Armando Sanguini said: 'My country
is keen on strengthening its cultural cooperation
with the Kingdom by attracting Saudi youths to do
graduate and postgraduate courses in such fields
as the preservation of antiquities and the
promotion of domestic tourism'.."
Etisalat
Signs $1bn MoU With HK Firm
"The Emirates Telecommunication Corporation's
investment arm Etisalat International has signed a
memo of understanding with Hong Kong's Huawei
Technologies Investment Co. under which it will
receive $1 billion as financing for its
international operations. Etisalat has emerged as
a regional as well as international operator, with
franchises in the Middle East as well as Africa.
As such, the financing arrangement is key to its
strategy.."
Saudi
Arabia Will Launch Anti-Smoking Campaign In
Schools
"Saudi Arabia is to launch an intensive
anti-smoking campaign in schools throughout the
Kingdom in September, it was announced during a
function to mark the World No Tobacco Day 2005 at
the King Saud Chest Hospital (KSCH) in Riyadh on
Tuesday.. ..Findings show that more than 600,000
school students under the age of 22 have taken up
smoking in the Kingdom.."
CAIR
Offering Free Qur'an Copies to Americans
"Following accusations of mistreatment of the
Qur'an in the Guantanamo prison in Cuba, and
recognition of widespread ignorance about Islam's
holy book by many Americans; CAIR, the
Washington-based Council on American-Islamic
Relations, has responded by offering free Qur'ans.
More than 6,000 Americans have already requested
the free copies.."
Saudi
Arabia Jumps To Top Of Group A
"Saudi Arabia went to the top of Asian World
Cup qualifying Group A with a 3-0 victory over
Kuwait on Friday, jumping over South Korea who
drew dramatically with Uzbekistan.. ..Saudi Arabia
can clinch a World Cup berth with a win over
Uzbekistan on Wednesday. South Korea can also
clinch a berth with a win at Kuwait.."
State
Department Releases Human Trafficking List
"The United States accused 14 nations Friday
of failing to do enough to stop the modern-day
slave trade in prostitutes, child sex workers and
forced laborers. The countries include Saudi
Arabia, Washington's closest Arab ally in the war
on terrorism.. .. ''The government of Saudi Arabia
does not comply with the minimum standards for the
elimination of trafficking and is not making
significant efforts to do so,'' the 2005
Trafficking in Persons report said.."
US
Trafficking Report Biased, Says Kingdom
"Saudi Arabia yesterday disagreed with a US
State Department report accusing Riyadh of human
trafficking, and said the report was "neither
objective nor impartial" as it ignored abuses
in the United States and Europe. "We are
surprised by the contents of the report, and we
disagree with most of what has been
mentioned," said Prince Turki ibn Mohammed
ibn Saud Al-Kabeer, undersecretary for political
affairs at the Foreign Ministry.."
New
Entity to Facilitate Business With EU
"A private entity has been established to
offer services to businessmen from European Union
(EU). The objective of the Jeddah-based European
Business Center (Euro-BC) is to help and assist
European businessmen in achieving their joint
business plans here," Mohammad Azzam,
president and chief executive officer of Euro-BC
(The Family Est.), told Arab News.."
There's
No Oil Deal With US, Says Kingdom
"Saudi Arabia has not signed any long-term
agreement with Washington for supplying the United
States with oil at fixed prices, according to
Majed Al-Muneef, adviser to the minister of
petroleum and mineral resources. Addressing a
seminar organized by the Council of Saudi Chamber
of Commerce and Industry in Riyadh, he said the
reports about oil deals with the US were baseless.
'Oil prices are fixed by companies mediating
between producers and consumers'.."
Egypt's
Exports to Saudi Arabia Up 20% in 2004
"Egypt said that its relationship with Saudi
Arabia has entered a new realm after the recent
economic negotiations between the two countries..
..The volume of bilateral trade between Saudi
Arabia and Egypt came to $718.5 million, in 2004,
comprising of Egyptian exports to Saudi Arabia
amounting to $221.1 million and imports amounting
to about $497.4 million from the Kingdom.."
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Building Bridges: A
Conversation with Princess Loulwa Al-Faisal
With Friends
Like These
2005
Trafficking in Persons Report Released
