Facts, News, Trends, Analysis
After the long arguments and feuds involving mistreatment of Egyptian doctors in Saudi Arbia, Egypt had banned its citizens from working there, as a means of keeping incidents from occurring again. Two Egyptian doctors were accused and found guilty of misusing their practices by illegally selling pharmaceuticals, and one doctor was charged with having an [...]
The Hajj has begun and many pilgrims from around the world flood Saudi Arabia in hopes of fulfilling one of the pillars of Islam. As expected, automobile and pedestrian traffic is a large problem. Jabara Al-Seraisry, Transport Minister, said SR 60 million has been spent on road repair, electrification and car parks in Makkah in [...]
On Saturday, the Tadawul All Share Index dropped another 9.2%, that translates to more than a 60% decrease since the beginning of 2008. The next day, Saudi Arabia attempted to take more steps to shield its citizens from the global economic crisis. The central bank cut repo interest rates to 3% to boost liquidity and [...]
In March of 2005, British Airways stopped flights to Saudi Arabia because of underperformance. Last Friday, the airline announced that they will restart flights between London’s Heathrow Airport and Saudi Arabia, beginning March 26, 2009. BMI Airlines (British Midland Airways Limited) also recently announced that they will double their flights to Riyadh, beginning January 15, [...]
On December 2nd, officials from the US and Saudi Arabia signed a science and technology cooperation agreement that includes nuclear technology. Prince Torki bin Saud, vice president of the King Abdul-Aziz City did not indicate whether the document specified the peaceful use of nuclear technology. US officials hope the agreement will create more cooperation between [...]
The General Organization of Railways introduced plans to build two new railway lines. One of the lines would connect Taif with other networks, which would connect to Abha and Khamis Mushayt. The other line would connect Jeddah and Jizan. The 1,366 km of railway would hopefully accommodate the projected 11 million people that will be [...]
The Jeddah Municipality has set aside land in Bahrah that will be a center of recycling projects. Jamal Abou Sab’a Head of the Landfill Department at the municipality said private companies will have the opportunity to invest in projects under 20-year contracts. Jeddah produces over 165,000 tons of waste annually, 125 tons of which is [...]
Saudi Labor Minister Ghazi Al-Gosaibi made a series of comments on Monday, Dec. 1, 2008 pertaining to unemployment. The Minister rejected the idea of a minimum wage standard and announced a strengthened system for Saudi employment. The law currently in effect mandates that companies operating in Saudi Arabia must reserve a certain proportion of jobs [...]
Saudi Oil Minister Ali Maimi said OPEC will be shoring up falling prices when it meets on Dec 17th in Algeria. The price of crude stood at about $147 a barrel in mid-July; now it is trading in the range of $50-$60. The collapse of oil price puts pressure on many of the OPEC countries, [...]
Indonesian Religious Affairs Minister, Maftuh Basyuni, came to Jeddah on Monday evening as the leader of the Indonesian Hajj pilgrimage this year. He is making this trip with a number of people from the Religious Affairs Ministry and members of the Regional Representatives Council. Indonesia is known to have one of the largest Muslim populations [...]
