Source : Saudigazette.com.sa / 12 Mar 2013

Crown Prince Salman Bin Abdul Aziz, Deputy Premier and Minister of Defense, is scheduled to launch today (Tuesday) festivities to celebrate Madinah as the new capital of Islamic culture. Prominent Muslim scholars, historians and intellectuals will be in attendance at the festivities which will continue for a whole year.

The idea to choose a city in the Arab and Islamic World to be the capital of Islamic culture for a year on a rotational basis was introduced by the Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ISESCO) in 2005.

By Md Al-Sulami / 11 Mar 2013

More than 550,000 young Saudi men and women are expected to participate in the third edition of Makkah Youth Forum 2013, which was launched here yesterday by Makkah Gov. Prince Khaled Al-Faisal.

“Youths are makers of the future and it is our duty to prepare them to carry out this mission properly,” the governor said while highlighting the annual forum’s importance.

Source : Arab news / 7 Mar 2013

Saudi Arabia’s economy continued its robust growth above the pre-crisis average level of 3 percent last year, with real GDP registering 6.8 percent annual growth, driven by the oil sector and nonoil sector, according to Saudi Economic Developments and Outlook report by the National Commercial Bank. However, the NCB projects real GDP to moderate to 3 percent in 2013.

By Fahd Al-Manaee / 7 Mar 2013

There is a total of 1,375 abandoned children in Makkah and the number is continuously on the rise, according to Sireen Al-Afghani from the Ministry of Social Affairs.

They include 793 female and 582 male children.

"Since they have no identity papers and we cannot differentiate between Saudis and foreigners, they are all being treated as Saudi nationals and are given identity papers to preserve their rights,"she said.

Source : Arab news / 4 Mar 2013

The Jeddah Islamic Port ranks among the top 100 global ports annually. In fact, the establishment of an integrated project will ensure the presence of a security system that fills any gaps or security breaches at a financial cost of SR 15.98 million. Capt. Saher bin Musa Altahlawi, general manager of the Jeddah Islamic Port, confirmed that the port entered the competition more than a decade ago and became classified as a regional and global hub port, as well as assuming a high ranking position among the most important 100 international ports annually.

By Sharif M. Taha / 28 Feb 2013

About 47 percent of the estimated 47,000 inmates in Saudi Arabia’ s prisons are in jail for drug-related crimes, said Director General of Prisons Maj. Gen. Dr. Ali bin Hussain Al-Harthi.

Al-Harthi was responding to reports that over 70 percent of all prisoners have been incarcerated for trafficking and dealing in illicit drugs.

By Khalil Hanware / 27 Feb 2013

Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA) announced yesterday its total assets reached SR 2.49 trillion in January 2013, SR 13 billion more than that of December 2012, reflecting the strength and growth of Saudi economy.

According to the central bank’s monthly bulletin, there was a 19 percent growth in SAMA’s assets in January this year and an increase of SR 406 billion compared to its financial position in January 2012.

By Rima Al-Mukhtar / 26 Feb 2013 

At least 20,000 people in Saudi Arabia die every year due to complications from obesity, said endocrinologist Dr. Waleed Albakr.

Albakr, who works at Dammam University, and is promoting an awareness campaign to educate Saudis on the dangers of diabetes. The campaign, “Lose your weight and gain your health,” notes diabetes is often caused by obesity.

By Marwa Haddad & Khadija Habib / 25 Feb 2013

Twelve children died as a result domestic violence in 2012, double the number from the previous year, according to Maha Al-Muneef, executive director of the National Family Safety Program (NFSP).

These cases are recorded at hospitals’ protection centers, she said recently on the sidelines of the celebrations of the World Thinking Day for Girl Guides and Scouts.

By Schams Elwazer, Mohammed Jamjoom and Samya Ayish / 21 Feb 2013

The case of a 12-year-old girl who reportedly received a transfusion of HIV-positive blood has sparked outrage across Saudi Arabian society, with angry calls for the health minister to resign.

In this ultraconservative Saudi Arabia, where HIV and AIDS remain taboo subjects and open criticism of government officials is relatively rare, the case of Reham al-Hakami has prompted unprecedented widespread discussion of both issues.