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Special arrangements have been made at the two holy cities of Makkah and Madinah to accommodate the rush of pilgrims intending to perform Umrah and pray at the Prophet's (Peace Be Upon Him) Mosque in Madinah during Ramadan.

The United Nations' special human rights envoy Dato Param Coomarasawamy has arrived in Saudi Arabia on an unprecedented visit.

Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah, on a six-day extensive visit to the Eastern province, launched new projects worth 35 billion Saudi riyals in Jubail.

A three-day conference on the management and reorganisation of charities in the Kingdom was organised in Riyadh yesterday.

Saudi Arabia's decision yesterday to nationalise taxi drivers within the next six months will affect thousands of expatriates, mainly from the subcontinent, who have been working in the Kingdom for years as cab drivers.

After two years of aggression in the Occupied Territories, it is becoming apparent now that the very idea of 'security first' has finally been shelved by the U.S. administration.

In the wake of Saudi press reports here that Saudi Arabia has imposed a temporary ban on issuing Umrah visas for Pakistanis and Syrians, Director of Pakistan Haj mission in the Kingdom has denied the report.

With unemployment running at around 20 per cent in Saudi Arabia, the Kingdom is faced with the daunting task of finding employment for its ever growing number of youth. By announcing to nationalise the work force in 22 new categories, authorities in Riyadh are once again indicating that they are serious in resolving this issue.

A Saudi source has confirmed the arrival of the Iraqi Kurdish leader Jalal Talbani in the Kingdom, "to perform Umrah like any other Muslim".

With summer very much upon us, temperatures already approaching 50 on the Celsius scale and humid days and nights in the coastal cities of Saudi Arabia including the Al Khobar - Dammam conurbation very much round the corner, hordes of people have already  moved out of the Kingdom or are  in the process.

Saudi Arabia plans to launch its third satellite later this year to obtain vital data on weather conditions and oil exploration, besides monitoring the movement of vehicles in the remote regions of the kingdom, sources said yesterday.

Saudi Arabia is getting a bad press, everyone here concedes. It is more of a perception problem than anything else, people argue. And indeed there is nothing denying this fact.