A1SaudiArabia.com

MAKKAH – The growth and spread of Islam to every nook and corner of the world could almost be witnessed in the Umrah-cum-knowledge trip of not less than 75 men and women from America. The group, with several converts to Islam, made pilgrimage to the Two Holy Mosques between July 16-Aug. 3.

Senior scholars of Saudi Arabia, including the Grand Mufti Abdul Aziz Aal-Sheikh, gave lectures and taught the aspiring learners various sciences of Islam. All seminars were translated bit-by-bit for the American audience.

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JEDDAH – The issues revolving around the Kingdoms housemaids are all fairly well known. There have been wide ranging discussions in the media about their wages, alleged abuse, recruitment, insurance, as well as their influence on the families they work for, especially the children.

However, what is not well known is that there are many women, especially from Bihar, one of the poorest states in India, who come to the Kingdom on Umrah visas only to stay on to find work as illegal housemaids because their real reason for coming here is to work and earn some money.

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RIYADH – Yusuf Bin Omar Hijazi, a 10-year-old Saudi student, who designed a back-mounted tree-cutter that offers a dominant ground grappling position, was named the 1st prize winner of the Sony Creative Scientific Award for 2009 (SCSA).

Prince Mohammed Bin Khalid Al-Abdullah Al-Faisal, President of the Al-Faisaliah Group (AFG), presented the award to Hijazi and two other winners at a ceremony held at the sprawling King Fahd Cultural Center in Riyadh Tuesday under the patronage of the Ministry of Education.

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KHAMIS MUSHAYT – Six pupils were taken to hospital and 21 suffered minor injuries Wednesday while attempting fleeing in panic from a fire at a girls school. The situation also developed into angry confrontations when the school guard refused to let the pupils exit the building.

The fire reportedly started in discarded papers beneath a staircase in the school and the rising smoke led pupils to flee in panic into the school courtyard where the guard, according to witnesses of the event, wielded a stick to prevent them from leaving the premises.

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JEDDAH – Huge LCD screens set up in shopping centers and malls in Jeddah have become a means for attracting shoppers amidst feverish competition to create different shopping environments for customers.

These screens, apart from being used for advertisement, function as public cinemas showing childrens cartoons, documentaries, important football matches and some variety programs.

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CAIRO – A Saudi man fell victim to a Sudanese con man who said he could provide the liver transplant donor he was seeking in exchange for $45,000. The Sudanese man arranged a meeting with the donor, but when the Saudi descended from his vehicle to purportedly take a sugar-level test in a nearby pharmacy at the request of the Sudanese man, the supposed donor made off with his car and the money that was inside. Fortunately for the Saudi, Egyptian police quickly identified and arrested the criminals and his vehicle and money were returned. – Okaz/SG

JEDDAH – Gas station workers deal with customers on a basis of trust, which some people do not hesitate to exploit by driving away without paying for the gas that has been pumped into their car. At the end of the day, workers have to pay the difference from their own salary. They say such things do not often happen, but when they do, some workers manage to get the license plate number of the car to report to the authorities while others simply try to forget it and pray to Allah for compensation.

Most workers are reluctant to throw stones at fleeing cars saying it does not make sense to break the window of a car for SR10 or SR20, not to mention the fact that it is illegal to do so.

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