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JEDDAH – Prince Mishal Bin Majed, Governor of Jeddah, presented awards to the winners of the 7th Jeddah Mobily Marathon at Al-Bir charitable organization headquarters here Wednesday evening.

The 7th Jeddah Marathon, with 6,000 contestants and more than 2,000 observers, will be remembered as the citys first international marathon as many athletes from abroad participated in the event.

At the awards ceremony, Prince Mishal expressed his appreciation for the cooperation and efforts of all the sponsors and organizers of the charity marathon.

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SEOUL -South Koreas central bank left its key interest rate at a record low Thursday as the countrys economic growth slows and the institution prepares for a leadership change.

The Bank of Korea said it kept the benchmark seven-day repurchase rate at 2 percent. The decision came at the last monetary policy meeting chaired by outgoing Gov. Lee Seong-tae. The result was widely expected. Sixteen economists at 17 financial institutions surveyed by Yonhap Infomax, the financial news arm of Yonhap news agency, predicted that the banks monetary policy committee would vote to keep the rate frozen.The Bank of Korea slashed the rate six times from October 2008 to battle the global economic downturn. The bank lowered the rate to its current level in February 2009. – AP

JEDDAH/MAKKAH – The residence of late King Abdul Aziz, the historic Al-Saqqaf Palace in Makkah, has been taken over by the Supreme Commission of Tourism and Antiquities (SCTA) for restoration and preservation, under an order from Crown Prince Sultan.

The palace will be open to the public when maintenance and renovation work has been completed. The Crown Prince has donated SR2 million to the cause.

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JEDDAH – Prince Mishal Bin Majed, Governor of Jeddah, has promised severe punishment for those who are found to have intentionally harmed the historic area of Old Jeddah.

He said that directives have been issued in this regard.

The governor was speaking during a visit to the area on Tuesday along with Prince Sultan Bin Salman, President of the Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities (SCTA). The governor said that an inspection will take place next week and electricity will be cut off from all houses that have wiring flaws. “The houses here are not only for their legal owners but for everyone. We need to preserve them for our children and grandchildren so they can see the history of their city, and for that we need everyones cooperation,” Prince Mishal said.

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JEDDAH – Allegations of cheating have marred the Jeddah Marathon held here Tuesday, with organizers only announcing the results Wednesday after verifying the winners in each category.

At the end of the race, complaints were heard that some of the participants had cheated and were not present at the starting point.

“There are road referees stationed at each kilometer of the race,” said Ismail Gassan, president of the jury committee. “They register the numbers of all racers as they pass by. At the end of the race we collect these numbers and see if the winner passed by all the referees stations. This makes it impossible for anyone to cheat.”

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JEDDAH – On behalf of Prince Khaled Al-Faisal, Emir of Makkah Region, Prince Mishal Bin Majed Bin Abdul Aziz, Governor of Jeddah, will open next Saturday the second Labor Market Exhibition which highlights efforts to find work for the local population and gives Saudis the chance to look at the estimated 100,000 job vacancies open to them.

According to JCCI deputy chairman Mazen Batterjee, the four-day event organized by Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI), the Ministry of Labor and the Human Resources Development Fund, gathers the Kingdoms leading companies in providing employment.

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JEDDAH – On Tuesday more than 6,000 runners will start this years Mobily Marathon in Jeddah, including international runners from Arab and African countries and hundreds of athletes with special needs.

The Governor of Jeddah, Prince Meshal Bin Majed Bin Abdul Aziz, will attend the ceremony for the winners on Wednesday at Saleh Al-Turki Hall. Also in attendance will be the Al-Bir Charitable Society head Mazen Batarjee, Executive President of Mobily Khaled Al-Kaf and the companys Western Region Director Taher Al-Dabbagh.

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RIYADH – Saudi Arabias bank lending growth is set to recover this year as confidence in the global economy rises and the domestic banking system is liquid and well capitalised, the countrys central bank governor said.

Muhammad Al-Jasser, Governor of the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency, told Reuters in an interview that strong supply in the real estate sector will help keep inflation in check in the worlds largest oil exporter, adding that he expected this years non-oil sector growth to be similar to that of 2009.

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JEDDAH – Governor of the General Organization for Social Insurance (GOSI), Sulaiman Bin Saad Al-Humaid, said the organizations electronic service systems have been completed with 222,000 establishments benefiting and over 4.4 million subscribers.

He said this is part of the GOSIs comprehensive plan aimed at facilitating transactions for its clients.

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JEDDAH – The Stop TB (tuberculoses) Group of Saudi Arabia will launch its annual campaign here March 15.

The campaign, to continue till March 26, under the patronage of Prince Mishal Bin Majed, Governor of Jeddah, is being organized with the cooperation of the Ministry of Health and the World Health Organization in six major malls with new and innovative ideas for combating this deadly disease.

This year, the motto for the Stop TB 2010 campaign has been chosen by the World Health Organization which is introducing new ways to diagnose the disease and develop other research, Mohammed Bakhrieba, the founder of the Stop TB Group of Saudi Arabia, told Saudi Gazette.

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