A1SaudiArabia.com

SANAA – Lawmakers drafted a bill to start a securities exchange authority in Yemen, hoping to speed up the opening of a bourse and encourage investment despite its sinking economy and severe security risks.

“For us to move out of the challenges we face, we need a lot of investment in the development of Yemen, whether its domestic or foreign…a strong stock market would help that,” Jalal Yaqoub, a spokesman for the minister of finance, said.

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BRASILIA – Brazils state-controlled oil giant Petroleo Brasileiro SA has agreed to pay the federal government $42.5 billion in stock to acquire five billion barrels of deepwater reserves, a controversial price because investors say it is more than the oil is actually worth.

Shares of Petrobras, as the company is known, have crumbled this year on investor expectations the oil company would come under government pressure to pay above market price for oil reserves it is acquiring under a recapitalization plan. Petrobras also plans to sell new shares to the public to raise an additional $25 billion in cash under the plan.

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JEDDAH: A number of Saudi youths launched a film on Tuesday appealing to US President Barack Obama to use his constitutional power of presidential pardon to set free a Saudi man jailed for sexual assault.

Humaidan Al-Turki is currently serving 28 years in a US prison.

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JEDDAH: The Council of Ministers on Monday night decided to change the power supply from 127/220V to 230/400V in two phases over 25 years. It also decided to increase the salaries of military officers.

The change in the voltage of power supply in new regions and for new subscribers would start with the implementation of the decision, Culture and Information Minister Abdul Aziz Khoja said.

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DAMMAM – Dammam University will organize the first international psychological conference on Oct. 5. Dr. Abdullah Al-Ribeish, President of Dammam University, hoped that the conference would yield positive results and benefit persons suffering from psychological problems. The conference will review issues pertaining to psychological services and regulations. As many as 500 delegates will attend the conference. It will have lectures and workshops as well as a panel discussion on the scientific researches in the field of psychology. – SPA

JEDDAH – The General Court in Jeddah witnessed a limited response Monday from people who are entitled to SR1 million compensation checks King Abdullah ordered for families of people who lost their lives in the Jeddah flood disaster.

The first people arrived after 12 noon and only 12 requests were referred to judges in preparation for issuing the checks. One woman among those seeking the checks was deeply saddened by her loss.

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WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama said on Sunday the US economy was expanding, but not quickly enough, and there was no “magic bullet” that will fix its problems.

Obama said in an NBC interview that the batch of grim economic data over the past few weeks was something his administration had anticipated.

Gloomy reports on gross domestic product and housing have raised fears the fragile economy could slip back into a recession or face a lengthy period of growth that is too slow to make much of a dent in the 9.5 percent unemployment rate.

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JEDDAH: Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah and US President Barack Obama discussed Tuesday major international issues on telephone, the Saudi Press Agency reported.

It said the US president telephoned the king to convey Ramadan greetings, adding that King Abdullah thanked Obama for the gesture.

During the telephone conversation, the two leaders also discussed bilateral relations.

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JEDDAH – The General Court is scheduled to start payment Monday of SR116 million to families of people who died in the Jeddah flood disaster, Sheikh Ibrahim Al-Qanni, President of the Jeddah General Court, said on Sunday.

Sheikh Al-Qanni said the court has prepared the checks and they have been referred to judges who will distribute them. The funds were drawn from the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency as per the orders of King Abdullah, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, to compensate families of those who were killed in the heavy rain and flooding that hit the city on Nov. 25 last year. 

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RIYADH – The Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities (SCTA) has started setting up five new regional museums in Dammam, Abha, Hail, Tabuk, and Al-Baha and is working on finalizing studies for re-furbishing and upgrading six existent museums in Domat Al-Jondal, Tema, Al-Ula, Al-Hafoof, Sebea and Najran.

Prince Sultan Bin Salman Bin Abdul Aziz, President of the SCTA, has commended the special cooperation and partnership between Hail province and his organization in various fields.

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