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RIYADH – Expansion works at King Fahd National Library in Riyadh will see the construction of an open courtyard square of 20,000 sq. meters overlooking Al-Olaya Street in the center of the capital. The Higher Commission for Development in Riyadh gave its approval for the plans on the eastern side of the library which will provide a “pleasant green space” for residents of the densely populated districts in the vicinity of the library.

A member of the Development Commission said the zone would also have parking space for 350 vehicles. “The Commission is trying to increase the number of open areas in districts around the capital,” he said. – Okaz/SG

RIYADH – King Abdullah, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, Wednesday received a message from Libyan President Colonel Muammar Gaddafi, inviting him to attend the Arab Summit in Libya later this month. The message was delivered by Ahmed Qaddaf Al-Dam, Special Envoy to the Libyan President, during an audience with the Monarch. Qaddaf Al-Dam also conveyed greetings and appreciation of President Gaddafi to the King who in turn conveyed his greetings to the Libyan leader. – SPA

RIYADH – The Ministry of Agriculture has lifted the temporary embargo on the entry into the Kingdom of carrier pigeons from GCC member states. The ban has been lifted upon the condition that the general administration for agriculture affairs be informed by the Saudi Union for the race of carrier pigeons in advance of any planned races. The general administration must also be supplied with the names of competitors in addition to the number of carrier pigeons entering the Kingdom. Carrier pigeons entering the Kingdom will be examined at quarantine centers at all entry points. Each shipment of pigeons should have a health certificate showing that the pigeons are free from diseases. – SPA

RIYADH – Due to software problems in Washington, applicants for non-immigrant US visas around the world are experiencing difficulties accessing and using the new online application procedure (Form DS-160) that has been required to make an appointment for a visa interview since Feb. 8, a press release issued here said Wednesday.

Daniel Goodspeed, Consul General in US embassy here, has said that the US Department of State in Washington is working hard to fix the problem, and anticipates the system will return to full function shortly.

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RIYADH – Officers and privates injured in clashes with the infiltrators on the Kingdoms southern border are expected to receive awards of SR50,000 and SR30,000 respectively, according to sources.

Committees have been assigned to carry out the order of Crown Prince Sultan Bin Abdul Aziz to hand over special awards to injured soldiers involved in the clashes.

King Abdullah, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, had previously ordered the payment of one million riyals to each family of military personnel killed defending the southern borders. The Kings order included granting the deceased higher ranks and employing their sons or brothers in the military. – Okaz/SG

RIYADH – Authorities in Riyadh have returned with the help of the international police Interpol stolen watches worth SR200,000 after they had been smuggled abroad to an Arab country. Police in Riyadh were informed of the theft by a Saudi man who said SR20,000 had been stolen along with the valuable watches from his home in Arqa in the capital and investigators identified the culprit as an Arab man known to the household and who had recently requested an exit visa for his home country. The individual was tracked down to the northern port of Dheba as he prepared to leave the Kingdom, and during questioning he confessed to the theft and revealed that the stolen items had sent abroad in a shipping consignment. The accused is expected to appear in court soon. – Okaz/SG

Riyadh – The sales of computer hardware in Saudi Arabia is likely to exceed SR7.5 billion in 2010, according to an official at Riyadh Exhibition Company.

The company will organize the GITEX KSA 2010 at Riyadh International Exhibition Center, off King Abdullah Street from April 25-29.

More than 550,000 computer units are expected to be sold, as stock of installed computers reaches four million, said Shahid Bhatti, Project Manager of GITEX KSA 2010, a premier business-to-business networking event and leading consumer ICT exhibition.

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RIYADH – As part of the preparation for the 4th National Census for Population and Housing, the Ministry of Plannings Central Department of Statistics and Information is to launch Friday, March 12, a massive field operation to number residential buildings and commercial establishments into different blocks and districts.

Abdullatif I. Al-Khamees, supervisor and head of the Media Center for the 4th National Census for Population and Housing, said field inspectors would undergo a week-long training program on the numbering procedures that facilitate the enumerators easy access for data collection.

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RIYADH – Saudi Arabia is planning to launch tenders worth more than SR17 billion ($4.5 billion) this year to modernize two airports in the Kingdom, an official said.

Traffic at Saudi airports has reached 30 million passengers annually and is expected to double to 60 million over the next 10 years, said Alaa Samman, director of business development at the General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA).

In order to cater for this growth, the government wants to launch projects costing at least SR55 billion to overhaul airports to be completed over the next 20 years, he added. For this year alone, GACA wants to launch tenders to build a new airport in the holy city of Madina and a commercial center near Jeddah airport.

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JEDDAH – Fahd Al-Jenaidel, the winner of the wheelchair event of the seventh Jeddah-Mobily Marathon for people with special needs held Tuesday, says that he is able to win his events because he believes his disability is in his body, not his mind.

Fahd is a 25-year-old who has been practicing wheelchair racing since 2002.

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