A1SaudiArabia.com

RIYADH – A chorus of Pays-Basques singers greeted King Abdullah when he visited the French pavilion on the opening night of the Janadriya festival Wednesday.

He was welcomed to the pavilion, decked out by mini-Eiffel Towers and French-style cafes, by French Culture Minister Frederic Mitterrand.

In an address Mitterrand praised the Kings promotion of traditional Arab culture, adding: “France, also with age-old traditions… shares with your majesty this unique message.”

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RIYADH – The Emir of Jizan Prince Muhammad Bin Nasser Bin Abdul Aziz, has described the Jizan Village at the Janadriya festival as “reflecting the strength of the regions culture, tourism and economy”.

“Janadyria is a colorful national event representing the history, heritage and tradition of the country since the modern Saudi state was founded by King Abdul Aziz,” said Prince Muhammad after visiting the site Thursday. “Jizan gives a great cultural boost to the festival because of the regions cultural diversity and wealth of traditions.”

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RIYADH – Some 300 various forms of traditional handicraft are on show at the Janadriya Festival, while visitors can try a similar number of regional dishes, said Abdullah Al-Jabali, Head of the festivals Heritage Committee.

According to Al-Jabali, each province selected a range of food and crafts for show at the festival, which held its grand opening on Wednesday night, along with groups to represent the diverse folklore, tribal and family traditions of each region.

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RIYADH – Pakistan Day will be celebrated by members of the Pakistani Community here on March 23.

According to a press release from the Pakistani Embassy, the flag hoisting ceremony will be held at the embassy, in the Diplomatic Quarter, Riyadh at 0900 hours on Tuesday March 23. The flag hoisting will be performed by H.E. the Ambassador of Pakistan Mr. Umar Khan Alisherzai. Messages of the President and Prime Minister will be read out on the occasion.

The Embassy of Pakistan, Riyadh and Consulate General will remain closed on March 23 for preparations for the Pakistan National Day reception. Hence no consular services will be available to the community on that day at the Embassy in Riyadh and at the Consulate General, Jeddah. All Pakistani nationals and their families are cordially invited to grace the occasion. – SG

Ghazi Huwaikiam Al-Shamri at his home in the northeast town of Naairiya Wednesday after finding out he had been summoned by traffic police for purportedly being involved in a motor accident in Al-Kharaj, south of Riyadh. – Okaz photo

RIYADH – STC (Saudi Telecom Company) has introduced an innovative new feature called Naqaa Net that allows customers to control network access by switching between the standard internet network and a “pure” network which is filtered by a specialized committee.

Naqaa Net is designed to protect your children and other family members and costs only SR15 per month. Users can control, switch and select between networks as and when required simply and easily via the portal www.m3com.com.sa or by sending an SMS to 907 with the following codes.

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RIYADH – Lawyers are partners of judges in fulfilment of justice, Dr. Mohammed Bin Abdul Karim Al-Issa, Minister of Justice, said here Tuesday evening.

Addressing a meeting of lawyers at the headquarters of Riyadhs Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the minister expressed his pride in the distinguished steps undertaken by the legal system.

In his speech, the Chairman of the Chambers Board of Directors Abdulrahman Al-Jeraisi commended King Abdullah, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, for the development and restructuring of the judicial system.

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RIYADH – More than 400 literary men and thinkers from all over the world have been invited to participate in the festival.

The participants will discuss a number of topics, including the vision of King Abdullah for dialogue and peace.

Abdullah Al-Rabeah, Minister of Health, said that the festival represents a blend of the “glorious past, prosperous present and bright future.”

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RIYADH – The reform of the judicial system will only involve changes to technical procedures and will not affect the principles and basis on which the country was founded.

These were the comments made Tuesday by Minister of Justice Dr. Muhammad Bin Abdul Karim Al-Issa, at his regular meeting with lawyers at the Riyadh Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Other who attended the meeting included Minister of State Dr. Mutleb Bin Abdullah Al-Nufaisa, Chairman of the Human Rights Commission Dr. Bandar Al-Aiban and members of the chambers Lawyers Committee.

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AL-RAS – A relative of Walid Jarbou Al-Harbi, the Saudi who has been blamed for leading Ibrahim Saleh Mujahid Al-Khalifa into terrorism, has said that the two were friends from primary school and that Al-Harbi had served prison time for offenses related to security clashes in 2005.

Ibrahim Al-Khalifas death was first announced last Sunday by Al-Qaeda on the Internet and Yemeni government sources confirmed the news the same day, saying that the 29-year-old Saudi was killed in security clashes in Yemens Hadhramawt region last November.

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