The Cabinet, chaired by King Abdullah, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, announced Monday night the approval of a proposal to settle the dues of all Saudis abroad except for certain crimes, particularly those related to drug abuse and dishonesty. The approval was made on the recommendation of the Second Deputy Premier and Minister of Interior to settle all the dues Saudi nationals may have incurred abroad, including living expenses, compensations, fines or blood money. However, the government will not pay anything if a citizen has pleaded guilty to crimes, including violation of honor, dishonesty, drug use, and traffic accidents caused by alcohol or drugs. King Abdullah congratulated the people of the Kingdom, and the Arab and Islamic world on the advent of Ramadan, and appealed to Allah Almighty to grant everyone a successful month of fasting. The King called for greater efforts to provide proper services for Umrah performers and visitors to the holy places. He urged Muslims observing fast to follow the instructions of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and to provide assistance to the needy. Following the meeting, Dr. Abdul Aziz Al-Khoja, Minister of Culture and Information, said in a statement to the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) that the King briefed the meeting on the consultations and contacts he made over the past week on the latest developments in the Arab, Islamic and international arenas including a telephone call he received from Ban Ki-moon, the United Nations Secretary General. Khoja said the Cabinet was then briefed on a host of reports on developments in a number of Arab countries and expressed concern at the number of victims of these conflicts. The Cabinet called for warring factions to use Ramadan to seek peaceful solutions to their problems. Khoja said Cabinet then tackled a number of domestic matters and approved the job hierarchy of the judiciary, which was a recommendation made by the Crown Prince, the Deputy Premier, Minister of Defense and Aviation and Inspector General, who is also Chairman of the Ministerial Committee for Administrative Organization. The Cabinet stated that it would continue to import Palestinian goods and products with the government responsible for their customs duties for one more year, effective 11 Ramadan 1432 H. The Cabinet approved the following appointments: Abdullah Bin Saad Bin Abdullah Al-Faisali as Director General of the Ministry of Civil Service's branch in Asir region (Rank 14); Eng. Hazlool Bin Hussein Bin Saleh Al-Hazlool as Planning Consultant Engineer at the Ministry of Transport (Rank 14); Eng. Mohammed Bin Saleh Bin Mohammed Al-Gara'awi as Director General of the office of the Minister of Water and Electricity (Rank 14).
