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Newsletter #301

January 18-24, 2009

What's New on SUSRIS

Special Report - Relationship and Stability at Risk - Prince Turki al-Faisal

"..In my decades as a public servant, I have strongly promoted the Arab-Israeli peace process. During recent months, I argued that the peace plan proposed by Saudi Arabia could be implemented under an Obama administration if the Israelis and Palestinians both accepted difficult compromises. I told my audiences this was worth the energies of the incoming administration for, as the late Indian diplomat Vijaya Lakshmi Nehru Pandit said: “The more we sweat in peace, the less we bleed in war.” But after Israel launched its bloody attack on Gaza, these pleas for optimism and co-operation now seem a distant memory. In the past weeks, not only have the Israeli Defence Forces murdered more than 1,000 Palestinians, but they have come close to killing the prospect of peace itself. Unless the new US administration takes forceful steps to prevent any further suffering and slaughter of Palestinians, the peace process, the US-Saudi relationship and the stability of the region are at risk.."   [more]

Dramatic Changes Expected in Education System

"..The King Abdullah Project for General Education Development (Tatwir) will bring about dramatic changes in the Kingdom’s education system, said Naif Al-Roumi, deputy education minister for planning and development and director general of the project. “We have started implementing some programs under the project on an experimental basis,” Al-Roumi told Al-Riyadh Arabic daily. “Our plan is to develop the Kingdom’s education system making use of the successful experiments in other countries, such as the United States, South Korea, Singapore and Finland,” he said. The government has allocated SR9 billion for the project, which is named after Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah who wants to introduce drastic reforms in the country’s education system, matching with advanced countries. The current national budget has set aside SR120 billion for education and training.."   [more]

Special Report - Arab Economic Summit in Kuwait

"..Arab leaders tried to patch over their differences as a two-day summit in Kuwait drew to a close, but the Gaza conflict appears to have exacerbated the tensions. Arab leaders began their Kuwait summit, Monday, amid discord, and ended it, a day later, amid more discord. Attempts to find a common position on the conflict in Gaza and towards Israel seemingly failed, leaving rival Arab camps as divided as ever. Arab leaders did, however, agree to a plan to rebuild the war-torn Gaza Strip, promising a total of $2 billion to reconstruct what was damaged or demolished in the 21-day conflict between Israel and Hamas militants. Iraqi Foreign Minister Houshiyar Zubeiri told Kuwaiti TV that the summit's final declaration avoided a common position on Gaza because Arab leaders had "run out of time" to reconcile their differences, and because "some [leaders] remain entrenched in their positions.".."   [more]

Calendar Items

Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) Summit ("Ordinary")
Vienna, Austria
March 15, 2009

Keeping Track - Recent SUSRIS Items

More News This Week

• King Receives Phone Calls From Obama, Clinton [Jan 24] [more]

• King Wants to See Stable Pakistan: Asseri [Jan 24] [more]

• Saudi Arabian University Funds Cornell Energy Research [Jan 24] [more]

• Saudi-Turkish Summit Feb. 3 [Jan 24] [more]

• Saudi Stocks Rebound After Poor Week [Jan 24] [more]

• Saudi Prince Says U.S. Ties at Risk Over Mideast [Jan 23] [more]

• Shields Rise Against Taliban Crusade in Saudi [Jan 23] [more]

• Freed by U.S., Saudi Becomes a Qaeda Chief [Jan 23] [more]

• Violence Increasing Among Kingdom’s Teenagers [Jan 23] [more]

• Saudis to be Offered Culturally Detested Jobs [Jan 23] [more]

• Modalities of National Health Care Plan Being Worked Out [Jan 23] [more]

• Jeddah, Jakarta Sign Trade Deal [Jan 23] [more]

• Obama Kick-Starts Middle East Diplomacy; First Call From White House Goes to Abbas [Jan 22] [more]

• King Faisal’s Palace to Become University [Jan 22] [more]

• Unknown Attackers Burn Saudi Embassy Car in Greece [Jan 22] [more]

• Thai PM Orders Police to Get Solution on Saudi Diplomats Murder Case [Jan 22] [more]

• Doubts and Problems Over Saudi Succession [Jan 22] [more]

• King’s Call Heralds a New Era of Unity [Jan 21] [more]

• Sabic, Saudi Telecom Lead Bourse Lower [Jan 21] [more]

• Education System Failing Saudi Jobs Initiative [Jan 21] [more]

• Muslim Clerics Oppose Modernist Fatwas [Jan 21] [more]

• Masdar, GE Unveil World’s First Ecomagination Center [Jan 21] [more]

• Saudi Aluminum Smelter Delayed After Rio Pullout [Jan 21] [more]

• Saudi Firm to Build Houses, Mosques in Gaza [Jan 21] [more]

• Kingdom’s Economy Set to Rebound in 2010 [Jan 21] [more]

• Peace Offer Not Open-Ended: King [Jan 20] [more]

• HRC Welcomes Justice Ministry Move to Stop Child Marriages [Jan 20] [more]

• Intelligent City Concept in Focus [Jan 20] [more]

• Japan, India, Saudi Ministers to Discuss Slowing Oil Investment [Jan 20] [more]

• Gulf Stocks Sink as SABIC Q4 Sounds Alarm Bells [Jan 20] [more]

• MTV Arabia Announces Exclusive Sponsorship of Jeddah United Basketball Tournament [Jan 20] [more]

• Saudi Arabia to Donate $1 Billion to Rebuild Gaza [Jan 19] [more]

• Saudi Arabia, U.A.E., Cut Rates as Growth Slows, Oil Falls [Jan 19] [more]

• Saudi Businessman Files Suit Over US Terror List [Jan 19] [more]

• Shoura OKs Agreement With Greece on Double-Taxation [Jan 19] [more]

• Fatwa is Not the Sole Factor Guiding Society: Al-Oudah [Jan 19] [more]

• Opportunities Abound in Kingdom’s Mining Sector [Jan 19] [more]

• Barrage of Fire in Gaza, Online Intifada in Saudi [Jan 18] [more]

• Saudis Call to Curb Extremist Fatwas [Jan 18] [more]

• Detained Saudi Gaza Protestors Freed [Jan 18] [more]

• Pentagon Transfers Four Saudi Detainees From Guantanamo [Jan 18] [more]

• Saudi Arabia to Export Power in 5 Years [Jan 18] [more]

• Saudi Stocks Tumble Amid Weak Q4, Crude Prices [Jan 18] [more]

• King to Lead Delegation to Kuwait Summit [Jan 18] [more]

• Ground Bridge Second Convoy Leaves With Aid [Jan 18] [more]

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