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Snapshot of the Week Past |
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Effective
Measures Taken to Choke Terror Funding
"Arab bankers said yesterday that they had
taken effective steps to choke terror funding.
They were responding to a US official's statement
urging Arab bankers to step up the fight against
terrorist financing. "Simply put, if we stop
the money from getting to terrorist organizations
and operations, we can stop terrorism from
happening," Chip Poncy, senior adviser at the
US Treasury, told a conference of Arab and
European bankers in Frankfurt.."
IDB
to Set Up Islamic Trade Financing Entity in Jeddah
"The Islamic Development Bank is finally
going the route of separating its trade finance
function from its development mandate. The board
of governors of the multilateral development bank,
meeting on Friday evening in Putrajaya in
Malaysia, approved a resolution to set up a $3
billion International Islamic Trade Financing
Corporation (IITFC) to boost trade among the
57-member Organization of the Islamic Conference
(OIC) countries. The corporation, which will be
headquartered in Jeddah, will have an authorized
capital of $3billion and a subscribed capital of
$500 million.."
US
Lawyers to Fight Case of Saudis in Gitmo
"Families of 45 Saudi detainees in Guantanamo
Bay have signed authorization documents that
allows US lawyers to act on their behalf in US
courts. Fifteen of the signatures were obtained by
a representative of the US-based Center for
Constitutional Rights (CCR) during a recent visit
to Bahrain.."
Kingdom
Issues New List of Terrorists
"Saudi Arabia yesterday issued a new list of
36 suspects believed to be linked to a series of
terror attacks across the country, reflecting the
government's resolve to go ahead with its
anti-terror campaign. In the latest response to a
two-year campaign of bombings and killings by
supporters of the Al-Qaeda terror network, the
Interior Ministry broadcast pictures of the
suspects on state television and offered hefty
rewards for their capture.."
'Saudis
Not Singled Out for Questioning in the US'
"US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said
yesterday that Saudis at US airports were not
being singled out or targeted for interrogation by
FBI agents or immigration officials. She said that
such incidents, if they did happen, were not
intentional and that immigration officials and
security personnel would undergo additional
training. Rice said she encouraged more Saudi
students and tourists to come to the United
States.."
Kingdom,
Cyprus in Talks to Set Up Research Center
"Cyprus will invite Saudi Arabia and other
Arab and Gulf states to be on the board of
directors of the first regional research center in
the Middle East planned in collaboration with
Harvard University. George Lillikas, Cypriot
minister of commerce, tourism and industry, said
an agreement has already been signed with Harvard
University for setting up an R&D center,
initially in the fields of community health and
environment.."
Rice
Says U.S. Must Respect Mideast Cultural Traditions
"Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said
Tuesday she had no interest in promoting the
high-profile cause of giving women in Saudi Arabia
the right to drive, saying the administration's
push for Middle East democracy needed to respect
cultural traditions. "It's just a line that I
have not wanted to cross," Rice told
reporters traveling with her as she flew from
Riyadh, the Saudi capital, to attend an
international conference on Iraq here in the
Belgian capital on Wednesday. 'I think it is
important that we do have some boundaries about
what it is we are trying to achieve'.."
Mobile
Phone Giant Extends Footprint In Saudi Arabia
"Nokia has taken large strides into the
Middle East's largest mobile phone market, Saudi
Arabia, by opening three Nokia branded concept
stores across the kingdom including the world's
largest concept store in Riyadh.. .. 'Saudi Arabia
is an important market for all companies in the
Middle East and this week's activities will help
support our ambitions for the kingdom,' said Eddie
Maalouf, General Manager, Nokia Middle East and
North Africa.."
Riyadh
Pledges $1bn for Iraq Reconstruction
"Saudi Arabia yesterday emphasized its vision
of an independent and unified Iraq and said it
would extend $1 billion in the form of soft loans
for the reconstruction of the war-torn country.
Addressing an international conference here,
attended by over 80 governments and international
institutions, Foreign Minister Prince Saud
Al-Faisal said Riyadh was also ready to write off
part of Iraq's debt burden.."
Kingdom's
Oil Revenues to Increase 15% in 2005
"The Kingdom's oil revenues will grow 15
percent this year to SR398 billion ($106 billion)
on the back of high global prices, setting the
stage for a record budget surplus, a leading Saudi
bank said. National Commercial Bank (NCB) said the
combination of high prices and increased
production will push oil income in the world's
biggest crude exporter well beyond the
conservative SR231 billion forecast in the Saudi
state budget.."
World
Bank Unit to Invest in Saudi Housing Market
"The World Bank's private sector arm, the
International Finance Corp., said on Tuesday it
would work with Saudi British Bank to develop
housing finance markets and promote home ownership
in the Kingdom. The IFC said it will invest about
$50 million, or SR187.5 million, to boost Saudi
British Bank's Islamic home financing portfolio
and, by extension, seek to deepen Saudi Arabia's
primary mortgage market.."
Saudi
Arabia: Jailed Activists Granted Appeal After Rice
Plea
"A Saudi court says it will hear an appeal by
three academics jailed for calling for a
constitutional monarchy in Saudi Arabia. The
announcement came just a day after US secretary of
state Condoleezza Rice made a plea for the three
reformists to be released, in a speech in the
Egyptian capital Cairo and during a meeting with
the Saudi foreign minister, Prince Saud al-Faysal.
A lawyer for the men, Mansur al-Bakr, told
journalists that the three judges from the court
which sentenced them say they will hear the appeal
during July.."
Zarqawi
Says US Bombing Killed Al-Rashoud
"A statement posted on the Internet by the
leader of Al-Qaeda in Iraq, Abu Mussab Al-Zarqawi,
said yesterday that Abdullah Al-Rashoud, one of
the most wanted men on a Saudi list of 26
terrorists, had been killed in US airstrikes on
the Iraqi town of Qaim near the Syrian border.
Interior Ministry spokesman Lt. Gen. Mansoor
Al-Turki told Arab News: "The authorities can
neither confirm nor deny the information of Al-Rashoud's
killing.."
Obesity
Epidemic Spreading In Saudi Arabia: 61% Of
Children At Risk Of Heart Disease
"According to research conducted by the
Ministry of Health in Saudi Arabia , more than
three million children, or one out of five, in the
Kingdom, suffer from obesity. It said, 'Obesity
and its associated health risks are one of the
most common nutritional diseases at present.'
Another scientific study confirms that overweight
children 'are more prone to a number of serious
chronic illnesses, especially heart disease, with
the number of at risk children, currently reaching
61% in Saudi Arabia'.."
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Saudi's
Washington envoy resigns - BBC
Saudi
Ambassador Resigns - TimesOnLine UK
