|
Snapshot of the Week Past |
|
Iraq
To Reopen Embassy In Saudi Arabia
"Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshiyar Zibari
reportedly said [Sep 4] his country was preparing
to reopen its embassy in the Saudi capital,
Riyadh.. .. Diplomatic ties between Iraq and Saudi
Arabia were severed following Iraq's 1990 invasion
of Kuwait.."
Saudi Arabia Debt Doused To Below USD 160
Billion
"The Saudi Minister of Finance, Dr. Ibrahim
Al-Assaf, said [Sep 4] that Saudi Arabia succeeded
this year in reducing the public debt to below USD
160 billion due to record high oil prices.. .. He
affirmed that the record high oil prices will have
a positive impact on the state's public budget.
Amid high and still soaring oil prices, Saudi
economic institutions expected the public budget
to achieve a surplus that might reach about USD 30
billion.."
Abdullah Sets Aside SR12.5bn Surplus Revenue
for Education
"Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King
Abdullah has allocated SR12.5 billion from this
year's budget surplus for educational and training
projects, including SR4 billion for the
construction of new college and university
buildings.. ..The amount is part of SR78 billion
allocated by the king from the 2005 budget surplus
for welfare and development projects. Education
and training received the lion's share of the
massive allocation.."
Changing the National Curriculum of Saudi
Arabia
"..The matter of developing the Saudi
curriculum is as old as the education system
itself, but the principal motive of the debate
recently has been due to the American initiative
with the launch of the 'Democracy and Partnership
initiative' by former US secretary of state Colin
Powell. The initiative includes developing and
modernizing education as it described the
curriculums of the Middle East as backward and
suffering from the lack of support of state
funding to correspond to population growth.."
2 Militants, Officer Die in Saudi Clashes
"Police fought running gun battles with al-Qaida
militants in an eastern Saudi Arabian city on
Sunday in clashes that killed two extremists and a
police officer, a Saudi official said. The
violence raged across Dammam, about 250 miles
northeast of the capital Riyadh, sending
frightened residents running indoors. An Interior
Ministry statement said security forces were
carrying out a security operation ''against a
number of elements affiliated to the 'deviant
group,''' a term that usually refers to al-Qaida's
branch in this kingdom.."
Siege Continues In Eastern Saudi
"Saudi security forces are continuing their
armed siege of a building in the city of Dammam on
the country's oil-rich eastern coast. Witnesses
say there has been heavy gunfire and there are
conflicting reports on how many militants are
thought to be inside the building. Security forces
have killed two alleged militants..
Women Demand More Private Sector Jobs
"Saudi businesswomen are calling on the
private sector to shoulder its responsibility and
respond to the calls made by Minister of Labor Dr.
Ghazi Al-Gosaibi to provide suitable working
environments for Saudi women. Several
businesswomen and women employees told Arab News
that 50 percent of the current jobs available in
the private sector do not suit neither the nature
of Saudi women nor their culture. They said the
private sector should come up with ways and means
to accommodate Saudi women, who represent half of
the Kingdom's population.."
Shoura Delegation in New York for IPU
Conference
"Saudi Arabia, along with other member states
of Arab Inter-Parliamentary Union, on [Sep 7] will
raise the question of Iraq and other issues
regarding Middle East peace and stability at an
international conference of parliamentarians in
New York. The three-day conference, which will be
attended by more than 200 speakers and heads of
legislative bodies from around the globe, is
organized by the 140-member Inter-Parliamentary
Union (IPU).."
Terrorists
Wiped Out in Dammam
"Saudi security forces stormed a major
Al-Qaeda hide-out in the eastern city of Damman
[Sep 6], killing all terrorists inside. Four
security men were also killed in the operation. In
a brief statement, the Interior Ministry said
security forces had 'ended their operations,'
which began [Sep 4] in the main city of Eastern
Province, losing four men, in addition to 10
wounded.."
Riyadh Seeks UN Endorsement for Anti-Terror
Center
"Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal said
here [Sep 6] that the Kingdom was seeking UN
endorsement of its proposal for an international
center to combat terrorism. "Saudi Arabia has
presented a proposal to the UN Secretary-General
Kofi Annan and governments who participated in the
international anti-terrorism conference held in
Riyadh last February calling for the General
Assembly to issue a resolution endorsing the
Riyadh Declaration," Prince Saud said.."
Saudi Arabia Urges Opec To Cover Shortfall In
Crude
"Saudi Arabia is leading the Organisation of
the Petroleum Exporting Countries to lower prices
and pump more oil to compensate for the loss of
crude production from the Gulf of Mexico after
Hurricane Katrina. The kingdom, the world's
largest oil producer, widened on [Sep 5] the
discount at which it sells its oil to US and
European refineries to a six-month high. The
decision, which represents a U-turn from recent
Saudi policy.."
UNDP Official Calls for Resetting HRD
Priorities
"Saudi Arabia ranked 77th among 177 countries
in the world in terms of Human Development Index
but 44th by GDP per capita which stood at $13,226.
This was disclosed at a press conference [Sep 7]
by Dr. El-Mostafa Benlamlih, UN resident
coordinator and UNDP resident representative,
while releasing the summary of the Human
Development Report 2005. The media briefing
coincided with the launch of the HD Report in New
York the same day.."
Nine Consortia Present SOQs for Landbridge
"Nine consortia including international
companies from the United States, Britain,
Germany, Russia, India and China have shown
interest in the Kingdom's landbridge project,
which is to change the region's shipping pattern..
..'The high-level of interest received to date
reflects the attractiveness of the landbridge
project and its potential for supporting the
further development of Saudi Arabia and the whole
Middle East region,' the statement said.."
Saudi Arabia Says Slain Militants Were Al-Qaida
"Five militants killed during a three-day
battle with security forces this week have been
identified as al-Qaida members on the country's
most-wanted list, the Saudi Interior Ministry said
[Sep 8]. Four policemen were also killed in the
confrontation in the eastern Saudi city of Damman.
The battle ended about midday [Sep 6] when special
forces stormed the seaside villa the militants had
taken over.."
All Five Terrorists Killed Were on the Wanted
List
"Five Al-Qaeda militants, who were killed in
a three-day gun battle with security forces in the
eastern city of Dammam, figured on a list of 36
most-wanted terrorists.. ..The ministry identified
the five terrorists as Zaid ibn Saad Al-Samari,
31; Saleh ibn Mansour Al-Fareedi, 22; Sultan ibn
Saleh Al-Hasry, 26; Naif ibn Farhan Al-Jehaishy,
24; and Muhammad ibn Abdul Rahman Al-Suwailemi,
23.."
US Thanks Kingdom for All-Out Support
"The United States Embassy thanked Saudi
Arabia and expressed its profound gratitude to the
people and the Saudi government 'for many
expressions of support, sympathy and concern in
the wake of Hurricane Katrina.' The embassy, in a
statement released here yesterday, appreciated
'the generous pledges of assistance for relief and
recovery efforts following the devastation caused
by the hurricane.' Saudi Arabia has offered all
assistance to the US in the wake of this natural
calamity.."
Grand Mufti Tells Militants to Surrender
"Saudi Arabia's grand mufti yesterday called
upon Al-Qaeda militants in the country to repent
and surrender to the authorities. He also praised
Saudi security forces for launching pre-emptive
strikes to foil terrorist attacks.."
Jeddah Telecom 2005 Set to Open
"A Jeddah Telecommunications & IT
conference (Jeddah Telecom 2005) opens [Sep 11],
with Makkah Governor Prince Abdul Majeed
performing the inauguration at the Hilton Hotel at
11 a.m.. ..The three-day event is packed with
addresses by high officials and presentations by
experts, according to Adel Shakoor of Tradex
Arabia. 'Telecommunication in Saudi Arabia' is the
theme of the conference.."
WTO Entry to Boost Foreign Investment
"Saudi Arabia's forthcoming accession to the
World Trade Organization (WTO) following [Sep 9]
landmark trade agreement with the United States
has brought mixed reactions from Saudi officials
and businessmen while press reports said Saudi
Arabia would continue its boycott of Israeli
products.. ..The bilateral pact requires Saudi
Arabia to open its markets to imports of more US
farm and manufactured goods, as well as service
companies in sectors including banking,
telecommunications, energy, express delivery,
transportation and hotel and restaurant
management.."
|
Security Forces End Terrorist Siege in Dammam
