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Arabia
Crown Prince Salman is new ruler
2015-01-22
[ARABNEWS] Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah has died, state television reported early on Friday and his brother Salman became king, it said in a statement attributed to Salman. King Salman has called on the family's Allegiance Council to pay allegiance to Muqrin as his crown prince and heir.
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Arabia
IS terror tops agenda of Saudi-French talks
2014-09-02
[ARABNEWS] Threat posed by Islamic State (IS) holy warriors, who have seized swathes of territory in Iraq and Syria, tops the agenda of Saudi-French talks.

Crown Prince Salman arrived in Gay Paree Monday on a landmark visit for talks with President Francois Hollande
...the Socialist president of La Belle France, an economic bad joke for la Belle France but seemingly a foreign policy realist...
 and other French leaders.

The visit aims to further strengthen relations between the two countries.

The crown prince's talks with Hollande would also focus on boosting military cooperation, according to political analysts.

King of the Arabians, Sheikh of the Burning Sands, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah has warned world leaders that forces of Evil would hit their countries unless they take "rapid" action to eliminate it. "If we ignore them, I am sure they will reach Europe in a month and America in another month," the king said while receiving foreign diplomats in Jeddah on Friday.

On Thursday, Hollande rejected any cooperation with Bashir al-Assad, whom he accused of being a "de-facto ally" of IS holy warriors, after his regime said it was willing to work with the international community to tackle the terrorist group.

"The historic visit to Gay Paree paid by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah in 2007 has contributed immensely to taking Saudi-French ties to new heights," the crown prince said in an arrival statement.

Hollande will host a dinner at the Elysee presidential palace in honor of the Saudi crown prince, who is due to meet Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius on Wednesday for talks on major regional and international issues.

The crown prince is accompanied by a high-level delegation, including Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal, Culture and Information Minister Abdul Aziz Khoja and Commerce and Industry Minister Tawfiq Al-Rabiah.

"This visit comes within the framework of developing bilateral cooperation and strengthening the level of coordination on regional and international issues of mutual concern," Prince Salman said while commending "the best ever" relations between the two countries.

Meanwhile,
...back at the cheese factory, there was only one thought in the mouse's mind: I can do this! I can do this! Then the trap sprung...
 Abdullatif Al-Othman, governor of the Soddy Arabia
...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in the Soddy national face...
n General Investment Authority (SAGIA), will open an investment exhibition in Gay Paree on Tuesday with the participation of 15 government agencies to woo French investment to the Kingdom. SAGIA hoped that the exhibition would attract a large number of French companies interested to invest in Saudi Arabia. "The show reflects the Kingdom's desire to expand its economic and investment ties with La Belle France," it added.
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Arabia
Saudi King visits Jeddah to allay Mers fears
2014-04-25
The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz of Saudi Arabia was in Jeddah on Thursday in a bid to reassure a worried public as the death toll from the Mers virus hit 85.
Besides, if the old boy kicks off it's no big loss...
The Red Sea city has seen a spate of cases among health staff in recent weeks that have sparked fears that the virus has mutated to make it more transmissible from person to person.

Public concern has been fuelled by the reported resignation last week of at least four doctors at Jeddah’s King Fahd Hospital after they refused to treat Mers patients for fear of infection with the deadly coronavirus.

In its latest bulletin on Wednesday, the health ministry said that it had recorded a total of 287 cases of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome in the kingdom so far, of whom a full 85 had died. Riyadh insisted there was no cause for public alarm.
"Remain calm! All is well!"
National Guard Minister Prince Mitab said his father King Abdullah was in Jeddah “to reassure the public and to prove that the exaggerated and false rumours about coronavirus are not true.”

“The Mers situation is reassuring and it has not reached the level of an epidemic,” he told students in Jeddah according to the Saudi Gazette.

Labour Minister Adel Fakieh, who has taken over as acting health minister, said on Twitter late on Tuesday that he had visited the King Fahd Hospital. He promised “transparency and to promptly provide the media and society with the information needed.”
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Syria-Lebanon-Iran
OIC suspends Syria’s membership
2012-08-17
MAKKAH: The Organization of Islamic Cooperation suspended Syria’s membership early on Thursday at a summit of Muslim leaders in Makkah, citing President Bashar Assad’s violent suppression of the Syrian revolt.
That should do it...
The statement by the 57-nation group said: “The conference decides to suspend the Syrian Arab Republic membership in the OIC and all its subsidiary organs, specialized and affiliated institutions.”

The move had been approved on Monday at a preliminary meeting of OIC foreign ministers and was agreed on the summit’s second night despite opposition from Iran. The two-day emergency solidarity summit was held on Tuesday and Wednesday in the holy city of Makkah.

Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah presided over the meeting, attended by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad whose country has openly criticized the push to suspend Syria.

Participants had agreed on “the need to end immediately the acts of violence in Syria and to suspend that country from the OIC.”

The final statement said there had been “deep concern at the massacres and inhuman acts suffered by the Syrian people.”

OIC Secretary-General Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu told a news conference the decision sent “a strong message from the Muslim world to the Syrian regime.”

“This world can no longer accept a regime that massacres its people using planes, tanks and heavy artillery,” he added.

It was “also a message to the international community stating that the Muslim world backs a peaceful solution (in Syria), wants an end to the bloodshed and refuses to let the problem degenerate into a religious conflict and spill over” into the wider region, Ihsanoglu said.

The move by the OIC, which represents 1.5 billion Muslims worldwide, is aimed at further isolating Assad’s embattled regime. Syria was suspended from the Arab League last year over its clampdown on the uprising that Assad characterized as a plot by Western and rival powers to overthrow his regime.

The meeting called for the “immediate implementation of the transitional peace plan and the development of a peaceful mechanism that would allow building a new Syrian state based on pluralism, democratic and civilian system.”

It also urged the UN Security Council to “assume fully its responsibility by stopping the ongoing violence and bloodshed in Syria and finding a peaceful and lasting solution to the Syrian crisis.”

The participants also stressed “the principal responsibility of the Syrian government for the continuation of violence and bloodshed.”

Algeria, Pakistan and Kazakhstan had called for the final statement of the summit, to which Damascus was not invited, to also pin blame on the armed opposition for the bloodshed in Syria, according to informed sources at the summit. And Egypt’s President Muhammad Mursi proposed the formation of a committee grouping his country with key players Iran, Saudi Arabia and Turkey to try to find a settlement to the Syrian conflict, a delegate had said.

Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi on Monday criticized the move to suspend Syria’s membership of the OIC, saying it would not resolve the conflict and was not in line with the group’s charter. However, a source close to the participants told AFP that the Islamic Republic which had repeatedly voiced support to its Damascus ally met the decision with a “soft reaction.”

Iran’s president had avoided mention of the Syrian conflict in a 55-minute speech on Tuesday night. “There has been a clear change in the Iranian position toward Syria,” according to a diplomat at the Makkah summit.

In a conciliatory move, King Abdullah proposed on Tuesday setting up a center in Riyadh for dialogue between Muslim Sunnis and Shiites.

In a second statement called the “Makkah Pact,” the participants proclaimed their support for “Muslim people who are oppressed like the Syrian people.”
It underlined the summit’s support for “the oppressed Muslim peoples... who face the combat aircraft and heavy guns of the regular armies as is the case of the Syrian people.”

The statement backed cooperation between Muslim states, the fight against divisions between Muslims, promotion of “moderate” Islam and the “fight against terrorism and the thinking behind it.”
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Africa North
KSA gives Egypt $2 billion to prop up economy
2012-05-11
Saudi Arabia yesterday agreed to give an initial loan package worth nearly $ 2 billion to support Egypt's economy. It has transferred $ 1 billion to Egypt's central bank as an eight-year deposit,
Literally money in the bank. I'm not sure I can handle that thought...
Faiza Abu El-Naga, the Egyptian minister for planning and international cooperation, said yesterday.
That'll fix the balance of payments for a couple months...
"Saudi Arabia is implementing its financial package for Egypt, which will go a long way in helping the battered economy," said El-Naga while thanking the Kingdom for its support.

"Saudi Arabia has pumped this fund in the form of a deposit at the Central Bank of Egypt, while it also provided a $500 million loan to boost Egypt's economy," said the minister in a statement released by the Egyptian Embassy in Riyadh.

Saudi Ambassador to Cairo, Ahmed Qattan, confirmed the report saying the Kingdom signed an agreement with Egypt to provide $500 million to support its various economic sectors and $1 billion to deposit in the Egyptian Central Bank.

"The Kingdom also gave $250 million to finance gas exports from the Kingdom and $200 million to finance Egypt's small and medium enterprises," the Saudi Press Agency quoted Qattan as saying. He said Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah approved the aid to support Egypt and its economic stability.

After the political unrest, Egypt's economy has been experiencing difficult times, which prompted Cairo to urge more support from friendly countries as well as the International Monetary Fund. In fact, Egypt's foreign exchange reserves fell from $36 billion in December 2010 to only $16.3 billion in January 2012.

In February 2012, Standard & Poor's rating agency lowered Egypt's credit rating from B+ to B in the long term, which indicates turbulent times for the Egyptian economy if normalcy is not restored early and the financial institutions, including banks, do not start working more aggressively.

Asked about the aid and assistance provided by other countries, Nabeel Baker, a spokesman of the Egyptian Embassy in Riyadh, said: "The Kingdom has extended a helping hand to Egypt in times of need and in all emergency situations." Riyadh is set to send Egypt billions of dollars in aid, including the $1 billion that has already been disbursed. "The Saudi aid package demonstrates the good relations between the two countries," he added.

The Kingdom and Egypt are highly influential countries in the Arab world. Egypt, which is also negotiating a $3.2 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund, has been seeking funds from international donors to help it plug a balance of payment deficits aggravated by the political and economic turmoil of the last 15 months, said Baker. Saudi Arabia is committed to provide Egypt with up to $2.7 billion in financial aid.
I had wondered why the predicted melt-down of Egypt was delayed.
"Saudi Arabia has supported Egypt's economy before by sending $500 million," said Minister of Finance Ibrahim Al-Assaf while speaking during a conference for finance ministers of Gulf states in the Saudi capital last week. Saudi Arabia announced in April that it would deposit $1 billion in Egypt's central bank and buy treasury bonds worth $750 million as part of a $2.7 billion package to support Egypt's battered finances.
Better they give their excess funds to Egypt than to jihadis...
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Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Iran to top GCC talks agenda
2012-05-08
Key regional developments in the Arab world including strained relations between the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and Iran will top the agenda of the consultative meeting of the GCC heads of state in the Saudi capital on May 14, GCC officials said after wide-ranging talks between Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah and GCC Secretary-General Abdullateef Al-Zayani here yesterday.

King Abdullah said: “The Gulf states were committed to bolstering efforts through concerted action for peace and security. A more homogenous GCC economic bloc is the need of the hour.”

"The talks between King Abdullah and GCC chief came in the context of a regional trip undertaken by the GCC chief to brief the heads of Gulf governments about the GCC's preparations for the consultative meeting," said GCC spokesman Saleem S. A. Al-Alwi.

The meeting is also expected to “shed light on the security situation in the region and terrorism at large,” said another GCC spokesman, without divulging more details.
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Syria-Lebanon-Iran
KSA tells UN: Rein in Assad
2012-03-06
Said one toothless hound to the other...
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia yesterday urged the UN Security Council to shoulder its moral responsibility toward ending the bloodbath in Syria, being perpetrated by the regime of Bashar Assad. The Kingdom appealed to the UN to take immediate steps to provide medical and humanitarian assistance to civilian victims.

The Council of Ministers, chaired by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah, also welcomed the UN decision to hold a humanitarian forum in Geneva on Thursday to estimate the relief requirements of the Syrian people.

“The council reiterated its call for the Security Council to exercise its legitimate role and shoulder its moral responsibility by taking initiative to call for an end to violence and put an end to the killing of Syrian people,” Culture and Information Minister Abdul Aziz Khoja said.

Shoura Council Chairman Dr. Abdullah Al-Asheikh, meanwhile, told a conference of Arab parliamentarians in Kuwait City yesterday that Saudi Arabia was following the situation in Syria with deep concern as a result of growing violence in the country.
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Africa Horn
World leaders wake up to the plight of Somalia
2012-02-24
Wake up? Maybe. But we could say 'not completely comatose'...
LONDON: International powers called Thursday for urgent action on Somalia, warning that the world will "pay the price" for failing to help the country tackle political unrest, militants and pirates.
We've been helping. What do they think all those soldiers and Predators are all about, anyway?
Senior representatives from over 40 countries and organizations attended the Lancaster House conference that discussed what should follow the transitional institutions in Mogadishu in August 2012 and the establishment of a joint financial management board.

Addressing the conference, Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal said : "The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is still contacting all Somali forces who genuinely wish to see an end to the burning issue."
Not to mention all the ones who don't, but that's not to be talked about publicly.
UN chief Ban Ki-moon, British Prime Minister David Cameron and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton were among those attending the talks in London, along with the Somali president.

"These problems in Somalia don't just affect Somalia. They affect us all. If the rest of us just sit back and look on, we will pay a price for doing so," Cameron said. "It's a country where there is so little hope, where there is chaos and violence and terrorism, pirates are disrupting vital trade routes and kidnapping tourists."

Clinton said the US would push for sanctions, including travel bans and asset freezes, for those "standing in the way" of progress by the fragile transitional government, the mandate for which expires in August. She also pledged an extra $64 million in humanitarian assistance to the region to help improve the lives of ordinary Somalis, blighted by famine and civil war for the past 21 years.

Ban urged the world to build on recent progress after the UN agreed to boost the African Union peacekeeping force in the country to 17,000, and after Al-Shabab rebels were driven from a key town.

While commending the efforts of the British Premier David Cameron to bring peace in Somalia, Prince Saud said Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah initiated the signing of a national conciliation agreement by Somali factions in Jeddah in 2009. He said Saudi Arabia believed that all Somali factions without the exception of any personality or group should be involved in making a just and comprehensive solution acceptable to all parties.

The prince also pointed out that Saudi Arabia has been striving all along to reduce the poverty in Somalia. "The last Saudi aid given to help the famine stricken Somalia people was $70 million besides a contribution of more than $53 million by the Saudi people between 2009 and 2011. This was apart from the thousands of tons of dates, other food materials, medical supplies and shelter materials supplied to the suffering people," the prince said, adding that the Kingdom has also been giving additional aid as part of the decision of the Arab summits on the issue.
How much went to the Widows Ammunition Fund, your Corpulenceness?
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Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Syria talks futile, Saudi King tells Russia
2012-02-23
Cheez Louise, they got me agreeing with King Abdullah...
JEDDAH: Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah told Russian President Dmitry Medvedev that dialogue on Syria was "futile." He said Russia should have coordinated with the Arabs before using its veto against the UN Security Council resolution on Syria.

King Abdullah made this comment during a telephone conversation with Medvedev. According to the SPA, the Russian president called the king and discussed the situation in Syria, other regional issues and ways to boost bilateral ties.

Medvedev expressed his country's stand on the Syria issue while King Abdullah said Saudi Arabia would never back down from its religious and moral stand on events taking place in Syria.

"Our Russian friends should have coordinated with the Arabs ... before using the veto to block a resolution on Syria at the UN Security Council," the SPA quoted the king as saying.

"But now, dialogue about what is happening (in Syria) is futile," the Saudi ruler told the Russian president during the talk on the escalating violence.
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Arabia
Saudis boost defense ties with India
2012-02-14
RIYADH: Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah held wide-ranging talks with Indian Defense Minister A.K. Antony here Monday.
Golly gosh. What would make the Master Race consort with the heathen Hindooz?
They did say they wanted to acquire nuclear weapons.. India has some, in case the Pakistanis balk at giving up the ones the Saudis have stored there.
The talks focused on "a range of bilateral and regional issues" of common concern with special reference to defense cooperation between the two countries.
This is going to upset the Paks no end...
Everything involving India upsets them no end.
"The talks with King Abdullah covered several bilateral topics ranging from economy to politics and defense cooperation," said Antony, adding that he was "extremely happy and privileged" to meet the king.

Analysts view this first ever visit by the Indian defense minister with a team of senior army, air force and naval officers as a very important development in view the Middle East facing new challenges.

Antony told reporters, after his meeting with the king, that he would be holding comprehensive talks on defense matters with Prince Salman on Tuesday. He pointed out that Riyadh and New Delhi are witnessing "rapidly growing relations" in the fields of politics, economy, energy and many more sectors. "The Middle East region is important for us," said Antony, while expressing his solidarity with the Kingdom and India's hope for peace and stability in the region.

Antony stressed the need for closer cooperation in defense as Saudi Arabia and India are on the verge of a significant long-range partnership. The international community will have to jointly fight the menace of terrorism, which is of "grave concern to global peace and stability."

He singled out terrorism and piracy as major problems facing the region that lies in India's extended neighborhood. Antony said that problems such as "terrorism and transnational crimes are common concerns the world over."
And Saudi Arabia is briskly stirring almost all of those bubbling pots, adding special Wahhabi spices.
"India greatly values its relations with Riyadh," Antony said, adding, "Now we will strengthen our relations further."

Referring to the specific areas of cooperation in defense, a press statement released by the Indian Ministry of Defense said: "Bilateral military cooperation should be boosted by high-level military exchanges, joint training of troops and use of training courses in India."

Indian Navy should hold joint exercises and pay visits to Saudi Arabia both in the Red Sea and the Gulf, it said. "One could expect more developments in the defense and security field, as this is a vital component of any strategic partnership," said a reliable source, on the condition of anonymity.

He said that the Delhi Declaration is a pointer in this direction. "In comparative terms, India is more geographically proximate to Saudi Arabia," said the source. It is only the Arabian Sea that separates them, he added.

"India and Saudi Arabia may not have a formal defense cooperation agreement, but the two countries have in the last decade enhanced their interaction with their forces holding joint training exercise, particularly in counterinsurgency and mountain warfare techniques," he noted.

India with its large Muslim population sees Saudi Arabia from the global perspective as the seat of Islam's two most sacred sites -- Makkah and Madinah --to which a large number of Indian Muslims go on pilgrimage annually.
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Arabia
Kashghari detained on arrival in Riyadh
2012-02-13
RIYADH: Saudi blogger Hamza Kashghari, who had fled to Kuala Lumpur on Thursday after tweeting insulting comments about Prophet Muhammad, was taken into custody as he arrived in Riyadh on Sunday night.

It followed Kashghari's deportation by Malaysian authorities. The 23-year-old man will face charges of blasphemy, informed sources told Arab News.
Bet he's not feeling so good right now...
The sources said Kashghari was accompanied by Saudi officials on his flight to King Khaled International Airport in Riyadh. The sources explained that it was a standing rule in Malaysia to deport people wanted to face justice in their countries. Kashghari escaped the Kingdom after realizing that the deletion of his tweets and a subsequent tweet apologizing for the statements were not enough to stop leveling of charges against him.

Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah has issued orders to arrest Kashghari and bring him to justice.

A large number of male and female bloggers from Saudi Arabia and abroad have called for Kashghari's trial on charges of apostasy. Kashghari's tweets stirred an angry response in Saudi society and were met by denunciation and condemnation by a section of the Twitter community.

The Permanent Committee of Scholarly Research and Islamic Edicts (Ifta) in an official statement said anyone who dares to mock Allah, His Prophet or the religion should be tried on charges of apostasy.
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Arabia
Saudis, China ink nuclear cooperation pact
2012-01-16
What could possibly go wrong?
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia signed an agreement with China in Riyadh Sunday for cooperation in the development and use of atomic energy for peaceful purposes, which will help to meet the Kingdom's rising demand for energy and cut its growing dependence on depleting resources.

The signing ceremony was witnessed by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah and Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao together with a large number of high-ranking Saudi and Chinese officials.

“The nuclear energy cooperation agreement seeks to establish a legal framework that strengthens scientific, technological and economic cooperation between Riyadh and Beijing, while the two sides reaffirm their desire to place the highest priority on nuclear safety and environmental protection,” said an official source.

Saudi Arabia is China's biggest source of imported oil, and securing energy security was high on Wen's agenda in Riyadh, said the official. China and Saudi Arabia should keep deepening cooperation as China is already Saudi Arabia's biggest customer and the Kingdom is keen to diversify its economic ties, he noted. On Saturday, the state-run Saudi oil giant Aramco and Chinese companies finalized an initial agreement signed last year to develop a 400,000 barrel per day (bpd) refinery in Yanbu, on the Kingdom's Red Sea coast.
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