ARABIALINK Daily News – SAUDI ARABIA – Excerpts from International Media Reports
[Links to full articles were active on the date posted here]
King Starts 4-Nation Tour [Jun 20]
“King Abdullah, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, arrived in the Moroccan city of Casablanca Saturday at the start of a four-nation tour that will also take him to Canada, the United States and France. The King will participate in the G-20 summit in Toronto on June 26-27. Then he will arrive in the US on a state visit, followed by visits to Morocco and France.. ..Before his departure from Jeddah, King Abdullah issued a Royal Order deputizing Crown Prince Sultan, Deputy Premier, Defense and Aviation Minister and Inspector General, to run the country’s affairs and to look after the interests of the people during his absence.. ..King Abdullah thanked the prime minister for his call. In the US, King Abdullah will meet President Barack Obama, and on July 12 he will travel to France to meet President Nicolas Sarkozy. Their talks are expected to focus on the situation in the Middle East and global economic issues as well as the enhancement of bilateral relations..” [Complete Report]
Saudi Women Use Fatwa in Driving Bid [Jun 20]
“Saudi women plan to turn a controversial fatwa (religious ruling) to their advantage and launch a campaign to achieve their long-standing demand to drive in this conservative kingdom. If the demand is not met, the women threatened to follow through the fatwa which allows them to breastfeed their drivers and turn them into their sons. The campaign will be launched under the slogan: ‘We either be allowed to drive or breastfeed foreigners,’ a journalist told Gulf News.. ..The controversial fatwa, which was regarded as both funny and weird, issued recently by Shaikh Abdul Mohsin Bin Nasser Al Obaikan, member of Saudi Council of Senior Scholars and adviser to the king, has sparked a debate in society. The renowned scholar said Saudi women can breastfeed their foreign drivers for them to be become their sons and brothers to their daughters..” [Complete Report]
25 Ex-Gitmo Saudis Relapse Into Militancy [Jun 20]
“Around 25 former detainees from Guantanamo Bay camp returned to militancy after going through a rehabilitation program for Al-Qaeda members in Saudi Arabia, a security official said Saturday. The United States has sent back around 120 Saudis from the detention camp at the US naval base in Cuba. Saudi Arabia has put the returned prisoners along with other Al-Qaeda suspects through a rehabilitation program which includes religious re-education by clerics and financial help to start a new life.. ..Around 11 Saudis from Guantanamo have gone to Yemen, an operating base for Al-Qaeda, while others have been jailed again or killed after attending the program, said Abdulrahman Al-Hadlaq, Director General of the General Administration for Intellectual Security overseeing the rehabilitation. He pinpointed strong personal ties among former prisoners but also tough US tactics as the reason why some 20 percent of the returned Saudis relapsed into militancy compared to 9.5 percent of other participants in the rehabilitation program..” [Complete Report]
Flexible Yuan Unlikely to Lead to GCC Peg Shift [Jun 20]
“China’s decision to allow a more flexible yuan, which may signal an end to the currency’s dollar peg, is unlikely to prompt Gulf Arab states to drop their dollar links, economists said. ‘There’s no pressure on the pegs right now,’ Farouk Soussa, Citigroup Inc’s chief economist for the Middle East, said in a telephone interview. ‘The only time the peg really comes under pressure is when the monetary cycles are out of kilter and we’re not in that place right now.’ China’s central bank said yesterday it will allow a more flexible yuan. Gulf Arab states, five of which peg their currencies to the dollar, came under pressure to revalue two years ago as inflation accelerated to records and the dollar weakened. Inflation has since slowed. Gulf states rely on oil exports priced in dollars for a majority of their revenue.. ..Inflation in Saudi Arabia accelerated to a year’s high of 5.4 percent in May. ‘If the economic conditions in our region change and the diversification of our economies change significantly from oil and another regime proves to be better for us, I can assure you we will not hesitate,’ Saudi Central Bank Governor Muhammad al- Jasser said in a Jan. 24 interview. ‘So it’s not like there’s a dogmatic attachment to the dollar. It just happens to be very helpful to us.’..” [Complete Report]
