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Jihadis Recruitment Drive in Riyadh Revives Biggest Saudi Threat

The al-Qaeda breakaway group that has captured Iraq ’s biggest northern city is on a recruitment drive in Saudi Arabia. The evidence showed up last month in Riyadh, where drivers woke up to find leaflets stuffed into the handles of their car doors and in their windshields. They were promoting the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant, which has grabbed the world’s attention by seizing parts of northern Iraq. The militant group is also using social media, such as Twitter and YouTube, to recruit young Saudi men. Already at war with the governments of Iraq and Syria , ISIL also poses a potential threat to the Al Saud family’s rule over the world’s biggest oil exporter. Saudi authorities gained the upper hand in their battle with al-Qaeda, which targeted the kingdom a decade ago, yet analysts said the latest generation of militants may be harder to crush. ISIL, […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Jihadis Recruitment Drive in Riyadh Revives Biggest Saudi Threat

The al-Qaeda breakaway group that has captured Iraq ’s biggest northern city is on a recruitment drive in Saudi Arabia. The evidence showed up last month in Riyadh, where drivers woke up to find leaflets stuffed into the handles of their car doors and in their windshields. They were promoting the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant, which has grabbed the world’s attention by seizing parts of northern Iraq. The militant group is also using social media, such as Twitter and YouTube, to recruit young Saudi men. Already at war with the governments of Iraq and Syria , ISIL also poses a potential threat to the Al Saud family’s rule over the world’s biggest oil exporter. Saudi authorities gained the upper hand in their battle with al-Qaeda, which targeted the kingdom a decade ago, yet analysts said the latest generation of militants may be harder to crush. ISIL, […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Killer virus demands open accounting

FOR MANY months in 2012 and 2013, Saudi Arabia reassured the world that it was paying close attention to the outbreak of a novel coronavirus in the kingdom, known as Middle East respiratory syndrome, or MERS. But events this year have begun to pull back the curtain on a disease outbreak that was — and remains — dangerous and not fully explained or explored. This is more than just an accident, and the Saudi authorities are finally waking up to the full extent of the lapses, just in time for the pilgrimages that are expected to bring millions to Mecca and Medina in the months ahead. There is no known antiviral or vaccine for the MERS virus. So far it does not appear to transmit rapidly among humans in a way that could create a pandemic, although some transmission has occurred among those in close contact. It has infected […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Naimi’s Good Times Will Last as Lost Output Lifts Prices: Energy

Twelve of the world’s most powerful petroleum ministers gathered around a horseshoe of tables in Vienna this week to pass judgment on the oil market. One of them sounded happier than the rest. “This is the best time for the market,” Ali al-Naimi , Saudi Arabia’s minister, told journalists before the meeting of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries on June 11. A day later, U.S. and European crude prices, which have exceeded $100 a barrel for a record time, surged to multi-month highs, spurred by worsening conflict in Iraq, the group’s second-biggest producer. Libya, with 48 billion barrels of reserves, is pumping 10 percent of what it can because of unrest. Saudi Arabia is showing satisfaction with oil prices at a time when OPEC’s collective influence seems diminished. Years ago, its utterances mattered to the market […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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BBC uncovers new evidence of civil unrest in Saudi Arabia

There’s no doubt his [Morsi’s] martyrdom is a great loss to the uprising. But this makes it stronger and his friends more determined.Hassan The BBC has gained unprecedented access to anti-government activists in Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province as the Kingdom strives to crackdown on civil unrest. In one of the most secretive countries in the world, frequent protests by the Shia minority have gone largely unreported. But for the first co-production between BBC Our World, BBC Arabic and BBC Persian, reporter Safa Al Ahmad travels into her native Saudi Arabia to investigate how three years of protests have continued in spite of a violent government crackdown. It’s nearly impossible for foreign journalists to operate in the Eastern Province, but Safa grew up in the area and was able to travel in and meet activists under the radar, without alerting the authorities. Filming over the course of a year (2013-14), […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Saudis Expect to Boost Crude Output in Second Half of the Year

Saudi Arabia expects to boost its crude output in the second half of this year, an oil official with the Kingdom said Monday. The remarks are the clearest signal to date that the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries’ kingpin will respond to rising demand as the group prepares to meet in Vienna on Wednesday. "We expect Saudi output to be higher in the second half if OPEC estimates for demand are higher," said the official, who requested anonymity. OPEC sees demand for its oil rising by about 1 million barrels a day in the second half of 2014, compared with the preceding six months. Already, Saudi Arabia slightly increased its output to 9.705 million barrels a day in May, up by about 35,000 barrels a day from 9.66 million barrels a day the previous month. The rising demand also comes as OPEC ponders how to make up for […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Saudi Arabia announces 92 more MERS deaths, sacks deputy health minister

Saudi Arabia has sacked its deputy health minister and hiked the country’s death toll from Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) after uncovering more than 90 additional fatalities. The number of victims from the virus was raised to 282 from 190 following a review of health data. In all, an additional 113 confirmed cases of MERS had been found, bringing the total to 688. The uptick in the death toll and confirmed cases came as Saudi Arabia sacked Deputy Health Minister Ziad Memish, who has been criticized by some international scientists over his handling of the deadly MERS virus. Memish was a key figure in Saudi Arabia’s efforts to contain the spread of MERS, a virus that causes coughing, fever and can lead to fatal pneumonia. The virus was identified two years ago and cases have been found in other countries in the Middle East, Europe, Asia and the United […]

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Appointment of deputy heir to throne stirs controversy in Saudi Arabia

When Saudi Arabia’s elderly king took the unusual step of naming a deputy heir, the move initially was welcomed as a sign of continuity in a country that soon will confront major questions over the future of its leadership. But in subsequent weeks, the announcement has stirred a rare outburst of dissent, revealing previously unacknowledged strains within the royal family and casting into doubt prospects for a smooth transition from King Abdullah’s rule. The king’s youngest brother, Muqrin, who was named deputy crown prince on the eve of President Obama’s visit in March, appears to be popular among ordinary people, who say he is not corrupt. He also is well-regarded by foreign diplomats, who describe him as likable and smart. But behind closed doors, royal tongues have been wagging about the manner in which Muqrin was chosen, the validity of his newly created title and […]

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Saudi Press: Natural gas production is the highest in the history of the Kingdom

On a local economic affair, Al-Yaum quoted under the title ” Natural gas production is the highest in the history of the Kingdom as saying that a report issued by Saudi Aramco recently indicated that the Kingdom’s reserves of natural gas rose to 288.4 trillion cubic feet in 2013, an increase from the rates which amounted to 284.8 trillion cubic feet in 2012, thanks to the company’s efforts through active expansion of mining operations and the use of techniques modern industrial operations in exploration and production. It noted that the Kingdom plans to make the largest increase in electricity generation in the Middle East to raise its capacity to generate electricity of about 60,000 megawatts currently to 120,000 megawatts in 2020, which is to be doubled in less than 7 years because of the rise in demand for electricity in the Kingdom. –More 10:58 LOCAL TIME 07:58 GMT

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Saudi Gas Reserves Up as Aramco Taps New Shale Deposits

Saudi Arabia ’s natural gas reserves rose last year as it explored for the fuel in the Red Sea and tapped shale gas to free more crude oil for export, according to the kingdom’s state-run oil company. Saudi reserves increased to 288 trillion cubic feet of gas last year from 285 trillion in 2012, Saudi Arabian Oil Co. said today in its annual review. The company is ready to use shale gas to fuel a 1,000-megawatt plant that will feed electricity to a large phosphate mining project, the company known as Saudi Aramco said. “Saudi Arabia will be among the first countries outside North America to use shale gas for domestic power generation,” the company said. “We are actively exploring for unconventional gas resources,” which may be large in scale, it said. The shale gas drive will help the kingdom free more diesel and crude oil for export, the […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple