SUSRIS Daily News – Excerpts from International Media Reports
[Links to full articles were active on the date posted here]
Prince Saud to Supervise Bioweapons’ Control Body [Apr 13]
“The Cabinet on Monday, chaired by King Abdullah, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, approved the reorganization of the National Authority for the Implementation of the Chemical Arms and Biological Warfare Control Agreements. The authority has been placed under the supervision of Prince Saud Al-Faisal, Minister of Foreign Affairs. The body will now operate under the chairmanship of the undersecretary at the Foreign Ministry for Multiparty Relations. The authority will now serve as a liaison and national coordination center for the enforcement of agreements pertaining to the control of chemical arms and other similar agreements. It will liaise with international organizations involved in chemical and biological warfare agreements in order to monitor their activities at the national and international levels and coordinate with the relevant government bodies to ensure that the Kingdom’s commitments are carried out as defined in the agreements..” [Complete Report]
Saudi Security Warns Against False Journalists Targeting Officials With Bomb Devices [Apr 13]
“The Ministry of Culture and Information has called on editors-in-chief and journalists in the Kingdom to be cautious and to carry their press identity cards while performing their duties. In a letter, addressed to media and press institutions, the ministry stressed that this step is aimed at preventing attempts by terrorists to disguise as journalists to carry out terrorist attacks. The ministry’s letter was in line with an official warning from the Ministry of Interior in which it warned that militants might disguise as pressmen to have an access to senior officials and VIPs and thus be able to use bomb devices against them. The move comes as a precautionary measure to protect dignitaries, officials and visitors. It also comes after the security forces succeeded to thwart all other means and plans used by Al Qaida in Saudi Arabia during the past few years..” [Complete Report]
Visits to Improve Relations with Riyadh – Iraqi Sources [Apr 13]
“An Iraqi source told Asharq Al-Awsat that the successive visits undertaken by Iraqi leaders to Saudi Arabia this week reflect the desire of these Iraqi political leaders to improve relations with Riyadh. The day after Iraqi President Jalal Talabani visited Riyadh, the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz met with the President of the Kurdistan Region, Massoud Barzani, who visited Saudi Arabia Monday to discuss a number of topics of mutual interest. King Abdullah also awarded Barzani the King Abdulaziz Medal-First Class. King Abdullah informed the Saudi Council of Ministers about the topic of his discussion with Talabani, and he reiterated Saudi Arabia’s support for Iraqi unity, independence, sovereignty, and security. An Iraqi official source also informed Asharq Al-Awsat that both President of the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq Ammar al-Hakim and Iraqi Vice President Tariq al Hashimi are set to visit Saudi Arabia before the end of the week..” [Complete Report]
Firms Poised for Saudi Refinery Deals Await Conoco [Apr 13]
“South Korean, Spanish and Indian contracting firms were poised to win contracts from Saudi Aramco and ConocoPhillips (COP.N) to build a new Saudi oil refinery, industry and trade sources said on Tuesday. The deals were pending Conoco’s final investment decision on the joint venture refinery at Yanbu on the kingdom’s Red Sea coast, sources said. After considering bids for the projects, Aramco and Conoco have pencilled in South Korea’s SK Engineering to build a crude unit, Daelim Industrial (000210.KS) for a gasoline unit, and GS Engineering to build a hydrocracker, industry sources said.. ..’The list is pretty final,’ said one contractor. ‘But nothing has been awarded yet.’..” [Complete Report]
SEC Allows Steel Firms to Raise Prices [Apr 13]
“The Supreme Economic Council (SEC) has decided to allow market forces to determine the price of steel in the country and has rejected a cap on prices instituted by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. In line with this decision, the Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC) raised the price of steel, of all measurements, by SR700 per tons effective Tuesday. SABIC is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of chemicals, fertilizers, plastics, and metals. The Ministry of Commerce and Industry’s decision to place a cap on prices was an attempt to tackle a crisis in the steel market and a growing black market of the commodity..” [Complete Report]
GACA Denies Standoff With Egyptian Body [Apr 13]
“The Saudi General Authority for Civil Aviation (GACA) has issued a statement refuting what has been recently reported in the media about its standoff with the Egyptian Civil Aviation Authority (ECAA). Egypt Air has limit on how many flights it can land at Madinah airport in a dispute that has led to Saudia flights from Madinah being prevented from landing at Cairo, and the Kingdom’s two budget airlines, NAS and SAMA, reduced the number of flights they can land at Egyptian destinations. The GACA statement, a copy of which was received by Arab News, states that GACA has been working for 10 years to ease restrictions between itself and its Egyptian counterpart. An agreement was subsequently signed removing all flight restrictions between the two countries in 2006. The agreement was, however, restricted to Egypt Air and Saudia. According to that agreement, Egypt Air would only be allowed to operate a single daily flight to Madinah and that flights may be increased at peak times, sometimes to three or four times a day..” [Complete Report]
Contract for Jeddah Airport Not Yet Signed [Apr 13]
“The General Authority for Civil Aviation (GACA) has denied recent media reports that the contract to develop and modernize Jeddah’s King Abdulaziz International Airport (KAIA) has been awarded to a Saudi company. ‘The report carried by some local media that GACA has signed the contract is untrue. On the contrary, GACA is currently evaluating applications submitted by local and international bidders for the two separate contracts to develop KAIA,’ said GACA spokesman Khaled Al-Khaibary. The project, which is the largest expansion work ever undertaken at the airport, aims to expand and refurbish the airport to receive 30 million travelers each year.. .. ‘Tenders were received two weeks ago and they are currently being examined from the financial and technical angles,’ he said. He added that GACA will announce the winning companies as soon as the selection procedure is complete..” [Complete Report]
IEA Warns Rising Oil Prices Could Hinder Economic Recovery [Apr 13]
“The International Energy Agency warned Tuesday that rising oil prices, up recently near 18-month highs, could squeeze economic recovery in the U.S. and other industrialized nations. The Paris-based agency said there was plenty of oil around to sate increasing demand, but added that higher crude prices could ‘stall [rich nations'] economic recovery or render it more ‘oil less’ than we currently envisage.’.. .. The IEA, which tracks oil industry trends on behalf of its mostly industrialized-nation members, raised its 2010 global oil-demand forecast by 30,000 barrels a day—a slight amount—due to rising consumption in China and Saudi Arabia. World oil demand this year is seen growing 1.7 million barrels a day to 86.6 million barrels a day, which would be the highest level on record, according to IEA data. Some analysts think that view is too optimistic, saying it is based heavily on government spending programs that will eventually be taken away—possibly starting later this year, and gives short shrift to the lingering debt problems that still weigh on energy consumption..” [Complete Report]
