SUSRIS Daily News – Excerpts from International Media Reports
[Links to full articles were active on the date posted here]
Boys to Attend Private Schools For Girls in Riyadh [May 18]
“Boys will be allowed to attend private schools for girls for the preliminary grade levels in the coming academic year. According to Al Watan newspaper, Deputy Minister of Education for Girls Education Noura Fayez sent a memo to private schools that registration will commence for young boys. The memo explained that young boys could be taught by female teachers, provided that they are in separate classrooms. The memo settled an ongoing debate about whether or not boys will be allowed to register in girl schools. Samira Al Hakran, the dean of Al Ferdos private school for girls, said that she expects a massive rush of young boys to register in the coming academic year. Schedules for the boys and girls would have to be structured so that the two sexes remained separate and there would be no overlap. A Saudi cleric had issued a fatwa in February stating that those who promote co-education should be executed..” [Complete Report]
‘Derision of West Misguided’ [May 18]
“A popular Saudi author and religious scholar has raised some questions about governmental and societal practices across the Arab world and asserts that the United States is more in alignment with many Islamic values than many countries represented as Muslim states. Aaidh ibn Abdullah Al-Qarni, whose self-help book ‘Don’t Be Sad’ sells briskly both in English and Arabic, made the remarks in two recent columns published in Asharq Al-Awsat.. ..’The US deals with its subjects through systems that look like they were based on Islamic teachings while Muslims fail to implement such systems,’ Al-Qarni wrote in his column about domestic violence, which focused on a family that moved to the US while the husband was working on a university degree.. ..This is at a time when, in the West, they discuss their affairs calmly, solve their crises with dialogue and govern their subjects with justice,’ he wrote. He suggests the Arab world needs to take a long look at itself..” [Complete Report]
Women Jobless Figure Scandalous’ [May 18]
“Abdul Wahid Al-Humayyed, Deputy Minister of Labor, has said that the rate of women’s unemployment is 28.4 percent compared to 6.9 percent for males, a figure he described as “scandalous” in country “employing millions of workers from abroad”. Speaking at an open dialogue session at Princess Noura University, Al-Humayyed said that when unemployment in America reached 25 percent ‘it became known as the ‘Great Depression’’. When asked how high unemployment could correlate with a country witnessing growth across the board, Al-Humayyed noted that 78 percent of unemployed women were university graduates, compared to 17 percent of males. ‘The most significant obstacle to women working is the social factor,’..” [Complete Report]
Saudi Arabia Frees 2 German Children Kidnapped in Yemen [May 18]
“Saudi security forces have freed two German children kidnapped in Yemen last year. Saudi Arabia’s Interior Ministry says the two German girls were recovered from an area near the two countries’ border. Germany said the girls were in good health and would be flown home on Wednesday. The girls were a part of German family of five – a couple and their three children – kidnapped along with four others last June in Yemen’s northern mountains. Two German women and a South Korean woman who disappeared with the group were later found dead. There has been no word on the fate of the remaining hostages.. ..The two Chinese workers, kidnapped on Sunday, were employed by an oil company in Shabwa. The French news agency reports that four Yemeni government employees also were kidnapped..” [Complete Report]
Saudi Finance Minister Not Worried About Oil Price [May 18]
” Saudi Arabia, the world’s biggest crude exporter, is not worried about oil prices, which have fallen 17 percent this month, Minister of Finance Ibrahim Al- Assaf. ‘I’m not worried right now and we will push through with the development of projects that we committed to,’ Al-Assaf said at the Euromoney conference in Riyadh today. Crude oil futures traded in New York fell as low as $69.27 a barrel yesterday and closed 2.1 percent down at $70.08, the lowest settlement for a contract nearest to expiration since Dec. 14. Oil ministers from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries have said in the past few months that they favor prices between $70 and $90. OPEC agreed in March to uphold output quotas for a fifth time. The group slashed production quotas at a meeting in December 2008, after energy demand fell during the worst recession since World War II..” [Complete Report]
Sinopec Wary of High Cost of Saudi Refinery Investment [May 18]
“China’s Sinopec Corp said on Tuesday it has not yet entered formal discussions with Saudi Aramco over investing in the giant Yanbu refinery in Saudi Arabia, due to concerns about the high investment cost there. ‘A 400,000 bpd (barrels per day) refinery costs around 30 billion yuan ($4.4 billion) in China, but would require 50 billion yuan investment in Saudi Arabia. We are concerned about the returns on investment,’ Sinopec Corp Chairman Su Shulin told reporters. ‘We are monitoring the projet, but have not entered formal talks.’ Top management of Saudi Aramco and Sinopec Corp met last month in Beijing and the topic of jointly financing and building the 400,000 bpd Yanbu refinery may have been part of the discussions, industry sources have said. Aramco has approached firms that could replace Conocophillips as partners for the project after the US firm’s decision last month to pull out..” [Complete Report]
Brazil’s Petrobras In Pact For CPC Plant In Saudi Arabia [May 18]
“Brazilian state-run energy giant Petroleo Brasileiro SA (PBR, PETR4.BR) signed a preliminary agreement to invest in Saudi Arabia, in partnership with Saudi company Modern Mining Holding, Petrobras said late Monday in a statement. In 2009, both companies signed a memorandum of understanding with the intention of building a green petroleum coke calcining plant. ‘The Preliminary Agreement aims to undertake a further study to analyze the feasibility of developing, funding, building, and operating a calcined petroleum coke (CPC) plant in Saudi Arabia,’ Petrobras said. ‘Under the terms of the agreement, it is expected that the plant be built in Jubail or Raz az Zawra and that it produce up to 700,000 tons of CPC a year, with green coke provided by Petrobras. The estimated investments for the project are approximately $450 million, with equal shares between the partners and the possibility of funding from government and financial institutions,’..” [Complete Report]
Al-Assaf to Open Euromoney Conference in Riyadh [May 18]
“Speakers from 16 countries are participating in the Euromoney Saudi Arabia Conference, which will be inaugurated by Finance Minister Ibrahim Al-Assaf in Riyadh on Tuesday. The highly anticipated conference opens its doors in light of the latest economic turmoil triggered by Greece’s financial crisis. ‘Euromoney Saudi Arabia 2010 takes place at a crucial time,’ conference director Richard Banks told a press conference at Riyadh’s Faisaliah Hotel on Monday. ‘While the global economy in 2010 was set on course for slow recovery, recent events highlighted the fragility of this process. The conference will provide a forum for more than 1,200 delegates to discuss possible spill-over effects affecting the region.’ He added that half of the delegates are from countries other than the Kingdom, while the rest are from local banks, private sector establishments and financial houses..” [Complete Report]
RBS Stake in Saudi Hollandi May be Sold to Public [May 18]
“A stake in Saudi Hollandi Bank held by a consortium led by Royal Bank of Scotland could be sold through a public share offering, the chairman of the Saudi lender said on Tuesday. ‘We are studying many options. Either we find a long-term strategic partner or we reach an agreement with the central bank to find another way to offer these shares in (a public offering),’ Mubarak al-Khafrah told Reuters on the sidelines of a conference. Saudi Hollandi Bank would only consider international partners, not local counterparts, to replace the consortium, Khafrah said. ‘There are many options, but the partnership does not mean a local partnership. We do not need local partnerships,’ he said. Khafrah also said a team at Saudi Hollandi was looking into options for the stake sale. ‘The board has created a team to study the various options and to look at international banks as well. Talks are ongoing, and hopefully the result will be out by the end of the third quarter,’..” [Complete Report]
