SUSRIS Daily News – Excerpts from International Media Reports
[Links to full articles were active on the date posted here]
Saudi Diplomats Receive Death Threats in Sudan [May 27]
“Staff at the Kingdom’s embassy in Sudan say they are continuing to receive death threats from unknown persons, with the latest recipient in recent days being Vice Consul Wajih Masoud. ‘I received a text message on my mobile phone saying ‘we will assassinate you before you leave Khartoum’,’ Masoud told Okaz. ‘I approached the Sudanese government as soon as I received the message and they have given me protection at home but not during travel to the embassy. The Sudanese government is investigating the number from which the threatening message came.’ Masoud said that his staff had become concerned at the repeated nature of the threats..” [Complete Report]
Security, Religion Block Saudi Rights Progress—Amnesty International [May 27]
“Saudi Arabia has made minor progress on its dismal human rights record but the powerful state security apparatus and the conservative religious regime continue to block real change, Amnesty International said Wednesday. Despite recently formed human rights bodies and reforms to the justice system, prisoners still face secret and summary justice, women are frequently abused, and faiths other than Sunni Muslim are still unable to worship freely in the country, Amnesty said in its annual report for 2010.. ..It cited the ongoing practice of detention without charge or trial of people suspected of links to what the Saudis brand as ‘terrorist’ activities. Amnesty said “thousands” of people arrested in recent years on terror-related allegations remained in prison without charge, trial or access to legal advice, with “hundreds” more arrested in 2009..” [Complete Report]
GE Reaches Deal With Saudi Aramco [May 27]
“General Electric said Wednesday that it has signed a deal with the national oil company of Saudi Arabia that establishes a framework for the supply of GE turbomachinery equipment and services to support oil and gas production in the country. The deal between GE and Saudi Aramco is designed to cut costs and lead to shorter cycle times for Saudi Aramco projects. It also builds on initiatives to maximize the performance of Saudi Aramco’s fleet of turbomachinery equipment, which includes more than 60 gas turbines, 90 compressors and more than 100 pumps. No financial terms for the deal were included in the announcement..” [Complete Report]
Saudi Diplomat Urges Government to Stop Hiring Indonesians [May 27]
“A senior Saudi diplomat has backed the demand to halt the recruitment of Indonesian labor. The demand has been made by the National Committee for Recruitment as well as the recruitment offices in Saudi Arabia. Abdul Aziz Al-Roqabi, consul at the Saudi Embassy in Jakarta, recently urged the Saudi authorities to stop issuing labor visas for Indonesia until the country’s recruitment offices comply with agreements signed with their Saudi counterparts.. ..There are about 1.5 million Indonesians currently working in the Kingdom, and they contribute more than one-third of the East Asian country’s foreign remittance annually. Speaking to Al-Riyadh Arabic daily, the consul reaffirmed that bilateral relations between Saudi Arabia and Indonesia are strong and excellent, and that the Indonesian government has nothing to do with the current recruitment stand off. ‘It is the Federation of Indonesia Workers and recruitment offices in that country which are primarily responsible for the crisis. Unfortunately, the recruitment offices in Indonesia, not exceeding five, are owned by Saudis and Arabs, and they earn a major chunk of the exorbitant amount of money collected through the recruitment of Indonesian labor’..” [Complete Report]
Salman’s Visit Expected to Bolster Norway Ties [May 27]
“Riyadh Gov. Prince Salman on Wednesday began a visit to Oslo, which is expected to take Saudi-Norwegian relations to new heights. He will also visit Germany on May 30.. ..’Saudi Arabia and Norway are active members of the international community and have been contributing to promote world peace and stability. We also coordinate to tackle major issues such as the Palestinian issue,’ the Norwegian minister said. Støre noted the two oil-producing countries’ efforts to stabilize world market. Welcoming Prince Salman to Norway, he said: ‘We have been looking forward to this visit for quite a long time and we are happy to see his royal highness amongst us.’.. ..Saudi Arabia and Norway established diplomatic relations in 1961. Five years later Norway opened its embassy in Jeddah, which was moved to the Diplomatic Quarter in Riyadh in 1984..” [Complete Report]
Australia, Saudi Arabia Sign University Pact [May 27]
“Student exchanges and research collaboration will be encouraged under a new education agreement signed by Australia and Saudi Arabia. Education Minister Julia Gillard met her Saudi counterpart Dr Khalid bin Mohammed Al Ankary in Canberra on Thursday. The pair signed a memorandum of cooperation which Ms Gillard said built on the ties the two nations already shared. Dr Ankary and Ms Gillard discussed their commitment to sharing information and resources between Saudi Arabian and Australian high education institutions at the meeting. Their memorandum will encourage research cooperation, the exchange of academic staff, researchers and students and support international scholarships. It also fosters the translation of both nations’ distinguished research, to allow expertise to be shared beyond language barriers. Dr Ankary is at the end of his week-long visit to Australia, where he led a delegation of 26 senior Saudi officials..” [Complete Report]
Harvard Students Visit Effat University [May 27]
“Effat University hosted on Saturday a meeting between students from Harvard and Effat universities. “The meeting was a major success. Both sides shared their opinion about politics, religion, education and many more,” said Amal Al-Refai, public relations manager at Effat University. ‘What made this meeting even more interesting was that our students gave them a presentation at the beginning of the meeting explaining how a Saudi student spends her day between home and school. With that they started their discussion.’ The meeting was organized by the Saudi Ministry of Higher Education jointly coordinated with the Royal Embassy in Washington..” [Complete Report]
