SAUDIGROK Daily News – Excerpts from International Media Reports
/Provided as a service from the Saudi-US Trade Group, Washington, DC/
1.27.12 EDITION
Obama: U.S. ‘Saudi Arabia of Natural Gas’: US NEWS
1/27/12
President Obama called America the “Saudi Arabia of natural gas” Thursday and said the country should start using natural gas to power more cars and trucks.
Boeing hails Saudi deal amid $1.4bn Q4 profit: ARABIAN BUSINESS
Andy Sambidge | 1/27/12
US plane maker Boeing has highlighted a $29.4bn agreement to deliver fighter jets to Saudi Arabia as one of its key deals of 2011.
DAVOS: Saudi Finance Minister Sees GDP At 6.8% In 2012: WALL STREET JOURNAL
1/26/12
Saudi Arabia’s economy, the largest in the Arab world, is likely to maintain its gross domestic product growth rate of 6.8% this year due to the kingdom’s expansionary budget, which will play a vital role in supporting the economy, the nation’s finance minister said Thursday. OIL MARKET SUPPLY ADEQUATE: Finance Minister Ibrahim Al-Assaf said on Thursday that supply to global oil markets was “adequate” and that he was comfortable with oil prices at their current level at DAVOS, Arab News reports.
New Saudi Minister of Commerce and Industry HE Tawfiq al-Rabiah Active in New Role: ARABIANOMICS
Lucien Zeigler | 1/27/12
His Excellency Tawfiq al-Rabiah, the recently appointed Saudi Minister of Commerce and Industry has been active in his new role with the Saudi Government. Minister al-Rabiah, who was appointed to the position in December of 2011, has already led delegations from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to India and Geneva, and has met with US Trade Representative Ron Malone.
Saudi Arabia’s Prince Turki Calls Reform ‘Work in Progress’: BLOOMBERG
1/26/12
Saudi Arabian modernization is “a work in progress” and the country needs to expand education and employment for its youth as it diversifies the economy, Prince Turki Al-Faisal said.
Saudi to Recognize Syrian National Council: KHALEEJ TIMES
AFP | 1/27/12
Saudi Arabia will recognize the Syrian National Council as the “official representative” of the Syrian people, a senior member of the opposition group said in remarks published on Friday.
Expo On Rare Arabian Relics Opens In Berlin: SAUDI GAZETTE
1/27/12
Prince Sultan Bin Salman Bin Abdul Aziz, President of Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities (SCTA), and Klaus Wowereit, Berlin Mayor, opened here Wednesday the Exhibition entitled “The Saudi Archeological Masterpieces through the Ages”.
Mighty Wins Coveted Contract With Saudi Arabia: AFTERMARKETNEWS.COM
1/27/12
Top executives from Mighty Distributing System of America (Mighty Auto Parts) recently returned from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, where they signed a Master Distributorship Agreement with Petromin Corp., which is headquartered there.
ISRAEL: WORLD PRESSES ON ISRAEL, PALESTINIANS TO EXTEND EXPLORATORY TALKS
The International community urged Israel and the Palestinians to keep their exploratory Jordanian- sponsored meetings after the Palestinians announced that the time- out for these talks had finished on Thursday, a well-informed Palestinians source said, Xinhua reports.
SYRIA: RUSSIA CRITICIZES ARAB-WESTERN DRAFT RESOLUTION
Russia says it cannot support the current version of a joint Arab-Western draft U.N. resolution on Syria because it “does not take into account” Moscow’s positions on how to end the 10-month-old political crisis, VOA reports.
IRAN: LEADERS MULLING PRE-EMPTIVE EMBARGO
Iran said Thursday it was considering pre-empting a European Union oil embargo and called on the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries to intervene against a Saudi pledge to fill the supply gap, as its strongest response to date to the EU ban drove oil prices higher, Wall Street Journal reports.
IRAQ: SUICIDE BOMBER KILLS 31
A suicide bomber detonated his explosive-filled taxi near a funeral procession in Baghdad on Friday, killing 31 people in the latest attack in a Shi’ite neighborhood amid rising violence since an Iraqi political crisis erupted in December, Reuters reports. AL QAEDA LEADER GUNNED DOWN: A senior leader of Awakening Council group in Iraq was shot dead in western Baghdad by unidentified gunmen, an Interior Ministry source told Xinhua on Wednesday, Xinhua reports.
BAHRAIN: THE CULTURAL PEARL IN THE GULF
Bahrain is the only island state in the Middle East and the smallest Gulf member. We have heard a lot about Bahrain recently, but where is it exactly? Bahrain is actually a chain of 33 islands in the Arabian Gulf and is situated between Saudi Arabia’s east coast and Qatar peninsula. Bahrain is the largest of the islands and is about 48 km long, ETurboNews writes, in a summary of the country’s travel sector.
ISLAM: NYPD USED ANTI-MUSLIM TRAINING VIDEO
The New York Police Department is in hot water for showing some 1,400 of its officers a film during their training that depicts American Muslims as covert extremists, a controversial decision and one that directly contradicts previous statements by NYPD officials that greatly understated their use of the feature-length film, Abby Olheiser (Slate) writes.
PAKISTAN: MILITARY ACADEMY ATTACKED NEAR BIN LADEN HOUSE
The attack damaged a wall of the training centre but no-one was hurt, according to local officials and police, Telegraph reports.
OIL: CHINA, UAE DITCH DOLLAR, WILL USE YUAN FOR TRADE: REPORT
The US dollar is fast losing out its reserve currency status with China aggressively replacing the dollar with the Yuan as a currency for bi-lateral trade. The latest is an agreement signed between the China and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which will use the Yuan for oil trade, Commodity Online reports.
OPINION: WHAT SHELDON’S MONEY BUYS
It is safe to say that without multi-billionaire Sheldon Adelson’s help the chances of Newt Gingrich becoming the Republican nominee for president would be zero — and consequently the race itself, going into Florida at the moment, would not be the competitive, drag-out fight it has become. Adelson, the hotel and casino magnate, has kept Gingrich alive, first through an infusion of $5 million into a super PAC, which allowed the former speaker to defend himself against attacks by Mitt Romney and led to Gingrich’s thumping victory in South Carolina. And now we know that Adelson’s wife, Miriam, has committed another $5 million to the cause of Newt, writes Gal Beckerman (Jewish Daily Forward).
/The daily news is provided as a service of the Saudi-US Trade Group, Washington, DC. Visit www.SUSTG.org for more information and to get a free email subscription to the News Review./</h4></div>
