Al-Qaeda suspects arrested in Saudi Arabia: ministry — TalkVietnam

Al-Qaeda suspects arrested in Saudi Arabia: ministry — TalkVietnam

RIYADH – Saudi Arabia arrested two suspected members of Al-Qaeda who may have been plotting against Western embassies in the Middle East, the interior ministry announced on Thursday.
The two men, a Yemeni and a Chadian national, had contacts with the Yemeni branch of the terror network, Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, state news agency SPA quoted ministry spokesman General Mansour al-Turki as saying.
The Chadian suspect had been expelled from Saudi Arabia but returned with a passport issued by another country, Turki added. “The two suspects may have been implicated in the threats against Western embassies in the region,” he said.
Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, at the heart of the security alert that has shut a number of US and Western missions in Sanaa, the Middle East, Asia and Africa, is seen by Washington as the most active branch of the jihadist network.
It was formed in January 2009 as a merger of the Yemeni and Saudi branches of Al-Qaeda and is led by Nasser al-Wuhayshi–AFP.

Flight attendants call for ban on Saudi stopovers

Flight attendants call for ban on Saudi stopovers

The union for Cathay Pacific flight attendants has urged the airline to stop overnight crew stays in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, over fears for the safety of female staff. The general secretary of the Cathay Pacific Flight Attendants Union, quoted by AFP, said the demand follows an incident last month in which a man tried to force his way into the hotel room of a junior Cathay attendant. Other complaints have been made involving unwanted telephone calls to female staff also staying at the Marriott Hotel in Riyadh, the union leader added. Last month, Cathay switched its layovers to Riyadh from the Gulf state of Bahrain because of political unrest that has swept across much of the region. The union has now called for overnight stops to be moved to Dubai, part of the United Arab Emirates, but is yet to receive a "positive response" from management, according to the union In a statement, a Cathay spokeswoman said the airline was "taking this very seriously and are monitoring the situation closely to ensure that all crew are safe and well taken care of”. The hotel said it has responded to the complaints by enhancing security and adding closed-circuit television inside lifts.

No sex in Dubai, officials rule-13 August, 2009

A movie sequel of the hit American TV series, ”Sex and the City,” will not be filmed in Dubai after city officials there examined the script, according to local newspapers.

Dubai Studio City, which aims to attract world audio visual media production, said the request was declined on the recommendation of government authorities, The National newspaper reported.

This is not the first time this has happened in Dubai. The first “Sex” movie was banned from being shown in local cinemas.

Explicit sex scenes are always cut from movies shown in Dubai cinemas, despite being rated for adults, while Arabic subtitles tone down the sexual language. DVDs are also censored, and access to Internet sex sites is blocked, according to various reports.

Dubai has a majority foreign population, like most of the United Arab Emirates, where foreigners from various religions represent over 80 percent of inhabitants.

But the emirate that grew to become a regional center for tourism and business vies to show its commitment to Islamic traditions which are strongly revered by its native population.

What’s next? Who knows?

“Leave it to Beaver?”

Saudi Arabia's Oil Minister To Address Reports Of Increased Oil Production

Saudi Arabia's oil minister on Sunday will address reports that the world's largest oil-producing country is set to raise production by about 500,000 barrels per day, his adviser said.

The increase would bring Saudi Arabia's oil production to 10 million barrels a day, the country's highest ever, according to reports by The New York Times and the Middle East Economic Survey, an industry publication.

Adviser Ibrahim al-Muhanna told The Associated Press on Saturday that he could not confirm the reports, but added: "Minister Ali al-Naimi will clarify this tomorrow."

U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon met with the Saudi King, Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz, to urge him to address the political instability that results from rising oil prices and, after the meeting, he expressed optimism about about the opportunities that the Saudi government is considering to address the problem, reports CBS News Foreign Affairs Analyst Pamela Falk.

"An oil production increase by the Saudi government may not significantly bring down prices at the pump," said Falk, "but it will ease the rising cost at least temporarily and lessen some of the U.S. Congress' angry response, including threats to block U.S. arms sales."

"Within the region, it may be more diplomatic for the Saudi government to increase production after discussions with the U.N. than to respond to Bush Administration overtures, which it has rebuffed," Falk added.

Saudi Arabia has called for a meeting of oil producing and consuming countries on June 22 in the port city of Jiddah to discuss ways of dealing with soaring energy prices.

The New York Times report on Saturday, citing unnamed analysts and oil traders briefed by Saudi officials, said the production increase was to be announced following the meeting.

The Middle East Economic Survey said Friday that Saudi Arabia was considering a production increase, but did not provide a source.

The Saudis are concerned that sustained high oil prices will eventually slacken the world's appetite for oil, affecting them in the long run.

Crude prices have reached record highs, surpassing $139 per barrel on June 6 after surging nearly $11 in the biggest single-day price leap ever.

The prices had receded by Friday, with the benchmark light, sweet crude for July delivery falling $1.88 to settle at $134.86 on the New York Mercantile Exchange. In London, July Brent crude lost $1.84 to settle at $134.25 on the ICE Futures exchange.

Meanwhile, the average national price for a gallon of regular gas in the U.S. rose to a record $4.066 Friday, from $4.06 a day earlier, according to AAA and the Oil Price Information Service. Diesel also set a new record, rising 0.2 cents to $4.796 a gallon.

Even with record highs in the U.S., prices remain far cheaper than in Europe and some parts of Asia. Oil-related protests have swept Europe, with fishermen staging strikes in Spain, Portugal, France, Belgium and Italy. Several Asian countries, including India, Indonesia and Malaysia, have slashed fuel subsidies, raising prices for millions of consumers and sparking demonstrations.

Wrapping up a summit in Japan on Saturday, finance ministers from the Group of Eight nations - Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia and the U.S. - urged oil-producing nations to increase production.

The current president of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, Chakib Khelil, has said that the cartel will make no new decision on production levels until its Sept. 9 meeting in Vienna. OPEC ministers often follow the lead of the Saudis when discussing whether to increase production to take the pressure off rising prices.