The nearly $30 billion sale to Saudi Arabia of advanced-model U.S. F-15 fighter jets and associated weapons systems had been planned for more than a year.

But the elaborate formal announcement of the sale was a pointed reminder of U.S. support for a key regional ally, just as Iran is stirring tensions in the Gulf with its threat against the critical shipping route.

Iran threatened earlier this week to close the strait of Hormuz if U.S.-engineered international nuclear sanctions sought to target its central bank and cripple its oil exports.

A spokeswoman for the U.S. Navy’s Fifth Fleet based in the Gulf said Wednesday the United States is always ready to counter hostile actions to assure freedom of navigation, and a Navy aircraft carrier passed through
the strait as Iran conducted naval exercises.

At a news briefing, Assistant Secretary of State for Political-Military Affairs Andrew Shapiro said the F-15 deal is designed to help Saudi Arabia “address threats to its sovereignty,” from Iran and elsewhere. “As you know the Middle East right now, there are a number of threats. They (Saudi Arabia) have had border security issues, they’ve had threats in the Gulf as well. Clearly one of the threats that they face, as well as other countries in the region, is Iran. But this is not solely directed towards Iran. This is directed towards meeting our partner Saudi Arabia’s defense needs," he said.

Under the arms package, Saudi Arabia will acquire 84 top-of-the-line F-15 model SA aircraft while 70 F-15’s already in the Saudi inventory will be upgraded to a similar capability.

Associated weapons systems in the package include Harpoon anti-ship and Harm anti-radar missiles that could conceivably figure in a military crisis that threatened Gulf navigation.

Despite the blunt U.S. Navy warning, Iran has repeated its threat about the strait, saying it was capable of closing the waterway quickly and that the United States “is not in a position” to thwart Iranian actions.

Under questioning Thursday, State Department Spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said the Iranian statements may mean that sanctions, aimed at getting Iran to meet international nuclear obligations, are beginning to have a serious impact.

"I can’t get inside Iranian heads. I wouldn’t want to even if it were appropriate from this podium. But you know, we’ve seen quite a bit of irrational behavior from Iran recently. One can only guess that the international sanctions are beginning to pinch, and that the ratcheting up of pressure, particularly on their oil sector is pinching in a way that is causing them to lash out," he said.

The Obama administration first notified Congress of the pending F-15 sale to Saudi Arabia in November of 2010 and there was no legislative move to block it.

The State Department’s Andrew Shapiro said under an act of Congress, all U.S. arms sales in the Middle East must be evaluated as to their impact on Israel’s security. He said U.S. officials are satisfied the aircraft sale is not detrimental to Israel’s “qualitative military edge.”

The White House said in a statement the arms sale, to be implemented over the next decade, will support more than 50,000 U.S. jobs in 44 states.

Source: VOA
Middle East News from NetNewsPublisher.com

The operation commenced on September 29th, 2011. A total of 1,25,000 pilgrims through Haj Committee of India (HCOI) have been successfully airlifted to Madina / Jeddah by Saudi Arabian Airlines (SV) and NAS Air. Total of 435 flights operated to carry these pilgrims and 99.9% of the flights have maintained the time schedule.

The return phase will start from November 10th, 2011 and is expected to conclude on December 10th, 2011. The Ministry of Civil Aviation has decided to start round the clock control room at Jeddah and Madina airport from November 8th, 2011 to oversee the return phase.

Source: pib.nic.in

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How People Arrived Here:

airlines operating hajj from russia

The first flight due to leave Abidjan Saturday for Jeddah, the Saudi Arabia’s capital, was to carry 518 pilgrims on board.

Ethiopian Airline will assure ten return flights to transport a total of 5,518 pilgrims from Ivory Coast registered this year for the pilgrimage to the Islamic holy sites.

The Ivorians to perform the hajj, being the fifth pillar of Islam, will begin with the rites for the pilgrimage in Medina where was buried Prophet Mohamed who spread Islam to the rest of the world.

Source African Press Agency

African News from NetNewsPublisher.com

Regarding the oil discoveries and their potential impact on Kenyan imports of Saudi oil Saudi Arabian ambassador Ghorm Said Malhan remarked, "No, I don’t think it will affect (our ties) as such because we don’t see our partnership only in the oil business. There are other different ways to co-operate. Saudi Arabia can export industrial chemicals and equipment to Kenya as well. As for Saudi Arabia, we also have a lot of investments in Kenya in tourism, banking, and petroleum projects. Now we are talking about livestock and fisheries. If you go back to history, we have good historic ties with the people of the coast in East Africa in general. There are a lot of people in that part who have originated from the Arabian Peninsula. This is some form of cultural relation with Kenya that has been going on for years."

Saudi Arabia is one of Kenya’s development partners and it has funded several projects through the Saudi Fund for Development at a total cost of about $140 million, Nairobi’s Daily Nation newspaper reported.

By. Joao Peixe, Deputy Editor OilPrice.com

Reproduced With the Kind Permission of Our Source: OilPrice.com

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Ghana’s allocation of the number of Muslims making the trip to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to perform the annual religious ritual has been increased from 3,000 to 4,300 owing to the growing international relations between Ghana and Saudi Arabia.

The first batch is said to be those pilgrims who had visas last year but could not be airlifted.

Meanwhile, the Hajj Committee had contracted an Egyptian airline to airlift the pilgrims to Mecca.

Source African Press Agency

African News from NetNewsPublisher.com

The White House said U.S. President Barack Obama and Saudi King Abdullah spoke by telephone Wednesday and agreed that the plot represents a “flagrant violation” of international norms and vowed to hold “those responsible accountable for their actions.”

Iran has denied the allegations. The state-run IRNA news agency quoted Deputy Foreign Minister Ali Ahani Wednesday as calling the scenario “absurd” and urging Saudi Arabia to be wary of U.S. efforts to damage relations of countries in the region.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called the thwarted scheme a “dangerous escalation” in Iran’s “long-standing use of political violence and sponsorship of terrorism.” She said the U.S. will work closely with its international partners “to increase Iran’s isolation and the pressure on its government.”

The tough response came a day after the U.S. Justice Department announced it had charged Manssor Arbabsiar, a naturalized U.S. citizen, and Gholam Shakuri, a member of an elite Iranian military unit, with conspiring to carry out a bomb attack on Saudi envoy Adel al-Jubeir.

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said the plot was “conceived, sponsored and directed” from Iran.

White House spokesman Jay Carney said the plot involved top members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard’s Quds Force, a group that operates outside of Iran. He called that finding “significant in and of itself,” and said Washington is taking “no options off the table” in its response to the alleged scheme.

Meanwhile, the U.S. designated the Iranian commercial airline Mahan Air a supporter of terrorist-related activities in Tehran. The finding prohibits U.S. citizens from engaging in commercial or financial transactions with Mahan Air and freezes assets it may hold under U.S. jurisdiction.

U.S. Vice President Joe Biden called the alleged assassination attempt an “outrageous act” for which Iran must be held accountable.

The U.S. State Department has issued a worldwide alert for American citizens about possible “anti-U.S. actions” following charges against the two Iranians. It said the scheme may indicate Iran’s government could be taking a “more aggressive focus” on terrorist activity.

U.S. officials say Arbabsiar unknowingly hired an informant of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration to carry out the plot, believing the informant had ties to Mexican drug cartels capable of killing the Saudi ambassador. They say Arbabsiar confessed to making a $100,000 down payment on the scheme with a price tag of $1.5 million.

Officials arrested Arbabsiar at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport on September 29, but Shakuri is still at large.

Source: VOA
Middle East News from NetNewsPublisher.com

How People Arrived Here:

saudia arabia wants united states pledge iran

The Saudi donation will be distributed by WFP to approximately 107,000 individuals through the school meals program, nutrition centers and HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis treatment centers across the country.

Dates are rich in vitamins and minerals, such as iron and calcium, and are a great source of energy and nutrients. They will complement the WFP food basket already received by these beneficiaries and their families and will provide much-needed nutritional support during the current lean season.

Each year, Saudi Arabia donates dates to WFP for distribution in countries affected by malnutrition and food insecurity.

Source: World Food Programme

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Of the number, no fewer than 25,000 have been transported to Mecca by the designated airliners, said Mr. Uba Mana, the head of media of the commission.

He said that the government had approved various fares and basic travel allowances for the prospective pilgrims with an increase in hajj fares by 8 per cent due to corresponding increases in the cost of some of the components, including pilgrims’ accommodation in Saudi Arabia as well as cost of aviation fuel.

The commission urged the states and other pilgrims’ agencies to speed up the process of collecting the balance of the Hajj fares from pilgrims and remitting same to NAHCON to facilitate the early conclusion of necessary arrangements.

Source African Press Agency

African News from NetNewsPublisher.com

i) Number of Haj Pilgrims to be covered under the Government subsidy scheme for Haj 2011 to be facilitated by the Haj Committee of India is 1,25,000.

ii) Fare to be charged from each of the pilgrims for Haj 2011 is Rs.16,000.

iii) Haj flights would be operated from 21 embarkation points during Haj 2011.

iv) Ex-post facto approval has been given for increasing the number of pilgrims to 1,26,191 for Haj 2010.

Ministry of Civil Aviation is entrusted with the responsibility of making air travel arrangements for Haj pilgrims proceeding for Haj through the Haj Committee of India. For Haj 2011, Ministry of Civil Aviation has selected the airlines for undertaking Haj Charter flights through sealed tender process. Since only designated airlines of India and Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) are permitted to carry Haj pilgrims from India to Saudi Arabia, the designated airlines of both the countries were issued the tender notice, Saudi Arabian Airlines and National Air Services (NAS), the two designated airlines of Saudi Arabia emerged L1 for 13 and 8 embarkation points respectively. MoUs have been signed with these airlines for carrying the Haj Pilgrims. The pilgrims would be carried from India to Jeddah/Madina during 29.9.2011 and 31.10.2011 and from Jeddah/Madina to India during 10.11.2011 and 10.12.2011.

The number of Haj pilgrims going through the Haj Committee of India is decided by the Ministry of External Affairs which is the nodal Ministry for Haj matters. The cost of air travel of pilgrims undertaking Haj through Haj Committee of India is borne partly by the pilgrims and partly subsidized by the Government of India. The cost/fare to be charged from pilgrims is decided by the Cabinet and collected by the Haj Committee of India and paid to the Government/airlines and the balance cost is borne by the Government, for which a budgetary provision is made in the annual budget of Ministry of Civil Aviation. The number of pilgrims to be covered under this scheme and the number of embarkation points in India from which these pilgrims would board the flights is also decided by the Cabinet every year.

Source: pib.nic.in

NetNewsPublisher.com for Indian News

How People Arrived Here:

actual amount borned by the indian govt for haj

The Saudi donation will be distributed by WFP to approximately 27,000 members of the most vulnerable families through supplementary feeding centers (CRENAM) in eight poverty-stricken regions of Mauritania (Assaba, Brakna, Gorgol, Guidhimakha, Trarza, Hodh el Charghi, Hodh el Gharbi and the capital Nouakchott). Each child, pregnant woman, nursing mother and center assistant will receive a ration of approximately 7.5 kg of dates to share with their families.

Dates are rich in vitamins and minerals, such as iron and calcium, and are a great source of energy and nutrients. They will complement the WFP food basket already received by these beneficiaries and their families and will provide much-needed nutritional support during the current lean season.

Each year, Saudi Arabia donates dates to WFP for distribution in countries affected by malnutrition and food insecurity.

Source: World Food Programme

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The well-known Saudi journalist, Mr. Jamal Ahmad Khashoggi, will be managing this new 24-hour channel which will target Arabic-speaking viewers across the Arab world and beyond.

Alarab will focus editorially on the important shifts taking place across the Arab world with an emphasis on  freedom of speech and freedom of press.  Furthermore, it will uphold the principle of free transfer of information as well as, objective, balanced  and credible  reporting.  The News channel will cover the latest developments around the world and will also highlight political, social and economic issues in Saudi Arabia and the Arab world.

HRH Prince Alwaleed also announced today an agreement with Bloomberg LP in which Bloomberg will support the creation of five-hours of financial and economic news programming throughout the day on the channel.

Bloomberg-branded business reports will air within Alarab’s daily coverage with reports from the MENA markets as well as a weekly roundup of global financial news.  Moving beyond the news headlines, it will also feature regular segments on Arab business leaders from the Kingdom, the Gulf region and the international Arabic speaking world.

A team of Bloomberg media specialists and producers will be provided to the Alarab channel and will assist in the production of the channel’s economic and business coverage drawing on Bloomberg’s extensive financial and economic data from the Bloomberg Professional service and reporting from Bloomberg’s 2,300 journalists in 146 news bureaus across 72 countries.

The location of Alarab’s headquarters and main broadcast center has not yet been announced, although Manama, Doha, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Beirut are among the cities being considered. Alarab will hire experienced Arabic speaking media professionals in addition to attracting new talent.

The news channel will offer Arab viewers premium and credible content and will be one of the most prominent news channels broadcasting from the region alongside other networks.

In his comments, Prince Alwaleed stressed that: “The Arab world is interested in the fields of business, employment, economic development, and is focused on prosperity and growth.  Our alliance with Bloomberg and its credible source of financial and economic data, together with its extensive media experience, will provide the Alarab news channel with a strong and comprehensive economic platform to accurately cover Saudi Arabia, and the rest of the Arab world.”

The Alarab news channel is an independent venture from Kingdom Holding Company and the Rotana group and is privately owned by Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal.

SOURCE Alarab News Channel

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How People Arrived Here:

hiring and pastewaleed

Four factors have created this unused capacity. Twenty-five percent of this unused capacity is due to a shortage of feed, twenty-five percent is due to technological failures, thirty percent is due to defective equipment manufacture and twenty percent is related to other factors.”

Bayat’s statements have raised serious issues, such as how will Iran’s petrochemical industry compete with a rival like Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia Basic Industries Corp. (SABIC) with its annual production rate of 65 million tons, Donya-ye Eqtesad newspaper reported.

Bayat added, “In the area of technological failures we are trying to get help from the license holders so we can solve this problem. We are trying to solve the problems in this sector with new orders. We are all seeking to correct prices and the nation’s structure by downsizing but based on the Oil Law propagated by the president of the republic, the National Petrochemical Company is one of the four main companies in the Ministry of Oil.”

By. Joao Peixe, Deputy Editor OilPrice.com

Source: OilPrice.com

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How People Arrived Here:

@YANSAB SABIC com loc:DE

“The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s quick response to WFP’s appeal will help us save the lives of thousands of children before they fall into severe stages of malnutrition, at which point it would become impossible to keep them alive,” said WFP Executive Director Josette Sheeran.

WFP Somalia will use the Saudi donation to scale up its existing supplementary feeding operation to reach 600,000 children for two months. Since July 27th, WFP airlifted to Mogadishu a total of 86 metric tons of highly nutritious supplementary food to treat malnutrition among children under the age of five. This is enough to feed more than 30,000 malnourished children under age five for a month.

The specialized nutrition products are essential to address critical malnutrition and hunger needs – particularly among internally displaced children who have fled from famine areas in Southern Somalia and those in Mogadishu suffering the consequences of the prolonged drought.

WFP is currently targeting food assistance to some 1.5 million people in central and northern Somalia and Mogadishu, and is ready to scale up to reach an additional 2.2 million people in the famine-struck southern parts of the country. WFP is working on establishing access and other necessary operating conditions in southern Somalia.

Since the beginning of July, WFP has reached nearly 8 million people in the Horn of Africa with food assistance. The UN food agency is planning to assist 11.5 million people out of more than 13 million people affected by the drought and famine in the region, with governments and other partners supporting the rest.

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is a valued partner of WFP, having donated more than US$600 million to the UN food agency in the past five years. In 2008, at the time of the high food prices crisis, WFP received $500 million from Saudi Arabia – the largest one-off donation WFP has ever received, and the Kingdom’s largest-ever contribution to any UN agency.

WFP’s Horn of Africa appeal remains $250 million short of current needs, after having received about the same amount in contributions, mainly from government donors.

Source: World Food Programme
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A new paper by Leach, an associate professor in the Alberta School of Business, and fellow University of Alberta economics researcher Ujjayant Chakravorty, posits scenarios that parallel a statement Alwaleed made in May declaring that it is in the best interests of Saudi oil producers to keep oil around the $70 mark to prevent the West from developing alternative energy sources. Their paper, co-written with a colleague from the Toulouse School of Economics , hypothesizes scenarios wherein a narrowing of the gap between developing renewable energy resources and fossil fuel resources might mean a rush to drain the oil from its source.

Science Brief thanks to EurekAlert.

Read more here:
Is oil pricing itself out of the market?

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The issue has already generated fierce criticism in Congress.

According to administration officials speaking on condition of anonymity, members of President Barack Obama’s administration next week will visit Saudi Arabia for nuclear talks, NOW Lebanon news agency reported.

A congressional aide, citing anonymity as the visit has not been publicly announced as yet and aware of its contentiousness, said the trip would be a “preliminary” step to “discuss the possibility of moving forward on a nuclear cooperation agreement.”

Informal or not, the proposed arrangement has already raised fierce criticism from Republican Congressional leaders. House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee chairman Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, a Republican from Florida said, “I am astonished that the administration is even considering a nuclear cooperation agreement with Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia is an unstable country in an unstable region, with senior officials openly proclaiming that the country may pursue a nuclear weapons capability. Its ties to terrorists and terror financing alone should rule it out as a candidate for US nuclear cooperation.”

Ros-Lehtinen’s criticisms conveniently overlook the fact that the administration’s initiative build upon a 2008 visit to Saudi Arabia by Republican then-President George W. Bush, who signed an agreement with Saudi Arabia giving the country access to enriched uranium for civilian power generation.

By. Joao Peixe, Deputy Editor OilPrice.com

Source: OilPrice.com

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