Analysis: Saudi king needs to step up reforms to curb dissent
RIYADH (Reuters) – Saudi King Abdullah has enough oil money to avoid the kind of social upheaval seen among the poor in Egypt and Tunisia, but the aging monarch must reform if he is to keep a lid on dissent, analysts and diplomats say.
Although the top oil exporter has more than $400 billion in petrodollars stashed away to address social grievances, Saudi Arabia must address issues such jobs and housing, and the desire of an internet-savvy generation to have its voices heard.
Pro-reform Saudi activists launch political party
RIYADH (Reuters) – Saudi Islamists and opposition activists have launched a political party in a rare challenge to the absolute monarchy, asking King Abdullah for a voice in the Gulf Arab state’s governance, its organizers said Thursday.
The move was apparently prompted by popular revolts in the Arab world that toppled Tunisia’s president last month and have loosened the grip of Egypt’s autocratic leader.
Saudis want more science in religion-heavy education
(Secondary students sit for an exam in Riyadh June 15, 2008/Fahad Shadeed)
Saudi teenager Abdulrahman Saeed lives in one of the richest countries in the world, but his prospects are poor, he blames his education, and it’s not a situation that looks like changing soon. “There is not enough in our curriculum,” says Saeed, 16, who goes to an all-male state school in the Red Sea port of Jeddah. “It is just theoretical teaching, and there is no practice or guidance to prepare us for the job market.”
Saeed wants to study physics but worries that his state high school is failing him. He says the curriculum is outdated, and teachers simply repeat what is written in text books without adding anything of practical value or discussions. Even if the teachers did do more than the basics, Saeed’s class, at 32 students, is too big for him to get adequate attention. While children in Europe and Asia often start learning a language at five or six, Saudi students start learning English at 12. Much time is spent studying religion and completing exercises heavy with moral instruction.
In Saudia Arabia, a clamour for education
JEDDAH (Reuters) – Saudi teenager Abdulrahman Saeed lives in one of the richest countries in the world, but his prospects are poor, he blames his education, and it’s not a situation that looks like changing soon.
“There is not enough in our curriculum,” says Saeed, 16, who goes to an all-male state school in the Red Sea port of Jeddah. “It is just theoretical teaching, and there is no practice or guidance to prepare us for the job market.”
Special Report: In Saudia Arabia, a clamor for education
JEDDAH (Reuters) – Saudi teenager Abdulrahman Saeed lives in one of the richest countries in the world, but his prospects are poor, he blames his education, and it’s not a situation that looks like changing soon.
“There is not enough in our curriculum,” says Saeed, 16, who goes to an all-male state school in the Red Sea port of Jeddah. “It is just theoretical teaching, and there is no practice or guidance to prepare us for the job market.”
Saudi Arabia fears Egypt unrest could bolster Iran
RIYADH (Reuters) – Saudi Arabia is more concerned about losing allies to counter its regional adversary Iran than with the risk that upheavals sweeping Tunisia and Egypt might spread to the kingdom, diplomats and analysts say.
Flush with petrodollars, the world’s top oil exporter can splash out to alleviate any social tensions due to unemployment — around 10 percent of the Saudi work force is jobless — and quell any unrest in the absolute monarchy, they say.
Analysis: Saudi Arabia fears Egypt unrest could bolster Iran
RIYADH (Reuters) – Saudi Arabia is more concerned about losing allies to counter its regional adversary Iran than with the risk that upheavals sweeping Tunisia and Egypt might spread to the kingdom, diplomats and analysts say.
Flush with petrodollars, the world’s top oil exporter can splash out to alleviate any social tensions due to unemployment — around 10 percent of the Saudi work force is jobless — and quell any unrest in the absolute monarchy, they say.
Oil money stocks up the OPEC food larder
LONDON/RIYADH (Reuters) – A scramble by oil-rich nations to spend their mounting petrodollars on food stocks and fend off price rises, which have triggered riots and revolution, could stoke wider inflation.
As concern about contagion from Tunisian and Egyptian protests persists, Gulf Arab countries are moving fast to boost food imports via international markets and seeking more farmland investments abroad.
Zain Saudi CEO eyeing stake buyout – sources
LONDON/RIYADH, Jan 26 (Reuters) – Zain Saudi Arabia
(7030.SE: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) chief executive Saad al-Barrak is looking for backers
for a buyout of Zain’s (ZAIN.KW: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) 2.75 billion riyal ($733
million) stake, four people familiar with the matter said.
“Al-Barrak has approached several Saudi and regional funds
trying to put together money for the acquisition,” one of the
people said.
Saudi oil min says worried about price speculation
RIYADH, Jan 24 (Reuters) – Global oil prices are expected to
continue to stabilise in 2011, Saudi Arabia’s oil minister said
on Monday, but he expressed his concern over market speculation,
which he said was driving the prices away from fundamentals.
“I expect prices to continue to be stable at last year’s
rates (levels),” Ali al-Naimi, OPEC’s most influential member,
told an industry conference.
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