March 16th, 2012 by Oman Views

Saudi women students boycott classes in rare protest

JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia (Reuters) – Thousands of students at an all-female university in Saudi Arabia boycotted classes on Saturday, protesting against poor services, witnesses said, in a rare display of dissent from women in the conservative Islamic kingdom.

It was the second protest at King Khalid university in the southern town of Abha in a week – security forces broke up a demonstration there on Wednesday, leaving dozens injured, students told Reuters.

The protests first erupted when the university cancelled cleaning services, saying students needed to take better care of their campus.

“The main trigger was the accumulation of trash for three days which started to smell. The other thing is the mistreatment of students,” one of the students told Reuters on Saturday, asking not to be named.

“Today there was a high rate of absences … There were security and religious police outside the university but no arrests were made,” the student added.

Video footage posted on YouTube on Saturday appeared to show about 200 students at Abha’s affiliated all-male King Khalid University also holding a protest against poor services and calling for the removal of the university’s president.

Abdel Karim al-Hunaini, deputy governor of the surrounding Aseer province, told Reuters he thought the students at both establishments had a right to protest and local authorities would set up a committee to address their demands.

Saudi Arabia is investing heavily in education to deal with high youth unemployment in a country where about 70 percent of the native population of 19 million is under 30.

(Reporting by Asma Alsharif)

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March 2nd, 2012 by Oman Views

U.S., Saudi maneuver to contain Iran oil market threat

WASHINGTON/NEW YORK (Reuters) – Saudi Arabia has raised oil exports and the United States is considering releasing crude from its strategic reserves as oil prices hit nine-month highs on Friday and concerns deepened over Iran’s nuclear program.

Brent crude surged to over $125 a barrel after the United Nation’s nuclear watchdog issued a report flagging the potential military nature of Iran’s nuclear program, following an aborted U.N. inspection mission to Iran this week.

The report heightened fears of a supply disruption and could stoke worries in Israel, which has threatened Iran with pre-emptive strikes on nuclear sites. That would send shockwaves across the region and almost certainly drive oil prices even higher.

Top oil exporter Saudi Arabia increased exports over in the past week and offered additional crude to its biggest customers to tame runaway prices, industry sources told Reuters on Friday.

U.S. sanctions on Iran’s oil buyers, as well as a European Union oil embargo to begin July 1, have already forced its customers in Europe and Asia to curb purchases from the world’s fifth-largest crude exporter.

The Saudi move comes as the Obama administration studies tapping crude from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve among possible measures to offset any Iranian supply disruptions, according to sources familiar with the discussions.

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner told CNBC on Friday there may be a case for using the reserve.

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By Jeff Mason and Matthew Robinson | Reuters

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February 13th, 2012 by Oman Views

IMF notes Saudi role in stabilizing world economy

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) – The head of the International Monetary Fund has hailed Saudi Arabia’s role in supporting the world economy, following meetings with the country’s king and top finance officials.

IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde noted Saudi Arabia’s role in stabilizing the global oil market and its participation in international financial bodies in a statement issued late Saturday.

She says OPEC’s largest oil producer has become “a leader in not only the oil market but also the region and the global economy.”

Lagarde made no mention of new financial commitments from Riyadh following her first meeting there as head of the IMF, however.

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