Saudi Arabia – The Speaker News Journal

Qatar Cut Off by Neighbors

February 6, 2021June 6, 2017 by The Speaker Editors

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Saudi Arabia and other neighbors of Qatar have accused Qatar of supporting terrorism and embracing Iran, and have cut it off.

Diplomatic communications and air transport was halted. Embassies, borders, air space, and maritime access (40% of Qatar’s food supplies come from Saudi Arabia by boat) were shut off.

It is considered a dramatic escalation to a longer-term issue in the region.

Qatar says they are not sponsoring terrorism, but the nation does regularly (and currently) host prominent extremists.

Analysts have called it “almost an Arab region Cold War.’

Kuwait is seen as trying to mediate a solution to the crisis, and if they do, citizens of Qatar might not be expelled from their neighboring countries.

Bomb Attack in Saudi Arabia

February 6, 2021May 6, 2017 by The Speaker Editors

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In the Sunni-majority city of Qatif in the Eastern Province, a large car bomb was detonated this week, the latest in a string of attacks.

Some Sunni (sometimes ISIS-linked), who make up only 15% of Saudi Arabia, have been attacking the country’s Shia for a few years now.

Municipal Parks in Saudi Arabia Spray-Painted Green for Visit by Prince

January 23, 2017 by The Speaker Editors

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For the occasion of a visit by Sheikh Faisal Bin Khaled, Emir of Asir province, January 11, in Majardh city, municipal workers apply a cosmetic veneer to parks. They were observed by several townspeople equipped with mobile phones.

On January 12, a day after the prince ‘s visit , officials in the city issued a statement in which they confessed colored grass. They pointed out that the material used was not regular paint, but a special paint for herbs sold in gardening shops.

But this did not prevent other citizens from complaining about other initiatives carried out by the municipal authorities hastily for the occasion of the visit of Prince.

Saudi Oil Is Going Public – Biggest IPO in History

August 17, 2016 by The Speaker Editors

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The Saudi Arabian Oil Co., or Aramco, with an estimated value of over $2 trillion, is going public.

The exact value of the nationally-owned company has never been officially provided by Saudi Arabia, but because of the upcoming partial privatization — a move to prepare the country for a post-oil era — the book value might soon be public.

Oil revenue, which accounts for 90 percent of Saudi Arabia’s export earnings, and half its GDP, has decreased in recent years, and this decrease has resulted in an almost $200 billion budget shortfall.

Prince Mohammad bin Salman of Saudi Arabia plans to sell “less than 5 percent” of Aramco, and begin a phase of investment-generated earning.

That 5 percent equates to around $100 billion — the largest public offering in history, much larger than Alibaba, which has held the record since 2014 for its $25 billion IPO.