Saudi Arabia slams US senate vote on Yemen war, Jamal Khashoggi murder as 'interference'

The Senate approved a resolution condemning Khashoggi's murder and calling Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi Arabia's de facto ruler, "responsible" for it

International News: Saudi Arabia has rejected as "interference" a US Senate resolution to end American military support for a Riyadh-led war in Yemen, and another holding its crown prince responsible for the murder of critic Jamal Khashoggi.

"The kingdom condemns the latest position of the US Senate that was based on unsubstantiated allegations and rejects the blatant interference in its internal affairs," the foreign ministry said in a statement released by the official Saudi Press Agency.

Though largely symbolic, the US Senate vote on Thursday dealt a fresh warning to President Donald Trump, who has staunchly backed the Saudi regime despite global uproar over the Yemen conflict and the murder of journalist Khashoggi.

On the Yemen measure, which more broadly attacks the president's prerogative to launch military action, 49 Democrats or their allies voted in favor, along with seven Republicans, while another three Republicans abstained.

The Senate also approved a resolution condemning Khashoggi's murder and calling Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi Arabia's de facto ruler, "responsible" for it.

Read full news here → Jamal Khashoggi Murder Case

Saudi prince Mansour bin Moqren killed in helicopter crash amid purge

The news channel Al-Ekhbariya announced the death of Prince Mansour bin Moqrin, the deputy governor of Asir province and son of a former crown prince.

A Saudi prince was killed on Sunday when a helicopter with several officials on board crashed near the kingdom's southern border with war-torn Yemen, state television said.

The news channel Al-Ekhbariya announced the death of Prince Mansour bin Moqren, the deputy governor of Asir province and son of a former crown prince.

It did not reveal the cause of the crash or the fate of the other officials aboard the aircraft.
News of the crash comes as Saudi Arabia pursues a sweeping purge of the kingdom's upper ranks, with dozens of princes, ministers and a billionaire tycoon arrested as Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman cements his hold on power.

Already viewed as the de facto ruler controlling all the major levers of government, from defence to the economy, Prince Mohammed is widely seen to be stamping out traces of internal dissent before a formal transfer of power from his 81-year-old father King Salman.

The crash also comes after Saudi Arabia on Saturday intercepted and destroyed a ballistic missile near Riyadh's international airport after it was fired from Yemen in an escalation of the kingdom's war against Iran-backed Huthi rebels.

The missile attack was the first aimed by the Shiite rebels at the heart of the Saudi capital, underscoring the growing threat posed by the raging conflict in Yemen.

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Saudi decree allowing women to drive cars is about politics, not religion

Some state that the decision came as a natural consequence of the gradual reform policy adopted by the previous king

 

In an unexpected move that surprised everyone, including his own people, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud of Saudi Arabia has suddenly passed a royal decree permitting women to drive. His stunning decision comes after years of the ban, which was justified using Islam as a pretext.

The Council of Senior Religious Scholars, which is close to the royal family and is crucial for shoring up its legitimacy, seems to have strongly supported the move, stressing that the decision was in the interest of Saudi society – this despite the fact these same religious leaders have opposed Saudi women drive right for decades, accusing any women who dare to take the wheel of having lost their virginity and integrity.

Similarly, the official Saudi media portrayed the decree as a historic step – but presented it as a favour or a royal benevolence boosted upon women, not a legitimate right long overdue.

Despite the noise that accompanied the decree, this move is not some bold initiative to present a new religious interpretation of the issue. Theologically speaking, the ban has no basis in the Quran or Hadith, and should never have been imposed in the first place.

Saudi Arabia was the only country in the region that banned women from driving cars, and its claims to religious and cultural legitimacy were baseless. The denial of this basic right was not only blatantly against the precepts of Islam, but has tainted the name of Islam in a country that flatters itself as the defender of the true faith.

So there are plenty of questions to answer. Why exactly was the decree finally issued – and why now? Is Saudi society ready to accept it? And what will be the social, political and religious implications at home and.... Read Full Article

Gulf-Qatar rift: What it means for India and the global oil market

Indian market is one where all oil producers would want to be involved, and especially Saudi Arabia

 

 

Business News - To get a sense of some of the developments about Qatar look at this piece of statistic plus a bit of news. According to the US Energy Information Administration, production of shale oil in USA is expected to reach 5.4 million barrels a day in June, its highest level in more than a year. The recovery outpaces estimates for every most month since August last year. The piece of news is the fast expanding relationship of Qatar with India.

Shale has put American capital and labour to work, a huge domestic political dividend, after price of crude oil from Opec nations soared past $49 a barrel since the 14-member countries agreed since November 2016 on a production cut. In this environment, the US juice can begin to sell at about $47 a barrel, given its lower quality but enough to bring more and more of its onshore fields into production. 

It is vital for the the Trump administration to ensure that Opec keeps its production capped. Opec can keep it capped if Iran does not open the tap of its vast reservoir too much and that means both USA and Saudi Arabia should be on the same side of the field. The Saudis can ensure their diktat runs with two of the large oil producers—UAE and Kuwait, both of whose royal families are blood relations of Riyadh. But Qatar isn’t, even though its royal family too hails from the same desert. 

And Qatar’s rise is linked to its suddenly deepening relationship with India. There are reasons for it. The first of those is natural gas which Qatar like Iran has plenty of but Saudi Arabia doesn't have much of. And countries like India wanting to use their growing economic clout want the gas to flow. There are no Opec-like restrictions on gas prices and it is cheaper. So, if Qatar plays around with its gas reserves and along with Iran dominating its market, there are enough reasons to make the Saudis worried about their politico-economic hegemony getting cut and the USA worried about its domestic recovery.

 

Qatar in the past three years has become almost a strategic ally for India. The Qatar government has offered to fill up India’s strategic reserves for free in exchange for buying its natural gas and easier access for Doha’s capital into the Indian economy. One of those is the one its kind permission given to Qatar Airways to fly as a domestic airline in India.

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