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Arab States Weekly Review 19th – 25th June 2010

admin — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 19:56:32 +0000

According to the World Gold Council, Saudi Arabia’s gold reserves were said to be more than twice as high as previously estimated. The Kingdom is thought to hold 323 tonnes of gold, accounting for only 2.8% of the Saudi central bank’s total reserves.

Iraq’s minister for electricity resigned after protests following a failing energy supply in certain areas. Many towns had energy for less than 3 hours per day, amid temperatures of 50 degrees Celsius.

The Baghdad headquarters of the Trader Bank of Iraq was attacked by insurgents thought to be linked to Al-Qaeda, killing at least 26 people. The assault followed the storming of the country’s central bank last week, leaving at least 18 dead.

Arab States Weekly Review 31 Dec – 8 Jan 2010

admin — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 13:35:33 +0000

Yemen government forces stepped up a campaign against local Al-Qaeda cells which claimed to have planned the failed airliner terror attack and trained the Nigerian jihadist who carried it out on Christmas day. Security forces report several Al-Qaeda people were killed and at least three others were arrested. Intelligence sources previously warned of an imminent attack on foreign interests in Yemen, leading to the embassies of the USA, France and UK being closed temporarily.

A suicide bomber from Jordan operating as a CIA double-agent killed seven American CIA men and a Jordanian intelligence officer at a base in Khost (Afghanistan). The bomber was a trusted double-agent whose task it was to track down Ayman Al-Zawahiri, Al-Qaeda’s number two.

The Burj Khalifa Tower was officially opened in Dubai. Standing at 828 meters, the tower is the world’s tallest building and cost USD 1.5 billion to build. The ceremony came at a time of financial difficulty for Dubai, only having received a USD 10bn bailout from (neighbouring emirate) Abu Dhabi a few weeks ago for state-backed Dubai World.

Arab States Weekly Review 19 Dec – 30 Dec 09

admin — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 17:39:17 +0000

Al-Qaeda in Yemen has claimed responsibility for a attempted terror attack on an airplane from Amsterdam to Detroit on Christmas day. Nigerian Umar Farouk Abdulmutalleb attempted to detonate explosives but was overpowered by fellow passengers. The incident has sparked debates about airline security, as well as the (already fragile) situation in Yemen, where Abdulmutalleb was reportedly trained by Al-Qaeda.

A South Korean consortium was awarded a $40bn contract to build and run four nuclear power reactors in the United Arab Emirates. The project is to be the first civilian nuclear-energy initiative in the Arab World.

British hostage Peter Moore was released alive after two-and-a-half years in captivity in Iraq. The IT consultant was captured in Baghdad in May 2007.

Arab States Weekly Review 12-18 Dec 09

admin — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 16:40:23 +0000

A ship carrying a cargo of livestock sank off the coast of Lebanon. The vessel, headed from Uruguay to the Syrian port of Tartous, sank due to bad weather. At least 9 bodies have been recovered, with an estimated 35 still missing.

The defence ministry of Yemen reports it has foiled an Al-Qaeda attack, killing 34 suspected militants and arresting 17. The operations were carried out in the Abyan and Arhab regions. The Al-Qaeda group was planning a number of attacks against local and foreign targets, according to Yemeni officials.

The term of Mahmoud Abbas, president of the Palestine Authority, has been extended indefinitely as has the mandate of the parliament. Elections were due in January but have been postponed due to differences between rival factions Fatah and Hamas.