Saudi Arabia to allow women to compete in 2012 Olympics

Saudi Arabia has said it will allow women to compete at the the London Olympics after the IOC received growing demands to ban the country from the Games. Photograph: Ali Jarekji/Reuters/Corbis

Saudi embassy statement reveals country's Olympic commitee will oversee participation of women athletes who can qualify

Saudi Arabia has said it will allow women to compete at the the London Olympics after the IOC received growing demands to ban the country from the Games. Photograph: Ali Jarekji/Reuters/Corbis
Saudi Arabia has announced that it is to allow female citizens to take part in the Olympic Games this summer for the first time in the country's history.

The move comes only months after the International Olympic Committee (IOC) faced calls to ban the country from London 2012 after the Saudi Olympic chief appeared to rule out sending women athletes to the Games.

However, a statement released by the Saudi embassy to the BBC said that the Saudi Olympic committee will "oversee participation of women athletes who can qualify".

The decision, backed by the Saudi ruler, King Abdullah, was taken 10 days ago but the announcement was delayed due to the death of the Saudi heir to the throne, Crown Prince Nayef, according to the BBC.

The Saudi regime, which closed private gyms for women in 2009 and 2010 and severely limits women's ability to undertake physical activity, has been under mounting international pressure to adopt a more liberal approach.

Tessa Jowell, the former culture secretary and Olympics minister – who is now a member of the Olympic board – said in February that the Saudis were "clearly breaking the spirit of the Olympic charter's pledge to equality" with their attitude to women in sport and the Games.

Jowell spoke out after a report by Human Rights Watch highlighted the way in which Saudi Arabian women and girls are denied the right to sport.

An equestrian jumping contestant, Dalma Malhas, 18, is likely to be Saudi Arabia's only female athlete to qualify for this summer's Games in London which get underway on 27 July.

As recently as February, the Saudi Olympic committee president, Prince Nawaf bin Faisal, said he was "not endorsing" female participation in London as part of the official delegation.

Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Brunei have all never had a female athlete at the Olympics although Qatar has already announced it will send a three-woman team to London. (guardian)

Turkey paying for guns sent to Syrian rebels by CIA: Report

A handout image released by the Syrian opposition's Shaam News Network on June 18, 2012 shows Free Syrian Army militants listening to instructions during a training session in an area on the outskirts of the flashpoint city of Homs. AFP Photo

Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar are allegedly paying for weapons sent to Syrian opposition rebels through CIA operatives working on Turkish soil, the New York Times has reported.

According to statements made by American officials and Arab intelligence officers, weapons such as grenades and rifles are being passed onto Syrian rebels through southern Turkey under the provision of CIA operatives working on the ground.

Operations are being conducted under secrecy and are funded by Turkey, Qatar and Saudi Arabia, according to the New York Times.

CIA officials are trying hard to block any possible attempt by al-Qaeda or other terrorist groups from obtaining weaponry that is meant for Syrian opposition militants. The intelligence agency is also constantly attempting to build networks of communication and create allies within opposition circles.

The CIA is considering whether to provide further assistance to the rebels, including satellite images and intelligence, according to the report.

The White House, State Department and CIA have declined to comment on the claims.
(Hurriyet Daily News)

Saudi Arabia wants more tanks: report

A German soldier walks past a Leopard II A5 type tank at a military base in Torgelow, eastern Germany. Saudi Arabi wants to buy up to 800 Leopard’s from Germany. AFP Photo

Saudi Arabia wants to buy 600 to 800 Leopard battle tanks from Germany, at least twice the number previously expected, a German newspaper reported on yesterday.

A deal for around 300 tanks was about to be signed, Bild am Sonntag newspaper said in a report sent to Reuters ahead of publication.

The newspaper said that while there was opposition to the deal in Germany’s Chancellery, Foreign Ministry and Defence Ministry, there was support for it within the Economy Ministry.

“The Saudi order could secure the future of German tank-makers Krauss-Maffei Wegman and Rheinmetall, which urgently need new markets because of the restructuring of the German army,” said Bild am Sonntag.

A German government spokeswoman declined to comment.

Last year, Germany denied reports that it had agreed to export 270 Leopard tanks to Saudi Arabia. Exports of military equipment cannot be officially acknowledged as they are confidential and disclosure is punishable by a fine or jail.

Opposition lawmakers heaped pressure on Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government after reports it had cut a secret deal to sell the tanks, saying it contravened the country’s export guidelines for military hardware.

Arms exports are a sensitive issue in Germany given its Nazi past as well as the role arms makers like Krupp played in feeding 19th and 20th century wars with exports to both sides of conflicts.

Saudi wants deal by July 20

Germany has refrained from exporting heavy weapons to Gulf states in the past, given its close relationship with Israel and more recently because of the so-called Arab Spring.

Citing industry sources, Bild am Sonntag said Saudi Arabia wanted to sign the deal by July 20, when the Ramadan festival starts.

Spanish firm General Dynamic/Santa Barbara would produce the tanks under license by the German firms, the newspaper said. (BARLIN - Reuters)

Saudi crown prince Nayef dead: state TV

AFP Photo

Saudi Crown Prince Nayef bin Abdul Aziz, a half brother of King Abdullah and the kingdom's long-serving interior minister, died on Saturday, state television announced.

The 79-year-old Prince Nayef, who recently left Saudi Arabia for medical treatment, had "died outside the kingdom," said Al-Ekhbariyah Television, quoting a statement from the royal court.

His funeral would be held on Sunday after sunset prayers in the Muslim holy city of Mecca, after his body is repatriated.

Powerful Nayef, who led an iron-fisted crackdown on Al-Qaeda following a wave of attacks in Saudi Arabia between 2003 and 2006, became heir to the throne in October last year following the death of crown prince Sultan, his full brother.

Nayef was the middle prince of the Sudairi Seven, the formidable bloc of sons of King Abdul Aziz by a favorite wife, Princess Hassa al Sudairi.

No one is officially in line to replace Nayef, but his brother Prince Salman, who took over the porfolio of defence minister after Sultan's death, appears a strong candidate.

Prince Nayef had been abroad on several occasions this year for medical reasons, including to Algeria, the United States, and Switzerland, where he was seen a few days ago.

The nature of his illness has not been made public.

Less than two weeks ago, his brother Prince Ahmed bin Abdulaziz was quoted as saying in a Saudi daily that the crown prince was in "good health" and that he would "soon" return to the kingdom.

On May 26, state news agency SPA said Prince Nayef had left the country for medical tests abroad for the second time in less than three months, without naming the destination.

In March, the royal palace said he went to Algeria on holiday after the results of medical tests he underwent in the US city of Cleveland were reported as "reassuring." He returned to Saudi Arabia from Algeria on April 10.

Prince Nayef led the kingdom's post-September 11, 2001 crackdown on Al-Qaeda.

Seen as more conservative than King Abdullah, he is a staunch defender of the Saudi dynasty who has resisted any form of opposition.

The advanced age and failing health of the king and of his half-brothers in line to succeed him have raised concerns about the future of the oil giant in the face of the turmoil rocking the Arab world. (RIYADH - Agence France-Presse)

Saudi Arabia bans Gregorian dates, English communication

Saudi investors listen during an economic forum Jeddah. DHA photo

Saudi Arabia has banned all government and private institutions from using the Gregorian calendar in official dealings, Gulfnews.com reported.

The ban also covered the use of English to answer calls or communicate, mainly in hotels and companies.

All ministries and institutions must use the Islamic calendar and the Arabic calendar from now on, Saudi Arabia's interior ministry said. The decision was taken in order to preserve the Islamic calendar and the Arabic language.

In its decisison, the ministry noted that some government entities used the Gregorian dates "unnecessarily," in a violation of high orders and instructions.

Several hotel receptions also currently used English in their communications, the ministry said. (From online dispatches)