person:al bawaba

Why is Saudi Arabia Restricting German Business in the Kingdom? | Al Bawaba

▻https://www.albawaba.com/news/why-saudi-arabia-restricting-german-business-kingdom-1139232

By Eleanor Beevor

Over the past week, business analysts have balked at the news that Saudi Arabia appears to have imposed a boycott on German businesses wishing to strike deals with the Saudi state. Though the “boycott” is not enshrined in policy yet, multiple reports have quoted both German and Saudi sources confirming an impasse.

And until there is confirmation otherwise, rumours of the boycott should be taken seriously. It appears that attempts to divest state projects away from German companies have been in the making for a while – infrastructure projects that seemed likely to go to German firms have changed hands in the last few weeks. Dr. Courtney Freer, a Research Officer at the Middle East Centre at the London School of Economics told Al Bawaba:

Boycott mulled for months

“I do think that Riyadh will follow through on blocking German businesses, at least from government tenders. This decision has likely been mulled over for months, as diplomatic ties between the two have gotten worse. I imagine this measure will primarily hurt large German companies active in the kingdom like Siemens, Bayer, and potentially Daimler; these companies’ employees will also of course be affected as well inside the kingdom.”

What is striking is how narrow the grievances are that reportedly sparked the boycott. Der Spiegel quoted German business owner Detlef Daues, 65% of whose business revenues come from Saudi Arabia, as saying that Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman has been “deeply offended” by German government statements and policy of late. Specifically, Prince Mohammed is still apparently upset by a remark six months ago by the then-German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel.

 

File photo taken April 10, 2018, shows Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman posing upon his arrival at the 
Elysee Presidential palace for a meeting with French President in Paris. (AFP File Photo/Ludovic Marin)

Gunmen attack Shia center in Bahrain | Al Bawaba
▻http://www.albawaba.com/news/gunmen-attack-shia-center-bahrain-791856

Armed assailants have attacked a Shia religious center in Bahrain, inflicting severe damage to the building.

Local residents and witnesses said the attack was carried out in the village of Wadyan, Sitra, which is located south of the capital, Manama, during the early hours of Monday.

They said the attackers, riding a vehicle, fled the scene after spraying the building of Al-Marzouq Hussainia hall with bullets.

Photos circulated on social media networks show the building badly damaged and its windows shattered.

No group or individual has claimed responsibility for the incident. However, activists have accused some operatives of the ruling Al Khalifah family of carrying out the latest attack.

Several Shia religious gatherings and centers have come under attack in Bahrain and neighboring Saudi Arabia in recent months.

Saudi encounters: Gulf billionaire to meet with business leaders in rare Palestine visit Tuesday | Al Bawaba
▻http://www.albawaba.com/business/palestine-walid-talal-558169

Saudi encounters: Gulf billionaire to meet with business leaders in rare Palestine visit Tuesday

Tamkeen supports participation of 70 Bahraini Enterprises in Gulf Industry Fair 2014 | Al Bawaba
▻http://www.albawaba.com/business/pr/tamkeen-gulf-industry-fair-552554

To date, more than 7,600 enterprises in Bahrain have benefited from Tamkeen’s Enterprise Development Support Programme (EDS), which in addition to “Tarweej” also includes “Istishara” scheme to assist in the strategic planning and determining vision and goals of the organisation, the “Techania” scheme to provide support for the purchase of latest enterprise-related tools and equipment, “Jawda” scheme to assist in the design and application of world-class quality standards, “Tasweeq” scheme to provide support in the design and implementation of effective marketing, and the Legal Services Support Scheme, which provides enterprises with legal support in their commercial transactions.

Pour la première fois, une femme devient porte-parole du Hamas | Al Bawaba
▻http://www.albawaba.com/news/hamas-spokesperson-female-531256

Israa Al-Mudallal, 23, a journalist who spent years as a child in the United Kingdom, said that she would “address Western and Israeli media” and would “work to change media discourse, painting a different picture of Palestine and Gaza.”
She added : “The Western media has begun to realize that the Israeli media falsifies the facts, and so we have to make a great effort to debunk Israeli falsehoods.”

Al-Mudallal previously worked at the al-Kitab television station, and studied journalism and media at the Islamic University of Gaza. 
She credits her studies in journalism as well as her time in Britain as a child for helping her “to understand Western culture.”

#Hamas #women

L’Egypte a suffisamment de pétrole (essence, etc) pour couvrir ses besoins jusqu’à la fin de l’année ? | Al Bawaba
▻http://www.albawaba.com/business/gasoline-egypt--528001

Egypt’s petroleum products supply is sufficient until the end of the current year due to Arab Gulf aid and available funds for imports, state-owned Al-Ahram daily newspaper reported Sunday.

#oil

Lebanon : Iranian traces in attempted assassination of Christian leader | Al Bawaba
►http://www.albawaba.com/main-headlines/lebanon-iranian-traces-attempted-assassination-christian-leader-419956

Citing sources close to the investigation into Wednesday’s attempted assassination of Samir Geagea, Lebanon’s an-Nahar newspaper said that the shooting was carried out by snipers. They targeted the head of the Lebanese Forces (LF) some 1.5 km from the LF’s HQ in Meerab. The newspaper also reported that the initial probe indicated that the weapon used by the snipers is “very sophisticated” and “virtually unavailable in Lebanon”. It concluded attackers used the “Steyr HS.50, with the 12.7mm caliber”, a sniper rifle manufactured in Austria.

Vienna was criticized in 2006 by London and Washington for having sold over 800 of these rifles to Tehran, according to The Telegraph. The British newspaper said that U.S. forces had found 100 of these Austrian assault rifles in a weapons cache belonging to Iraqi insurgents in Baghdad. These weapons were part of the cargo sent by Austria to Iran, reported the newspaper, quoting U.S. security sources.

Demain : la crosse de ces fusils de snipers portent une dédicace personnelle de Bashar Assad. J’aime quand les enquêtes vont (très) vite.

Si certains adorent se faire peur avec les achats immobiliers effectués par des chiites dans des zones à majorité chrétienne, les chiffres, eux, pointent vers un autre usual suspect…

Saudi investments in Lebanon hit US$5.33 billion | Al Bawaba
►http://www.albawaba.com/business/saudi-investments-lebanon-hit-us533-billion-399687

The head of the Saudi-Lebanese Business Council, Abdul Mohsen al-Hukair, has unveiled that Saudi investments have increased in Lebanon.

He stated that the increase has touched the real estate sector, with investments also going to other sectors such as commerce, trade, health and medicine.

Earlier Abdul Mohsen al-Hukair stated that bilateral trade rose by an unprecedented 20% as the Lebanese have begun to promote their skills especially in investment and industrial sectors.