Al-Qaeda threatens attacks on the Royal family

Al-Qaeda militants threatened to launch fresh attacks on Saudi royal family members in a video message posted on the Internet on Tuesday commemorating a 2009 bombing targeting the interior minister.
We say to the tyrants that we can get you in your offices, we can get you in your bedrooms, said Qassem al-Rimi, a commander of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. I advise you to check before going to bed that there’s no suicide bomber or bomb in the room, Rimi added. An Al-Qaeda suicide bomber attacked Saudi Arabia’s counterterrorism chief, Deputy Interior Minister Prince Mohammed bin Nayef bin Abdul Aziz, on August 27 last year as he was receiving members of the public. Al-Qaeda said it had also narrowly missed Interior Minister Prince Nayef bin Abdul Aziz in another attack last year as he flew into the Yemeni capital Sanaa on a visit. The group said it had attempted to target the visiting Saudi delegation with a surface-to-air missile and had also planned to shell the welcoming ceremony at the airport.

Barack Obama Pledges to Push China Respect Trade Ties

President Barack Obama said that China would be constantly pressurized to get its markets open for trade with the US besides making it respect the trade accords.
Obama told Democrat senators that he would put ‘constant pressure’ on China and other countries to abide by the trade accords, however he ruled out taking of protectionist stance towards China, warning that ‘to close ourselves off from that market would be a mistake’. Tension between the US and China mounted over arms sales to Taiwan. Relations have also been strained by reports of Chinese cyber attacks on US-run websites and a planned visit to the US by the Dalai Lama. Earlier, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesman warned Obama that meeting the Tibetan spiritual leader would further erode ties.

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Barack Obama Pledges to Push China Respect Trade Ties was first posted on February 4, 2010 at 3:05 pm.

Hamid Karzai Meets Saudi King

RIYADH: Afghan President Hamid Karzai met Wednesday with King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia to try to secure an active role by the Arab kingdom in efforts to persuade Taliban militants to join the political process in Afghanistan.

Before the meeting, Karzai’s spokesman Waheed Omar told reporters that the Afghan leader “will ask King Abdullah to initiate mediation with Taliban to start peace talks.”

A Saudi official later said that Karzai made the proposal to King Abdullah but gave no further details. The official was speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the talks.

Last week, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal said the kingdom will not get involved in peacemaking in Afghanistan unless the Taliban severs all ties with Osama bin Laden and his terror al-Qaida network.

Saudi Arabia has a unique relationship with Taliban since it was one of the few countries to recognize its militant regime before it was ousted in 2001. It also has in the past acted as an intermediary between Taliban and rival Afghan factions.

The Saudi conditions for participating in the talks with Taliban, especially expelling former Saudi citizen bin Laden, are not new, but Riyadh is reiterating them amid a new international push to persuade it to mediate with the Afghan militants.

Karzai has said he is looking forward to a key Saudi role, not only in reconstruction, but a broader role for peace-building and talks with Taliban.

Bin Laden is a member of a wealthy Saudi family but fell out with the government in the early 1990s over the presence of U.S. troops there. He has repeatedly condemned the Saudi ruling family and was stripped of his citizenship in 1994.

Saudi Arabia is wary of getting involved in Afghanistan again, following its role in funding the anti-Soviet resistance in the 1980s and later the movement that became the Taliban.

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Hamid Karzai Meets Saudi King was first posted on February 4, 2010 at 3:09 pm.