a great book and pessimists make safer investors,no irrational exuberance.
PS i am comfortable with natural gas
pps there is a russian saying."you can rent an arab but you cant buy one"
Last Updated: Saturday, 1 May, 2004, 16:44 GMT 17:44 UK
Westerners killed in Saudi Arabia
The attacks occurred despite a crackdown on suspected militants
Gunmen have killed at least six people in an attack on a Western oil company office in the Saudi city of Yanbu.
Two Americans, two Britons, an Australian and a Saudi died in the attack - one of a series on Western interests in the city.
The gunmen fired from a car at a McDonald's restaurant and a hotel, before targeting the subsidiary of Swiss-Swedish firm ABB.
Local reports said one body was dragged through the streets by the car.
A Western resident also told Reuters that a pipebomb had been thrown at the international school in the city.
Saudi interior ministry officials said that three attackers were subsequently killed.
'Fired at random'
In a statement, the Saudi interior ministry said: "At 7am (0400GMT) on Saturday, four men entered the headquarters of a Saudi contractor in Yanbu and fired at random on Saudis and foreigners.
"Security forces chased them and they took refuge in residential areas and hijacked some cars. Three of them were killed and a fourth was wounded.
"There were a number of deaths and injuries among Saudis and foreigners."
European diplomats said five Westerners and a member of the Saudi national guard were killed. They also said a Saudi police captain was seriously wounded.
ABB spokesman Bjorn Edlund said three Americans working for the company had been killed, and two wounded.
However the US embassy could only confirm that two had died.
A Canadian diplomat in Riyadh said two Canadian citizens in Yanbu had been hospitalised.
A spokesman for Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said an Australian national was believed to have been killed.
Local hospitals report that up to 18 people, mostly Saudis, were injured.
'Credible threats'
Saudi Arabia has seen a year-long wave of Islamist militancy, targeting mainly foreigners.
More than 50 people have been killed in suicide bombings in the capital Riyadh, including an attack on a security building last month.
The Yanbu region is home to oil refineries and petrochemical plants that employ many foreigners. Until now it had been largely unaffected by violence in the kingdom.
Earlier this month, the US urged its citizens to leave Saudi Arabia after issuing a warning of "credible indications of terrorist threats aimed at American and Western interests in Saudi Arabia".
The Saudi ambassador to London, Prince Turki al-Faisal, said the incident would strengthen his country's resolve "to eradicate terrorist activity and to combat this evil wherever we find it". |
