U.S., RIM in Government Talks as Saudi Ban Looms
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The U.S. and Canadian governments and Research In Motion Ltd. are holding talks with authorities in the Persian Gulf and South Asia to head off restrictions on the BlackBerry handset as Saudi Arabia prepared to suspend services.
The largest Arab economy, Saudi Arabia, said Aug. 3 that it would order the country’s three mobile-phone operators to shut off instant messaging services starting today. Users in the kingdom said they lost access to some phone capabilities for a part of the day, before it was restored. The U.S. and Canadian governments said yesterday they’re in talks with foreign governments to find a solution.