Khartoum, Sudan | AFP | Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court, will not join an Islamic summit in Saudi Arabia with US President Donald Trump, his office said Friday. “President Omar al-Bashir has apologised to King Salman of Saudi Arabia for being unable to …
Read More »Saudi raises $9 bn in first global Islamic bond issue
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia | AFP | Saudi Arabia raised $9 billion in its first global Islamic bond issue, the government announced on Thursday, a move analysts say could ease pressure on foreign reserves. The sale of Islamic bonds, known as sukuks, comes after the kingdom in October turned to the …
Read More »Britain apologises after egg thrown at Saudi general
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia | AFP | Britain has apologised after an egg was thrown at a Saudi military official during a visit to London, Saudi state media said Sunday. An anti-war activist last week attempted a citizen’s arrest of General Ahmed Assiri, spokesman for the Saudi-led Gulf coalition fighting rebels in …
Read More »Saudi says ‘committed’ to oil market stability
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia | AFP | Saudi Arabia is committed to stabilising the global oil market, the energy ministry of the world’s biggest oil exporter said on Tuesday, as prices fell below $48 a barrel. OPEC and non-OPEC countries last year pledged to reduce output by around 1.8 million barrels …
Read More »Good times over for expats in Saudi Arabia
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia | AFP | Seventeen years after first setting foot in Saudi Arabia, Dominic Steck shipped his two cats and returned to Germany with his wife and school-age children, who hardly know their homeland. As Saudi Arabia steps up efforts to employ more of its own people, and …
Read More »Saudi invites rival Iran for talks on hajj return
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia | AFP | Saudi Arabia has invited regional rival Iran to discuss a return of its nationals to next year’s hajj after Iranians were excluded from the pilgrimage following a major diplomatic row, reports said Friday. The Al-Hayat daily reported that Riyadh’s pilgrims minister Mohammed Bentin had …
Read More »Let women drive, urges Saudi prince
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia | AFP | An outspoken billionaire Saudi prince wants an “urgent” end to his country’s ban on women driving, saying overturning the law was a matter of women’s rights and economic necessity. “Stop the debate: Time for women to drive,” Prince Alwaleed bin Talal said on his …
Read More »Saudi advisory council rejects study of women driving
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia | AFP | Saudi Arabia’s Shura Council, which advises the cabinet, has turned down a proposal to study the issue of women’s driving, a Shura member told AFP on Wednesday. The kingdom has some of the world’s tightest restrictions on women, and is the only country where …
Read More »Saudi says foiled plot to bomb World Cup qualifier
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia | AFP | Saudi authorities said Sunday they had foiled a plot to bomb a football stadium during a World Cup qualifying match and dismantled two “terrorist” cells linked to the Islamic State group. The interior ministry said in a statement that four suspects from each cell …
Read More »Russia loses election to UN rights council
United Nations, United States | AFP | Russia on Friday failed to win re-election at the United Nations Human Rights Council in a vote rights groups said reflected international disapproval of Moscow’s involvement in the war in Syria. The UN General Assembly elected Hungary and Croatia instead to represent eastern …
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