Tag: Saudi

RIYADH - Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah is to return home this week after convalescing in Morocco from operations in New York, a source close to the oil-rich Gulf monarchy said on Sunday. "The king is expected to return Wednesday and preparations are underway" to greet Abdullah, the official told AFP, requesting anonymity. Another source said the heads of Saudi state media, especially television channels, have been instructed to begin from Tuesday to broadcast special programmes on the

RIYADH - Saudi Arabia, a close ally of Hosni Mubarak, on Saturday welcomed the "peaceful transition of power" in Egypt, an official quoted by the state SPA news agency said. The conservative kingdom "welcomes the peaceful transition of power" and hopes "the efforts of Egypt's armed forces will bring peace and stability," he said a day after president Hosni Mubarak's ouster.
Riyadh will support efforts to forge a "unity government that would achieve the hopes and aspirations of

MADRID - Real Madrid, one of the world's richest football clubs, have announced they have reached an agreement with Saudi Arabia's Prince Salman Foundation to build a sports academy in the Middle Eastern country.
The deal will officially be signed in Madrid on Monday, the Spanish club said in a statement published on their website late on Friday. "The Real Madrid Foundation and the Prince Salman Foundation will join forces on Monday 7 February in order to build a new

BRUSSELS - Saudi Arabia suppresses or fails to protect the rights of millions of women, foreign workers and Shiites, and reforms have so far been largely symbolic, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said on Monday.
"Authorities continue to systematically suppress or fail to protect the rights of nine million Saudi women and girls, eight million foreign workers, and some two million Shiite citizens," HRW said in its annual report for 2010. And "each year, thousands of people receive unfair

RIYADH - Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz arrived in Casablanca, Morocco on Saturday to convalesce two months after undergoing back surgery in the United States, the official SPA news agency reported.
"King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz al-Saud arrived in Casablanca in the Kingdom of Morocco from New York to complete physical therapy and recovery," said the report. Morocco's King Mohammed VI met King Abdullah at Casablanca airport, SPA and an official Moroccan source added.
The

RIYADH - Saudi Arabia's top Muslim authority branded the act of setting oneself on fire, a protest started in Tunisia and copied in other Arab states, a "great sin," Al-Hayat newspaper reported on Friday. Islam "bans suicide even if living conditions are hard. To commit suicide by setting oneself on fire is a horrendous crime," said Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdul Aziz bin Abdullah al-Sheikh, quoted in the pan-Arab daily. "To immolate oneself and committing suicide are great sins," he said.

BEIRUT - Saudi Arabia on Wednesday abandoned efforts to mediate in Lebanon's political crisis, warning of a "dangerous" situation as all eyes turned to a Turkish-Qatari bid to defuse tensions.
In an interview with the Saudi-owned Al-Arabiya television news channel, Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal said the Saudi king was "pulling his hand" from Lebanon.
He said the monarch -- whose country is a key ally of Lebanon's embattled caretaker Prime Minister Saad Hariri --

DOHA - Jordan dumped three-times champions Saudi Arabia out of the Asian Cup on Thursday with a 1-0 victory courtesy of a goalkeeping howler by Waleed Abdullah. It has been a traumatic few days for Saudi Arabia, whose quest for a first Asian Cup since 1996 got off to a disastrous start when they were beaten 2-1 by outsiders Syria in their opening game on Sunday.
Portuguese Jose Peseiro, who had already been under severe pressure for failing to get Saudi Arabia to the World Cup,

RIYADH - Saudi authorities announced Sunday a list of 47 people wanted for suspected links to Al-Qaeda who are all abroad, the interior ministry said in a statement carried by state news agency SPA.
"Authorities have identified 47 wanted Saudis who are abroad and who adopt the deviant ideology," the ministry said, using the kingdom's term for the Al-Qaeda terror network. The interior ministry said that it has passed the list to the international police, Interpol, and advised the

RIYADH - A top Saudi cleric has slammed suicide attacks by Islamist martyrdom-seekers as devilish acts that do not qualify as jihad, a Saudi newspaper reported
on Friday.
"He (a suicide bomber) claims to be a mujahed (holy warrier) in the name of Allah, but he is not. He is fighting in the name of the devil who has tempted him and convinced him" to carry out the attack, said Sheikh Saleh al-Fawzan.
"A Muslim is prohibited from killing himself," the member of the Saudi

ISLAMABAD: A US diplomatic cable, released by WikiLeaks, quoted the Turkish Ambassador to Pakistan Soysal saying that Turkey was proving to be the first Muslim country to assist Pakistan with humanitarian crisis during the floods, perplexed that Saudi Arabia had not paid anything till then.
"The GOT would encourage a strong statement of support by the Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC) summit and was hoping other members would kick in contributions," a diplomatic cable

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia is the key source of funding for radical Islamist groups including Al Qaeda, the Taliban, Hamas and Lashkar-e-Tayyaba, according to a US diplomatic cable leaked by WikiLeaks on Sunday.
"Donors in Saudi Arabia constitute the most significant source of funding to Sunni terrorist groups worldwide," said the document, an assessment from US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton dated December 30, 2009. "Saudi Arabia remains a critical financial support base for Al

ISLAMABAD: Two diplomatic memos leaked by WikiLeaks reveal that the Saudi royal family is divided over its relationship with Nawaz Sharif, leader of the Pakistan Muslim League-N.
The first cable sent by US Charge'd Affaires Michael Gfoeller on November 20, 2007, reveals Saudi Arabian Ambassador to the US Adel al-Jubeir severely criticised Nawaz for not keeping his words.
"He (Jubeir) asserted that the Saudi government had offered Sharif a pledge of protection and asylum in

WASHINGTON/LONDON/NEW YORK: Saudi King Abdullah called President Asif Ali Zardari the greatest obstacle to Pakistan's progress, according to an online report of New York Times that quoted Wikileaks as saying.
The report further quoted King Abdullah as saying, "When the head is rotten, it affects the whole body."
The cables released by Wikileaks, quote King Abdullah as speaking to another Iraqi official about Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki, "You and Iraq are in my

LAHORE: Saudi Minister for Hajj Fawad Salam Al-Farsi on Wednesday handed over a cheque worth Saudi Riyal (SR) 6.665 million to Federal Minister for Religious Affairs Allama Hamid Saeed Kazmi in Jeddah to compensate pilgrims who failed to receive accommodation during Haj this year.
In a telephonic conversation, a spokesman for Pakistan's Hajj Mission, Makkah Mukarram, stated that the money would be distributed among 26,660 pilgrims who could not get accommodation in a tent city of

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz will leave for the United States on Monday for medical checks, while Crown Prince Sultan will return from a holiday abroad, the state-run Saudi Press Agency reported on Sunday.
The Gulf Arab state controls more than a fifth of the world's crude reserves, is a vital US ally in the region, a major holder of dollar assets and home to the biggest Arab bourse.
Western diplomats said the king's departure and crown prince's sudden

KARACHI: Saudi Arabia's Haj officials have fined the PIA 2.4 million riyals for not providing pilgrims with ED forms and also for the delay and cancellation of flights, Pakistan Today has learnt.
According to sources in the national carrier, PIA is now trying to settle the matter with the Saudi officials and has offered them gifts to have the fine waived off.
There was a shortage of ED forms provided by the Ministry of Religious Affairs to the pilgrims, who are supposed to