Saudi Arabia

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Saudi Princess Nabbed for Human Trafficking: Cops

Kenyan woman was 'held captive'

(Newser) - A Saudi princess has been arrested after she allegedly held a Kenyan woman "captive against (her) will," requiring her to perform domestic duties some 16 hours a day, seven days a week, for just $220 a month, California prosecutors say. The Saudi woman, Meshael Alayban, 42, has been...

Saudi Arabia Gets a New Weekend

Aligns working week with fellow Gulf states with Friday-Saturday move

(Newser) - A notable change for working Saudi Arabians: The weekend will now come a day later. Its people had enjoyed a Thursday-Friday weekend, but Oman's recent switch to Friday-Saturday made Saudi Arabia the odd man out among the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council. The change to a Friday weekend start, described...

Couple Die of Thirst in Desert
 Couple Die of Thirst in Desert 
Jun 22, 2013 11:30 AM CDT

Couple Die of Thirst in Desert

They were trying to get across Saudi Arabia's 'Empty Quarter'

(Newser) - A Qatari couple trying to drive across the biggest desert in the world has been found dead, reports the BBC . The couple apparently had car trouble in the middle of what's aptly called the Empty Quarter, a desolate stretch of sand more than 600 miles wide where temperatures top...

Traveler With Pressure Cooker Arrested in Detroit

Saudi Arabian man said it was a gift for his nephew

(Newser) - A Saudi Arabian man was arrested upon arrival at Detroit Metropolitan Airport today after a series of suspicious incidents: First, Hussain Al Kwawahir was found to have a page missing from his passport; he told officers he didn't know how it had been removed. Then, officers found a pressure...

Girls Now Allowed to Play School Sport in Saudi Arabia

Students must adhere to 'decent' dress code and Shariah law

(Newser) - Saudi Arabian girls will be allowed to play sports in private schools for the first time, according to a decision announced yesterday, the latest in a series of incremental changes aimed at slowly increasing women's rights in the ultraconservative kingdom. Saudi Arabia's official press agency, SPA, reported that...

We Profiled the Saudi Marathon 'Suspect'

Amy Davidson: There's no excuse for the way this man was treated

(Newser) - When a badly injured 20-year-old Saudi Arabian student was seen running from the site of the Boston Marathon explosions, a bystander tackled him because he looked suspicious. He was questioned by police; his apartment was searched ; his roommate was intimidatingly interrogated for five hours and hounded by reporters. Why? He...

Saudi Criminal's Sentence: Paralysis

Eye-for-eye judgment for Ali al-Khawahir

(Newser) - When he was 14, Ali al-Khawahir stabbed his best friend in the back, paralyzing him for life. Now, because of an eye-for-an-eye sentence, al-Khawahir is facing paralysis as well. The Saudi Arabia man can only avoid the sentence by raising more than $266,600, the amount his victim requested in...

GOP Balks at Making Saudis 'Trusted Travelers'

House members point out that most 9/11 hijackers were Saudis

(Newser) - House Republicans are raising concerns about an Obama administration deal to give "pre-approved, low-risk travelers" from Saudi Arabia a quicker pass through customs when entering the US. "Of the 19 individuals who hijacked American planes on September 11, 2011—15 were from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,"...

Saudi Problem: Not Enough Swordsmen for Executions

Firing squads now an acceptable alternative

(Newser) - The only country in the world that still beheads criminals is facing a shortage of swordsmen, leading Saudi Arabian authorities to rule that using a firing squad is an acceptable alternative to publicly lopping the heads of those convicted of crimes including murder, drug trafficking, and apostasy, the New York ...

Kerry: Time for Iran Nuke Talks Is 'Finite'

UN watchdog prevented from entering Iran military site

(Newser) - Talks with Iran on its nuclear program can't simply drag on forever, John Kerry and the Saudi foreign minister are warning. "There is a finite amount of time," Kerry said during a Riyadh press conference on his first overseas trip as secretary of state. Diplomacy, he said,...

In Sea Change, Saudis Arming Syrian Opposition

Plus, opposition agrees to attend international summit

(Newser) - A big shift in the Syrian conflict: Saudi Arabia is arming the opposition. It's a decidedly more activist approach than had previously been taken by regional and Western powers, the New York Times reports, and it signals an attempt to counter the weapons Iran is sending to Bashar al-Assad'...

Secret Saudi Drone Base No Longer Secret

Revelation comes just ahead of John Brennan's confirmation hearing

(Newser) - And the drone-strike revelations keep coming . A number of US media outlets last night broke their silence about the location of a secret drone base used by the CIA to attack al-Qaeda in Yemen: Saudi Arabia. And CIA director-nominee John Brennan's name is all over the reports, just ahead...

Sri Lanka Roils Over Saudi Beheading of Maid

Sri Lankan gov't accused of not doing enough to save Rizana Nafeek

(Newser) - Saudi Arabia is coming under heavy criticism for beheading a Sri Lankan maid yesterday, after she was found guilty for killing a baby under her care in 2005 when she was 17 years old, reports al-Jazeera . Human rights groups say Rizana Nafeek was denied access to lawyers during her initial...

Now Saudi Women Are Electronically Tracked
 Now Saudi 
 Women Are 
 Electronically 
 Tracked 
in case you missed it
Nov 25, 2012 7:00 PM CST

Now Saudi Women Are Electronically Tracked

Guardians get texts when women leave the country

(Newser) - It's the only country in the world where women can't drive—and now, if they leave it, their male guardians are electronically notified. When Saudi Arabian women cross the border, said guardians get a text message. The texts arrive even when couples are traveling together, AFP reports. Women...

Saudi Wedding Gunfire Downs Power Line, Kills 25

Celebratory shooting ends in tragedy

(Newser) - At least 25 people attending a wedding last night in Saudi Arabia have died after celebratory gunfire brought down a power line, which may have started a blaze in a tent, reports al-Jazeera . But Reuters quotes an official who says the cable fell on a metal door, electrocuting guests who...

Ikea Sorry for Erasing Moms in Saudi Catalog
 Ikea Sorry for Erasing 
 Moms in Saudi Catalog 
in case you missed it
Oct 6, 2012 7:00 PM CDT

Ikea Sorry for Erasing Moms in Saudi Catalog

Women wiped out in alternate universe

(Newser) - Ikea has apologized for eliminating women in catalogs distributed in Saudi Arabia, apparently so as not to offend Muslims. Scenes featuring families using Ikea furniture and other products are missing mothers in versions that appear in the Arab nation. Not a single woman appears on any of the pages, reports...

Egypt Rights Group Blasts Saudi Flogging of Designer

Wedding planner also jailed after dispute with royal family

(Newser) - An Egyptian designer's sentence—500 lashes and five years in prison over a business feud—has human rights activists up in arms. Designer and wedding planner Nagla Wafa was accused of cashing a Saudi princess's check while bailing on a plan to open a restaurant together, the Los ...

Saudi Crown Prince Takes Charge for First Time

King Abdullah on 'special leave' in Morocco

(Newser) - Saudi Arabia's defense minister is getting his first shot at wielding absolute power. Crown Prince Salman, who became next in line to the throne in June , will be running the country while King Abdullah is on "special leave" in Morocco, reports AP . Saudi officials didn't say how...

US Arms Sales Hog 75% of Global Market

Washington's overseas sales tripled last year

(Newser) - America's weapon sales abroad last year skyrocketed to $66.3 billion, triple the 2010 figure of $21.4 billion, according to a nonpartisan report. US sales accounted for more than three-quarters of the $85.3 billion market and marked a record high for sales in a year, blowing away...

Mom Fighting Saudi Prince for Daughter Falls to Death

Cohen-Ahnine wanted daughter back from Sattam al-Saud

(Newser) - A French woman embroiled in a custody dispute over her daughter with a Saudi prince plunged to her death last week in Paris—and her lawyer says it was not suicide. Candice Cohen-Ahnine, 35, even told relatives she felt "threatened" several days before falling from her fourth-floor apartment off...

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