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by Anuj Chopra Agence France Presse RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AFP) — Saudi Arabia pursued a sweeping purge of the kingdom’s upper ranks on Sunday, saying it would freeze the accounts of dozens of princes, ministers and a tycoon arrested as the crown prince cements his hold on power. Prominent billionaire Al-Waleed bin Talal was among the princes arrested late Saturday, a government source told AFP, immediately after a new anti-corruption commission headed by Crown […]
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AFP) — A Saudi prince was killed on Sunday when a helicopter with several officials on board crashed near the kingdom’s southern border with war-torn Yemen, state television said. The news channel Al-Ekhbariya announced the death of Prince Mansour bin Moqren, the deputy governor of Asir province and son of a former crown prince. It did not reveal the cause of the crash or the fate of the other officials aboard the […]
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Qatar’s emir in an intervew airing Sunday accused Saudi Arabia and its Arab allies of seeking to topple his government with its nearly five month old political and economic embargo of the tiny Gulf state. “They want a regime change. It’s… so obvious,” Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani told CBS’ 60 Minutes. “History as well tells us, teaches us they tried to do that before, in 1996 after my father […]
by Abdul Hadi Habtor Agence France Presse RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AFP) — Powerful Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman pledged a “moderate, open” Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, breaking with ultra-conservative clerics in favor of an image catering to foreign investors and Saudi youth. The Saudi strongman, 32, did not mince words in declaring a new reality for the kingdom, hours after announcing the launch of an independent $500 billion megacity — with “separate regulation” — along […]
DOHA, Qatar (AFP) — US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on Sunday said talks between feuding Gulf states remained unlikely, as a Saudi-led boycott of Qatar nears its sixth month. “We cannot force talks among people who are not ready to talk,” Tillerson said at a press conference in Doha. “There is not a strong indication that parties are ready to talk yet,” he added. “We cannot and will not impose a solution on anyone.” […]
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AFP) — Saudi Arabia invited bids on Tuesday for a “utility-scale” 300-megawatt solar project, a first for the world’s top oil exporter. “Today’s bid opening represents a significant milestone for the National Renewable Energy Program, and an important step on the way to diversifying Saudi Arabia’s domestic energy mix and building a cutting edge domestic renewable energy sector,” Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih said. Bidders for the Sakaka solar energy project — to […]
by Anuj Chopra Agence France-Presse RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – Saudi Arabia’s historic decision to allow women to drive won plaudits internationally and inside the conservative kingdom on Wednesday, as euphoria mixed with disbelief among activists who long fought the ban. King Salman’s decree, which takes effect next June, is part of an ambitious reform push that runs the risk of a backlash from religious hardliners. Saudi Arabia was the only country in the world to ban women driving, […]
by Jamil Nasser Agence France-Presse SANAA, Yemen – Children were among at least 14 people killed in an air strike that toppled residential blocks in Yemen’s capital Sanaa on Friday, witnesses and medics said. The attack was the latest in a wave of deadly raids on residential areas of Yemen blamed on a Saudi-led Arab military coalition, drawing strong international condemnation. The United Nations has accused the Arab coalition of killing 42 civilians in the week to […]
by Ali Choukeir Agence France Presse BAGHDAD, Iraq (AFP) — Influential Iraqi Shiite cleric Moqtada Sadr’s visit to Saudi Arabia at the end of July signalled the Gulf Sunni powerhouse’s ambition to distance its Iranian foe from policy-making in Baghdad. In the wake of former dictator Saddam Hussein’s August 1990 invasion of Kuwait, Riyadh severed relations with Baghdad and closed its border posts with its northern neighbour. Ties have remained strained even after Saddam’s ouster […]
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AFP) — Saudi Arabia and its allies unveiled a “terrorist” blacklist on Tuesday of 18 organizations and individuals suspected of links with Islamist extremism that they said had ties with regional rival Qatar. The move by the four Arab governments came despite mounting international pressure to compromise in their weeks-old boycott of their fellow United States ally. Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt blacklisted nine charity and media organizations and nine individuals “directly […]
DOHA, Qatar (AFP) — Qatar’s ruler said Friday that the Gulf emirate is ready for talks to resolve a diplomatic crisis with a Saudi-led bloc so long as his country’s sovereignty is respected. “We are open to dialogue to resolve the outstanding problems,” so long as Qatar’s “sovereignty is respected,” Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani said in his first public comments since Saudi Arabia and its allies severed ties with the gas-rich emirate. “Any […]
JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia (AFP) — United States Secretary of State Rex Tillerson held talks Wednesday with four Arab states boycotting Qatar as part of a round of intense shuttle diplomacy aimed at resolving the regional crisis. Tillerson flew into Saudi Arabia where he met King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, whose country leads a four-state alliance that has cut ties with Qatar over accusations it supports extremism. The US, a longtime ally of […]
