by Amélie HERENSTEIN Agence France Presse ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AFP) — Saudi Arabia and Pakistan signed a raft of investment deals Sunday worth up to $20 billion for the cash-strapped South Asian country, as Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman launched his Asia tour seeking to emerge from the Khashoggi affair. Pakistan is facing a serious balance of payments crisis and hopes the deals — seven separate agreements and Memorandums of Understanding — will provide welcome […]
Tag: Saudi Arabia
Saudi crown prince told aide he would use ‘a bullet’ on Khashoggi: report
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Saudi Arabia’s crown prince told a senior aide he would go after Jamal Khashoggi “with a bullet” a year before the dissident journalist was killed inside the kingdom’s Istanbul consulate, the New York Times reported Thursday quoting US intelligence. US intelligence understood that Mohammed bin Salman, the country’s 33-year-old de facto ruler, was ready to kill the journalist, although he may not have literally meant to shoot him, according to […]
Palace condoles with kin of Filipina executed in Saudi Arabia
(Eagle News)–The Palace on Thursday, Jan. 31, expressed condolences to the family of the Filipino maid who was executed for murder in Saudi Arabia. “I would like to express our condolences to the bereaved family of the overseas Filipino worker (OFW) who has been executed,” Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo said. Panelo issued the statement hours after the Department of Foreign Affairs announced the 39-year-old, who has not been identified, was meted out the sentence by […]
DFA: Filipina found guilty of murder executed in Saudi Arabia
(Eagle News) — A Filipina domestic helper who was found guilty of murder was executed in Saudi Arabia, the Department of Foreign Affairs said on Thursday, Jan. 31. Ambassador Adnan Alonto told the DFA main office the sentence was carried out against the 39-year-old on Tuesday, Jan. 22. Alonto said the embassy provided her with a lawyer to assist her in all stages of her trial, sent representatives to visit her, and provided her family […]
Pompeo to press Saudi prince to hold Khashoggi killers ‘accountable’
by Francesco Fontemaggi Agence France Presse RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AFP) — US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Sunday arrived in Riyadh, where he is set to ask Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to ensure the killers of journalist Jamal Khashoggi are held accountable. The top US diplomat, on an extensive Middle East tour, embarked on his second politically sensitive visit to Saudi Arabia since Khashoggi’s murder inside its Istanbul consulate sparked an international […]
Saudi Arabia awards first major wind project worth $500 million
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AFP) — Saudi Arabia on Thursday awarded a contract to build a $500 million wind farm, a first for the world’s top oil exporter as it pushes to diversify its energy sector. A consortium led by France’s EDF and Abu Dhabi’s Masdar won the bid for the 400-megawatt Dumat al-Jandal wind project in the northern Al Jouf province, the Saudi energy ministry said. “The project will be Saudi Arabia’s first utility-scale wind farm,” […]
Saudi to slash oil exports after price slide: minister
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AFP) — OPEC kingpin Saudi Arabia will slash its oil exports in January by 10 percent compared to November, its energy minister said Wednesday as producers move to shore up tumbling prices. Khalid al-Falih said the kingdom, the world’s top crude supplier, would cut its exports to 7.2 million barrels per day in January, down from 8.0 million bpd in November. He also announced a further 100,000 bpd cut in February. OPEC […]
Saudi prosecutor seeks death sentences as Khashoggi murder trial opens
by Anuj Chopra with Natacha Yazbeck in Dubai Agence France Presse RIYADH, Saudi (AFP) — Saudi Arabia’s attorney general sought the death penalty for five of 11 defendants charged with the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, as their high-profile trial opened in Riyadh on Thursday. The prosecution also said it was awaiting a response to two formal letters requesting evidence from Turkey, where Khashoggi was murdered inside the Saudi Istanbul consulate on October 2 in […]
Saudi king orders government reshuffle after Khashoggi fallout
by Anuj Chopra Agence France Presse RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AFP) — Saudi Arabia’s King Salman ordered a sweeping government reshuffle Thursday, replacing key security and political figures including the foreign minister, as the kingdom grapples with the international fallout over critic Jamal Khashoggi’s murder. The surprise shake up saw the appointment of a new National Guard chief and the head of a new space agency, but the ministries of energy and finance were unaffected despite […]
Saudi seeks to boost intelligence oversight after critic’s murder
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AFP) — Saudi Arabia on Thursday said it was creating government bodies to boost oversight of its intelligence operations, in the wake of international outrage over critic Jamal Khashoggi’s murder. The kingdom has said Khashoggi was killed inside its Istanbul consulate on October 2 in a “rogue operation” led by the then deputy intelligence chief Ahmad al-Assiri and royal court advisor Saud al-Qahtani, both of whom have been sacked. King Salman subsequently […]
Qatar emir skips Saudi-hosted summit with Gulf rivals
by Abdul Hadi Habtor Agence France Presse RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AFP) — Qatar’s emir skipped a summit in Saudi Arabia on Sunday with fellow Arab Gulf leaders whose boycott of the small but energy-flush neighbour has sparked a major regional diplomatic row. Riyadh is hosting the annual gathering as crises rumble on over the 18-month-old dispute with Doha, the war in Yemen and the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Saudi Arabia’s consulate in Istanbul. […]
Saudi prince lands in UAE on first foreign tour since Khashoggi murder
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AFP) — Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman embarked Thursday on a regional tour starting with the United Arab Emirates, his first official trip abroad since critic Jamal Khashoggi’s murder tipped the country into crisis. Prince Mohammed will visit a “number of brotherly” Arab states at the request of his father, King Salman, the royal court said in a statement carried by the official Saudi Press Agency, without naming the countries. […]





