New York, United States | AFP | US stocks sank into the red on Monday as attacks on Saudi crude production and record jumps in oil prices whipped up investor anxieties about the global economy. Saturday’s devastating attacks on Abqaiq — the world’s largest oil processing facility — and the …
Read More »Amnesty chief Naidoo says US strike would worsen Mideast suffering
Washington, United States | AFP | The head of Amnesty International warned Monday that a US military intervention in response to the attack on Saudi oil facilities blamed on Iran would only aggravate suffering in the Middle East. The rights group’s secretary general, Kumi Naidoo, said the world instead should …
Read More »Iran refutes US accusations over Saudi oil attacks
Tehran, Iran | AFP | Iran on Sunday dismissed US accusations it was behind drone attacks on Saudi oil installations, suggesting the United States was seeking a pretext to retaliate against the Islamic republic. “Such fruitless and blind accusations and remarks are incomprehensible and meaningless,” foreign ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi …
Read More »Two million expected in Mecca for hajj pilgrimage, a pillar of Islam
The hajj, one of the five pillars of Islam Mecca, Saudi Arabia | AFP | The annual hajj pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia’s city of Mecca is one of five pillars of Islam that all Muslims who are able to are expected to complete at least once. More than two million …
Read More »Tehran says Trump’s ‘genocidal taunts won’t end Iran’
Tehran, Iran | AFP | Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said Monday the “genocidal taunts” of US President Donald Trump will not “end Iran”, as tensions spike between the two countries. “Iranians have stood tall for millennia while aggressors all gone. Economic terrorism and genocidal taunts won’t ‘end Iran’,” …
Read More »Restrictions and reforms: Saudi Arabia’s treatment of women
Dubai, United Arab Emirates | AFP | A desperate legal fight by 18-year-old Saudi Rahaf Mohammed al-Qunun to stop her deportation from Bangkok airport has yet again shone a spotlight on the treatment of women in her homeland. Ultraconservative Saudi Arabia is striving to craft a new image — but …
Read More »Saudi to notify women of divorce by text message
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia | AFP | Saudi courts will notify women by text message when they get divorced, in a new regulation that took effect on Sunday, officials said. The measure approved by the justice ministry appears aimed at curbing seemingly rampant cases of men secretly ending marriages without informing …
Read More »Saudi woman held at Bangkok airport says fears death if repatriated
Bangkok, Thailand | AFP | A Saudi woman held at Bangkok airport said she would be killed if she was repatriated by Thai immigration officials, who confirmed the 18-year-old was denied entry to the country on Sunday. The incident comes against the backdrop of intense scrutiny of Saudi Arabia over …
Read More »Saudi king orders government reshuffle after Khashoggi fallout
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 …
Read More »Boeing lands jet deals with Nigeria, Saudi for $9.3 bn
Paris, France | AFP | US planemaker Boeing on Friday said it had agreed deals worth an overall $9.3 billion to sell 50 jets to Nigeria’s Green Air and 30 to Saudi carrier flyadeal. The company lauded the Nigeria accord, which includes a further 50 options, as the largest signed …
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