After a religious pilgrimage to Mecca, an Arab-Israeli businessman imagines how a Saudi-brokered peace across the region could help solve economic problems for all.
Tag: saudi arabia
MECCA – Muslims from around the world are heading towards this Saudi Arabian city for the annual Hajj pilgrimage, the fifth pillar of Islam, which began this week. The five-day journey is the opportunity of a lifetime for many, and a most sacred moment of faith. Our digitally connected world also means it’s a moment […]
-Analysis- One year since taking office, Iran President Hassan Rouhani and his government are confronted with an extremely unstable geopolitical situation across the Middle East. Tehran had long been seen as the main beneficiary of the 2003 U.S. intervention in Iraq, but it must now face unexpected difficulties in its neighboring country and former sworn […]
After militants serve time in Guantanamo or Saudi prisons, the kingdom tries to ease them back into society with a mix of carrot, stick and religion.
For fear of an Iran-led rise of Shia, authorities from Riyadh to Ankara fed the radicalism that now eyes them as the primary target.
RIYADH — With more than 257,000 unmarried women in the country, and strict religious codes, traditional matchmaking is a lucrative business in Saudi Arabia. Yet with the rise of social media and online marriage websites, the industry is coming under pressure to stay financially viable, which has led to several recent reports of scandals that […]
The Saudi Embassy in Tokyo is closely following the case of a Saudi citizen studying in the country, recently arrested for breaking four 300 year-old Buddha statues at a temple in the capital. The embassy has reportedly condemned the statues’ destruction as “contrary to the principles of Islam,” and has reached out to the temple’s […]
Seven months after he was sold to a new owner, a camel in Saudi Arabia recognized his previous owner, Mohammed bin Shouishan al-Sabaii, at a parade. The camel came up to al-Sabaii in the crowd of onlookers and wrapped his neck around him in an embrace. The touching image has begun circulating on Arabic social […]
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‘Saving Seats’ in Saudi’s Grand Mosque
An unofficial market of “seat saving” is reportedly making waves in Saudi Arabia: female faithful are paying good money to women who can save them spots for prayer at the Grand Mosque in the holy city of Mecca. The “seat savers” technique is to use clothing, purses, and even their own children to save seats […]
RIYADH – Amna Bawazeer, a student at an all-women’s university campus in Saudi Arabia, had lived and studied for years with a heart condition. But activists say that her death from a heart attack on campus Thursday was the fault of Saudi Arabia’s strict gender segregation laws. After Bawazeer collapsed suddenly while attending school, female […]
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Smoking Bans In Saudi
Ten of thousands of Saudis die every year from smoking-related causes, and the government is taking notice. A public awareness campaign alongside heavily increased tariffs is working to discourage the purchase of cigarettes. Some of these ads – as well as some homemade additions – are showing up on twitter under the hashtag “#smoking in […]
A quick shot of what’s brewing in the Arab world …
We all want to get places faster, cheaper…and cleaner. Travel and commuting are parts of busy lifestyles and some cities have taken measures to make it much easier, and the journey more enjoyable, for their passengers. Whether it’s WiFi on the subway so you can check your emails, smartcards so queues don’t back up, or […]
Your weekly shot of what the Arab world is saying, hearing and sharing.
SAUDI GAZETTE, BBC, LE MONDE (France) Worldcrunch RIYADH – For the first time in Saudi Arabia, a new law has been passed that prohibits all forms of physical and sexual abuse, a measure hailed by human rights groups as a breakthrough in protecting women and children. Sources at the Ministry of Social Affairs told the […]
Domestic workers from the Philippines have faced sexual abuse by their employers in places like Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Jordan. Now they also accuse Manila’s own embassy employees.
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Why A Saudi Virus Is Spreading Alarm
Dr. Margaret Chan, director-general of the World Health Organization, closed the annual World Health Assembly this week May 27 sounding alarm about a new SARS-like virus circulating primarily in Saudi Arabia. “My greatest concern right now is the novel coronavirus,” Chan warned the representatives of two hundred nations gathered in Geneva. “We do not know […]
Mirroring the Catholic-Protestant battles of the past, intra-Islamic violence has global reverberations far beyond faith. Right now, it’s coming to a head in Syria.
WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION, THE GUARDIAN (UK), ATLANTICO (France) Worldcrunch Over the past two weeks, a growing number of cases have been reported of a new strain of coronavirus, a contagious and potentially fatal virus that resembles SARS, which caused a global health scare a decade ago. Here’s what you need to know: What is the […]
AL JAZEERA (Qatar), LE MONDE, AFP (France), SPA (Saudi- Arabia) Worldcrunch RIYADH – Saudi Arabia’s health ministry has announced that five people have recently died from a new SARS-like virus, and that two more are being treated in an intensive care unit, reports Al Jazeera. The statement, released late Wednesday night, noted that the five […]
-OpEd- PARIS – A lot of people in Europe, especially the French, cheered heedlessly when the Arab Spring took off in 2011. But then came the 70,000 dead from the Syrian war; the proliferation of terrorism in Libya and Mali; the assassination of the main Tunisian opposition leader Chokri Belaid in a country where there […]
EGYPT INDEPENDENT (Egypt), SAUDI GAZETTE (Saudi Arabia) Worldcrunch Egypt and Saudi Arabia moved one big step closer to connecting two of the Arab world’s most pivotal countries — and biggest economies — in a very real way. The Saudi Binladin Group, the world’s largest construction company, has given its final approval to a project to […]
TAWASOL, (Saudi Arabia), AL-ARABIYA (UAE), AL MOHEET (Egypt) Worldcrunch RIYADH – A Saudi cleric says babies and young girls should be covered from head to toe as a way of protecting them from sexual abuse. Sheikh Abdullah Mohamed Daoud made his statement on the al-Madj satellite station in October last year, but the video was […]
AL JAZEERA (Qatar), AL ARABIYA (United Arab Emirates), REUTERS Worldcrunch RIYADH – At least 10 people were killed when a truck carrying flammable liquids crashed in Riyadh on Thursday, triggering a large explosion, reports Al Jazeera The blast occurred after the fuel tanker crashed into a concrete flyover in the Saudi capital. According to Al […]
METRO (Sweden), SPIEGEL ONLINE (Germany) STOCKHOLM – Need more space in the room? IKEA may have found a new solution. Sweden’s free newspaper Metro noticed that women had been airbrushed out of the Saudi edition of the Swedish home furnishings store’s 2013 catalogue. Sweden’s Minister for Trade Ewa Björling told Metro: “You cannot erase women […]
It is hard to dispute that Iran’s geopolitical importance, both internationally and regionally, has been on the rise over the past decade. With the Arab Spring, the Islamic Republic saw a new opportunity. For Tehran, the Arab uprisings meant “the awakening of Islam,” the rise of Islamist political parties sympathetic to Iran’s plight, and a […]
AFP (France), THE NEW YORK TIMES, BLOOMBERG NEWS (U.S.), AL JAZEERA (Qatar) Worldcrunch LEBANON – Persian Gulf states urged their citizens to leave Lebanon on Thursday after more than 30 members of the Syrian opposition movement were abducted by a Lebanese Muslim Shiite clan, in retaliation for the kidnapping of one of its members in […]
AL MADINA (Saudi Arabia), AFP (France) , LIBERTÉ ALGERIE (Algeria) Worldcrunch A Lebanese man was sentenced to a year in jail and 200 lashes in Saudi Arabia for having secretly drawn tattoos on women’s bodies, according to a report that first appeared in the Saudi newspaper Al Madina. According to the report cited by the […]
L’ORIENT-LE JOUR (Lebanon) RIYADH – “We just want to enjoy the right to drive, like all women in the world…” This request is clear, and it is set to be made — once again — directly to King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia. One year after the launching of a campaign entitled “Women 2 Drive,” Saudi […]
Founded in 2009, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) is vying to become one of the world’s top universities. It is trying hard to attract students from overseas, notably Brazil, by showering them with perks that are unheard
Samar Badawi was one of several women just honored at the International Women of Courage Awards. But her personal courage has been displayed in her native Saudi Arabia, potentially the most misogynist country in the world.
A R A B I C A ارابيكا By Kristen Gillespie CALLING MOMTweeters in Saudi Arabia are launching a new campaign to break the taboo of a wife and a mother’s name being mentioned in public. Hashtag IsmOmi (Arabic for “my mother’s name”) calls on Saudis to mention their mother’s names. *Najla Fahad tweets: “My […]
With world food demand expected to jump 70% and rising production of biofuels, international investors are gobbling up agricultural land in developing world. But what happens to the rights of local farmers?
A R A B I C A ارابيكا SCHOOL PRAYERSFive million Saudi schoolchildren gathered to pray for the soul of Crown Prince Sultan bin Abdul Aziz al-Saud, who died over the weekend at a New York hospital. Saudi media praised the crown prince, who was also the country’s defense minister. Sultan was believed to be […]
A R A B I C A ارابيكا By Kristen Gillespie CAPTURED COLONELSyrian Lieutenant Colonel Hussein Harmoush, possibly the most well-known officer to defect from the army because of a candid, strongly worded condemnation of the government’s orders to kill unarmed protesters, was paraded on Syrian state television on Thursday night after being captured by […]
A R A B I C A ارابيكا FREE CITYAhmed Durat, a member of Libya’s National Transitional Council, is calling on all rebels to leave Tripoli and return to their hometowns now that the city has been liberated, Al Masry Al Youm reports. The council has the Libyan capital under control, Durat said. SIN CITYKuwait […]
A R A B I C A ارابيكا AUTO REVOLUTION*The fallout from the arrest of a Saudi woman, Manal al-Sharif, continues. Last week, al-Sharif posted a video of her driving in east Saudi Arabia on YouTube. She was arrested and remains in custody for violating the public order. The Facebook reaction was swift. The “I […]
A R A B I C A ارابيكا TO DRIVE OR NOT TO DRIVE*A Saudi woman named Manal al-Sharif was arrested for violating the public order after she was caught driving in the eastern part of the country. *Budoor tweets, “King Abdullah signals that women will soon be allowed to drive!” linking to an interview […]
A R A B I C A ارابيكا AFTER BIN LADEN*Kuwaiti daily Al-Anba published the purported will of Osama bin Laden, a four-page farewell that the Al-Qaeda leader predicts will come following “betrayal” and “treachery” of those around him. While he did not mention the number of wives and children he leaves behind, Bin Laden […]
The Arab world’s revolutionary tide has so far bypassed Saudi Arabia, whose oil-rich royal regime is hoping to buy a bit of peace and quiet with billions in public spending.