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  • Saudi Arabia detains critics as new Crown Prince consolidates power

    SAUDI ARABIA, 2017/09/16 Saudi Arabia has begun a wide-ranging crackdown against perceived opponents of the policies of the kingdom's new crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman. Over the last week, 16 people were held, their friends, relatives and associates said in interviews. They include prominent Islamic clerics, academics, a poet, an economist, a journalist, the chief of a youth organization, at least two women and one prince, a son of a former king. Some of them were taken from their homes in unannounced raids by security forces, and their computers, cellphones and personal papers were seized, the friends and relatives said. Those arrested have been held incommunicado, and it is not clear if they have been formally charged with crimes. Saudi Arabia has not publicly released any evidence it may have against them.

  • UNWTO: International tourism – strongest half-year results since 2010

    AFGHANISTAN, 2017/09/09 Destinations worldwide welcomed 598 million international tourists in the initial six months of 2017, some 36 million additional than in the same period of 2016. At 6%, increase was well above the trend of recent years, making the current January-June period the strongest half-year since 2010. Visitor numbers reported by destinations around the world reflect strong request for international travel in the initial half of 2017, according to the new UNWTO World Tourism Barometer. Worldwide, international tourist arrivals (overnight visitors) increased by 6% compared to the same six-month period last year, well above the sustained and consistent trend of 4% or higher increase since 2010. This represents the strongest half-year in seven years.

  • Saudi Arabia denies warming relations with Iran

    IRAN, 2017/09/08 Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir on Tuesday denied any warming of relations with regional rival Iran next Tehran thanked Riyadh for its handling of the annual hajj pilgrimage. Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir said Iran must change its policies to have good relations with his country "If Iran wants to have good relations with Saudi Arabia, it has to change its policies. It has to respect international law," Jubeir told a press conference in London.

  • Saudi King to visit White House in 2018

    UNITED STATES, 2017/09/08 King Salman of Saudi Arabia will make an official visit to Washington early next year for talks with President Donald Trump, the White Home said Wednesday. King Salman and President Trump discussed how to advance shared goals such as strengthening security and prosperity in the Middle East The two leaders held a telephone conversation in which they discussed how to advance shared goals such as strengthening security and prosperity in the Middle East, the White Home said in a statement.

  • Yemen: Saudi Arabia 'should fund all humanitarian aid'

    SAUDI ARABIA, 2017/09/05 Saudi Arabia alone should fund all steps to tackle widespread disease and hunger in war-torn Yemen, a top UN official has said. Comments by David Beasley, Executive Director of the World Food Programme (WFP), were unusually forthright for such a high-ranking UN official in criticising one party in a conflict.

  • Three decades later, Saudis get their first concert

    SAUDI ARABIA, 2017/09/02 Legendary Arab singer Rashed al-Majed gave his fans three encores in the Saudi capital on Thursday night. Why not? They had waited about three decades for such a show. Majed opened for Mohammed Abdu as part of what one music lover called a "paradigm shift" in the conservative Islamic kingdom, which has cautiously begun introducing entertainment despite opposition from Muslim hardliners.

  • Saudi billionaire to invest $800 million in Egypt tourism

    EGYPT, 2017/09/02 Saudi Arabian billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal is to invest additional than $800 million in hotels in Egypt, the investment ministry in Cairo said on Monday. The announcement came next parliament in May adopted a new law aimed at attracting foreign investment as the authorities seek to reinvigorate the North African country's struggling economy.

  • New Saudi budget carrier to start flights next month

    SAUDI ARABIA, 2017/09/02 Saudi Arabia's new budget carrier Flyadeal said Thursday it will start flying next month, as the kingdom seeks to expand air services to boost tourism in a radical overhaul of its oil-dependent economy. Flyadeal, a subsidiary of the national-owned Saudi Arabian Airlines corporation, will operate a fleet of eight Airbus A320ceo aircraft and initially fly domestic routes before expanding in the Middle East.

  • Abu Dhabi says Gulf air embargo only applies to Qatar firms

    BAHRAIN, 2017/08/28 The air embargo imposed on Qatar only applies to airlines from Qatar or registered there, the United Arab Emirates Civil Aviation Authority said Tuesday.Embargo bans all Qatari aviation companies, aircraft registered in Qatar from landing or transiting through airspace of UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain. Saudi Arabia and Bahrain issued identical statements on the air embargo, which came into result at the same time as Riyadh, Abu Dhabi and Manama broke off relations with Qatar on June 5, accusing it of supporting "terrorism".

  • Saudi stock market bullish on new heir

    SAUDI ARABIA, 2017/08/28 Saudi Tadawul index surges 4.12 % on news King Salman has named his powerful son prince Mohammed as heir. The Saudi stock market was up four % Wednesday on news that King Salman had named his powerful son as heir and that the exchange had moved closer to joining a major world index. The Saudi Tadawul index, the major in the Middle East, surged 4.12 % in early afternoon trading next Salman ousted his nephew as crown prince and installed his son Mohammed bin Salman.
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