Middle East

Riyadh, Mar 26: Saudi air defenses intercepted seven ballistic missiles fired by Houthi militia in Yemen toward various targets in Saudi Arabia on Sunday night, the Arab Coalition helping Yemen's legitimate government said. Three of the missiles were fired toward Riyadh, two toward Jazan, and one each toward Khamis Mushayt and Najran, Saudi state news channel Al Ekhbariya quoted a coalition

London, Mar 24: Mohammed bin Salman told The Washington Post: My relationship with Special Adviser to President Trump, Jared Kushner, is part of the official relationship between our countries. Saudi Arabia does not use Special Adviser to the President to promote Saudi interests. In his interview with the Washington Post Mohammed bin Salman added “my visit to the US is in part to attract

Washington, Mar 22: Photos of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Donald Trump meeting at the White House were published on the front pages of The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal on Wednesday, in what commentators saw as a public relations coup for Saudi Arabia. The New York Times headlined its story: “Saudi Prince’s White House Visit Reinforces Trump’s Commitment to Heir Apparent.”

Riyahd, Mar 19: Women in Saudi Arabia need not wear the black abaya - the loose-fitting, full-length robes symbolic of Islamic piety - as long as their attire is "decent and respectful", the kingdom's reform-minded crown prince said. With the ascent to power of young Prince Mohammad bin Salman, the kingdom has seen an expansion in women's rights including a decision to allow women to attend mixed

Manama, Mar 19: A broker is asking for SR 8 million to sell a piece of cloth he claims comes from the Kiswah—the embroidered black and gold cloth covering the Kaaba. The broker did not say who was selling the piece of cloth, but added that it was old and belonged to Al Sheebi, the family looking after the Kaaba since pre-Islam times. He insisted that the rare item was authentic and that he had an

Riyadh, Mar 18: Tens of thousands of civilians fled their homes and streamed out of their towns on Saturday to escape battles in the north and south of Syria. A new wave of at least 10,000 people left the opposition enclave of Eastern Ghouta near Damascus as Assad regime airstrikes continued to pound the besieged zone. In the northern Afrin region, more than 150,000 people have fled the main town

New York, Mar 15: Saudi Arabia is helping ever-more women into the workplace, with everything from college places to schemes for nurseries and transport, one of the Kingdom’s highest-ranking female officials told the UN on Wednesday. Tamadar bint Yousef Al-Ramah, who was appointed as deputy minister of labor and social development last month, addressed the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW)

Gaza City, Mar 13: An explosion targeted Palestinian prime minister Rami Hamdallah's convoy as he arrived in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday for a rare visit, lightly wounding seven people, officials and witnesses said. Hamdallah was not injured in the explosion, which occurred shortly after his convoy entered the territory run by Islamist movement Hamas, a security source in the convoy said

Tehran, Mar 12: A Turkish private jet flying a group of young women from the United Arab Emirates to Istanbul crashed Sunday in heavy rain in a mountainous region of Iran, killing all 11 people on board, authorities said. Days earlier, the aircraft carried a bachelorette party bound for Dubai, although it was not clear who was on the plane when it crashed. Iranian state television quoted a

CAIRO, Mar 6: Egypt will allow stretches of land in the southern Sinai to be used for Saudi Arabia’s planned megacity Neom project announced by the Kingdom last October. The agreement forms part of a $10 billion joint investment fund the two countries signed during the visit to Cairo this week by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, according to a Saudi official. The size of the committed land is