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SAUDI-ARABIA

The Wire

Saudis take mountain from Yemen rebels

Saudi Arabian forces seized a strategic mountain straddling the border with Yemen and cleared it of Shiite rebels after five days of fighting that have left three Saudi soldiers dead, a Saudi defense official said Sunday. Complete Story...

Funeral for UK nurse who died 30 years ago

A British nurse who died 30 years ago in Saudi Arabia will finally be cremated after her body was held for decades in a mortuary.

Halliburton gets drilling contract

Halliburton Co. said Friday it received a contract to drill and complete oil wells in Saudi Arabia's Ghawar field.

Saudi: Airstrikes near Yemen targeted infiltrators

Saudi Arabia said Friday it carried out airstrikes against "infiltrators" from Yemen that were limited to areas inside Saudi territory, and vowed to press on with the military action until the border with its restive neighbor was secure.

Saudis launches offensive against Yemen rebels

Saudi Arabia sent fighter jets and artillery bombardments across the border into northern Yemen Thursday in a military incursion apparently aimed at helping its troubled southern neighbor control an escalating Shiite rebellion, Arab diplomats and the rebels said.

Mecca-bound pilgrims prompt swine flu precautions

Some of the millions who travel to Saudi Arabia next month for the annual hajj will be greeted with face masks, hand sanitizer and fever checks as health officials strive to stem the spread of swine flu during the world's largest pilgrimage.

King scraps Saudi woman flogging for sex talk show

Saudi Arabia's king waived a flogging sentence on a female journalist charged for involvement in a risque TV show, the second such pardoning of such a high profile case by the monarch in recent years.

Militants killed in Saudi shootout were local

The two al-Qaida militants killed in a recent shootout sneaked into Saudi Arabia from Yemen and were planning to carry out a massive attack, the Interior Ministry spokesman said Sunday.

Better Syria-Saudi ties could ease Mideast tension

The Saudi king's first visit to Syria that ended Thursday marked a crucial turning point in relations as Damascus is emerging from years of isolation — a process that could ease tensions between the pro- and anti-American camps in the Middle East.

Disappearance of Iranian scientist creates mystery

The disappearance of an Iranian nuclear scientist on a pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia in June is raising questions about whether he defected and gave the West information on Iran's nuclear program.

Saudi Arabia inaugurates its first coed university

Saudi Arabia inaugurated on Wednesday its first-ever fully integrated coed university, and its ruler declared the institution will be a "beacon of tolerance" in a world attacked by extremists.

Saudi FM receives spinal surgery in the US

Saudi Arabia has announced that its long serving foreign minister had successful spinal surgery in the United States.

OPEC leaves crude output targets unchanged

OPEC is leaving its production quotas unchanged, opting to take a cautious approach in a market awash in crude and a global economy still in the early stages of recovery.

White House: Attempt to kill Saudi 'cowardly'

The White House says a failed assassination attempt against a Saudi anti-terrorism minister was a "cowardly attack" and serves as a reminder of the importance of U.S. cooperation with partners in that region.

Saudi prince on phone with militant when attacked

The wanted Saudi militant who attacked the kingdom's anti-terror chief after pretending he wanted to surrender blew himself up while the official was on the phone reassuring another militant in Yemen it would be safe to return home, the Interior Ministry said Tuesday.

Yemen expands offensive against Shiite rebels

Yemen widened a military offensive against Shiite rebels in the country's north on Saturday, blasting the fighters' positions with artillery and airstrikes, a local government official said.

Saudis close TV station's bureaus after sex talk

Authorities in Saudi Arabia have shut down all local operations of a Lebanese TV station that broadcast an interview with a Saudi man who spoke frankly about sex, a government official said Tuesday.

Yemeni planes bomb northern province for 2nd day

Yemeni warplanes bombed a northern province bordering Saudi Arabia for a second straight day Thursday, Shiite rebels and local officials said, as the ongoing offensive brought the area closer to an all-out war.

Clarification: BC-US--US-Mideast-Jordan

In an Aug. 3 story on American peace efforts in the Mideast, The Associated Press reported that Jordanian Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh rejected support for confidence-building measures that the U.S. wants Arab states to take to spur an accord. The story should have carried Judeh's remarks that voiced Jordan's approval for the overall U.S. peace effort. "The principled approach taken by President Obama and his administration marks the kind of needed change that we can all believe in, reflect on and build upon," he said.

Saudi rebuffs US on improving ties with Israel

Saudi Arabia on Friday bluntly rejected U.S. appeals for improved relations with Israel as a way to help restart Middle East peace talks, saying the Jewish state is not interested in a deal.

American al-Qaida sentenced to life for Bush plot

A U.S. man who became an al-Qaida terrorist while attending college in Saudi Arabia and plotted to assassinate then-President George W. Bush was defiant Monday as he was sentenced to life in prison.

First swine flu death in Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia's Health Ministry says a Saudi citizen has died of swine flu, the first death in the kingdom and only the second in the Middle East.

Arab states ban young, old and sick from hajj

Arab health ministers banned children, the elderly and those with chronic illnesses from attending the annual Muslim pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia this year over fears the mass gathering could speed the spread of swine flu.

Amnesty says Saudi terror fight plagued with abuse

Saudi Arabia is holding more than 3,000 people in secret detention and has used torture to extract confessions in its anti-terrorism crackdown since the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks, Amnesty International said in a report Wednesday.

The Vine
BBC NEWS | South Asia | Pakistan's Taliban dilemma
Source: BBC News

, Despite being relatively few in number, the Afghan Taliban are thriving in Afghanistan and Pakistan, as they take advantage of Islamabad's apparent ambivalence towards them, the BBC's Hugh Sykes reports from Kabul.

Destabilizing Baluchistan, Fracturing Pakistan -- Part I
Source: OpinionMaker

"Managed Chaos" is the proper term to describe the tensions in NATO-garrisoned Afghanistan and the border zones of Pakistan.

Destabilizing Baluchistan, Fracturing Pakistan --Part II
Source: Opinion Maker

So what is Jundallah? ABC News ("The Secret War Against Iran," April 3, 2007), based on reports from Pakistani intelligence sources in 2007, identified Jundallah as clearly being Pakistani in origin and American-supported.

Saudi Cast Lead
Source:

Saudi Arabia has launched a large military incursion across the border into northern Yemen, using fighter jets and artillery bombardments to try to end a Shiite rebellion inside its troubled southern neighbor, Arab diplomats and the rebels said Thursday.

Saudis bomb Yemen rebels across border
Source: msnbc.com

Saudi Arabia sends fighter jets into northern Yemen in a military incursion aimed at helping its troubled southern neighbor control its growing Shiite rebellion.

Family feud: Billionaire Saudis tangle over debt
Source: msnbc.com

Two billionaire families in Saudi Arabia, linked by marriage, are locked in a bitter legal battle centered on an estimated $22 billion debt implosion and allegations of fraud.

My bizarre and terrifying childhood with my father, Osama bin Laden
Source: the Mail online

He swapped their luxury home for a cave, killed his puppies to test his poison gas and tried to make him a suicide bomber. Here, one of Osama bin Laden's sons tells of his bizarre and terrifying childhood.

Saudi female journalist gets lashes for sex show
Source: The San Francisco Chronicle

A Saudi court on Saturday sentenced a female journalist to 60 lashes after she had been charged with involvement in a TV show in which a Saudi man publicly talked about sex. Rozanna al-Yami, 22, is believed to be the first Saudi woman journalist to be given such a punishment,

Saudi concern rises over Al Qaeda activity in Yemen | csmonitor.com
Source: Christian Science Monitor

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia - The discovery by Saudi police of two Al Qaeda extremists wearing explosive vests in preparation for an "imminent" suicide attack underscores yet again the rising threat to Saudi Arabia from the deteriorating security situation in neighboring Yemen.

Here's an AfPak Counterterrorism Strategy for you
Source: politics.theatlantic.com

Expert opinion, public opinion, and even the White House are increasingly split between two camps on how we should proceed in Afghanistan: The doves, represented in the White House by Vice President Biden, call for targeted counterterrorism and a scaled down presence; while the h …

Americans Must Defend Constitutional Rights from Foreign Attack
Source: The New Media Journal Headline News

I am a United States citizen on trial in Canada for exposing a situation at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario that threatened the lives and welfare of Canadians and Americans alike. My book "The Dunces of Doomsday," published in the U.S.

Suadi Arabia Would Like To Be Paid To Not Pump Oil
Source: The New York Times

Saudi Arabia is trying to enlist other oil-producing countries to support a provocative idea: if wealthy countries reduce their oil consumption to combat global warming, they should pay compensation to oil producers.

Captured Insurgent in Iraq: I Will Fight Again - International News | News of the World | Middle East News | Europe News - FOXNews.com
Source: FOXNews.com

We are fools if we think this war will ever end, there will always be more of these Abdullah al-Obeid to follow this one. This one vows to fight again if freed, his wife wants to be a suicide martyr.

Saudis slowly lift veil on non-Islamic past
Source: North County Times

Much of the world knows Petra, the ancient ruin in modern-day Jordan that is celebrated in poetry as "the rose-red city, 'half as old as time,"' and which provided the climactic backdrop for "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade."

Tehran Says U.S. Had Role in Nuclear Scientist's Disappearance
Source: The L.A. Times

Iran's foreign minister stated that Iran has evidence that the United States was involved in the disappearance of Shahram Amiri.

Saudis sentence ''sex braggart'' to 1,000 lashes & 5 years in prison
Source: 10connects.com

A Saudi court has sentenced a man to five years in prison and 1,000 lashes for bragging about his sexual exploits on TV.

Saudi gets 5 years in jail for sex talk on TV
Source: msnbc.com

A Saudi court on Wednesday convicted a man for publicly talking about sex after he bragged on a TV talk show about his exploits, sentencing him to five years in jail and 1,000 lashes, his lawyer said.

After 911 we got misplaced substitute "BLOOD LUST" from the Republican Party!

When we were attacked at Pearl Harbor we knew that the people who attacked us were Japanese.

Co-ed classes under fire at Saudi university
Source: msnbc.com

A prominent Muslim cleric has criticized a new Saudi university launched by King Abdullah for allowing men and women to take classes together.

Arab refugees the UN doesn't care about
Source:

While Karen AbuZayd goes begging for more millions for the Palestinians, thousands of Yemen refugees aren't even getting relief supplies allowed through Saudi Arabia. But the UN isn't issuing resolutions demanding that the world take care of these refugees.

A new cold war in Kashmir
Source: Asia Times

While we're still arguing about whether there's life after death, can we add another question to the cart? Is there life after democracy? What sort of life will it be? By "democracy" I don't mean democracy as an ideal or an aspiration.

Saudi women face uphill battle in abuse cases
Source: FTD

When Lulwah Abdul Rahman protested against her father's rejection of all would-be husbands because they were from outside her tribe, her life and career were shattered. Her father locked her in the family home, revoked her right to work at a bank and beat her.

Al Qaeda Bombers Learn from Drug Smugglers, Suicide bomber carried bomb in his rectum.
Source: CBS News

Al Qaeda has developed a new tactic that allows suicide bombers to breach even the tightest security, as CBS News correspondent Sheila MacVicar reports.

French arms exports rise 13%
Source: AL JAZEERA

Deals with countries including Brazil, Saudi Arabia and Morocco have pushed French arms sales up to their highest level since 2000.

Oasis of Learning in Saudi Arabia?

King Abdullah had another cause for celebration at the end of the Muslim Holy Month of ramadan this year – the opening of his namesake University of Science and Technology (The King Abdullah University of Science and Technology) – which is being marketed with the awkward acr …

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