Daily News Channel
Wajeha al-Huwaider picked up her passport, got in a taxi, and headed from her home in eastern Saudi Arabia to the nearby island kingdom of Bahrain — a 45-minute drive that many Saudis take to get away for the weekend. Despite having a valid passport, Saudi authorities at the border sent al-Huwaider home. That’s because in Saudi Arabia, a woman needs permission from her male guardian before she can leave the country
Iraq awarded a lucrative oil contract to BP and China National Petroleum Corp., government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said Wednesday, while rejecting other companies’ offers for other oil fields. The joint BP-CNPC bid was for the al-Rumeila oil field, one of the largest in the world. The energy companies are expected to increase production at the oil field by 50 percent, to 285,000 barrels a day, for a service charge of $2 for each additional barrel produced, al-Dabbagh said in a statement
North Korea qualified for the 2010 World Cup finals by battling to a 0-0 draw against Saudi Arabia on Wednesday night. The point saw them edge into second place in Asian qualifying Group 2 ahead of Saudi Arabia on goal difference
Al Qaeda’s top financier for Yemen and Saudi Arabia has been taken into custody, the Yemeni government announced Sunday.
For many consumers, the only silver lining on the global financial crisis has been the falling oil price it has precipitated. But OPEC is determined to put an end to the relief at the gas pump. Concerned to protect their countries’ financial health, oil ministers from the 13 members of the cartel of oil-producing countries meet in Vienna on Friday with only one item on their agenda — cutting their oil output in order to drive up world prices.
Husbands are allowed to slap their wives if they spend lavishly, a Saudi judge said recently during a seminar on domestic violence, Saudi media reported Sunday. Arab News, a Saudi English-language daily newspaper based in Riyadh, reported that Judge Hamad Al-Razine said that “if a person gives SR 1,200 [$320] to his wife and she spends 900 riyals [$240] to purchase an abaya [the black cover that women in Saudi Arabia must wear] from a brand shop and if her husband slaps her on the face as a reaction to her action, she deserves that punishment.” Women in the audience immediately and loudly protested Al-Razine’s statement, and were shocked to learn the remarks came from a judge, the newspaper reported. Arab News reported that Al-Razine made his remark as he was attempting to explain why incidents of domestic violence had increased in Saudi Arabia
Though discouraged by Iran’s moves since the Obama administration extended its "open hand," the United States is "not willing to pull the hand back yet," Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Tuesday.
Saudi Arabia’s crown prince was convalescing Saturday in Morocco where he arrived this week after surgery in New York City, the state-run Saudi Press Agency said.
The leaders of Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Syria will meet in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday for a mini-summit designed to improve relations between the countries, according to a Saudi government official who did not want to be identified. The three leaders are Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, and Saudi King Abdullah. The source said “an open invitation” has been issued “for the leaders of any Gulf country and the leader of Jordan to attend the summit.” There has been tension between Saudi Arabia and Syria over Syria’s ties to Iran, its support for militant groups such as Hamas and Hezbollah, and allegations over Syrian links to the killing of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.
Conjoined Egyptian twin boys Hassan and Mahmoud, who were successfully separated in Saudi Arabia Saturday, are recovering and are expected to lead normal lives, officials said. “The twins’ vital signs are good; they’re doing excellent,” said Sami Al-Shalan, spokesman for the King Abdulaziz Medical City facility in Riyadh where the surgery took place