Riyadh

(Newser) - Saudi Arabia’s first hotel catering exclusively to women—right down to its plush spa—opened this week in Riyadh, the Independent reports. The conservative kingdom enforces strict Islamic segregation of sexes in public, but women can stay at the Luthan Hotel without a male guardian—nor any men on...

(Newser) - In Saudi Arabia, hundreds of camels have suddenly died for unknown reasons—232  were counted in the last four days in the Dawasir Valley, 250 miles south of Riyadh, Reuters reports. The Agriculture Ministry denies that an infectious disease is behind the deaths and blames problems with animal feed. Owners...

(Newser) - Sodomy is a capital crime in Saudia Arabia, but that hasn't stopped a gay scene from flourishing there. Quite the contrary, writes Nadya Labi in the Atlantic. Men and women are so zealously separated that homosexual encounters are easier to pull off. One Syrian who moved to Riyadh seven years...

(Newser) - King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia fired a warning shot at the Bush administration yesterday, calling Iraq “an illegal foreign occupation” and urging Arab leaders to unite to prevent U.S. domination of the region.  The Saudis "are telling the U.S. they need to listen to their...