Saudi Arabia

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Trump Did What No President Has Done Since 2000

It was the first time American and Syrian leaders had sat down in a quarter-century

(Newser) - President Trump held a closed-door meeting in Riyadh on Wednesday with Syria's interim president Ahmad al-Sharaa, marking the first encounter between US and Syrian leaders in a quarter-century. The meeting came as part of Trump's Middle East trip and coincided with an announcement that the US would...

Trump Brought a Bunch of Honchos to Saudi Arabia

The list of American executives in attendance is long

(Newser) - President Trump landed in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday to a very warm welcome , and he brought with him an entire entourage. As the New York Times reports, a who's who of business executives attended a lunch in Riyadh, as well as a significant part of Trump's Cabinet. A...

Trump Arrives in Saudi Arabia to Lavish Welcome

President begins a four-day trip to the Mideast

(Newser) - President Trump landed in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday to begin a four-day trip to the Mideast, the first overseas trip of his second term. Details:
  • The New York Times notes a contrast: Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman met Trump's jet in person, accompanied by an honor guard and even
...

First Migrant Death Tied to 2034 World Cup Is Logged

Human rights groups have been warning about 'exploitation' of migrants building venues for Saudis

(Newser) - Saudi Arabia is hard at work erecting Aramco Stadium, one of nearly a dozen new venues being built in advance of the FIFA World Cup being hosted there in 2034. Now, however, the death of a migrant worker at that site has reinvigorated pushback against what human rights groups say...

Saudis Promise a Dry World Cup
Saudis Promise a Dry World Cup
Feb 12, 2025 7:10 PM CST

Saudis Promise a Dry World Cup

Official asks that tournament fans respect the kingdom's culture

(Newser) - When Saudi Arabia hosts soccer's 2034 World Cup, an official says, there will be "no alcohol at all." Prince Khalid bin Bandar Al Saud, the kingdom's ambassador to the UK, said alcohol will not be sold anywhere during the men's tournament, not even at hotels....

Saudis Free Student Sentenced to 34 Years for Her Tweets

Doctoral student Salma al-Shehab was accused in 2022 of 'destabilizing the social fabric'

(Newser) - A Saudi doctoral student at Leeds University in Britain has been freed after seeing her 34-year sentence for her activity on Twitter in Saudi Arabia drastically reduced, a rights group said Monday. Salma al-Shehab, a mother of two, had been sentenced to 34 years in prison back in 2022 over...

These Sailors Are 'Essentially Imprisoned'

AP dives into dilemma of trapped seamen whose ships have been abandoned by their owners

(Newser) - More ships than ever are being abandoned around the world by their owners, according to the United Nations' labor and maritime organizations, leaving thousands of workers stuck on board without pay or the means to travel home to their families. Cases have doubled in the past three years, impacting more...

Windfall for Trump Visiting Saudi Arabia First May Be $600B

That's how much the crown prince said the kingdom plans to invest in the US over 4 years

(Newser) - Saudi Arabia's crown prince said Thursday the kingdom wants to invest $600 billion in the United States over the next four years, comments that came after President Trump earlier put a price tag on returning to the kingdom as his first foreign trip. Trump's 2017 trip to Saudi...

Rights Groups Slam 2034 World Cup Choice

Saudi Arabia will host tournament 12 years after it was held in Qatar

(Newser) - The World Cup was hosted by Qatar in 2022, and it will return to the Arabian Peninsula in 2034. FIFA announced Wednesday that Saudi Arabia has been chosen to host the men's soccer tournament, drawing protests from human rights groups, NBC News reports. A joint statement from 21 groups,...

The Man Tasked With Creating Neom Is Out

CEO of Saudi Arabia's futuristic city project has departed

(Newser) - The CEO of Saudi Arabia's planned futuristic city has seen his own future take a turn. Nadhmi al-Nasr has "abruptly" left the job he has held since 2018, reports the Wall Street Journal . No reason was given, but the paper notes the project has been dogged by rising...

Facing Opposition, Saudi Arabia Loses on Human Rights Seat

Criticism includes reputed border killings, Khashoggi's death

(Newser) - Saudi Arabia was defeated for a seat in the UN's premier human rights body Wednesday after a campaign by rights groups urging member nations to reject its bid. The General Assembly elected 18 new members to serve on the 47-nation Human Rights Council, which allocates seats to regional groups...

In Saudi Arabia, a Netflix Show Creator Is Sentenced

Abdulaziz Almuzaini's case shows conflicting state of affairs in the new Saudi Arabia

(Newser) - A dual US-Saudi citizen and celebrated animator with a Netflix deal says he's facing decades in prison in Saudi Arabia because of his art. Abdulaziz Almuzaini, the man behind Masameer , a cartoon likened to South Park, and a spinoff Netflix show Masameer County , has been publicly celebrated by the...

Maryland Couple Dies on Sweltering Pilgrimage to Mecca

Their daughter says tour company left them without food, transportation

(Newser) - Among the more than 1,300 people who died during this year's sweltering Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca was a couple from Maryland who'd made the trek to Saudi Arabia for the annual Islamic journey. "Alhaji Alieu Dausy and Haja Isatu Wurie passed away during a pilgrimage to...

More Than 1,300 Died During Hajj Pilgrimage: Saudi Arabia

Temperatures reached 117 degrees

(Newser) - Saudi Arabia on Sunday put the number of pilgrims who died in the scorching heat during this year's Hajj pilgrimage at more than 1,300. Health Minister Fahd bin Abdurrahman Al-Jalajel said on state TV that 83% of the fatalities were among unauthorized pilgrims who walked long distances in...

Heat During Hajj Turns Fatal for Pilgrims

14 are reported killed, and 17 more are missing

(Newser) - Exposure to extreme sun and heat killed 14 Jordanian pilgrims during rituals for the Hajj, a holy trip to Mecca in Saudi Arabia, Jordan's official news agency reported. Another 17 are missing. The temperatures in Mecca on Sunday was 116.6 Fahrenheit. The five-day Hajj is one of the...

One Country Carried Out 74% of 2023's Known Executions
One Country Imposed 74%
of 2023's Known Executions
in case you missed it
Jun 2, 2024 12:20 PM CDT

One Country Imposed 74% of 2023's Known Executions

With China excluded, Iran led the world last year, according to Amnesty International

(Newser) - The number of executions carried out around the world jumped to an eight-year high in 2023, largely due to a single country, according to Amnesty International . Though the number of countries delivering death penalties fell to an all-time low of 16, Amnesty logged at least 1,153 executions last year,...

Saudis Are Pushing Ahead With Desert Megaproject

But sources say plans for 105-mile-long city have been scaled back in the medium term

(Newser) - Saudi Arabia is pushing ahead with a project so big that merely building housing for construction workers will cost an estimated $5 billion—but the Neom project is not going entirely smoothly. The Wall Street Journal reports the megaproject is losing momentum amid rising costs and major blunders, including one...

Cost of Golfing Too Slow? $240K for This Guy

Adrian Meronk took his time on his final shot of the LIV Golf Jeddah tournament and paid a penalty

(Newser) - Cheaters may or may not prosper, but dawdlers apparently don't prosper nearly as much as they could. Golf.com reports the tale of semi-woe of Adrian Meronk, who took home a tidy little paycheck of $508,750 this weekend in Saudi Arabia's LIV Golf Jeddah tournament—not a...

Liquor Store Is Big News in Saudi Arabia

First one to open in more than 70 years is only for non-Muslim diplomats

(Newser) - A liquor store has opened in Saudi Arabia for the first time in over 70 years, a diplomat reported Wednesday, a further socially liberalizing step in the once-ultraconservative kingdom that is home to the holiest sites in Islam, the AP reports. While restricted to non-Muslim diplomats, the store in Riyadh...

Rory McIlroy Abruptly Ditches PGA Tour Board

Golfer made no secret of his distaste for a Saudi-funded league

(Newser) - Rory McIlroy has resigned from the PGA Tour's policy board five months after complaining of feeling " like a sacrificial lamb " in the tour's quest to obtain funding from Saudi Arabia. The four-time major winner announced his resignation in a Tuesday letter to the board shortly after...

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