ISLAM

Once Taboo, Valentines Day is Celebrated in Saudi Arabia

Saudi Kingdom Tower at Night - photo by Lucien Zeigler for SUSTG
Before 2018 in Saudi Arabia, Valentines Day was "an old tradition kept in the dark" and not openly celebrated by Saudis, instead being secretly observed by citizens in the privacy of their homes.

Saudi Arabia

News, analysis, and more

Saudi Aramco

Here’s Why Saudi Aramco May Be Coming To An Oil Field Near You

Saudi Aramco is now planning to explore oil and gas resources outside of the Saudi Arabian kingdom. This is according to a recent interview given by...

 

Aramco-SABIC

Saudi Aramco appoints banks to lead debut bond sale ahead of Sabic deal

The state oil giant has picked a group of banks including JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley, Citi and HSBC, the source said, with JPMorgan and Morgan Stanley...

 

Valentines Day

Saudi Arabia Is Quietly Letting Valentine’s Day Happen

The mood at the florist’s was as vibrant as the colors. Fake red roses, amaryllis, and peonies were displayed in the window with natural ones...

 

U.S. Congress

US House backs measure to end Saudi support in Yemen war

The House voted on Wednesday to end American military assistance for Saudi Arabia’s war in Yemen, a defiant and rare move to curtail presidential war...

 

EU Blacklist

EU adds Saudi Arabia to dirty-money blacklist, upsets UK, U.S.

The move is part of a crackdown on money laundering after several scandals at EU banks, but it has been criticised by several EU countries,...

 

Milken Institute MENA Summit

Why US-Saudi relations will stand the test of time

Although US-Saudi relations may have been shaky in recent times, Prince Turki Al-Faisal, chairman of the board at the King Faisal Center for Research and...

 

Riyadh

Saudi king launches $8 billion in development projects in capital

Saudi Arabia’s King Salman launched projects worth 29.9 billion riyals ($7.97 billion) on Wednesday in the capital Riyadh, the latest in a series of high...

 

Public Investment Fund

Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund setting up shop in London and New York

Saudi Arabia's huge sovereign wealth fund is coming to Silicon Valley and Wall Street as it aims to pour billions more into foreign investments....

 

Saudi Aramco

Saudi Aramco and Total invest in high-quality retail fuel network in Saudi Arabia

The 50:50 joint venture (JV) plans to invest around $1 billion over the next 6 years in the Saudi retail fuel market to provide motorists...

 

Federal Investigation

Feds launch investigation into disappearance of Saudi students facing U.S. charges

Sen. Ron Wyden learned of the probe Wednesday during a meeting in his office with Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Kevin McAleenan, an aide to...

 

Lebanon

Saudi Arabia to End Warning Over Travel to Lebanon, Envoy Says

The Saudi ambassador to Beirut, Waleed Al Bukhari, announced the imminent removal of the travel advisory, which was first imposed in 2013. Saudi Arabia renewed...

 

U.S.-Saudi Relations

Thomas Barrack, Trump Confidant, Apologizes for Remarks Defending Saudis Over Killing

Thomas J. Barrack, a confidant of President Trump who served as chairman of his inaugural committee, apologized on Wednesday for statements he made defending Saudi...

 

Saudi +

Regional and related topics

Warsaw Conference

Pompeo: Peace in Middle east not possible without ‘confronting Iran’

"You can’t achieve peace and stability in the Middle East without confronting Iran," he said at a summit with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, according...

 

Middle East Peace

Kushner says Trump peace plan will be revealed following Israeli election

The United States will announce the details of President Donald Trump's Middle East peace plan after Israel's parliamentary elections in April, according to Trump's senior adviser and...

 

Iran

Iran suicide bombing ‘kills 27 Revolutionary Guards’

The bomber targeted a bus transporting personnel in Sistan-Baluchestan province near the border with Pakistan. The Sunni Muslim militant group, Jaish al-Adl (Army of Justice), has...

 

Iran Sanctions

Iran’s Commentary: Economy Is Crumbling, but Collapse Is a Long Way Off

“U.S. unilateral sanctions are causing real pain to the Iranian economy—much more than many had predicted,” Rome said. “But today we are nowhere near full...

 

Afghanistan

Afghan Women Are ‘Not Willing to Give Up Their Rights’

In an interview, Afghanistan’s first female ambassador to Washington sets a hard line for Taliban peace talks....

 

Intelligence

U.S. charges former Air Force intelligence specialist with conspiring to share classified information with Iran

A former Air Force intelligence specialist who defected to Iran has been charged with conspiring to provide U.S. defense information to representatives of that country’s...

 

A380

A380: Airbus is giving up on the superjumbo

The A380 was developed at a cost of $25 billion and first took to the skies 14 years ago. But the giant bet that airlines...

 

Access Agents

CIA Veteran: Maria Butina’s Story Is Not Surprising

One thing the public should know about Butina is that she was not a “spy” in the traditional sense, but rather what the intelligence community...

 

Egypt

Egypt’s Parliament to vote on extending president’s term

Egypt’s Parliament began deliberations Wednesday over constitutional amendments that could allow President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi to stay in office till 2034 — 12 more years after...

 

Israel in the Region

Netanyahu confirms latest Israeli strike in Syria

“We are operating every day, including yesterday, against Iran. All the time. Against Iran and against its attempt to entrench itself in the area,” Netanyahu...

 

Lebanon

US delivers laser-guided rockets to Lebanese military

In a statement, it says the rockets delivered Wednesday are a key component for a fleet of A-29 Super Tucano attack aircraft previously delivered. The...

 

Iran

Iran says Negotiations with US will bring ‘material and spiritual harm’

Iran’s supreme leader said Wednesday that negotiations with the U.S. “will bring nothing but material and spiritual harm” in remarks just ahead of an American-led...

 

Egypt

Shell, Eni, ExxonMobil win concessions in Egypt tender

Shell won most of the concessions in an oil and gas exploration tender organized by the Egyptian natural gas holding company and the country's General...

 

Pakistan

Analysis: Pakistan’s Approach to Navigating the Saudi-Iranian Split

As much as Pakistan’s civilian leaders have tried to avoid an overtly public tilt in the country’s foreign policy toward Saudi Arabia, close military and...

 

Oil Prices

Oil gets a boost from Saudi output pledge, declining U.S. inventories

Brent oil prices rose on Wednesday, after top exporter Saudi Arabia said it would cut crude exports and deliver an even deeper cut to its...

 

Warsaw Conference

European powers to present cool front at Warsaw summit

Key European powers will offer only limited participation in a high-profile Trump administration summit on the Middle East starting on Wednesday, reflecting their growing anger...

 

127 Echo

Special operations launches ‘secret surrogate’ missions in new counter-terrorism strategy

The shift comes as the Defense Department implements the 2018 National Defense Strategy, which prioritizes near-peer adversaries like China and Russia ahead of violent extremist...

 

Yemen

Yemen Eyes Exports Of 75,000 Bpd This Year

Yemen’s Saudi-backed government has plans to export crude oil at a rate of 75,000 bpd this year, according to oil minister Aws Abdullah al-Awd...

 

Iran

Perspective: As Iran’s revolution turns 40, a consensus: Things must change

Amid reports of shortages, price rises, and rationing of red meat, for instance, President Hassan Rouhani in recent days said Iran is “facing the biggest...

 

Anti-ISIS Campaign

Hundreds flee US-backed Syria battle for last IS holdout

US-backed forces pressed the battle to expel diehard jihadists from the last pocket of land under their control in eastern Syria on Tuesday after hundreds...

 

Oman

IMF sees no credit crunch in Oman, advises speedy fiscal reforms

Oman is not facing a credit crunch but the Gulf Arab oil producer should speed up implementation of fiscal reforms like the introduction of a...

 

Qatar

Qatar revamps investment strategy after Kushner building bailout

When news emerged that Qatar may have unwittingly helped bail out a New York skyscraper owned by the family of Jared Kushner, Donald Trump’s son-in-law,...

 

Diamond Play Button

First Arab YouTuber to hit 10 million subscribers is a woman, because YAS

In a recent milestone hit by an Arab YouTuber, Iraqi Noor Stars has reached 10 million subscribers on her channel. She is officially the first...

 

Turkey

Turkey orders 1,112 arrested over links to cleric Gulen – state media

Turkey launched on Tuesday one of its largest operations against alleged supporters of the U.S.-based Muslim cleric accused of leading an attempted coup in 2016,...

 

Trump Foreign Policy

Acting Pentagon chief visits Baghdad to support Iraq, discuss Syria withdrawal

Acting U.S. Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan arrived in Baghdad on Tuesday for an unannounced visit during which he said he would stress the importance of...

 

OPEC

Oil up more than 2 percent on Saudi and OPEC cuts

Oil prices gained more than 2 percent on Tuesday, supported by OPEC-led production cuts, which Saudi Arabia said it would surpass by more than half...

 

Palestinian Cuisine

Yasmin Khan Cooks Her Way through Palestine

Zaitoun is based on my travels through Israel, the West Bank, and includes recipes from Gaza. It celebrates the Palestinian kitchen....

 

Israel

Chinese Investment in Israel Raises Security Fears

Security officials are raising alarms over Chinese investment in Israeli technology companies, prompting the Israeli government to scrutinize the money flows and businesses to reconsider...

 

Arabian Sea

US, 44 other nations attend Pakistan naval exercise

A five-day multinational exercise hosted by Pakistan’s navy has kicked off near the southern port city of Karachi as part of efforts to enhance cooperation...

 

Afghanistan

Acting US Defense Chief Visits Afghanistan

Acting U.S. defense chief Pat Shanahan visited Afghanistan Monday to meet with Afghan leaders and U.S. commanders in a stop that comes as negotiators work...

 

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