Saudis start to diversify to cut oil dependence

Saudi King Salman on Wednesday said he has ordered economic reforms to diversify sources of income and reduce high dependence on oil following a sharp drop in crude prices.

24 Dec 2015 2:23 AM

17 women elected to local council in Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabians voted 17 women into public office in municipal elections in the conservative Islamic kingdom on Saturday, the first to allow female participation, a state-aligned news site reported on

14 Dec 2015 6:47 AM

Barack Obama tells Americans not to turn against Islam

Amid increasing anti-Muslim rhetoric in the aftermath of the San Bernardino terror attack that killed 14 people, President Barack Obama on Satu-rday told his countrymen to remain vigilant against any

13 Dec 2015 3:21 AM

Saudi Arabia holds first ever election open to women

More than 900 women are running, competing with nearly 6,000 men for seats.

12 Dec 2015 4:47 PM

Suicide bomber kills six guards on Iraq-Saudi border

Iraqi security forces are battling to retake Ramadi.

12 Dec 2015 3:28 PM

Saudi women vote for first time but here are nine things they can’t do

12 Dec 2015 10:57 AM

Saudi Arabia: First vote campaign for women concludes

Saudi Arabia’s first election campaign open to women ends Thursday but voters see little chance of a breakthrough for female candidates.

11 Dec 2015 6:22 AM

Syria Opposition begins talks in Riyadh

Syrian government forces escort buses carrying Syrian rebel fighters as hundreds of civilians and rebel forces began evacuating the last Opposition-held district — Waer in the central city of Homs — under a deal with the Syrian regime on Wednesday. According to Homs governor Talal Barazi, some 700 people, including 400 women and children and 300 fighters, would be evacuated from the district under a deal reached earlier in December between rebel forces and the Syrian government. — AFP

10 Dec 2015 6:08 AM

John Kerry: Aiming for Syria talks in New York this month

Countries involved in the Syrian peace process are set to meet in New York on December 18, but the talks may hinge on efforts to unite Syrian Opposition groups in the coming days, US secretary of stat

09 Dec 2015 5:45 AM

Divorced Saudi women get more legal powers

Saudi Arabia will let divorced women and widows manage family affairs without approval from a man or a court order, a state-aligned newspaper said on Wednesday, in a major step to lift some of the leg

03 Dec 2015 6:07 AM

Divorced and widowed Saudi women to get greater legal powers: reports

Until now, women had to get permission from a divorced husband

02 Dec 2015 4:32 PM

Saudi women begin first election campaigns

Saudi women began their first-ever campaigns for public office Sunday, in a step forward for women’s rights in the conservative kingdom’s slow reform process.

30 Nov 2015 2:29 AM

Saudi women in first election bid

Segregated from male voters and unable to drive themselves to hustings, Saudi women begin their first-ever election campaign on Sunday, a tentative step towards better representation in the male-domin

28 Nov 2015 6:08 AM

Despite barriers, Saudi women in first election bid

Saudi Arabia, an Islamic absolute monarchy, has no female cabinet ministers

27 Nov 2015 11:32 AM

Saudi Arabia says military option in Syria still viable

Saudi foreign minister Adel al-Jubeir said on Thursday that a military option in Syria was still viable and support for the Opposition fighting to oust President Bashar al-Assad would continue.

26 Nov 2015 11:55 PM

Saudi Wahhabi dilemma in spotlight after Paris

Saudi Arabia’s harsh religious tradition is seen by many outsiders — and some Saudi liberals — as a root cause of the international jihadist threat that has inflamed the Middle East for years and stru

17 Nov 2015 11:14 PM

Saudi Arabia executes murderer, 147th death sentence this year

Amnesty International says the toll is Saudi's highest in two decades

12 Nov 2015 5:25 PM

Saudi King has 'full confidence' in Egypt security

12 Nov 2015 2:24 PM

Two Indians wounded in firing in Saudi Arabia

Two Indians and a Saudi policeman were injured when unidentified gunmen opened fire at a security patrol in Saudi Arabia’s troubled Shia-dominated Qatif region in the east, the interior ministry said

11 Nov 2015 6:09 AM

Saudi murderer killed in 142nd execution this year

Saudi executions are usually carried out by beheading with a sword

02 Nov 2015 2:43 PM