Saudi Arabia

MAKKAH: A scaled-down Hajj with only just 1,000 pilgrims due to the COVID-19 pandemic will begin on Wednesday for the first time in modern history. Up to 1,000 people residing in the kingdom will participate in the Muslim ritual, a tiny fraction of the 2.5 million that attended last year, …

TEHRAN: A prominent Saudi activist and whistleblower, known by online pseudonym ‘Mujtahidd’, posted a leaked message on Twitter, claiming that Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, the king of Saudi Arabia is in critical health conditions. “A doctor in KFSH leaked the following message,” he wrote. “An important person currently in …

RIYADH: Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz has held a cabinet meeting via video call from a hospital in Riyadh, a day after he was admitted to the facility for “medical check,” giving rise to speculation about succession plans by the kingdom’s controversial figure Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS). The …

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia says only about 1,000 pilgrims will be allowed to take part in the Hajj pilgrimage this year due to the deadly coronavirus pandemic. According to Saudi authorities the annual Muslim ritual — which normally attracts 2.5 million— will start on July 29. “The stand of pilgrims on …

French newspaper Le Monde said on Thursday that Saudi Arabia launched a news website in French to “Improve its image” that it causes in front of Western public opinion due to the assassination case of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. The newspaper stated in a report that the new media is the …

Iraq’s new Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi will visit Iran next week as part of his first foreign tour since taking office. Iraqi National Security Adviser Qasim al-Araji said Wednesday that the tour aimed at discussing cooperation in various fields will also take Kadhimi to Saudi Arabia and the US, the …

In an unprecedented move, a senior Saudi Arabian professor from King Saud University in Riyadh has published an article in an Israeli journal,” according to Tel Aviv University. In his first article in Hebrew, Professor Mohammed Ibrahim Alghbban, head of Near Eastern Languages and Civilization and Hebrew Studies, claims that …

TEHRAN: Saudi warplanes bombed residential areas in Yemen’s northern province of Jawf, killing at least nine civilians. Two buildings in al-Masafa al-Marazeeq area of the al-Hazm district were targeted by Saudi jets on Wednesday afternoon, Yemen’s Arabic-language al-Masirah television network reported. The raids left nine civilians, including two women and …

The Saudi regime, long claiming to be the custodian of Muslims’ holiest shrines, has sparked widespread controversy over granting permission for a “raunchy” photo shoot of international supermodels in the ultra-conservative kingdom. The Middle East Monitor press observatory organization revealed on Thursday that the kingdom in Riyadh, under Crown Prince …

The spokesman for Yemeni army has censured the US as the conspirator of the Saudi-led military onslaught on his country, saying Washington arms the Riyadh regime and its regional allies, defines goals for them and is involved in a political cover-up for their acts of aggression. “Over the past few …