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Showing posts with label Saudi Arabia. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Saudi Arabia. Show all posts
Wednesday, November 20, 2024
Tuesday, November 05, 2024
Contraband Whiskey and a Secret Royal Dinner: Wall Street Goes to Riyadh
THE NEW YORK TIMES: Are you an international business titan on the hunt for billions of dollars of Saudi oil cash? Prepare for “a mind game.”
At exactly 6:19 p.m. last Tuesday, in a gold-trimmed hallway snaking off the lobby of the Ritz-Carlton, Riyadh, a lesson emerged in money, power and what Arabs call wasta, or influence.
The scene was opened by Marc Rowan, the private equity billionaire, pacing the carpet leading up the unremarkably named Meeting Room B — where a few minutes earlier chairs had been arranged in a semicircle.
Mr. Rowan, clad in a neat suit rather than his usual sweaters, was 11 minutes early — he actually doubled back a few times, apparently unwilling to arrive first — but was soon followed by a dozen or so titans of technology and finance, including top executives of the Carlyle Group, BlackRock, Citi and Standard Chartered, and founders of the giant hedge funds Bridgewater Associates and Third Point. » | Rob Copeland | Tuesday, November 5, 2024
At exactly 6:19 p.m. last Tuesday, in a gold-trimmed hallway snaking off the lobby of the Ritz-Carlton, Riyadh, a lesson emerged in money, power and what Arabs call wasta, or influence.
The scene was opened by Marc Rowan, the private equity billionaire, pacing the carpet leading up the unremarkably named Meeting Room B — where a few minutes earlier chairs had been arranged in a semicircle.
Mr. Rowan, clad in a neat suit rather than his usual sweaters, was 11 minutes early — he actually doubled back a few times, apparently unwilling to arrive first — but was soon followed by a dozen or so titans of technology and finance, including top executives of the Carlyle Group, BlackRock, Citi and Standard Chartered, and founders of the giant hedge funds Bridgewater Associates and Third Point. » | Rob Copeland | Tuesday, November 5, 2024
Wednesday, October 23, 2024
Iran & Saudi Arabia: Neighbours and Rivals | ARTE.tv Documentary
Oct 23, 2024 | On the one hand, Iran, an Islamic republic led by an ayatollah, sworn enemy of Israel and the USA, with a mostly Shiite population. On the other is Saudi Arabia, a hereditary monarchy whose inhabitants are 90% Sunni. This episode focuses on two neighbours whose rivalry shapes the balance of power in the Middle East...
Iran & Saudi Arabia: Neighbours and Rivals | ARTE.tv Documentary
Available until 23/07/2031
Iran & Saudi Arabia: Neighbours and Rivals | ARTE.tv Documentary
Available until 23/07/2031
Sunday, October 06, 2024
Saudi Executions Hit Record Number under ‘Reformist Prince’
THE TELEGRAPH: Rise in capital punishment under Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, despite pledge to cut down on the death penalty
Saudi Arabia has reached a record high for executions despite pledges to cut down the death penalty.
There have been some 208 deaths so far in 2024, eclipsing the 2022 record of 196, 81 in a single day.
The executions have been carried out under reformist Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who has overseen at least 1,447 executions carried out since he was made Crown Prince to his elderly father, Salman, in 2015.
It comes as on October 9, UN member states will vote on whether to allow Saudi Arabia a seat on the Human Rights Council.
Reforms made in the kingdom include allowing women to drive and bringing in some of the world’s top names in sport and entertainment.
However, the rise in capital punishment continues, with 32 in September alone, and 41 in August, the 2024 monthly high so far, despite a moratorium on the use of the death penalty in 2020. » | Melanie Swan | Sunday, October 6, 2024
Saudi Arabia has reached a record high for executions despite pledges to cut down the death penalty.
There have been some 208 deaths so far in 2024, eclipsing the 2022 record of 196, 81 in a single day.
The executions have been carried out under reformist Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who has overseen at least 1,447 executions carried out since he was made Crown Prince to his elderly father, Salman, in 2015.
It comes as on October 9, UN member states will vote on whether to allow Saudi Arabia a seat on the Human Rights Council.
Reforms made in the kingdom include allowing women to drive and bringing in some of the world’s top names in sport and entertainment.
However, the rise in capital punishment continues, with 32 in September alone, and 41 in August, the 2024 monthly high so far, despite a moratorium on the use of the death penalty in 2020. » | Melanie Swan | Sunday, October 6, 2024
Monday, September 23, 2024
Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi Arabia's Controversial Prince | Full Documentary in English
Aug 20, 2024 | This documentary offers an in-depth look at Mohammed bin Salman (MBS), the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia. It examines his rise to power, his ambitious Vision 2030 plan to modernize the Saudi economy, and his controversial actions on both the domestic and international fronts.
Despite accusations of human rights abuses, political repression, and a costly war in Yemen, MBS is presented as a key figure shaping Saudi Arabia’s future and its place in the global order.
The film highlights the complex interplay between his efforts to reform and modernize the kingdom while maintaining tight control and confronting regional threats, particularly from Iran.
Nb: The subtitles can be changed. Several languages are available. – Mark
Despite accusations of human rights abuses, political repression, and a costly war in Yemen, MBS is presented as a key figure shaping Saudi Arabia’s future and its place in the global order.
The film highlights the complex interplay between his efforts to reform and modernize the kingdom while maintaining tight control and confronting regional threats, particularly from Iran.
Nb: The subtitles can be changed. Several languages are available. – Mark
Monday, July 15, 2024
Ex-Muslim Opens Up About Sex and Islam in Saudi Arabia | The Story of @ApostateAladdin
WARNING: This discussion Is suitable neither for children nor for the narrow-minded or people of a prudish or sensitive nature. – Mark Alexander
Sunday, July 14, 2024
How Nuriyah Khan’s Upscale Islamic Life in Saudi Arabia & Dubai Took a Dark Turn
Wednesday, July 03, 2024
Holy Humanist: Fleeing Saudi Arabia | Jasmin's Unprecedented Journey to Freedom
Thursday, June 20, 2024
After Over 1,000 Deaths: How to Make Hajj Safer in Extreme Heat? | DW News
Are these deaths truly Allah's will? – © Mark Alexander
Wednesday, June 19, 2024
More Than 550 Hajj Pilgrims Die in Mecca as Temperatures Exceed 50C
THE GUARDIAN: At least 320 of the dead are from Egypt and Saudi officials report treating more than 2,000 people for heat stress
At least 550 pilgrims have died during the hajj, underscoring the gruelling nature of the pilgrimage which again unfolded in scorching temperatures this year.
At least 323 of those who died were Egyptians, most of them succumbing to heat-related illnesses, the two Arab diplomats coordinating their countries’ responses told AFP.
“All of them [the Egyptians] died because of heat” except for one who sustained fatal injuries during a minor crowd crush, one of the diplomats said, adding that the total figure came from the hospital morgue in the Al-Muaisem neighbourhood of Mecca.
At least 60 Jordanians have died, the diplomats said, up from an official tally of 41 given earlier on Tuesday by Amman.
The new deaths bring the total reported so far by multiple countries to 577, according to an AFP tally. » | Agence France-Presse in Riyadh | Tuesday, June 18, 2024
At least 550 pilgrims have died during the hajj, underscoring the gruelling nature of the pilgrimage which again unfolded in scorching temperatures this year.
At least 323 of those who died were Egyptians, most of them succumbing to heat-related illnesses, the two Arab diplomats coordinating their countries’ responses told AFP.
“All of them [the Egyptians] died because of heat” except for one who sustained fatal injuries during a minor crowd crush, one of the diplomats said, adding that the total figure came from the hospital morgue in the Al-Muaisem neighbourhood of Mecca.
At least 60 Jordanians have died, the diplomats said, up from an official tally of 41 given earlier on Tuesday by Amman.
The new deaths bring the total reported so far by multiple countries to 577, according to an AFP tally. » | Agence France-Presse in Riyadh | Tuesday, June 18, 2024
Sunday, February 25, 2024
Rare Footage of 1960s Saudi Arabia - Religion and Reform in the Arab Cold War (1966)
Tuesday, February 06, 2024
Is the Saudi Crown Prince an Ex-Muslim Atheist?
Tuesday, January 30, 2024
Saudi Fury at Criticism from Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert
THE TELEGRAPH: Former champions had published open letter calling on the WTA not to stage a tennis tournament in the country
Saudi Arabia has told Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova to “get their facts straight” amid an escalating row about the nation’s increasing profile in tennis.
The Saudi ambassador to the US hit out after the two tennis greats wrote that the country was an incompatible choice as host for the next WTA Finals.
In a jointly-authored Washington Post column last week, the pair said that “the WTA’s values sit in stark contrast to those of the proposed host”.
The WTA came close to staging the 2023 Finals in Saudi, before going to Cancun in Mexico. However, the WTA is now believed to be close to moving the season-ending event to Riyadh for future tournaments.
“Not only is this a country where women are not seen as equal, it is a country where the current landscape includes a male guardianship law that essentially makes women the property of men,” says Evert and Navratilova’s article in the latest in a string of attacks on Saudi’s prospective investments in the sport. The pair add that Saudi Arabia “criminalises the LGBTQ community to the point of possible death sentences” and the country’s “long-term record on human rights and basic freedoms has been a matter of international concern for decades.” » | Tom Morgan, Sports News Correspondent | Tuesday, January 30, 2024 [£]
What is Saudi doing about gay rights? Are the authorities going to continue to punish gays severely and possibly put them to death simply for being attracted to people of the same sex, and for loving them? – © Mark Alexander
Saudi Arabia has told Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova to “get their facts straight” amid an escalating row about the nation’s increasing profile in tennis.
The Saudi ambassador to the US hit out after the two tennis greats wrote that the country was an incompatible choice as host for the next WTA Finals.
In a jointly-authored Washington Post column last week, the pair said that “the WTA’s values sit in stark contrast to those of the proposed host”.
The WTA came close to staging the 2023 Finals in Saudi, before going to Cancun in Mexico. However, the WTA is now believed to be close to moving the season-ending event to Riyadh for future tournaments.
“Not only is this a country where women are not seen as equal, it is a country where the current landscape includes a male guardianship law that essentially makes women the property of men,” says Evert and Navratilova’s article in the latest in a string of attacks on Saudi’s prospective investments in the sport. The pair add that Saudi Arabia “criminalises the LGBTQ community to the point of possible death sentences” and the country’s “long-term record on human rights and basic freedoms has been a matter of international concern for decades.” » | Tom Morgan, Sports News Correspondent | Tuesday, January 30, 2024 [£]
What is Saudi doing about gay rights? Are the authorities going to continue to punish gays severely and possibly put them to death simply for being attracted to people of the same sex, and for loving them? – © Mark Alexander
Thursday, December 07, 2023
Saudi’s MBS Welcomes Putin with Smiles & Handshake | Russia’s Bid to Checkmate US In Middle East?
Wednesday, November 08, 2023
Arab States Intensify Pleas for Gaza Cease-fire as Public Anger Mounts
THE NEW YORK TIMES: Citing deepening fears for regional stability, Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries are beseeching the U.S. to push Israel to end its military campaign in Gaza.
A rally in solidarity with Palestinians in the Gaza Strip in Amman, Jordan, on Oct. 27. | Khalil Mazraawi/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
Facing growing anger from their own people, Arab countries are intensifying their appeals to the United States to pressure Israel to implement an immediate cease-fire in Gaza or risk sabotaging the security of the entire Middle East.
Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Egypt have all implored American officials, including Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken, to get Israel to halt its military assault.
“The whole region is sinking in a sea of hatred that will define generations to come,” the Jordanian foreign minister, Ayman Safadi, warned at a news conference this weekend.
As unrest spills into the streets and fear spreads that Iran-backed militias in the region will enter more directly into the conflict, some Arab leaders are worrying for their own security, said Elham Fakhro, an associate fellow at Chatham House’s Middle East and North Africa Program.
“Long-term resentment among the Arab public is fuel for extremist groups,” she said. “The region is already walking a delicate balance,” she added. “This is what drives Arab governments to use their available leverage to call for a cease-fire.” » | Vivian Nereim, Reporting from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia | Tuesday, November 7, 2023
Facing growing anger from their own people, Arab countries are intensifying their appeals to the United States to pressure Israel to implement an immediate cease-fire in Gaza or risk sabotaging the security of the entire Middle East.
Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Egypt have all implored American officials, including Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken, to get Israel to halt its military assault.
“The whole region is sinking in a sea of hatred that will define generations to come,” the Jordanian foreign minister, Ayman Safadi, warned at a news conference this weekend.
As unrest spills into the streets and fear spreads that Iran-backed militias in the region will enter more directly into the conflict, some Arab leaders are worrying for their own security, said Elham Fakhro, an associate fellow at Chatham House’s Middle East and North Africa Program.
“Long-term resentment among the Arab public is fuel for extremist groups,” she said. “The region is already walking a delicate balance,” she added. “This is what drives Arab governments to use their available leverage to call for a cease-fire.” » | Vivian Nereim, Reporting from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia | Tuesday, November 7, 2023
Monday, October 30, 2023
'Do What India Did': Saudi Prince Rips Hamas & Israel; Opposes 'Armed Resistance' In Palestine
Related article here
Friday, October 27, 2023
Saudi Arabia Warns U.S.: Israeli Invasion of Gaza Could Be Catastrophic
THE NEW YORK TIMES: In discussions with their American counterparts, Saudi officials have framed a ground war as a potentially devastating blow to stability in the Middle East.
Saudi officials have firmly warned the United States in recent days that an Israeli ground incursion into Gaza could be catastrophic for the Middle East.
Senator Richard Blumenthal, Democrat of Connecticut and a member of the Armed Services Committee, was one of 10 senators who met last weekend with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the kingdom’s de facto ruler, in the Saudi capital, Riyadh.
“The Saudi leadership was hopeful that a ground operation could be avoided for reasons of stability as well as the loss of life,” Mr. Blumenthal told The New York Times on Thursday. Saudi officials warned it would be “extremely harmful,” he said.
Senior Saudi officials have delivered even more forceful exhortations to their American counterparts in multiple conversations, raising their concerns that a ground invasion could turn into a disaster for the entire region, according to one Saudi official and a second person with knowledge of the discussions. » | Kate Kelly, Vivian Nereim, Mark Mazzetti and Edward Wong | Kate Kelly and Vivian Nereim reported from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Mark Mazzetti and Edward Wong reported from Washington. | Friday, October 27, 2023
Saudi officials have firmly warned the United States in recent days that an Israeli ground incursion into Gaza could be catastrophic for the Middle East.
Senator Richard Blumenthal, Democrat of Connecticut and a member of the Armed Services Committee, was one of 10 senators who met last weekend with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the kingdom’s de facto ruler, in the Saudi capital, Riyadh.
“The Saudi leadership was hopeful that a ground operation could be avoided for reasons of stability as well as the loss of life,” Mr. Blumenthal told The New York Times on Thursday. Saudi officials warned it would be “extremely harmful,” he said.
Senior Saudi officials have delivered even more forceful exhortations to their American counterparts in multiple conversations, raising their concerns that a ground invasion could turn into a disaster for the entire region, according to one Saudi official and a second person with knowledge of the discussions. » | Kate Kelly, Vivian Nereim, Mark Mazzetti and Edward Wong | Kate Kelly and Vivian Nereim reported from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Mark Mazzetti and Edward Wong reported from Washington. | Friday, October 27, 2023
Saturday, October 21, 2023
Powerful Saudi Prince Breaks Ranks to Condemn Hamas
THE TELEGRAPH: Prince Turki al-Faisal, a key power broker in the Middle East, hits out against the murderous tactics adopted by the terror group
Prince Turki al-Faisal: ‘I categorically condemn Hamas’s targeting of civilian targets of any age or gender as it is accused of’ | Leigh Vogel/Getty
An influential Saudi prince has issued a strong condemnation of Hamas in a rare rebuke from one of the Middle East’s main power brokers.
Prince Turki al-Faisal, a former Saudi ambassador to the UK and US, said he preferred “civil insurrection and disobedience” to the murderous tactics adopted by the Palestinian terror group.
“I categorically condemn Hamas’s targeting of civilian targets of any age or gender as it is accused of,” Prince al-Faisal said in a speech at the Baker Institute for Public Policy, a US think tank housed at Rice University in Texas.
“But equally, I condemn Israel’s indiscriminate bombing of Palestinian innocent civilians in Gaza and the attempt to forcibly drive them into Sinai,” he added, citing Israel’s recent bombardment of the enclave and order for its residents to flee south towards Egypt ahead of an expected ground offensive.
Prince al-Faisal’s remarks underline recent comments from Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and indicate Riyadh may still be amenable to a historic normalisation deal with Israel, despite having put on hold talks amid the current war. » | Sophia Yan | Friday, October 20, 2023
Saudi, Israeli officials spar at regional conference: Prince Turki al-Faisal called Israel a 'Western colonising power' »
Why the West can no longer ignore Mohammed bin Salman’s Saudi Arabia: The calculated moves that have returned the pariah prince to the centre of diplomacy »
I concur with Prince Turki al-Faisal’s wise words. His forthrightness is both refreshing and courageous.
Hamas’s crimes were vile and depraved, but peace will never be achieved unless the root causes of the enmities and hatred between the Palestinians and the Israelis are addressed and corrected.
Whilst it is undeniable that Israel has a right to respond to the atrocities committed by Hamas, it is in the Israelis’ own interests to ensure that their responses are measured, appropriate and proportionate. Civilised behaviour demands that the punishment should always befit the crime. If Israel’s reaction turns out not to fit the crimes committed by Hamas, their disproportionate punishments will engender even more anti-Semitism throughout the world – a cancerous phenomenon which in many countries is already at fever pitch.
Decent people naturally want the best for Israel and the Israelis. Please don’t let them down, Mr Netanyahu. The world is watching. – © Mark Alexander
An influential Saudi prince has issued a strong condemnation of Hamas in a rare rebuke from one of the Middle East’s main power brokers.
Prince Turki al-Faisal, a former Saudi ambassador to the UK and US, said he preferred “civil insurrection and disobedience” to the murderous tactics adopted by the Palestinian terror group.
“I categorically condemn Hamas’s targeting of civilian targets of any age or gender as it is accused of,” Prince al-Faisal said in a speech at the Baker Institute for Public Policy, a US think tank housed at Rice University in Texas.
“But equally, I condemn Israel’s indiscriminate bombing of Palestinian innocent civilians in Gaza and the attempt to forcibly drive them into Sinai,” he added, citing Israel’s recent bombardment of the enclave and order for its residents to flee south towards Egypt ahead of an expected ground offensive.
Prince al-Faisal’s remarks underline recent comments from Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and indicate Riyadh may still be amenable to a historic normalisation deal with Israel, despite having put on hold talks amid the current war. » | Sophia Yan | Friday, October 20, 2023
Saudi, Israeli officials spar at regional conference: Prince Turki al-Faisal called Israel a 'Western colonising power' »
Why the West can no longer ignore Mohammed bin Salman’s Saudi Arabia: The calculated moves that have returned the pariah prince to the centre of diplomacy »
I concur with Prince Turki al-Faisal’s wise words. His forthrightness is both refreshing and courageous.
Hamas’s crimes were vile and depraved, but peace will never be achieved unless the root causes of the enmities and hatred between the Palestinians and the Israelis are addressed and corrected.
Whilst it is undeniable that Israel has a right to respond to the atrocities committed by Hamas, it is in the Israelis’ own interests to ensure that their responses are measured, appropriate and proportionate. Civilised behaviour demands that the punishment should always befit the crime. If Israel’s reaction turns out not to fit the crimes committed by Hamas, their disproportionate punishments will engender even more anti-Semitism throughout the world – a cancerous phenomenon which in many countries is already at fever pitch.
Decent people naturally want the best for Israel and the Israelis. Please don’t let them down, Mr Netanyahu. The world is watching. – © Mark Alexander
Sunday, October 08, 2023
Risking Death to Tell the Truth: Saudi Arabia’s LGBT+ Community
Saturday, October 07, 2023
Biden Accused of Betrayal of Khashoggi over Push to Deepen Saudi Ties
GUARDIAN INTERNATIONAL: Activists and Democrats condemn rapprochement – aimed at heading off China – with ‘autocratic, sociopathic government’
Biden with the crown prince in Jeddah last summer. Analysts said ‘realpolitik’ had driven Washington to deepen ties with the Saudis. Photograph: Balkis Press/Abaca/Rex/Shutterstock
Joe Biden is facing accusations of betraying a pre-election promise to re-evaluate ties with Saudi Arabia over the murder of Jamal Khashoggi in favour of pursuing a rapprochement with the kingdom aimed at repelling a challenge from China to US primacy in the Middle East.
The charge, from human rights campaigners and some Democrats, follows the fifth anniversary of Khashoggi’s death at the hands of Saudi regime agents and comes amid mounting criticism of a proposed new defence treaty between Washington and Riyadh that could result in Saudi Arabia granting official recognition to Israel.
Biden took office initially intending to downplay the traditional US role in the Middle East, a policy consistent with holding Saudi Arabia at arm’s length following the outcry that greeted Khashoggi’s murder.
But the president has since performed a volte-face by saying on a visit to the region that the US would “remain an active, engaged partner” and adding: “We will not walk away and leave a vacuum to be filled by China, Russia, or Iran.” » | Robert Tait in Washington | Saturday, October 7, 2023
Khashoggi was killed five years ago. Thanks to Trump and Biden, Saudi Arabia is stronger than ever: After the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, the US vowed to hold Saudi Arabia accountable. Biden has done the opposite »
Joe Biden is facing accusations of betraying a pre-election promise to re-evaluate ties with Saudi Arabia over the murder of Jamal Khashoggi in favour of pursuing a rapprochement with the kingdom aimed at repelling a challenge from China to US primacy in the Middle East.
The charge, from human rights campaigners and some Democrats, follows the fifth anniversary of Khashoggi’s death at the hands of Saudi regime agents and comes amid mounting criticism of a proposed new defence treaty between Washington and Riyadh that could result in Saudi Arabia granting official recognition to Israel.
Biden took office initially intending to downplay the traditional US role in the Middle East, a policy consistent with holding Saudi Arabia at arm’s length following the outcry that greeted Khashoggi’s murder.
But the president has since performed a volte-face by saying on a visit to the region that the US would “remain an active, engaged partner” and adding: “We will not walk away and leave a vacuum to be filled by China, Russia, or Iran.” » | Robert Tait in Washington | Saturday, October 7, 2023
Khashoggi was killed five years ago. Thanks to Trump and Biden, Saudi Arabia is stronger than ever: After the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, the US vowed to hold Saudi Arabia accountable. Biden has done the opposite »
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