News on Saudi Arabia

Yemen president: War with northern rebels is over

2010-03-19T15:15:16Z

<div id="subtitle">Yemen president says long-running war with northern rebels is over following cease-fire</div><div><p>Yemen's president on Friday declared the country's six-year war with northern rebels over, saying the Shiite militants are living up to a cease-fire agreement signed last month.</p><p>After years of sporadic fighting, Yemen has come under international pressure to quickly end the conflict — which spil...

US military pushed for closure of CIA-Saudi website: report

2010-03-19T09:16:21Z

<div><p>The US military in 2008 shut down a website set up by the CIA and Saudi Arabia to expose terror plots, angering both parties, who saw the site as a vital intelligence tool, the Washington Post reported Friday.</p><p>Despite objections from the Saudi King Abdullah at a Riyadh fair would have been unremarkable elsewhere, but was a whiff of change for the conservative Muslim kingdom.</p><p>In Saudi Arabia, where Islamic clerics severely repress public music, film and other modern arts, it represented th...

Somali militants say Canadian recruit killed

2010-03-18T09:15:31Z

<div><p>A young Canadian Muslim recruited to fight for the creation of an Islamic state has died in combat in Somalia, the Somalia-based hardline Shebab militia said Thursday in a Youtube posting.</p><p>The video shows a man described as Mohamed al-Muhajiri at a historic site in Saudi Arabia, and claims...

Yemen rebels free prisoners

2010-03-16T13:16:53Z

<div><p>Shiite rebels in north Yemen freed on Tuesday the 178 prisoners they were holding, a mediator announced, and said they were complying with a ceasefire that ended six months of fighting on February 12.</p><p>Rebels led by Abdul Malek al-Huthi "turned over 178 prisoners to us in (the northern city of) Saada -- officers, soldiers and civilians -- who will...

Yemen rebels promise to free prisoners in 48 hours

2010-03-16T09:17:42Z

<div><p>Shiite rebels in north Yemen pledged on Tuesday to free soldiers they are holding within two days, and said they are complying with a ceasefire that ended six months of fighting on February 12.</p><p>"The prisoners of war will be freed within 48 hours and we expect our prisoners to be freed in return," rebel spokesman Mohammed Abdel Salam told AFP.<...

Saudi warns charity scams could fund terror

2010-03-15T13:17:35Z

<div><p>Saudi Arabia warned its citizens on Monday to be wary of Internet and cellphone scams involving bogus charities that could be aimed at funding terror activities.</p><p>"We have noticed lately that there are many announcements that come through mobile messages, through the Internet, through different media, announcing a bank account for people to donate to" for ostensibly legitimate purposes, interior ministry...

Saudis deny discussing pressure on China over Iran with US

2010-03-12T10:16:36Z

<div><p>Saudi Arabia denied on Friday that its officials had discussed with US Defence Secretary Robert Gates putting pressure on China to back a new round of sanctions on Iran over its nuclear ambitions.</p><p>An "official source" quoted by the official SPA news agency said report...

Gates Saudi Arabia

2010-03-11T13:03:41Z

In a photo provided by the Department of Defense, U.S. Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates prepares to board his aircraft upon his departure from the King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, March 11, 2010. (AP Photo/Cherie Cullen)

U.K. man says he plans to make the first round-the-world trip in a customized rotorcraft known as an autogyro.</p><p>Norman Surplus says he hopes to kick off his 27,000 mile (43,000 kilometer) circumnavigation from the seaside town of Larne in...

Thousands protest against crackdown in south Yemen

2010-03-11T06:00:13Z

<div><p>SANAA (Reuters) - Yemeni forces launched an attack Thursday to recapture a government building occupied by separatists in the south of the country, setting off a gunfight that killed two people, a local official and witnesses said.</p><p>Two protesters were shot dead as security forces tried to quash a separatist demonstration in another southern province. Elsewhere in Defense Secretary Robert Gates on Wednesday appealed to Saudi leaders to back a US-led drive for tough sanctions against Iran in a visit to Riyadh and came away "hopeful," his press secretary said.</p><p>Gates met King Abdullah and the Saudi crown prince as part of

Gates, in Riyadh, seeks Saudi help on Iran sanctions

2010-03-10T15:00:43Z

<div><p>RIYADH (Reuters) - Defense Secretary Robert Gates asked Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah for support lobbying for U.N. sanctions against Iran on Wednesday and d...

Mideast Saudi US

2010-03-10T13:18:29Z

In this photo released by the Saudi Press Agency, Saudi Crown Prince Sultan bin Abdul Aziz, left, greets U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates, right, before their talks in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Wednesday, March 10, 2010...

Secretary of Defense Gates Middle East Diplomacy Trip

2010-03-10T11:33:48Z

RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA - MARCH 10: US Defence Secretary Robert Gates (L) meets with Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz (R) at the Janadriyah farm on March 10, 2010 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Gates flew into Riyadh for talks expected to focus on Iran...

US defence chief Gates in Saudi for talks on Iran

2010-03-10T09:16:55Z

<div><p>US Defence Secretary Robert Gates flew into the Saudi capital on Wednesday for talks expected to focus on Iran's nuclear programme and Washington's push for tough sanctions against Tehran.</p><p>Gates was due to meet US Defence Secretary Robert Gates flew into the Saudi capital on Wednesday for talks expected to focus on Iran's nuclear programme and Washington's push for tough sanctions against Tehran.</p><p>Gates was due to meet Sheik Mohammed Sayed Tantawi, grand sheik of Al-Azhar, Sunni Islam's pre-eminent theological institute, left, accompanies Palestinian authority President Mahmoud Abbas, at the Azhar headquarters, in Cairo, Egypt....

Gates to discuss Iran pressure during Saudi visit

2010-03-10T05:00:15Z

<div><p>RIYADH (Reuters) - Defense Secretary Robert Gates arrived in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday to discuss efforts to put pressure on Iran, stabilize Yemen and to urge the Saudis to eng...

Top Sunni cleric Tantawi dies of heart attack

2010-03-10T02:15:51Z

<div><p>Sunni Islam's top cleric, Sheikh Mohammed Sayed Tantawi, died on Wednesday in Saudi Arabia of a heart attack suffered while boarding a plane, Egyptian officials and state media said.</p><p>Tantawi, the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar -- Sunni Islam's highest seat of learning -- was in