Saudi Arabia

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June 2009
- Obama Granted Saudi King's Bling Award
  
  Daily Telegraph (UK) | Jun 4, 09 6:00 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - President Obama was given Saudi Arabia's weightiest honor by King Abdullah yesterday, the Daily Telegraph reports. "Goodness gracious. That's something there," Obama exclaimed as he was presented with the thick gold chain and medallion of the King Abdul Aziz Order of Merit. The president put the necklace aside "for safekeeping" after a few photos. More »
- Obama Lands in Middle East, Ready to Make Tough Sell
  
  New York Times | Jun 3, 09 8:28 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Open arms and a full red carpet rollout greeted President Obama on his arrival in Saudi Arabia this morning, but the pleasantries will likely end when the policy talk starts, the New York Times reports. Obama wants the Arab nations to offer a peaceful gesture toward Israel, but Saudi officials and experts say King Abdullah wants some gesture from Israel first. More »
May 2009
- Saudi Arabia Displays Beheaded Convict
  
  CNN | May 30, 09 6:40 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Saudi Arabian authorities decapitated and publicly displayed a convicted killer last night, drawing fire from Amnesty International, CNN reports. A state press agency said Ahmed Al-Shamlani Al-Anzi was sentenced for murdering an 11-year-old boy and his father. The Saudis likely sewed Al-Anzi's head back on before his display, or "crucifixion," which is intended to deter future crimes, an Amnesty researcher said. More »
- Saudi Crackdown Sends Female Gym Rats to Sidelines
  
  GlobalPost | May 14, 09 3:51 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Though obesity and diabetes are on the rise in Saudi Arabia, officials there are cracking down on women-only sports clubs because they lack licenses—which no government body will actually issue. Leaders say their opposition is based on Islam, but, Caryle Murphy writes for GlobalPost, it stems as much from views about women long extinct in other societies. “Depriving women of this is yet another way of marginalizing them,” says one activist. More »
- Lavish Wives Deserve a Slap: Saudi Judge
  
  CNN | May 11, 09 6:00 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - A Saudi judge says women who spend lavishly on items like designer abayas (black gowns) deserve to be slapped by their husbands, Arab News reports. His comments at a domestic violence conference invoked loud protests from women in the audience. The judge also lamented that "nobody puts even a fraction of blame" on women for the nation’s rising domestic abuse problem. More »
- Saudis May Outlaw Under-18 Marriages
  
  Reuters | May 2, 09 11:35 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - The days of 8-year-olds getting married in Saudi Arabia may be numbered. Spurred by international hostility toward the marriage of a girl that age to a 50-year-old man, the nation is considering a ban on marriage for those under 18, Reuters reports. Such a restriction is “among the options that are available,” the Saudi justice minister said. “A girl below 18 is often not fit to take the family responsibility especially if she quickly gives birth.” Meanwhile, the 8-year-old girl in the celebrated case has been allowed to divorce. More »
April 2009
- Saudi Child Bride's Marriage Annulled
  
  BBC | Apr 30, 09 7:27 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - The marriage of an eight-year-old Saudi girl to a man in his 50s that drew worldwide attention has been annulled in an out-of-court settlement, the BBC reports. A judge had twice denied the girl—reportedly married off by her father to pay a debt—a divorce. The case has led Saudi officials to say they’d start regulating young girls’ "arbitrary" marriages. More »
- Saudis to Crack Down After Man Weds 8-Year-Old
  
  BBC | Apr 15, 09 8:54 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Amid an uproar over an adult man’s marriage to an 8-year-old girl, Saudi Arabia will begin regulating child marriage, the BBC reports. The country’s justice minister wants to end the “arbitrary” process, he said, though he didn’t say such matches would be banned. A court upheld the marriage provided the husband—whose age has been reported as 47 and 60—doesn’t have sex with the girl until after she reaches puberty. More »
- Saudi Man Divorces Wife—by Phone Text
  
  Daily Telegraph (UK) | Apr 9, 09 5:55 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - This was probably inevitable: The world's first known divorce via phone text is on the books. A Saudi man informed his wife of the split by text, then called two relatives to let them know, the Telegraph reports. This apparently jibes with the practice under Sharia law that allows a man to divorce simply by saying, "I divorce you," three times. A court checked with the two relatives and approved the split. More »
- White House Denies Prez Bowed to Saudi King
  
  Politico | Apr 9, 09 4:37 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - The White House denies President Obama broke centuries of protocol by bowing to a foreign monarch at the G20 talks, Politico reports. A video from the summit showing the president dipping as he greeted Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah has infuriated right-wingers who believe the movement was a bow. The deep dip won praise for the president in parts of the Arab world. More »
March 2009
- Saudi Court Blocks Marriage to 8-Year-Old Girl
  
  CNN | Mar 25, 09 4:08 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - A Saudi Arabian appeals court has thrown out a ruling upholding an 8-year-old girl's marriage to a 47-year-old man, reports CNN. The marriage—arranged by the girl's father to settle a debt—still stands for now under Saudi law. But the ruling sustains a legal challenge to the marriage by the girl's mother, and the case must be reviewed again by the lower court. More »
- Woman in Saudi Faces 40 Lashes for Mingling
  
  CNN | Mar 9, 09 6:30 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - A 75-year-old Syrian woman faces 40 lashes and 4 months in prison for mingling with two men in Saudi Arabia, CNN reports. Khamisa Mohammed Sawadi will also be deported for allowing the men to enter her home last year. The men, sentenced to lashings as well, told police that Sawadi had breastfed one of them, which made their visit religiously correct. But a judge found no evidence of breastfeeding. More »
February 2009
- Our Skivvies, Ourselves: Saudis Seek Female Sellers
  
  BBC | Feb 25, 09 10:56 AM CST
  
  (Newser) - Saudi women aren’t allowed to be alone in a room with an unrelated man, but they have to buy their undergarments from men, a situation some are calling unacceptable. In theory, women are permitted to work in shops selling women’s products, but the traditional society has, somewhat ironically, ensured that only men take those jobs, the BBC reports. More »
- 11 Freed From Gitmo Disappear Into Terror Network
  
  New York Times | Feb 4, 09 4:49 AM CST
  
  (Newser) - Eleven Saudi nationals who were released from detention at Guantanamo Bay have likely rejoined terrorist groups, the Saudi government said yesterday. The prisoners participated in a rehabilitation program after returning to Saudi Arabia, but all of them have fled the country—probably to Yemen or Iran. The situation underscores President Obama's difficult task in closing Guantanamo and complicates the question of what to do with the remaining detainees, reports the New York Times. More »
January 2009
- Top Saudi Cleric Backs Marriage of 10-Year-Old Girls
  
  CNN | Jan 18, 09 9:27 AM CST
  
  (Newser) - The top Muslim cleric in Saudi Arabia has issued a statement supporting marriage for girls as young as 10, reports CNN. "Those who think she's too young are wrong and they are being unfair to her," he declared. The statement follows the refusal last month by a Saudi judge to annul a marriage between an 8-year-old girl and a 47-year-old man. The practice is coming under increasing criticism from women's and international organizations. More »
December 2008
- Saudi Girl, 8, Can't Divorce Husband, 58: Court
  
  Daily Mail (UK) | Dec 22, 08 2:10 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - An 8-year-old Saudi girl will remain married to her 58-year-old husband after a court struck down her mother’s request for a divorce, the Daily Mail reports. The hard-up father, who is divorced from the mother, signed a contract in August and received a dowry of about $7,400. The court ordered that “the plea should be filed by the girl herself when she reaches puberty.” More »
- Tenet Denies Drunken Rant About 'the Jews'
  
  The Atlantic | Dec 18, 08 2:28 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - George Tenet is vehemently denying a report in a new book that the then-CIA director railed against Bush administration neocons, "referring to them with exaxperation [sic] as, 'the Jews,'" the Atlantic reports. The incident took place in Saudi Prince Bandar's pool after Tenet downed half a bottle of scotch, according to the book, by New York Times reporter Patrick Tyler. Tyler reports in a footnote that Tenet "disputed the remarks attributed to him." More »
- OPEC Prepares to Slash Output
  
  Reuters | Dec 17, 08 1:46 AM CST
  
  (Newser) - OPEC ministers are expected to back the biggest reduction in oil production in the history of the cartel when they meet today, Reuters reports. The exporters widely support a cut of 2 million barrels a day. Oil prices neared $43 per barrel yesterday, down over $100 from July. Officals from Saudi Arabia, which heads the cartel, are seeking action expected to boost prices to $75 a barrel. More »
November 2008
- Architects Compete for Massive Mecca Makeover
  
  Independent (UK) | Nov 28, 08 1:45 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - Norman Foster and Zaha Hadid are among the 18 architects reportedly in the running for the daunting job of remaking Mecca: designing a mosque complex to accommodate the 3 million pilgrims making the yearly Hajj. The "new architectural vision" would more than triple the complex's capacity and make it the highest-occupancy building in the world, reports the Independent . More »
- Girl Group Rocks Saudi Taboos
  
  New York Times | Nov 24, 08 12:02 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - The Accolade sounds like a typical female rock band: Its members have teased hair and facial piercings, and their clothing shocks passers-by as they tell a New York Times reporter about their new song with lyrics about a failed relationship. But the Accolade’s home base is conservative Saudi Arabia, and its members have turned taboo-breaking up to 11. More »