Tag Archives: Saudi Arabia

The New York Times reports: The Saudi royal family showered Donald J. Trump and his entourage on his first trip abroad as president with dozens of presents, including three robes made with white tiger and cheetah fur, and a dagger with a handle that appeared to be ivory. Little that followed went right. A White House lawyer determined that possession …

The Associated Press reports: The FBI late Saturday released a newly declassified document related to logistical support given to two of the Saudi hijackers in the run-up to the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. The document details contacts the hijackers had with Saudi associates in the U.S. but does not provide proof that senior Saudi government officials were complicit in …

The New York Times reports: Making good on a campaign promise, President Biden directed the Justice Department and other federal agencies on Friday to oversee the review and declassification of documents related to the F.B.I.’s investigation into the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. In an executive order, Mr. Biden instructed Attorney General Merrick B. Garland to publicly release the declassified documents …

The Guardian reports: A senior Saudi official issued what was perceived to be a death threat against the independent United Nations investigator, Agnès Callamard, after her investigation into the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. In an interview with the Guardian, the outgoing special rapporteur for extrajudicial killings said that a UN colleague alerted her in January 2020 that a senior …

Vice News reports: Saudi crown prince Mohammed Bin Salman approved the operation that led to the 2018 murder of Saudi dissident and Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi, a declassified US intelligence report says. “We assess that Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman approved an operation in Istanbul, Turkey to capture or kill Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi,” the report, from …

Well, of course they’re thinking about it: The U.S. government is weighing a request to declare Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman immune from a federal lawsuit accusing him of targeting for assassination a former top intelligence officer who could disclose damaging secrets about the prince’s ascent to power, according to legal documents related to the case. A State Department recommendation …

Reuters reports: Saudi Arabia has temporarily suspended international flights and closed its land and sea borders to prevent the spread of an infectious new coronavirus strain first identified in Britain. The covid-19 variant has now been detected in at least five other countries, prompting several countries to ban flights from Britain. In a report late Sunday, the official Saudi Press …

The Insider reports: President Donald Trump bragged to the veteran journalist Bob Woodward that he protected Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) from congressional scrutiny after the brutal assassination of American journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Woodward wrote that Trump called him on January 22 shortly after attending the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. During the conversation, Woodward pressed …

Agence France-Presse reports: Saudi Arabia has abolished flogging as a punishment, the state human rights commission said Saturday, hailing a “major step forward” in the reform programme launched by the king and his powerful son. Court-ordered floggings in Saudi Arabia — sometimes extending to hundreds of lashes — have long drawn condemnation from human rights groups. But they say the …

Roll Call reports: The Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged more than 1,200 points, or 5 percent, in the first two days of trading this week amid turmoil in energy markets. On Tuesday, the Dow Jones closed down 631.6 points, or 2.7 percent, and the S&P 500 closed down 86.6, or 3.1 percent. The losses followed record lows for oil on …

Markets Insider reports: Oil plunged to a more than three-decade low on Monday. The commodity’s latest round of sharp selling comes as uncertainty mounts around storage for excess oil. Demand for crude has plummeted since the coronavirus outbreak has frozen activity worldwide. The price of West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures expiring in May plunged as much as 84% to …

NBC News reports: Saudi Arabia’s highest religious body, the Council of Senior Scholars, urged Muslims worldwide to pray at home during Ramadan if their countries require social distancing, to curb the spread of the coronavirus, state news agency SPA reported on Sunday. “Muslims shall avoid gatherings, because they are the main cause of the spread of infection and shall remember …

The New York Times reports: The senior Saudi prince who is governor of Riyadh [photo] is in intensive care with the coronavirus. Several dozen other members of the royal family have been sickened as well. And doctors at the elite hospital that treats Al-Saud clan members are preparing as many as 500 beds for an expected influx of other royals …

The BBC reports: Pixar’s latest animation Onward has been banned by several Middle Eastern countries because of a reference to lesbian parents, according to reports. The family film will not be shown in Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and Saudi Arabia, Hollywood media have reported. Police officer Specter, voiced by Lena Waithe, has been heralded as Disney-Pixar’s first openly gay character. Her …

Reuters reports: Oil prices lost as much as a third of their value on Monday in their biggest daily rout since the 1991 Gulf War as Saudi Arabia and Russia signaled they would hike output in a market already awash with crude after their three-year supply pact collapsed. Despite sliding demand for crude due to the coronavirus, Riyadh made plans …

The New York Times reports: Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has detained three members of the royal family, including a brother of the king and a former crown prince, a sign of how fully Crown Prince Mohammed has consolidated power, and that he may have seen a potential threat to it. The detentions were disclosed Friday by a member of …

From the editorial board of the Washington Post: If Mohammed bin Salman did target Mr. Bezos for surveillance, it would not be an isolated case. As U.N. investigators Agnes Callamard and David Kaye said in their statement, “the allegations reinforce other reporting pointing to a pattern of targeted surveillance of perceived opponents and those of broader strategic importance to the …

The Telegraph reports: Boris Johnson has been in communication with Saudi Arabia’s crown prince over WhatsApp, multiple former UK government figures have told The Telegraph, raising major security concerns in light of the Jeff Bezos hack. One source said they were “99 per cent sure” Mr Johnson sent messages over the platform to Mohammed bin Salman while others noted he …

The Daily Beast reports: Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman sent Jeff Bezos a photograph of woman resembling the one he was having an affair with months before the National Enquirer published a report exposing the liaison, according to a United Nations investigation. Two United Nations special rapporteurs released a statement Wednesday detailing forensic evidence linking MBS to the Bezos hack, …

The Telegraph reports: United Nations experts have called for an “immediate investigation” by the United States into information they received that suggests that Jeff Bezos’ phone was hacked after receiving a file sent from Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s WhatsApp account. A joint statement from Agnes Callamard, the United Nations special rapporteur for extra-judicial killings, and David Kaye, the …