Jan 05 Qatar ruler lands in Saudi Arabia for summit to end blockade By Aya Batrawy, Isabel Debre, Amr Nabil, Associated Press Qatar's ruling emir arrived in Saudi Arabia and was greeted with an embrace by its crown prince on Tuesday, following an announcement that the kingdom would end its yearslong embargo on the tiny Gulf Arab state. Continue reading
Jan 04 Saudi Arabia to lift Qatar embargo, opening air and land borders By Aya Batrawy, Isabel Debre, Associated Press Kuwait's foreign ministry said Saudi Arabia will open its air and land borders with Qatar, in the first steps toward ending a diplomatic crisis that has deeply divided regional U.S. allies since 2017. Continue reading
Dec 28 Saudi women's rights activist sentenced to nearly 6 years in prison By Associated Press Loujain al-Hathloul has already been in pre-trial detention and has endured several stretches of solitary confinement. Continue reading
Nov 23 Watch 4:48 News Wrap: AstraZeneca reports promising results on a COVID-19 vaccine In our news wrap Monday, Astra-Zeneca became the third major company to report promising results on a COVID-19 vaccine, the world’s greenhouse gas emissions have fallen during the pandemic but not enough to reduce record levels and General Motors is… Continue watching
Oct 09 Watch 6:02 How slain journalist Jamal Khashoggi's call for reform is still heard today By Nick Schifrin, Layla Quran It's been two years since the murder of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi by Saudi agents at the Kingdom’s Istanbul consulate. At the end of his life, Khashoggi was among Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman’s highest-profile critics. The new Showtime… Continue watching
Sep 23 WATCH: Saudi king's rare address to U.N. showcases monarch in charge By Aya Batrawy, Associated Press His speech marks only the second time in more than six decades that a sitting monarch from the kingdom addresses the gathering. Continue reading
Sep 16 WATCH: State denies improper inspector general firing, defends Saudi arms sales By Laurie Kellman, Associated Press The State Department on Wednesday rejected Democrats' charges of improperly firing its independent inspector general and defended its weapons sales to Saudi Arabia. Continue reading
Sep 07 Watch 2:29 News Wrap: Saudi Arabia sentences 8 in Khashoggi killing In our news wrap Monday, eight people in Saudi Arabia were sentenced to prison for their roles in the 2018 murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, Turkey. A UN investigator had criticized the trial, which… Continue watching
Jul 30 Pilgrims pray on peak day of hajj in shadow of coronavirus By Aya Batrawy, Associated Press Masked pilgrims arrived Thursday at Mount Arafat, a desert hill near Islam's holiest site, to pray and repent on the most important day of the hajj, the annual pilgrimage in Mecca in Saudi Arabia. Continue reading
Jul 27 Pilgrims arrive in Mecca for downsized hajj amid pandemic By Aya Batrawy, Associated Press Muslim pilgrims have started arriving in Mecca for a drastically scaled-down hajj as Saudi authorities balance the kingdom’s oversight of one of Islam’s key pillars and the safety of visitors in the face of a global pandemic. Continue reading