Ici Beyrouth - Saudi Arabia

US Envoy Briefs Netanyahu on Potential Saudi Normalization Deal

par This Is Beirut, 20/05 10:41 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Benjamin Netanyahu Israel-Hamas war Jake Sullivan Saudi Arabia Saudi-Israeli Normalization

US President Joe Biden's national security advisor briefed Benjamin Netanyahu on the "potential" of a normalization deal between Israel and Saudi Arabia after holding talks in the region, the White House said Sunday. Jake Sullivan also called on the Israeli prime minister to link the military operation against Hamas in Gaza with a "political ...

Saudi Prince MBS ‘Reassures’ Cabinet on King’s Health

par This Is Beirut, 21/05 18:29 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Gulf countries King Salman Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia's de facto ruler offered reassuring words on Tuesday about the health of the Gulf kingdom's aging monarch, who has a lung infection, state media said. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, first in line to the throne, "reassures everyone about the health of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques," the official Saudi Press Agency said on ...

Palestinian State Recognition Sparks Praise, Evasion and Fury

par This Is Beirut, 22/05 14:33 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

France Ireland Israel-Hamas war Norway Palestinian Recognition palestinian statehood Saudi Arabia Spain

The decision by Ireland, Norway and Spain, announced on Wednesday, to recognize the State of Palestine has sparked a mixture of praise, evasion and fury internationally. The Palestine Liberation Organization and Islamist group Hamas welcomed the decision to recognize a Palestinian state as a boost for their cause. "We consider this an important ...

Saudi Arabia Appoints First Ambassador to Syria in Over Decade

par This Is Beirut, 26/05 17:18 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Ambassador Damascus diplomacy Saudi Arabia Syria

Saudi Arabia named a new ambassador to Damascus Sunday, state media said, more than a year after the two Arab nations resumed ties following a prolonged rift over Syria's war. The official Saudi Press Agency said the government had appointed Faisal bin Saud Al-Mejfel as its ambassador to Syria. The newly appointed envoy, according to the report, ...

A Hotter Hajj as Climate Change May Outpace Mitigation Efforts

par This Is Beirut, 13/06 19:01 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Climate Change hajj Heat Deaths Mecca Saudi Arabia

From misting systems to heat-reflective road coverings, Saudi officials are trying to aid hajj pilgrims in coping with heat, but scientists caution that climate change may outpace these efforts. The annual pilgrimage, one of the world's largest religious gatherings, coincides again this year with the hot Saudi summer, with officials predicting ...

Million-Plus Begin Hajj Pilgrimage Under Shadow of Gaza War

par This Is Beirut, 14/06 10:34 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

hajj Mecca Million Pilgrimage Saudi Arabia

More than a million Muslim pilgrims were in Mecca Friday for the start of a hajj pilgrimage held against the grim backdrop of the Gaza war and in exhausting summer heat. Crowds of robed worshipers will circle the Kaaba, the black cubic structure at Mecca's Grand Mosque, with many expressing sadness eight months into the Israel-Hamas war. "Our ...

Muslim Pilgrims Pray on Mount Arafat in Hajj Climax

par This Is Beirut, 15/06 10:34 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

hajj ISLAM Mecca Mount Arafat Saudi Arabia

More than 1.5 million Muslims will pray on Mount Arafat in soaring temperatures on Saturday, in the high-point and most gruelling day of the annual hajj pilgrimage. Worshippers from all over the world will climb the rocky, 70-metre (230-feet) hill, about 20 kilometres (12 miles) from Mecca, where the Prophet Mohammed is believed to have given his ...

Last Major Hajj Ritual, on First Eid Day

par This Is Beirut, 16/06 17:55 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Eid al-Adha hajj ISLAM Mecca Saudi Arabia

Pilgrims on Sunday performed the last major ritual of the hajj, the "stoning of the devil", in western Saudi Arabia, as Muslims the world over celebrated the Eid al-Adha holiday. Beginning at dawn, the 1.8 million Muslims undertaking the pilgrimage this year threw seven stones at each of the three concrete walls symbolising the devil in the Mina ...

Diplomats Say at Least 600 Pilgrims Died During Hajj

par This Is Beirut, 19/06 10:10 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Climate Change hajj Heat Deaths Mecca Saudi Arabia

An Arab diplomat told AFP on Wednesday that at least 600 Egyptians died during the hajj pilgrimage, citing searing heat that reached 51.8 degrees Celsius (125 degrees Fahrenheit) on Monday. “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, ...

Iran and Bahrain Agree to Start Talks on Resuming Ties

par This Is Beirut, 24/06 13:14 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Bahrain Gulf Iran Saudi Arabia

Iran and Bahrain have agreed to launch negotiations on how to restore diplomatic relations that have been severed for nearly eight years, the Iranian Foreign Ministry said on Monday. Tiny Gulf monarchy Bahrain cut ties with Iran in 2016, following in the footsteps of regional powerhouse Saudi Arabia after Riyadh's diplomatic missions in Iran were ...

Lilium Secures 100 Air Cabs for Pilgrim Transport to Mecca

par This Is Beirut, 18/07 16:32 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

air cab lilium Mecca Saudi Arabia

German electric air cab developer Lilium announced, on Thursday, a landmark order for up to 100 “Lilium Jets” from Saudi state-owned airline Saudia. Contracts for 50 firm orders and an option for a further 50 machines were signed at a ceremony at Lilium's headquarters in Gauting, near Munich. The Saudia Group intends to use these air cabs to ...

Saudi Arabia to Host First Esports Olympics in 2025

par This Is Beirut, 23/07 22:34 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Olympics 2025 Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia will host the inaugural Esports Olympics in 2025, the International Olympic Committee said on Friday. "The International Olympic Committee (IOC) today announced that it has partnered with the National Olympic Committee (NOC) of Saudi Arabia to host the inaugural Olympic Esports Games 2025 in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia," the body ...

Saudi Arabia