organization:saudi press agency

Saudi-led coalition reportedly shoots down its own drone
▻https://defence-blog.com/news/saudi-led-coalition-reportedly-shoots-down-its-own-drone.html

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The Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen said that coalition air defense forces shot down a drone over Seiyun city.

Colonel Turki al-Maliki, Arab Coalition spokesman, said that at 10:50 p.m. local time on Sunday, the Saudi Royal Air Defense System spotted the drone moving in the direction of a populated area in the Asir region.

The drone was shot down before reaching its target and so far nobody had been reported injured by falling debris from the unmanned aerial vehicle, he said.

According to a news report of the Saudi Press Agency, an Arab coalition air defense forces intercepted a Houthi drone aimed toward Saudi Arabia’s southern region of Asir.

Some source reported that drone was shot down from the Patriot air defense system, that Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates were deployed in the controlled territories in Yemen as early as 2015.

However, when was released the first images from the crash site, it turned out that the coalition air defense shot down one of the Saudi Arabian CH-4B armed reconnaissance medium-altitude long-endurance unmanned aerial vehicle.

Saudi Arabia Crucifies Myanmar Man for Theft and Murder - Bloomberg
▻https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-08-08/saudi-arabia-carries-out-rare-crucifixion-for-murder-theft

Saudi Arabia executed and crucified a Myanmar man in the holy city of Mecca on Wednesday in a rare form of punishment reserved for the most egregious crimes.

Elias Abulkalaam Jamaleddeen was accused of breaking into the home of a woman from Myanmar, firing a weapon in it then repeatedly stabbing her, which led to her death, the official Saudi Press Agency reported, citing an Interior Ministry statement. He was also accused of stealing weapons and trying to kill another man whose home he broke into, as well as attempting to rape a woman.

The ruling was supported by the country’s supreme court and endorsed by the king.

#arabie_saoudite #barbarie de nos amis

Saudi Media: Muslim Leaders Invited to Summit with Trump — Naharnet

▻http://www.naharnet.com/stories/en/229820

King Abdullah II of Jordan, Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika and Niger’s Mahamadou Issoufou are among leaders invited by Saudi King Salman for a summit with U.S. President Donald Trump.

The Arab-Islamic-American Summit will be among a series of talks expected to be held in Riyadh on May 20-21, Saudi officials said.

Trump has frequently been accused of fueling Islamophobia but aides described his decision to visit Saudi Arabia as an effort to reset relations with the Muslim world.

There will also be a separate meeting between monarchs of the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council and Trump, as well as bilateral talks between the Saudi and U.S. leaders, Riyadh’s Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir has said.

In addition to heads of state from Jordan, Algeria and Niger, the official Saudi Press Agency reported that Salman asked Yemeni President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi and Morocco’s King Mohammed VI to attend.

The leaders of Turkey, Pakistan, Iraq and Tunisia have also received invitations, the Arab News daily reported on Wednesday.

Is Saudi Arabia really willing to normalize ties with Iraq?
▻http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2017/04/better-saudi-iraqi-ties-faced-by-growing-iranian-influence.html

On March 23, Iraq’s Foreign Ministry had leaked that Riyadh had promised to resume direct flights between the two countries and cancel the debt Iraq had incurred in waging the Iraq-Iran War. A week later, however, on March 30, the Saudi Press Agency tweeted a quote from the Saudi Foreign Ministry denying that the government intended to cancel Iraq’s $30 billion deb

Satire is dead when France honors the theocratic Saudi monarchy for “countering extremism and fighting terrorism” - Ben Norton
▻http://www.salon.com/2016/03/08/satire_is_dead_when_france_honors_the_theocratic_saudi_monarchy_for_counterin

Prince Mohammed bin Nayef received France’s Legion of Honor “for his great efforts in the region and the world in countering extremism and fighting terrorism,” the Saudi Press Agency revealed on March 6, two days after he and Hollande met at Élysée Palace.

This is fascinating, considering the E.U. has quietly admitted that Saudi Arabia is one of the world’s leading sponsors of Islamic extremism.

“Saudi Arabia has been a major source of financing to rebel and terrorist organisations since the 1970s,” writes the European Parliament in a 2013 report, adding, “countries like Saudi Arabia, Qatar, United Arab Emirates and Kuwait do too little to stop rich and conservative donors from financing terrorist organisations through charitable and religious institutions.”

“The United States is well aware about the financing network starting from Arab countries and reaching terrorists organisations through charitable institutions,” the European Parliament report points out, drawing attention to similar statements made in secret by the U.S. government.

Why is Indonesia not in the Saudi-led Sunni coalition against terror? | Voices | The Independent
▻http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/why-is-indonesia-not-in-the-saudi-led-sunni-coalition-against-terror-

Tout le monde n’aime pas Robert Fisk, mais qu’est-ce qu’il écrit bien !

❝The Saudis love coalitions. The Sunni monarchy had the Americans, the British, the French and sundry other oil importers on their side to drive Saddam’s legions out of Kuwait in 1991. Earlier this year, the Saudi military – for which read the youngest defence minister in the world and the ambitious Deputy Prime Minister, Mohamed bin Salman al-Saud – struck at the Kingdom’s Shia Houthi enemies in Yemen in yet another coalition. This included not only Saudi fighter-bombers but jets from Qatar, the Emirates, Kuwait, Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Morocco and Sudan.

But now – with all the drama of a new Hollywood franchise – the Saudis have announced their new multinational military epic against the “disease” of Islamic “terror”, starring more Muslim and would-be Muslim states than ever before assembled since the time of the Prophet. Once more, as in the Yemen adventure (already plagued by humanitarian catastrophe and credible accounts of the slaughter of civilians under Saudi air attacks), Prince Mohamed, aged 31, is leading his country.

In all seriousness, he announced that the battle of this latest “coalition” – which includes countries as mythical as “Palestine”, as corrupt as Afghanistan and as powerless as Lebanon, with bankrupt Chad and the Islamic Republic of the Comoros thrown in for good measure – would require “a very strong effort to fight”. Few spotted, however, the curious absence from the 34-strong “coalition” of Indonesia, which has the world’s largest Muslim population.

This is very strange, since the 2002 Bali bombings, which killed 202 mostly foreign civilians, brought al-Qaeda into Indonesia’s own “war against terror”. Surely Indonesia, with a Sunni population of more than 200 million, would have an interest in joining their fellow Sunni Muslims in this unprecedented “coalition”? Or could it be that with more than 30 Indonesian maids on Saudi Arabia’s death row after grotesquely unfair trials, the country wants an end to this injustice before committing its army to the Kingdom?

Le reste est à l’avenant.

#Saudi_Arabia Beheads Murderer, Marking 39th Execution of 2015
▻http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/saudi-arabia-beheads-murderer-marking-39th-execution-2015

Saudi Arabia beheaded one of its citizens for murder Thursday, adding to what #Amnesty_International has called an unprecedented pace of executions in the kingdom. Manie bin Ali bin Muhsin al-Gahtani was convicted of allegedly gunning down another man, the Interior Ministry said in a statement reported by the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA). Authorities carried out the sentence in the southwestern city of Abha. read more

#beheading

#Saudi_Arabia Beheads Rapist, Murderer, Marking 38th #execution of 2015
▻http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/saudi-arabia-beheads-rapist-murderer-37th-execution-2015

Updated at 3:03 pm (GMT+ 2): Saudi Arabia beheaded a convicted rapist and a murderer on Tuesday, bringing to 38 the number of death sentences carried out in the kingdom this year. Mohammed bin Ali bin Mohammed al-Bishi, a Saudi national, raped his victim at gunpoint, the interior ministry said in a statement carried by the official Saudi Press Agency. read more

#Amnesty_International #beheading #death_sentence #HRW #Human_Rights_Abuse #Human_Rights_Watch #Specialized_Criminal_Court

#Saudi_Arabia Beheads Drug Smuggler in 29th Execution of 2015
▻http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/saudi-arabia-beheads-drug-smuggler-29th-execution-2015

Saudi Arabia on Thursday beheaded a convicted Pakistani drug smuggler, bringing to 29 the number of executions in the first six weeks of the year. Babir Hussein Mohammed Ishaq was found guilty of transporting heroin which he had ingested, the interior ministry said in a statement carried by the official Saudi Press Agency. His case brings to 29 the number of Saudis and foreigners executed in the kingdom this year, according to an AFP tally. It also marks the third execution in as many days. read more

#beheadings

#Saudi_Arabia Carries out Seventh #beheading in 2015
▻http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/saudi-arabia-carries-out-seventh-beheading-2015

Saudi Arabia beheaded on Monday a Myanmar female child-killer, bringing to seven the number of death sentences carried out this year in the conservative Muslim kingdom. After a trial, Layla bint Abdul Mutaleb Bassim was executed for killing her husband’s daughter Kalthoum bint Abdul Rahman bin Ghulam Gadir, aged six, the interior ministry said, quoted by the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA). read more

#executions #human_right

Kuwait emir in Saudi Arabia amid oil row | GulfNews.com
▻http://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/saudi-arabia/kuwait-emir-in-saudi-arabia-amid-oil-row-1.1405394?localLinksEnabled=false

Riyadh: Kuwait’s emir, Shaikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Sabah, held talks in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday with King Abdullah during a visit overshadowed by a row between the two Gulf neighbours over a shared offshore oilfield.
“They discussed aspects of cooperation between the two brotherly countries,” along with regional and international affairs, the official Saudi Press Agency said. It gave no further details.
Kuwait’s state-run Kuna news agency said the emir headed an official delegation including the foreign minister in a “brotherly visit”, which was previously unannounced.
Kuwait on Monday played down the row with Riyadh over its decision to halt production at Khafji oilfield jointly operated by the two Arab countries.

Kuwait’s Oil Minister Ali Al Omair said he hoped the matter would be resolved through dialogue and contacts while foreign ministry undersecretary Khalid Al Jarallah said the stoppage at the 311,000 barrels-per-day facility was because of technical and political reasons.
Khafji is part of the neutral zone between Kuwait and Saudi Arabia that is jointly operated by the two nations and has produced about 700,000 bpd of shared crude.
The two governments signed the neutral zone agreement almost 50 years ago.

Salam and the Christians in government work to prevent presidential vacuum
▻http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/salam-and-christians-government-work-prevent-presidential-vacuum

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A picture provided by the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) shows Saudi Crown Prince Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud (R) meeting with Lebanese Prime Minister #Tammam_Salam in Jeddah during the latter’s visit to the kingdom on May 20, 2014. (Photo: AFP/HO/SPA) A picture provided by the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) shows Saudi Crown Prince Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud (R) meeting with Lebanese Prime Minister Tammam Salam in Jeddah during the latter’s visit to the kingdom on May 20, 2014. (Photo: AFP/HO/SPA)

Since the presidential post will soon be vacant, the government of Prime Minister Tammam Salam will take center stage. Salam’s visit to #Saudi_Arabia will be the first step taken by the post-May-25-government. (...)

#Opinion #Articles #Beshara_al-Rai #Free_Patriotic_Movement #King_Abdullah_bin_Abdul_Aziz #Lebanese_presidential_elections #Lebanon #Maronite #Michel_Aoun #Michel_Suleiman

Saudis Start Production at World’s Biggest Desalination Plant - Businessweek
▻http://www.businessweek.com/news/2014-04-23/saudis-start-production-at-world-s-biggest-desalination-plant

Saudi Arabia, the Arab world’s biggest economy, has started producing purified water at the 27 billion-riyal ($7.2 billion) Ras al-Khair desalination plant on the Persian Gulf, the state-owned Saudi Press Agency said, citing Minister of Water and Electricity Abdullah Al-Hussayen.

The complex northwest of Jubail will be the world’s biggest seawater desalination facility with a production capacity of 1.025 million cubic meters (264 million gallons) of drinking water a day and 2,600 megawatts of electricity when fully built out after this first phase.

The Saudi government has allocated 16.6 billion riyals this year alone for desalination projects. The kingdom is expanding water works to supply the energy industry and a population that has quadrupled in 40 years to 30 million people. The desert country is the largest producer of desalinated water, attracting foreign investors including Veolia Environnement SA (VIE) and Suez Environnement Co.

Last year, the Saline Water Conversion Corp. said it planned to build a major desalination plant in Rabigh on Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea coast that will have the capacity to make 600,000 cubic meters of potable water a day. That project is expected to be completed in four years.

Saudi Arabia records 11 cases of #MERS virus in Jeddah | Latest News & Updates at Daily News & Analysis
▻http://www.dnaindia.com/world/report-saudi-arabia-records-11-cases-of-mers-virus-in-jeddah-1976643

Saudi Arabia said on Wednesday [April 9th, 2014] it had recorded 11 cases infected with the potentially deadly Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) virus in Jeddah, including hospital staff.

Two of the patients died, six have recovered, while three are undergoing treatment, the official Saudi Press Agency reported quoting the Jeddah health authority.

The emergency department of King Fahd hospital in Jeddah was closed for disinfection after one health worker there tested positive for the virus and subsequent tests on other staff members showed further infections.

#NCov

Saudi King Tells Suleiman Army Must Fight Hezbollah
►http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/saudi-king-tells-suleiman-army-must-fight-hezbollah

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A handout picture released by the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) shows Saudi’s King Abdullah (R) meeting with Lebanese President Michel Sleiman during an official visit on November 11, 2013 in Riyadh, #Saudi_Arabia. (Photo: AFP - SPA) A handout picture released by the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) shows Saudi’s King Abdullah (R) meeting with Lebanese President Michel Sleiman during an official visit on November 11, 2013 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. (Photo: AFP - SPA)

Lebanese President #Michel_Suleiman’s trip to Saudi Arabia in mid-November did not go so well on many levels – the worst moment being when the Saudi king told him that the army must stop Hezbollah from fighting in Syria. read (...)

#Lebanon #Articles #Saad_Hariri

Mis à part le fait que ce sont des pactes de défense ’clé’ on n’en saura pas plus.

Saudi Arabia and Turkey announce defense cooperation - Alarabiya.net English | Front Page
▻http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2013/05/22/Saudi-Arabia-and-Turkey-announce-defense-cooperation.html

Saudi Arabia and Turkey signed key defense pacts on Tuesday following a visit to Ankara by the Saudi Crown Prince Salman, deputy premier and minister of defense, the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported.

Prince Salman was met with Turkish defense minister Ismet Yilmaz.

Both officials “reviewed military cooperation relations between the two countries and ways of enhancing them and discussed the latest developments at the regional and international arenas,” the agency reported.