Saudi King Abdullah on Apr 13 held wide range of talks with the visiting Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan at the royal resort at Rawdat Khuraim, a camping spot 100 km north east of Riyadh. The Turkish premier also met with Crown Prince Naif, deputy premier and minister of interior, at the Riyadh Air Base and they discussed regional, international and topics of mutual concern.

As with his talks with the King, security and stability of the region and the recent developments i...

An Egyptian court on Apr 10 halted a move to create a new constitutional assembly pending a ruling on its legality, challenging the legitimacy of a body spurned by liberal and Christian groups because of its domination by Islamists. The administrative court in Cairo said it was “suspending the constituent assembly” without explaining the reasons. The injunction slapped on the decision by Parliament could delay the introduction of a constitution needed urgently to ...

Organisers of a planned pro-Palestinian demonstration say they expect about 1,000 activists from Europe and North America to board flights for Israel this weekend, despite Israeli warnings to deport them. Israel says the activists are provocateurs bent on disturbing public order. Organiser Mazin Qumsiyeh on Apr 13 said the activists will come for a “week of peaceful activities” in solidarity with the Palestinians in the West Bank.

Israel has sent European ...

Yemeni Army officials say heavy clashes overnight between the military and Al-Qaeda-linked militants in the south have killed 63 people, bringing the two-day death toll in the fighting to 127. The officials say the fighting that broke out in the town of Lawder on Apr 10 spilled over into the next day, with the army shelling militant hideouts in an effort to prevent them from sending reinforcements. The officials say 56 militants, four soldiers and three tribal fighters were k...

Yemeni Army officials say heavy clashes overnight between the military and Al-Qaeda-linked militants in the south have killed 63 people, bringing the two-day death toll in the fighting to 127. The officials say the fighting that broke out in the town of Lawder on Apr 10 spilled over into the next day, with the army shelling militant hideouts in an effort to prevent them from sending reinforcements. The officials say 56 militants, four soldiers and three tribal fighters were k...

The onus is on Syria’s government to keep to its promise to observe a ceasefire that took effect on Apr 12, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said. He told a news conference in Geneva that the situation in Syria looked calmer and he was working with the UN Security Council to send a team of truce observers as quickly as possible, once there is a mandate from world powers. But he warned that the international community must remain unified to avoid Syria descending into chaos. “I rea...

Four Indonesian universities will participate in the international education conference to be held on Apr 17-20 at the Riyadh International Exhibition Centre under the auspices of the Saudi Ministry of Higher Education, according to an embassy spokesman. “We hope that the four Indonesian universities’ participation in the international education conference will further improve the bilateral ties binding Saudi Arabia and Indonesia. We also expect stepped-up collaboration in various...

While the International Criminal Court wants Libya to hand over Muammar Qaddafi’s son for trial, Tripoli remains unable to prize him out of the hands of the militia fighters who caught him last year. That’s an obstacle the government is trying to overcome as it works to show that the country can give Seif Al-Islam Qaddafi a trial that meets international standards, the man overseeing the case for the Libyan authorities said on Apr 11. Libya’s government want...

Makkah’s Umm Al-Qura University claims it has launched the first innovation incubator for geographical information systems with the objective of encouraging patents and technological innovations from both university students and teachers. University president BakriAssas opened the ambitious project at a ceremony held in the university campus. Several prominent figures, including NabeelKoshak, undersecretary for business & knowledge innovation at the university, Osam...