Fraudster jailed for 41 years over Pakistani nurse scam in Saudi
More than 90 women were sent to Saudi Arabia on fake documents in an elaborate fraud to provide workers for short-staffed Gulf hospitals Source link
All posts tagged: Saudi
Syria Rejects Desperate Saudi Plea To Deploy Militants To Yemen
Provocative rumors have been flying all week that Saudi Arabia has recruited Syrian militants to fight the Houthis in Yemen, at a moment the Iran-aligned rebel groups is said to be rapidly gobbling up more territory, especially along the Red Sea coast. The claim has been especially strong in Lebanese media, after prominent Al-Akhbar reported this week that hundreds of Syrian fighters were recently transferred to southern Saudi Arabia, including fighters who took part in the Jolani/HTS-led fight to topple Bashar al-Assad in December 2024. However, it’s unclear if the alleged fighters have Syrian state backing (whether on a covert level or not), or if they could be there on their own initiative as mercenaries. The Saudis had provided strong covert support, along with other Gulf states, to the over decade-long effort overthrow of Assad, and so Riyadh could now being calling in favors from Damascus. The phenomenon of Syrian mercenaries and foreign fighters transferred in large numbers to other broader conflict theatres is not without precedent, as many are still said to be in Libya. However, …
US approves sale of F-35 fighter jets to Saudi Arabia
The United States has approved a $24.3 billion sale of 48 F-35 stealth warplanes to Saudi Arabia, the State Department said Thursday, the kingdom’s latest major arms purchase since the start of the Iran war. Saudi Arabia has been repeatedly targeted with drone and missile strikes by Tehran’s forces since the United States and Israel launched their war against Iran in February, and has also been hit by Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels. Source link
Former Everton midfielder Gueye joins Saudi Diriyah
Aug 9 : Senegal midfielder Idrissa Gueye joined recently promoted Saudi Pro League side Diriyah as a free agent after leaving Everton, the Saudi club announced on Sunday. “Idrissa is one of ours. His experience is an asset,” Diriyah said on X, without providing more details. Local media said that he had signed a one-year contract with an optional second season. The 36-year-old left Everton in July after seven seasons across two spells, spending three years at Ligue 1 side Paris St Germain in between. The former Lille player has made more than 130 caps for Senegal, winning the Africa Cup of Nations in 2021. Gueye joins the Saudi club following the signings of Democratic Republic of Congo captain Chancel Mbemba and Bosnia & Herzegovina goalkeeper Nikola Vasilj. Source link
Saudi prince buys 5% stake in Lucid Motors
Prince Alwaleed bin Talal Al Saud, a member of the Saudi royal family, has purchased a 5% stake in Lucid Motors, increasing the Kingdom’s overall ownership of the electric vehicle company. A new filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission published Tuesday shows that the billionaire prince recently purchased a little more than 19 million shares. In a post on X, he wrote that his investment office made the purchase when Lucid’s market cap was below $2 billion. That happened on July 14, when an electric vehicle blog published a report claiming that Lucid was considering either filing for bankruptcy protection or being taken private by Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund. Lucid strenuously denied the reports, and the company’s stock price has since rebounded. “We don’t comment on individual investments, but we are aware and appreciate the independent vote of confidence,” Lucid Motors’ Chief Communications Officer Nick Twork said in a statement to TechCrunch. The share purchase comes in the middle of a major restructuring effort kicked off by Lucid’s newly-appointed CEO, Silvio Napoli, who …
Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis announce maritime blockade of Saudi Arabia
SANAA: Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis announced a maritime embargo of Saudi Arabia on Monday (Jul 20), stepping up the US-Iran war as the rebels threatened the top oil exporter’s ability to bypass the Strait of Hormuz. The Houthis did not say how they planned to impose the embargo, whose announcement came as Iran said it was back to a “full-scale war” with the United States, and as Washington and Tehran battled to control the strait. Saudi Arabia and the Houthis traded fire last week for the first time in years, threatening a 2022 truce that has held despite expiring. The exchange of fire was set off when an Iranian plane arriving from Tehran attempted to land in Sanaa, challenging Saudi Arabia’s hegemony over Yemeni skies. The Houthis’ naval blockade, if enforced, could further strain Saudi Arabia’s economy by cutting off access to its Red Sea ports, which have been vital for oil exports as renewed fighting limits passage through the Strait of Hormuz. The blockade is also expected to hurt global markets that rely on Saudi …
Nothing changes for Cape Verde in crunch clash with Saudi Arabia
HOUSTON, June 25 : Cape Verde will give Saudi Arabia the same respect they showed to Spain and Uruguay in their crunch World Cup Group H clash in Houston on Friday, but believe a place in the round of 32 is within their grasp, according to defender Pico Lopes. Victory will seal a place in the knockout stages on debut for the Cape Verdeans, who were surprise qualifiers for the finals but have earned excellent draws in their first two games. They have subsequently become a favourite with many fans around the world for their fighting spirit and no shortage of quality, and Lopes said there was a real hunger within the squad to not let their journey end in Houston. “The support has been amazing from all over the world,” Lopes told reporters on Thursday. “It has been really special. It is hard to believe we are even here, but you qualify for these tournaments on merit. “You need to work hard and the (Cape Verde) federation has certainly worked so hard to have the …
Muslim pilgrims converge on Mount Arafat in Saudi Arabia as the Hajj reaches its peak
ARAFAT, Saudi Arabia (AP) — Muslim pilgrims from around the world congregated on Mount Arafat in Saudi Arabia for intense prayers on Tuesday, the second official day and the climax of the annual Islamic pilgrimage. Despite the sweltering heat, the pilgrims gathered on the rocky hill and the surrounding plain for worship that often marks a spiritual peak for the faithful, fervently murmured prayers and poured their hearts out in supplication. Many raised their hands in worship. It is common for pilgrims on that day, some with tears streaming down their faces, to ask God for forgiveness, mercy, blessings and good health. The Hajj, one of the Five Pillars of Islam, is required once in a lifetime for every Muslim who can afford it and is physically able to perform it. For pilgrims, the Hajj, performed over several days, can be a deeply moving spiritual experience and a chance to seek God’s forgiveness and the erasure of past sins. As they brave the intense heat to perform religious rituals, many pilgrims have been using umbrellas …
Saudi Arabia Jacks Up Film Incentives to 60 Percent
Saudi Arabia has sharply increased the cash rebate offered to international film productions shooting in the Kingdom, raising the topline figure to as much as 60 percent of eligible local spending, the Saudi Film Commission announced Friday at the Cannes Film Festival. The new scheme makes Saudi Arabia’s incentives among the most generous in the world. The revised incentive program, unveiled by commission CEO Abdullah bin Nasser Al-Qahtani during the Marché du Film, also introduces faster disbursement processes and a new package of financing solutions developed in partnership with the Cultural Development Fund, the state-backed agency that channels capital into Saudi cultural projects. The commission framed the changes as part of an effort to streamline the operating environment for production companies and improve cash-flow predictability across the shooting cycle — moves that address early gripes some global producers had voiced about the Kingdom’s nascent film support programs. The renewed film push comes amid a difficult time for the Saudi tourism and hospitality sector. The 2026 war between the U.S./Israel and Iran, which broke out in …
As Saudi Arabia’s 100-Mile Skyscraper Crumbles, They’re Replacing It With the Most Desperate Thing Imaginable
No one is surprised that Neom — Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s $1.5 trillion-with-a-t plan to build a futuristic megacity smack dab in the middle of the desert — has turned out to be a disaster. Its centerpiece was supposed to be a towering skyscraper called The Line, over 100 miles in length, that could accommodate millions of people, something that the laws of reality always suggested would be impossible to pull off. But, according to new reporting from the Financial Times, the saga may yet have a twist in store for us. The Saudi government is now considering drastically downsizing the linear city-skyscraper so it can instead turn Neom into a hub for — we swear we are not kidding — data centers. It’s a proposal that reeks of a Saudi leadership desperate to find a way out of the multibillion dollar hole it’s dug for itself, as the dysfunctional monarchy rushes to follow what everyone else is doing and cash in on the AI race. But royal insiders briefed on the matter …