Archive: saudi arabia
11th June 2013
The Saudi authorities, inching their way towards the 20th century, have decided that foreign domestic workers – servants and drivers – should be given one day off at weekends.
The Labour Ministry has also decreed that their wages must be paid into bank accounts. This is meant to put an end to… Read more
2nd June 2013
At the beginning of April chaos and alarm swept through Saudi Arabia as inspectors raided businesses that were thought to be employing foreigners illegally. Thousands were deported, often ignominiously (see earlier blog posts here and here).
The campaign – driven mainly by the Labour Ministry –… Read more
22nd May 2013
Six men were executed in Saudi Arabia yesterday, bringing the total so far this year to at least 47. Of those, at least 19 were non-Saudis according to Amnesty International.
In the south-western province of Jizan, five Yemenis were executed after being convicted of murder and a series of… Read more
4th April 2013
Yemenis awaiting deportation in Saudi Arabia. Picture via Ameera Ahmed
Saudi Arabia has expelled more than three-quarters of a million "illegal" foreign workers during the last 15 months, according to a spokesman for the passports department in Riyadh. Last year, 575,000 were deported, followed by… Read more
3rd April 2013
Yemen's ousted president, Ali Abdullah Saleh, arrived in Saudi Arabia yesterday for what is officially described as medical treatment – raising hopes that this will restrict his continued meddling in Yemeni politics.
Saleh reluctantly stepped down from the presidency last year but, thanks to a… Read more
25th March 2013
The Saudi authorities are threatening to block popular communication services such as Skype, WhatsApp and Viber unless the operating companies agree to monitoring of messages and calls.
Al-Arabiya reports that the Saudi Communications and Information Technology Commission (CITC) has given… Read more
4th March 2013
I'm not sure what to make of the news that Saudi Arabia's first-ever "tweeters' forum" is taking place at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Riyadh today.
According to the Saudi Gazette, 500 of "the best young Saudi tweeters" will be gathering "to discuss the most pressing issues related to tweeting as well… Read more
14th February 2013
Ever since Valentine's Day became popular in Saudi Arabia, the authorities' attempts to suppress this harmless bit of romanticismhave been widely mocked both inside and outside the kingdom.
The strange effect of their annual crackdown (as I pointed out in 2010) was that bunches of roses, heart-… Read more
5th February 2013
The appointment of Prince Muqrin to what is described as the "key" post of Second Deputy Prime Minister in Saudi Arabia has caused a flurry of excitement among riyadologists.
Writing for Al-Monitor, Thomas Lippman notes that Prince Muqrin is "relatively youthful". In fact he's 67 but in Saudi… Read more
24th January 2013
What would happen if a Saudi newspaper published an article advocating democracy, freedom of speech, the rule of law and the resignation of incompetent officials? You might expect that the writer would be arrested, as has happened to several online activists in the kingdom recently. But not… Read more
ARAB ART ONLINE: Susan Hefuna: Al Sabr Gamil (Patience is Beautiful) 2007. Ink stained on wood 140 x 170 cm. More information | Click to enlarge
