Obama antagonising Muslims, says Bin Laden

President Barack Obama launched a landmark Middle East trip on Wednesday, but earned a swift rebuke from Osama bin Laden in a stinging new audiotape.

Be my Valentine -- but shh, Saudi cops are watching

It is the battle between Saudi romantics and the police, who each year try to convince the public that Valentine's Day is a heathen holiday.

Saudi girl, eight, married to 58-year-old is denied divorce

An eight-year old Saudi girl who was married off by her father to a 58-year-old man has been told she cannot divorce him until she reaches puberty.

Saudi king pardons rape victim

Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah has pardoned the victim of a gang-rape, whose sentencing to 200 lashes caused an international outcry, a Saudi newspaper said on Monday. The Justice Minister Abdullah bin Mohammad al-Sheikh said the king had the right to issue pardons if it was in the "public interest".

Saudi Arabia receives 1,2-million pilgrims for hajj

Over one million Muslims have arrived in Saudi Arabia for the annual haj pilgrimage amid tight security in the kingdom, which is battling Islamic militants. The official Saudi Press Agency said this week that 1,2-million people had arrived so far for the five-day rites which are expected to begin on December 18.

Saudi Arabia holds 200 militants over foiled attacks

Saudi Arabia said on Wednesday it had arrested 208 people for involvement in several cells that planned an "imminent attack" on an oil installation, and attacks on clerics and security forces. State television said one of the cells was planning to smuggle in missiles.

Oil leaders' private debate televised by mistake

"Kill the cable, kill the cable," shouted the security guard as he burst through the double doors into the media room at the Intercontinental Hotel in Riyadh, followed by Saudi police. It was too late. A private meeting of Opec leaders, gathered this weekend in Riyadh for the cartel's third meeting in its 47-year history, had just been broadcast to the world's media.

Somali leaders want Arab, African peacekeepers

Somali leaders meeting in Saudi Arabia said they wanted to replace foreign forces backing the interim government against rebels with Arab and African troops under the aegis of the United Nations. The pact came days after a rival meeting in Eritrea by an opposition alliance that included leaders of the Islamic courts movement.

New trousers promise hajj chafing relief

Help is being offered to Muslims afflicted by chafed thighs during the hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia, the Saudi Gazette reported on Saturday. Worshippers at the annual event are to be offered "seamless trousers" for the first time to guard against chafing, the English-language daily said.

Saudi Arabia execution toll tops 100

Saudi Arabia on Wednesday said it beheaded three men convicted of various crimes, bringing the total number of executions announced by the ultra-conservative kingdom so far this year to 101. The Interior Ministry announced in a statement that it had executed two Indian nationals for murder and one Saudi national for rape.

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