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/ 6 February 2007

Palestinian leaders gather for crisis summit

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Hamas supremo Khaled Meshaal prepared on Tuesday for crisis talks in Saudi Arabia aimed at ending a power struggle that has cost scores of lives. Abbas was the first to arrive in the Red Sea city of Jeddah, followed by Meshaal and then by Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniya, head of the Hamas-led government.

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/ 14 February 2006

Cupid flutters over Saudi Arabia despite ban

Young Saudis defied on Tuesday the ultra-conservative kingdom’s ban on Valentine’s Day celebrations to exchange sweets, red teddy bears, greeting cards, roses and even kisses. On the night before Valentine’s young men and women strolled up and down the Tahliya shopping avenue in the western city of Jeddah, browsing at heart-shaped chocolate boxes and the red lingerie.

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/ 6 January 2006

Death toll rises in Mecca hotel tragedy

The death toll from the collapse of an ageing hostel in the holy city of Mecca rose to 53 on Friday, as Saudi rescue teams hunted through the rubble for survivors. The multistorey hotel collapsed on Thursday in the latest deadly tragedy to mark the hajj or annual pilgrimage to Mecca, the holiest place in Islam.

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/ 6 December 2004

Seven die in US consulate gun battle

Gunmen suspected of links to al-Qaeda stormed the United States consulate in the Saudi port of Jeddah on Monday, triggering a three-hour siege and a shootout that left three attackers and four guardsmen dead, police and officials said. The brazen attack was the first of its kind on a diplomatic mission in Saudi Arabia.

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/ 2 July 2004

Tracing Saudi fault lines

The mood among expatriates in Riyadh remains sombre. It is only a fortnight since the beheading of the American engineer Paul Johnson, and there is genuine fear of being shot at or kidnapped. The atmosphere is comparatively relaxed in Jeddah, on the Red Sea, where the government established its summer base two weeks ago for its four-month annual escape from the heat of the capital.