Mohammed bin Salman - The African Mirror

Jan

2024

Exclusive: Saudi Arabia prepares to open first alcohol store for diplomats

SAUDI Arabia is preparing to open its first alcohol store in the capital Riyadh which will serve exclusively non-Muslim diplomats, according to a source familiar with the plans and a document. Customers will have to register via a mobile app, get a clearance code from the foreign ministry, and respect monthly quotas with their purchases, said the document, which was seen by Reuters. The move is a milestone in the kingdom's efforts, led by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, to open the ultra-conservative Muslim country for tourism and business as drinking alcohol is forbidden in Islam. It is also…

Apr

2023

By The African Mirror

Egypt’s Sisi visits Saudi Arabia amid financial pressure, regional realignment

WORLD

EGYPTIAN President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi visited Saudi Arabia on Sunday, Saudi state news agency SPA said, as Cairo seeks financial inflows to ease pressure on its currency and bolster a faltering economy. Oil-rich Saudi Arabia has long provided financial support to Egypt but recently signalled it would no longer provide such backing without conditions attached, which observers think may have sparked a rare media clash between the two countries. The trip also comes amid a major diplomatic realignment in the region, with moves by Saudi Arabia and Egypt to ease tensions with Syria, Iran and Turkey. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the kingdom's de facto ruler, met…

Mar

2021

By The African Mirror

Khashoggi’s fiancée says Saudi crown prince should be punished “without delay”

WORLD

THE fiancée of slain Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi called yesterday for Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to be punished after a U.S. intelligence report found he had approved the killing. Khashoggi, a U.S. resident who wrote opinion columns for the Washington Post criticising Saudi policies, was killed and dismembered by a team linked to the crown prince in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. A U.S. intelligence report has found the prince had approved the killing, and Washington imposed sanctions on some of those involved - but not Prince Mohammed himself. The Saudi government, which has denied any involvement by the…

Mar

2021

By The African Mirror

U.S. seeks to put Saudi crown prince in his place – for now

WORLD

AZIZ El YAAKOUBI and MARW RASHAD SAUDI Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman may have been spared direct punishment after a U.S. intelligence report implicated him in the killing of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi, but he has not emerged unscathed. The declassified report, based on CIA intelligence, concludes that the prince approved an operation to "capture or kill" Khashoggi, who was murdered in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in 2018. President Joe Biden's decision to publish a report that his predecessor Donald Trump had set aside brings with it a broad refocusing of Washington's stance on dealing with the kingdom, on…

Feb

2021

By The African Mirror

QUOTES – World reacts to U.S. report on Khashoggi killing

WORLD

THE world has reacted to the release of a U.S. intelligence assessment that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman approved an operation to capture or kill dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi: OFFICE OF U.S. DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE REPORT: "We assess that Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman approved an operation in Istanbul, Turkey, to capture or kill Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi." "Since 2017, the Crown Prince has had absolute control of the Kingdom's security and intelligence organizations, making it highly unlikely that Saudi officials would have carried out an operation of this nature without the Crown Prince's authorization." SAUDI…

Sep

2020

By The African Mirror

Saudi Arabia jails eight over Khashoggi murder, fiancee decries trial

WORLD

MARWA RASHAD and RAYA JALABI A Saudi Arabian court has jailed eight people for between seven and 20 years for the 2018 murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, four months after his family forgave his killers and enabled death sentences to be set aside. The trial was criticised by a United Nations official and human rights campaigners who said the masterminds of the murder remained free. Khashoggi, a critic of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, was last seen at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on October 2, 2018, where he had gone to obtain documents for his impending wedding.…