Saudi Arabia - The African Mirror

Jun

05

2023

Saudi Arabia’s Al Ittihad to sign Benzema on two-year deal

SAUDI Arabia's Al Ittihad have reached an agreement with French striker Karim Benzema to sign him on a two-year deal, Saudi state-run Al Ekhbariya television station reported. Benzema is set to join Al Ittihad as a free agent after Real Madrid said earlier in the day that the 35-year-old would leave the LaLiga club after 14 trophy-laden years. Al Ekhbariya said Al Ittihad's chairman and vice chairman were in Madrid to hammer out a "record deal" with Benzema. Thomson Reuters Foundation

May

14

2023

By The African Mirror

Sudan peace talks to resume in Saudi Arabia

NEWS

KHARTOUM residents described fierce battles on Saturday with fighters roving the streets and little sign Sudan's warring sides were respecting an agreement to protect civilians ahead of ceasefire talks due to resume in Saudi Arabia on Sunday. Fighting has rocked Khartoum and adjoining areas as well as Geneina in the Darfur region since the warring army and Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary force agreed on a "declaration of principles" on Thursday. "It was much worse this morning compared to the past two days. You could clearly hear the tanks and the RSF were patrolling the streets more than usual," said Hani Ahmed,…

May

14

2023

By The African Mirror

Sudan talks to resume in Saudi Arabia amid heavy fighting

NEWS

KHARTOUM residents described fierce battles on Saturday with fighters roving the streets and little sign Sudan's warring sides were respecting an agreement to protect civilians ahead of ceasefire talks due to resume in Saudi Arabia on Sunday. Fighting has rocked Khartoum and adjoining areas as well as Geneina in the Darfur region since the warring army and Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary force agreed on a "declaration of principles" on Thursday. "It was much worse this morning compared to the past two days. You could clearly hear the tanks and the RSF were patrolling the streets more than usual," said Hani Ahmed,…

Apr

04

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

29

2023

By The African Mirror

The world’s first Islamic art biennale shines a light on African artists

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

THE inaugural Islamic Arts Biennale is underway in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. (Biennales are large and prestigious international art exhibitions held every two years.) This important new event for the Muslim world features numerous African artists. And the biennale’s artistic director is Sumayya Vally, a South African architecture professor and principal of Counterspace design studio. A rising star in the art and architecture worlds, Vally was intent on creating the biennale to connect with the diverse experiences of being Muslim through ritual, practices and philosophies. The Conversation Africa asked her five questions about the biennale. Author SUMAYYA VALLY, Honorary Professor of…

Mar

17

2023

By The African Mirror

Leclerc set for 10 place grid penalty in Saudi Arabia

SPORT

FERRARI'S Charles Leclerc is set for a 10-place grid penalty in Saudi Arabia this weekend for exceeding his allocation of power unit control electronics, team boss Fred Vasseur said. The Monegasque retired from the season-opening race in Bahrain on March 5 with a loss of power, a failure blamed on the control electronics that had already been replaced on Sunday morning. Drivers are allowed two control units to last the entire season. "Unfortunately, it was two times the control electronics box and it's something that we never experienced in the past," Vasseur told reporters ahead of Sunday's second race of…

Mar

05

2023

By The African Mirror

Bolsonaro denies ‘illegal acts’ over Saudi jewels; Lula government vows probe

WORLD

BRAZIL'S former President Jair Bolsonaro denied committing "illegal acts" after a report that jewellery allegedly gifted by Saudi Arabia to him and his wife was brought into the South American nation without being declared to authorities. The government of Bolsonaro's successor, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, pledged to investigate the matter. The Saudi embassy in Brazil did not immediately respond to a request for comment. "I'm being accused of a gift I neither asked for nor received," Bolsonaro was quoted as saying in an interview with CNN Brasil. "There is no illegality on my part. I never committed illegal acts."…

Jan

28

2023

By The African Mirror

Human Rights Watch urges Morocco not to extradite Saudi Shi’ite

NEWS

A human rights watchdog called on Morocco not to extradite a Shi'ite Muslim to his homeland of Saudi Arabia, citing fears he could face torture and an unfair trial there. Hassan Al Rabea, who has been in Morocco since last summer, has been held in a prison near Rabat after being arrested at Marrakech airport on Jan. 14, Human Rights Watch said in a statement. Saudi prosecutors accuse Rabea of leaving the kingdom illegally with the help of terrorists, the campaign group added. Saudi Arabia did not immediately respond to a request for comment. It has denied previous accusations that…

Dec

16

2022

By The African Mirror

Ex-Twitter worker gets 3-1/2-year U.S. prison term for spying for Saudi Arabia

WORLD

PARESH DAVE A former Twitter Inc manager convicted of spying for Saudi Arabia by sharing user data several years ago and potentially exposing users to persecution was sentenced to 3-1/2 years in prison, U.S. prosecutors said. Ahmad Abouammo had been found guilty by a jury in August following a trial in a federal court in San Francisco. Prosecutors had sought a prison term of just over seven years, saying they wanted a "sentence strong enough to deter others in the technology and social media industry from selling out the data of vulnerable users." Abouammo faced a maximum penalty of decades in prison.…

Dec

06

2022

By The African Mirror

Half a million Ethiopian migrants have been deported from Saudi Arabia in 5 years – what they go through

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS

TENS of thousands of migrant Ethiopian workers have been forcibly repatriated from Saudi Arabia each year since the early 2010s. Although this is carried out as part of a crackdown on illegal migrant workers, legally documented workers have frequently been caught in the dragnet. Another 102,000 Ethiopian citizens will soon be repatriated in another round that began in April 2022. Girmachew Adugna, who has researched Ethiopian migration for years, explains the background to the deportations along with concerns about human rights violations and the challenges that returnees face. Author GIRMACHEW ADUGNA, Advisory Board Member, Research Center for Forced Displacement and…