The latest in Jiddah

Detainees disappear into black hole of Saudi jails

2011-08-25T04:30:16Z

JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia (Reuters) - Outside a villa surrounded by palm trees on the outskirts of Saudi Arabia's second largest city Jeddah, police cars guard an exceptional criminal court where 16 men were put on trial this year after more than four years detention.

The men face char...

Living and Working in the Gulf States - Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, Saudi Arabia

2010-11-03T01:11:54Z

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Hajj winds up with last prayers, souvenir rush

2010-04-16T08:49:36Z

Stoning the devil and circling the Mecca Grand Mosque's kaaba shrine, two million pilgrims began the final rituals of the hajj on Saturday ahead of a massive exodus from Islam's holiest city.

Tens of thousands of the faithful circled the black cubic kaaba at the heart of the mosque in Mecca while many more continued the three-stage ritual of stoning the devil at the jamarat pillars in ...

Jeddah flood toll rises to 83: reports

2010-04-16T08:51:23Z

More bodies have been recovered in the western Saudi city of Jeddah, gateway for Muslim pilgrims headed to Mecca, pushing the death toll from Wednesday's flash flood to 83, reports said on Friday.

The Al-Watan and Okaz newspapers said the toll had risen to 83, nearly all of them in Jeddah, after the Red Sea port was hit by a torrential downpour that sp...

Muslims pilgrims get respite from rain at Arafat

2010-04-16T08:52:06Z

ARAFAT, Saudi Arabia (Reuters) - Bright weather greeted some two million Muslims who rallied around Mount Arafat, where Prophet Mohammad delivered his last sermon, to beg for God's forgiveness Thursday at the peak of the haj.

The death toll fro...

Heavens open as 2.5 million pilgrims begin hajj

2010-04-16T08:52:35Z

A day-long downpour fouled the start of the annual hajj on Wednesday, soaking thousands of people as they walked from Mecca to Mina, snarling traffic and stranding buses for hours.

Some of the 2.5 million Muslims on the world's largest annual pilgrimage said they would skip the traditional overnight stay in Mina valley because the rain had bottled up bus transport from Mecca.

Instead they planned to stay in the holy city and travel on...

Heavens open as 2.5 million pilgrims begin the hajj

2010-04-16T08:52:56Z

A day-long downpour fouled the start of the annual hajj on Wednesday, soaking thousands of people as they walked from Mecca to Mina, snarling traffic and stranding buses for hours.

Some of the 2.5 million Muslims on the world's largest annual pilgrimage said they would skip the traditional overnight stay in Mina valley because the rain had bottled up bus transport from Mecca.

Instead they planned to stay in the holy city and travel on...

Flooding kills 10 after Saudi downpour: report

2010-04-16T08:53:14Z

Ten people were killed by flooding in Saudi Arabia's Red Sea port city of Jeddah and more deaths were feared, a civil defence official said after a massive downpour on Wednesday.

"I confirm that it's ten bodies but I can't say anything more for now," the official said, requesting anonymity.

The storm struck the city in western Saudi...

At least 11 dead in Saudi flooding: civil defence

2010-04-16T08:53:06Z

Flooding killed at least 11 people in Saudi Arabia's Red Sea port city of Jeddah on Wednesday after a heavy downpour, with more deaths feared, a civil defence official said.

The 11 victims were believed to have drowned, the official said, requesting anonymity.

The storm struck the western Saudi city in the morning, flooding streets....

Swine flu kills 4 hajj pilgrims: Saudi

2010-04-16T08:58:18Z

Swine flu has killed four pilgrims in Saudi Arabia for the annual hajj pilgrimage, the health ministry said in a statement carried by the official SPA news agency on Saturday.

It was the first reported news of fatalities from the disease among pilgrims gathering in the kingdom for the pilgrimage which Muslims are obliged to undertake once in their lifetime if they have the means.

The ministry said a

Saudi arrested for sexual boasting on TV: reports

2010-04-16T11:03:07Z

A Saudi man has been arrested over charges linked to his televised boasts of sexual exploits, outraging religious conservatives in the Muslim state, newspapers reported on Saturday.

Police detained Mazen Abdul-Jawad at an apartment in the Red Sea port city of Jeddah early on Friday, fingerprinted and turned him over to criminal ...

Saudi swine flu prevention during hajj examined

2010-04-16T11:36:34Z

Experts from the United Nations and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Saturday toured entry points used by millions of Muslim pilgrims to assess how the kingdom plans to prevent the spread of swine flu.

The field trip is part of a four-day workshop in the western city of

Saudi Arabia: reality check

2010-11-02T16:50:32Z

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WikiLeaks Saudi Arabia Vice

2010-12-08T14:03:23Z

FILE - In this Tuesday, Dec. 26, 2007 picture, a veiled woman reads in a book store in Jiddah, Saudi Arabia. According to a U.S. diplomat, in Saudi Arabia, home of roving Islamic morality police enforcing the most austere codes in the Middle East, "the underground nightlife of Jiddah's e...

Saudi Womens Rights

2010-11-27T21:31:27Z

In this Nov. 11, 2010 photo, Saudi woman with cell phones smoke tobacco from a water pipe as they drink coffee in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

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Saudi Arabia US

2010-03-27T15:53:33Z

This photo released by Saudi Press Agency, shows Saudi Prince Khaled al-Faisal bin Abdul Aziz al-Saud, governor of Mecca, as he welcomes U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton in Jiddah, Saudi Arabia, Tuesday, Feb. 16, 2...

Mideast Saudi Hajj

2010-03-29T16:42:29Z

Cars are bumper to bumper in a flooded street after a rainstorm in Jiddah, Saudi Arabia, Wednesday, Nov. 25, 2009. The heaviest rainstorms to hit Islam's annual hajj in years soaked pilgrims and flooded the road into Mecca and Jiddah, snarling traffic as millions of Muslims headed for the holy sites and added an extra hazard on top of intense concerns ab...

Mideast Saudi Arabia Geithner

2010-04-06T03:06:22Z

U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner speaks to Saudi business leaders in the commercial hub of Jiddah, Saudi Arabia, Tuesday, July 14, 2009. Geithner said Tuesday as he kicked off his first official visit to the Middle East, that his country had a "special responsibility" to he...