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BUDAPEST, 20 February 2005 — Saudi Arabia has ordered its ambassador in Budapest back to Riyadh for consultations to protest an off the cuff remark in which Hungarian Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsany referred to Saudi footballers as “Arab terrorists.” Gyurcsany’s comment was made earlier this month when he hailed Hungary’s football team for having “fought with death-defying courage” against “Arab terrorists” in a friendly match against Saudi Arabia on Feb. 2. “We received official notice this week that the Saudi Arabian ambassador in Budapest was called back by his government for consultations,” Hungarian Foreign Ministry spokesman Viktor Polgar told AFP....

The Heritage Committee of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) announced on Sunday that one of the newest entries on the organization's list of global heritage sites is Tel a-Sultan in Jericho. The UNESCO member states decided that the tel will be considered a "Palestinian world heritage site." The decision was made in a vote that took place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The UN clarified that there are Jewish and Christian sites near the site that are not included in the list - but there is a value to protect them. Tel a-Sultan, also known as Tel Jericho,...

A Saudi businessman signed a 120 million riyal ($32 million) deal in Riyadh to purchase 12 camels, marking one of the biggest camels' purchase deals in the Gulf. The event coincided with Cristiano Ronaldo joining of Saudi Al-Nassr team. The deal was signed in Dahana Desert, which is hosting the King Abdulaziz Camel Festival. The businessman, Abdullah Al-Nahdi, who is an investor in the pharmacies sector, purchased 12 camels that came first in the festival from their owner, businessman Mohammed bin Jakhdab Al-Qahtani. Organized by the Camel Club, King Abdulaziz Camel Festival kicked off in December and concludes in mid-January....

President Joe Biden has defended an upcoming meeting with Saudi Arabia’s Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) after coming under attack by the left for not sticking to his campaign promise to turn Riyadh into a “pariah” state, saying he would only be seeing MBS during a broader “international meeting.” As part of his campaign, Biden promised to make “human rights the center of U.S. foreign policy” and as part of that, Saudi Arabia was condemned as a “pariah” for its role in the murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The U.S. has removed its most advanced missile defense system and Patriot batteries from Saudi Arabia in recent weeks, even as the kingdom faced continued air attacks from Yemen’s Houthi rebels, satellite photos analyzed by The Associated Press show. The redeployment of the defenses from Prince Sultan Air Base outside of Riyadh came as America’s Gulf Arab allies nervously watched the chaotic withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan, including their last-minute evacuations from Kabul’s besieged international airport.... ...Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby acknowledged “the redeployment of certain air defense assets” after receiving questions from the...

The mysterious flight between the two nations had many asking "Whodunnit?" A privately owned, unidentified Challenger 604 jet departed from Ben-Gurion International Airport, landing first in the Jordanian capital of Amman and then in the Saudi Arabian capital of Riyadh on Tuesday evening, causing many to question which Israeli decided to pay the Saudis a visit. The plane in question departed from Israel and flew to an airport in Amman, where it remained on the ground for about two minutes before taking off again and landing in the Saudi capital. After a little less than an hour, the plane, privately...

ANALYSIS/OPINION: A seemingly unrelated criminal case in Washington has reopened a popular Trump-Russia guessing game: Who is Joseph Mifsud? The FBI says the vanishing professor is a Russian spy. Trump backers, citing Mr. Mifsud’s extensive Western intelligence contacts, suspect he’s an FBI, CIA or MI6 plant. The Washington Times examined Mr. Mifsud’s extensive resume and frequent travels, revealing a skilled networker far more wedded to the West than the East. In May 2017, 10 months into the FBI Russia conspiracy probe, Mr. Mifsud spoke in Riyadh at a high-powered terrorism conference. On his panel was counterterrorism expert Michael Hurley, who...

White House senior adviser Jared Kushner will lead a US delegation to Israel at the end of the month to meet Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Blue and White chairman Benny Gantz, a senior administration official said on Thursday. Kushner has been leading President Donald Trump's effort to develop a peace plan for Israelis and Palestinians. After proposing a $60 billion aid package for the region last summer, he has yet to unveil a proposed political plan that gets at the thorniest issues in the decades-old conflict, with Netanyahu struggling to form a governing coalition. The official, speaking on condition...

Gunfire and explosions are reportedly heard outside the palace of the Saudi king in Riyadh. King Salman has been reportedly evacuated from the compound to a bunker at a military base in the capital. The number of assailants, their identity or affiliations is still unknown. But some sources say the attack is part of a coup led by princes who are opposed to the Saudi king.

Wildly conflicting social media reports tonight claim bullets were either fired as part of an attempted coup - or to shoot down a toy drone. A police spokesman said forces at a checkpoint in the Khozama district, where the palace is based, identified the drone and "dealt with it according to their orders", local media said. The explanation came after wildly conflicting reports on social media speculating on the cause of the shooting. Senior Saudi officials said King Salman was not in the palace at the time despite repeated Twitter reports he was moved to a military bunker in the...

Yemen’s rebel Houthi movement launched earlier on Wednesday drone strikes on a Saudi Aramco facility and on an airport in Saudi Arabia, Houthi-owned Al-Masirah TV channel reported on Wednesday. Aramco says that its plants are operating normally and safely, Reuters reports. The Iran-aligned Yemeni rebels, who have been fighting a Saudi-led Arab coalition in Yemen since 2015, said that they targeted on Wednesday morning local time the Abha airport in Asir and Aramco in Jazan, according to the Houthis’ Al-Masirah outlet. Saudi Aramco has a 400,000-bpd refinery in Jazan in the country’s southwest. The refinery is part of a project...

Concerns about Iran’s nuclear weapons program are heard these days more in Arabic than any other language, including Hebrew. In recent weeks, it seems that temperatures on both sides of the Persian Gulf have come to a boil. Temperatures in the Gulf, although usually high during the summer, reached a peak not due to global warming but because of increasing fear of Iran among Arab Gulf states. Indeed, concerns about Iran’s nuclear weapons program and negative involvement in the region are heard these days more in Arabic than any other language, including Hebrew. The current peak is associated with a...

Saudi Arabia, concerned over Iran's nuclear weapons program, could turn to Pakistan for the kingdom's own nuclear project, a report said. The Institute of National Security Studies said Riyad has been working to prepare a nuclear infrastructure meant to deter neighboring Iran. In a report by researcher Yoel Guzansky, the institute cited Pakistan as the most likely developer of a Saudi nuclear option. "Therefore, should Saudi Arabia find itself in a sensitive security situation, it may well be that it would seek to capitalize on its investment in the Pakistani program," the report, titled "The Saudi Nuclear Option, said. The...

Saudi Arabia's War in Yemen Has Been a Disaster This month marks three years since the start of the Saudi-led campaign in Yemen, but that is unlikely to be an occasion for celebration in Riyadh. The war is estimated to have cost the Saudis upwards of $100 billion, eroded the international image of the kingdom and failed to achieve its objectives of “eliminating Iranian influence” from Yemen. At the same time, the people of Yemen have suffered immensely from the U.S.-backed Saudi campaign, which killed thousands of Yemeni civilians, destroyed the country’s infrastructure, and has led to widespread disease and...

VIDEO: Footage of a Saudi Patriot missile interceptor veering off-course and crashing tonight in #Riyadh follow reports of a Houthi ballistic missile attack Hope you can see this video. Kind of dramatic.

Saudi Arabia's capital just came under ballistic missile attack, during which Patriot missile interceptors were launched to intercept. Although it looks like at least one Patriot hit one missile, a missile fragment, or even another missile itself, came careened into the ground, resulting in this amazing video: The trajectory of the projectile as it approaches the ground is a bit puzzling, it almost looks like it is turning while under control, but it could just be the result of the intercept. Then there is this amazing video of the Patriot missile launches, and it looks like one missile either intercepted...

Saudi Arabia's Google talks prove Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman is the most powerful leader in the Middle East Google and Amazon are reportedly in advanced talks with Saudi Arabia to build a tech hub in that country. This is the result of seven months of swift reforms in Saudi Arabia that began under Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman. It's not only proof that bin Salman's reforms have worked, but also that he is now the most powerful man in the entire Middle East. Jake Novak | @jakejakeny Published 4:09 PM ET Thu, 1 Feb 2018 Updated 5:14 PM ET...

Saudis Are Hoping Mohammed bin Salman Will Drain the Swamp A road trip among ordinary Saudis revealed high hopes, and hardly any worries, about the country's new political era. BY STEVEN A. COOK | NOVEMBER 21, 2017, 12:46 PM We must be doing 80 miles per hour on a rutted road outside the northwestern Saudi town of Ula. It is late and I am tired, but I’ve got one eye on the road and one eye on the dashboard indicator light signaling that the Chevy Tahoe in which I am traveling has low tire pressure. What would happen if this...

The Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia issued a ruling forbidding war against the Jews and proclaiming that Hamas is a terror group. The Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia, Abdulaziz Al Sheikh, issued a surprising religious ruling, saying that fighting against Israel was inappropriate and that Hamas is a “terror organization.” The Muslim cleric issued the ruling while answering a question on a television program regarding the Palestinian riots surrounding the Temple Mount in July, Turkey’s Anadolu news agency reported. Israel’s Communications Minister Ayoub Kara welcomed the unexpected decision and invited the Mufti to visit Israel.

No American or European on the face of this earth could force a Palestinian leader to sign a peace treaty with Israel that would be rejected by an overwhelming majority of his people. Trump's "ultimate solution" may result in some Arab countries signing peace treaties with Israel. These countries anyway have no real conflict with Israel. Why should there not be peace between Israel and Kuwait? Why should there not be peace between Israel and Oman? Do any of the Arab countries have a territorial dispute with Israel? The only "problem" the Arab countries have with Israel is the...