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Saudi Arabia’s embarrassing bid to join the Francophonie family

For the past two years, Saudi Arabia has been trying to join the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie (OIF). But some member countries believe Riyadh's bid is at odds with the democratic ideals promoted by the grouping. The 2018 summit of the Organisation Internationale de la...

UN agency resumes cash aid to 9 million Yemenis

The U.N. children's agency says it has resumed emergency cash transfers to 9 million Yemenis after it was allowed to operate a call center to help monitor aid distribution. UNICEF spokeswoman Juliette Touma says the cash transfer program resumed Sunday, providing vital aid to some of...

Airstrike kills 4 civilians in Yemen's Hudaida

Yemeni security officials say an airstrike by the Arab coalition has killed four civilians working at a bee farm in the Red Sea city of Hodeida. They say the airstrike Monday was carried out as fighting raged on the ground between an array of militias backed by the United Arab Emirates...

Yemen rebels detain dozens of student protesters: activists

Yemeni rebels on Saturday detained dozens of students protesting in the capital Sanaa against poverty in the war-torn country, activists and witnesses said. Local activists, asking not to be named, told AFP that the Shiite Houthi movement detained at least 55 students, including 18...

Saudis insist missing Post contributor left Turkey consulate

Saudi Arabia's Consulate in Istanbul is insisting a missing Saudi contributor to The Washington Post left its building before disappearing, directly contradicting comments by Turkish officials who say they believe he is still there. The statement by the consulate released early Thursday...

Trump: Saudi Arabia would not last 2 weeks without US

U.S. President Donald Trump warned Saudi Arabia would be unlikely to last a fortnight without military assistance from Washington. "We protect Saudi Arabia. Would you say they're rich? And I love the king, King Salman. But I said, 'King, we're protecting you. You might not be there for...

Friends fear for safety of prominent Saudi writer Jamal Khashoggi

Friends and relatives of Jamal Khashoggi, a veteran journalist from Saudi Arabia who has recently become a vocal critic of the kingdom’s leadership, said they were worried about his safety on Tuesday after losing contact with him during his visit to the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul....

WHO launches second cholera vaccine drive in Yemen as cases surge

The World Health Organization said Tuesday it was helping Yemeni authorities with a second round of vaccination against cholera in three hard-hit districts, as cases surged across the war-ravaged country. More than 2,500 people have died of the waterborne infection since the worst...

Saudi Arabia embraces yoga in pivot towards 'moderation'

In a sparse, wood-floored studio, Saudi women squat, lunge and do headstands. Even a year ago, teaching these yoga postures could have rendered them outlaws in the conservative Islamic kingdom. Widely perceived as a Hindu spiritual practice, yoga was not officially permitted for decades...

Yemen doctors despair as babies starve in 'orphaned province'

At Nasr Hospital's emergency room in the Yemeni city of Daleh, a little boy struggles to breathe. He is too tired, or too hungry, to cry. Born with a degenerative neurological disease, his muscles have atrophied to nothing, his tiny joints visible through his pale skin, his stomach...

Saudi Arabia plans to build 'Riviera of the Middle East'

Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF) announced plans Wednesday for a luxury tourism destination on its northwestern coast, the latest in a series of mega projects as the oil-reliant kingdom seeks to diversify. The project called "Amaala" would be "a natural extension of the...

HRW accuses Yemen rebels of hostage-taking, torture

Human Rights Watch on Tuesday accused Yemen's Huthi rebels of hostage-taking, torture and other serious abuses against people in their custody. The New York-based watchdog said it had documented 16 cases of illegal imprisonment by the Iran-backed Shiite insurgents, "in large part to...

Yemen’s central bank raises interest rates to shore up riyal

The central bank of war-torn Yemen has raised interest rates on deposits to an all-time high of 27 percent in a bid to stabilize the plunging riyal that caused food prices to soar. The bank also raised interest rates on government bonds to 17 percent from 12 percent and banned taking out of...

Yemenis struggle with fuel shortages, skyrocketing prices

Taxi driver Fahed Othman has been waiting to fill up at a petrol station in the Yemeni capital for two days, but when his turn finally comes the fuel has run out. "I don't have any other choice but to wait," the 35-year-old told AFP wearily. Hundreds of Yemenis queue up at...

5.2 million children at famine risk in Yemen: charity

More than five million children are at risk of famine in Yemen as the ongoing war causes food and fuel prices to soar across the country, charity Save the Children warned Wednesday. Disruption to supplies coming through the embattled Red Sea port of Hodeida could "cause starvation on an...

Saudi Arabia reports cholera infection in southern province

Saudi Arabia confirmed one cholera case and said three others were suspected in an area bordering Yemen, where an epidemic has killed more than 2,000 people, Saudi state TV said, citing a health ministry official. The report late on Sunday said the patients, identified only as...

UN seeks to open air bridge to aid Yemeni cancer patients: WHO

The United Nations is working to open a humanitarian air bridge to take Yemeni cancer patients for treatment at qualified facilities, WHO country representative for Yemen Nevio Zagaria said Sunday. ?The aim is to help patients suffering from cancer, chronic diseases and congenital...

U.N.'s Yemen envoy in Sanaa, as 32 rebels killed

Fresh clashes and airstrikes have killed 32 rebels around Yemen's Red Sea city of Hudaida, hospital sources said Sunday, as the U.N. envoy kept up peace efforts in Sanaa. A military source told AFP the Arab coalition fighting alongside the Yemeni government against Houthi rebels carried...