Topic: Riyadh

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10 voices for change in Saudi Arabia

From a conservative sheikh to a pioneering female pediatrician, these are just a few of Saudis who are vocally advocating for change in their country.
Six reasons to keep America as No. 1 superpower

Many around the world say American decline would preserve global stability through a better balance of power. They’re wrong, says Steve Yetiv, a political science professor at Old Dominion University. It’s not that other countries or international institutions can’t play vital roles. They do. But they can't yet do what Washington does around the world, Yetiv says. Here he gives six examples.
Five reasons to attack Iran

Sanctions against Iran are tightening, including Europe’s ban on oil imports. Tehran is highly unlikely to reach a negotiated agreement over its nuclear program, says Matthew Kroenig, a Stanton Nuclear Security fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations believes. In the choice between Iran having nuclear weapons and a US military strike to prevent that, a strike is the least bad option. Here Mr. Kroenig gives five reasons the US should attack Iran.
World's cheapest gas: Top 10 countries

A list of the world's cheapest gas locales, according to Staveley Head, a British insurance firm.
In Pictures: Ramadan: Muslim holy month

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Progress Watch
In Saudi Arabia, a quiet tide of reform

Declining the revolutionary model that Egypt established in overthrowing Mubarak, Saudi reformers are working for a shift in mind-sets as well as policies – and making headway.
Progress Watch
Saudi girls find freedom in cleats

A high-energy evening soccer game between two girls' teams is part of a growing female sports movement in conservative Saudi Arabia.
10 voices for change in Saudi Arabia

From a conservative sheikh to a pioneering female pediatrician, these are just a few of Saudis who are vocally advocating for change in their country.
After underwear plot, Saudi officials cite headway against AQAP

Saudi officials refused to discuss their involvement in disrupting the latest underwear bomb plot from Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), but say they are making gains against the group.
Focus
Bahrain F1 race: How a Sunni backlash kept an uprising at bay

The Formula One race in Bahrain today has put the spotlight back on an uprising here that has faltered due to sectarian distrust.
The danger that Saudi Arabia will turn Syria into an Islamist hotbed

A tentative UN-brokered ceasefire does not settle Western concerns over Saudi intervention in Syria. While the US and its allies are wary of seeing Syria become a sectarian battleground, the power brokers in Riyadh seem to have been hurtling toward it – with a form of state-sponsored jihad.
Is $3 a gallon a historical relic? What could bring gas prices back to earth.

A return to the $3-a-gallon gas prices of yore is possible, but it will require a number of factors. Among developments experts say could help: improved fuel-efficiency and a calmer Middle East.
Six reasons to keep America as No. 1 superpower

Many around the world say American decline would preserve global stability through a better balance of power. They’re wrong, says Steve Yetiv, a political science professor at Old Dominion University. It’s not that other countries or international institutions can’t play vital roles. They do. But they can't yet do what Washington does around the world, Yetiv says. Here he gives six examples.
Five reasons to attack Iran

Sanctions against Iran are tightening, including Europe’s ban on oil imports. Tehran is highly unlikely to reach a negotiated agreement over its nuclear program, says Matthew Kroenig, a Stanton Nuclear Security fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations believes. In the choice between Iran having nuclear weapons and a US military strike to prevent that, a strike is the least bad option. Here Mr. Kroenig gives five reasons the US should attack Iran.
'Monopoly': A YouTube sensation knocks Saudi royalty

'Monopoly,' one of several new critical videos, derides Saudi Arabia's lack of housing as a groom-to-be shows viewers the van where he envisions living with his new wife.
Yemen's President Saleh agrees to step down

The Saudi-backed agreement requires Saleh to step down within 30 days, potentially signaling an end to the antigovernment protests that have pushed Yemen to the brink of civil war.
Saudi crown prince dies, leaving succession uncertain

The younger brother of King Abdullah was in his 80s, and there is no formal method to name a replacement from the sprawling royal family.
Assassination plot? Why Iran and Saudi Arabia are such bitter rivals

US authorities linked Iran to a plot to kill the Saudi ambassador to the US. Few contests have defined the modern Middle East like that between Saudi Arabia and the Islamic Republic of Iran.
World's cheapest gas: Top 10 countries

A list of the world's cheapest gas locales, according to Staveley Head, a British insurance firm.
How Saudi Arabia can contain Iran – and other benefits from Syria's turmoil

Saudi Arabia is facing its biggest foreign policy obstacle (and opportunity) yet – one whose outcome matters deeply to the US. How the kingdom handles Syrian turmoil will determine its leadership standing in the region and its containment of Iran.
Why hasn't President Obama called for Syria's Assad to go?

As the death count rises in Syria, calls are mounting for President Obama to denounce Syria's President Bashar al-Assad. But Syria's pivotal role in the region and fragile ethnic and religious balance are complicating the situation.
In Pictures: Ramadan: Muslim holy month
Obama administration mulls India-style nuclear pact with Saudi Arabia

US officials are planning to hold talks with Saudi Arabia next week over a potential civilian nuclear pact. But Israeli concerns and Saudi Arabia's rivalry with Iran could complicate matters.
US interests in Iraq: Like a good neighbor, Turkey is there

Whether US troops stay in Iraq beyond the end of year or not, the US must foster the relationship between Iraq and Turkey. Ankara is the perfect counter to competing Saudi and Iranian influence.
Braving police, Saudi women drivers take to streets

Dozens of Saudi Arabian women defied the Kingdom's ban against women behind the wheel today. Have they struck a blow for equal rights?
Saudi ban on women driving is against Islam

Saudi women protesting the ban on driving can point to the very genesis of Islam to defend their right to get behind the wheel: The wives of prophet Muhammad rode camels and horses and moved about independently.
US should support Arab Spring, not Saudi Arabia's dangerous reaction

Saudi Arabia is peddling the message of sectarian division, but that’s a dangerously inaccurate misreading of the what the Arab Spring is really about. If the US wants stability in the Middle East, it shouldn’t bow to Saudi Arabia’s opposition to Shiite Iran.
Wounded Saleh vows to return to Yemen. Can Saudis stop him?

Yemen's President Saleh, recuperating in Saudi Arabia from an attack, insists he will return to his strife-torn country. The Saudis would rather he didn't, but what will they do to stop him?
Backchannels
Saudi woman drives, goes to jail

Remember Obama's speech stressing women's rights in the Middle East last week? That's all right. Saudi Arabia doesn't remember either.
Female Saudi doctor appeals to top court for right to choose a husband

Samia fled to a women's shelter rather than be forced by her male relatives to marry a less educated cousin. Her case illustrates women's growing fight against Saudi Arabia's guardianship system.