Every time I talk to a group of Syrians, I learn another layer of the complex construct that weaves Syrian society together and complicates any analysis of the conflict.
The father of a 16-year-old on Saudi Arabia's Olympic team said his daughter has been called names by people in her home country for competing at the London Games.
Sarah Attar, the first Saudi woman to compete in an Olympic track and field event says she hopes to inspire others.
For the first time, Saudi Arabia sent two women to the Olympics -- Wojdan Shaherkani and Sarah Attar, who will compete in judo and track and field. But their participation is far from a groundbreaking step for Saudi women.
One of the two women on Saudi Arabia's Olympic team may be pulled from the competition because of the kingdom's insistence that she wear a headscarf in her judo matches.
It's an Olympic first as Saudi Arabia names two women to the London 2012 team. Max Foster has more.
A group of women basketball players in Saudi Arabia has been defying stereotypes as one of the few female sports teams in the kingdom.
Meet an all-female basketball team in Saudi Arabia, a country where women are not allowed to play sports in public.
CNN looks at a diplomatic spat between Egypt and Saudi Arabia.
Rima Maktabi discusses the symbolic move by Saudi Arabia to eventually send female athletes to the Olympics.
CNN's Richard Quest talks to Stephen King, Chief Economist at HSBC, about the future of the oil market and Greece.
Saudi Arabia is taking steps to cool the overheating global energy market, boosting its exports to the US and re-opening old oilfields to expand production, as the world's largest oil producer tries to prevent damage to the global economic recovery.
Clashes between protesters and police left a man dead in the eastern province of Qatif in Saudi Arabia, police said.
Saudi Arabia can make up for any loss of crude oil production if sanctions are placed on Iran, the country's oil minister told CNN in an exclusive interview.
Saudi Arabia's oil minister says his country can make up for Iranian crude oil production if Iran is sanctioned.
An Australian man sentenced to 500 lashes and a year in prison after his conviction on blasphemy charges in Saudi Arabia is headed home after his punishment was greatly reduced, officials said Thursday.
The family of a Melbourne man who was jailed and whipped for blasphemy in Saudi Arabia welcomed him home.
British Prime Minister David Cameron is visiting Saudi Arabia, an important British partner in the Middle East, for the first time since he took office, Downing Street said Friday.
A woman was beheaded in Saudi Arabia for practicing witchcraft and sorcery, the kingdom's Interior Ministry said, prompting Amnesty International to call for a halt in executions there.
A woman is executed in Saudi Arabia for sorcery. CNN's Mohammed Jamjoom reports.
An Australian man is sentenced to 500 lashes in Saudi Arabia for blasphemy. CNN's Mohammed Jamjoom reports.
The family of an Australian man, convicted of blasphemy by a Saudi Arabian court, wonders what it is he could have said that earned him a sentence of 500 lashes and a year in prison.
The United States may be known as the Saudi Arabia of coal thanks to its large deposits. But under an expected investment push, Saudi Arabia could soon become the Saudi Arabia of solar power.
Prince Salman bin Abdel Aziz has been tapped to be Saudi Arabia's defense minister, the royal court said Saturday.
Nayef bin Abdulaziz, Saudi Arabia's interior minister, has been named the new crown prince of the key oil-producing nation, ascending at a time of regional turmoil amid the populist Arab Spring movement and simmering international issues involving Iran and other neighbors.
Vice President Joe Biden led a U.S. delegation to Saudi Arabia Thursday to offer condolences for the death last week of Crown Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud.
Saudi Arabia, one of the world's largest oil producers, may soon cut oil production.
The heir to the Saudi throne, Crown Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud, died in a New York hospital early Saturday, officials said, raising succession questions in the key oil-producing country at a time of regional turmoil.
Calls by Vice President Joe Biden and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to "unite the world in the isolation of and dealing with the Iranians," in response to an alleged Iranian plot to kill Saudi Arabia's Ambassador in Washington, reflect a hubristic misapprehension of reality. The Obama Administration mistakenly believes it can exploit the accusations for strategic advantage. In fact, they are likely to play to Iran's advantage, not America's.
An adviser to Saudi Arabia's government denied Thursday there is any kidnapping threat for Westerners in Riyadh, adding that he has "no idea" what prompted U.S. officials to issue such a warning.
Amnesty International says a Saudi woman was sentenced to 10 lashes for driving a car. CNN's Fionnuala Sweeney reports.
Saudi King Abdullah announced greater political participation for women in the conservative kingdom this week, but Tuesday, a human rights group decried the promised reforms in light of a flogging sentence for a woman who dared to drive a car.
A day after Saudi King Abdullah announced greater political participation for women in the future, some Saudis questioned just how big a change may really be on the horizon.
The king of Saudi Arabia has opened the door to greater participation by women in future municipal elections.
Indonesia is outraged over Saudi Arabia beheading an Indonesian migrant worker. CNN's Colleen McEdwards reports.
Just three weeks ago, Darsem binti Dawud Tawar was facing execution by beheading in Saudi Arabia for murder, which she claims was an act of self-defense. Now, finally back home in Indonesia, she is a free woman -- after the Indonesian government paid more than $500,000 in "blood money."
U.S. National Security Adviser Tom Donilon talks with CNN's Fareed Zakaria about relations with Saudi Arabia.
Indonesian domestic helper Rosnani Matsuni holds traumatic memories from her years working abroad, claiming she was beaten, threatened with her life and "treated like an animal" by her employers.
Beginning Saturday, Saudi Arabia will suspend the issuance of visas to domestic workers from Indonesia, the latest move in what may be a tit-for-tat game of economics and human rights.
Many women in Saudi Arabia remain defiant after they put keys to ignitions Friday to drive home a point: challenging the conservative Islamic kingdom's prohibition of female drivers.
Protesters staged fresh demonstrations in Saudi Arabia on Friday, calling on the government to release Shiite prisoners and grant more rights, human rights activists said.
In recent weeks, the Western media provided a sensationalist run-up to the so-called "Day of Rage" in Saudi Arabia -- citing a Facebook campaign as evidence that the kingdom would be engulfed in the same turmoil that has swept the Arab world. As we now know, this uprising was a chimera of the press.
Security forces in Saudi Arabia arrested several people demonstrating at the Interior Ministry Sunday, putting them in police cars and buses to take them away, witnesses said.
Oil prices were lower in a volatile session Thursday, following reports that police in Saudi Arabia opened fire on protesters ahead of a planned demonstration.
Amnesty International is urging Saudi Arabia to stop the "outrageous restriction" of peaceful protests, a call that comes after a crackdown last week on protesters in the country's Shiite region.
Demonstrators protested in Saudi Arabia's Eastern Province on Friday to demand the release of Shiite prisoners they feel are being held unjustly.
Seeking to alleviate concern about rising oil prices, Saudi Arabia's oil minister said his country and other OPEC members have the capacity to produce surplus oil, Saudi Press Agency reported.
Ten percent unemployment that has persisted for years. Pervasive under-employment for the highly educated. Women largely excluded from the labor force. One out of seven adults who cannot read.
Citing a continued improvement in the security climate in Saudi Arabia, the United States has authorized the return of all family members to U.S. diplomatic outposts in the oil-rich monarchy.
A Saudi group advocating for democratic reform in Saudi Arabia has announced the cancellation of a planned public sit-in after having been denied a permit for the event by the kingdom's Ministry of Interior.
Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Education has launched an investigation into a potentially illegal girls-only sports competition that was held in the city of Jeddah in December, according to Saudi Arabian English-language daily newspaper Arab News.
"Terrorist funding emanating from Saudi Arabia remains a serious concern." So states a cable prepared for the visit of U.S. Special Envoy Richard Holbrooke to the kingdom earlier this year.
The government of Saudi Arabia expressed concerns about American security regulations that included Saudis in a list of nationalities that warranted additional screening at airports.
In a second report of ghastly treatment of domestic migrant workers that surfaced this week in Saudi Arabia, an Indonesian maid allegedly died after suffering abuse by her Saudi employer.
She arrived in Saudi Arabia from a small fishing village in Indonesia, a cheery 23-year-old eager to work as a maid to support her family back home. Four months later, Sumiati binti Mustapa Salan was recovering in a Medina hospital after being severely beaten by her employer, an Indonesian consulate official said.
CNN's Nima Elbagir reports from Saudi Arabia as millions of pilgrims prepare for the Hajj.
Sri Lanka's president on Tuesday appealed to Saudi Arabia's king to grant clemency to a housemaid convicted of killing her employer's baby.
The Obama administration has notified Congress of plans for a multiyear, multibillion-dollar weapons deal with Saudi Arabia, a State Department official said Wednesday.
Despite reports that a Saudi couple accused of torturing a Sri Lankan housemaid was arrested, Saudi authorities have not verified the action, a Sri Lankan official told CNN.
A Saudi employer and his wife, who are accused of torturing a Sri Lankan housemaid by hammering nails into her body, have been arrested in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, officials at the Sri Lankan External Affairs Ministry said Monday.
Amnesty International on Friday urged Saudi Arabian authorities not to paralyze a man as punishment for his having paralyzed someone else, allegedly during a fight.
U.S. embassy and consulate officials are warning Americans working and living in Saudi Arabia that they could become targets of an extremist attack, according to a message posted on the embassy website.
A "groundbreaking" new exhibition of rare artifacts from Saudi Arabia's ancient past -- some which have never been shown abroad -- has opened in the Louvre, Paris.
Nic Robertson reports that the Saudi arrest of alleged terrorists sheds light on how al Qaeda operates in the region.
More than 100 people accused of planning attacks against police and oil installations have been arrested in Saudi Arabia, an Interior Ministry spokesman told CNN on Wednesday.
A schoolgirl in Saudi Arabia was sentenced to 90 lashes and two months in prison for assaulting her headmistress after a confrontation over a cell phone, sparking an outcry from a government-sponsored rights group.
The path from the holy city of Mecca to the Mina desert turned a sea of white Wednesday as throngs of Muslims began the annual pilgrimage known as the Hajj.
A teenager and three elderly people in Saudi Arabia for the hajj pilgrimage have died of the H1N1 flu virus, the Saudi Health Ministry said.
CNN's Isha Sesay reports amidst the crowds in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, where pilgrims are awaiting the start of the Hajj.
Bob O'Dell, one of the principal designers of the new King Abdullah University for Science and Technology shows us around the campus.
Saudi Arabia's health minister was the first person in the country to receive the H1N1 vaccination Saturday in a televised event aimed at calming fears about the safety of the vaccine.
Saudi Arabia has launched an investigation into its first fatality from the H1N1 Virus as it tries to head off a swine flu epidemic before millions descend for the annual Hajj pilgrimage, health officials said.
Saudi Arabia has had its first death from swine flu, its Ministry of Health said Monday, bracing for more.
CNN's Nic Robertson reviews Amnesty Intl.'s claim Saudi Arabia is abusing human rights in the name of fighting terrorism.
Two pilgrims from Iran have contracted the H1N1 virus, according to reports from the country's official news agency.
More than 300 men convicted by Saudi Arabia for taking part in terror plots have been jailed following trials criticized by a rights group for their lack of transparency.
Saudi Arabian officials beheaded and then publicly displayed the body of a convicted killer in Riyadh on Friday, an act that prompted a stiff denunciation by a leading human rights monitor.
A Saudi judge is raising controversy over comments he made on domestic violence. CNN's Mohammed Jamjoom reports
A judge in Saudi Arabia has said husbands are allowed to slap their wives if they spend lavishly, a Saudi newspaper reported this past weekend. In one fell swoop, the judge debased Islam, vilified the kingdom and disregarded the ideals the Saudi monarch himself embraces.
A court in Saudi Arabia has granted an 8-year-old girl a divorce from her 47-year-old husband, after twice denying the divorce request previously, local media reported Thursday.
An appeals court in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, has rejected and refused to certify a court ruling allowing a 47-year-old man's marriage to an 8-year-old girl, said a relative of the girl with knowledge of the proceedings.
Almost 2,400 people worldwide were executed last year, but most countries moved a step closer toward abolishing the death penalty, Amnesty International said Tuesday.
The leaders of Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Syria will meet in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday for a mini-summit designed to improve relations between the countries, according to a Saudi government official who did not want to be identified.
Saudi Arabia's religious police detained two male novelists for questioning last week after they attempted to get the autograph of a female writer at a book fair in Riyadh, according to local media reports.
Police in the Saudi Arabian city of Mecca Wednesday arrested a woman for violating the country's ban on women driving, according to the Saudi English-language daily Arab News.
Saudi Arabia has asked Interpol for its help in apprehending dozens of wanted Saudis who are suspected of plotting attacks against Saudi Arabia from abroad.
The debate over the controversial practice of child marriage in Saudi Arabia was pushed back into the spotlight this week, with the kingdom's top cleric saying that it's OK for girls as young as 10 to wed.
8-year-old bride
updated: Fri Dec 26 2008 01:39:00
CNN's Isha Sesay speaks with Mohammed Jamjoom about the marriage of a girl to a 47-year-old man in Saudi Arabia.
A group fighting for women's rights in Saudi Arabia condemned a judge Wednesday for refusing to annul the marriage of an 8-year-old girl to a 47-year-old man.
Saudi Arabia's National Day -- traditionally a day for reflections on self, religion and faith -- was marked Tuesday by an unexplained change in the traditionally conservative Saudi kingdom.
Oil prices eased Wednesday - ending at a 5-month low - as heightened worries over slumping demand and a stronger dollar offset a weekly government report showing a bigger-than-expected decline in gasoline and crude inventories.
A new generation of fortune hunters is seeking riches under the sands of Saudi Arabia.
Saudi Arabia arrests suspected terrorists training to attack oil fields. CNN's Wilf Dinnick reports.
Oil settled higher on Monday after a day of volatile trading following a weekend meeting in Saudi Arabia that failed to yield concrete solutions to the world's energy problems.
Relief from high fuel prices could be on the way. CNN's Wilf Dinnick reports
Saudi Arabia is willing to produce more oil if customers need it, the kingdom's oil minister said Sunday
Saudi Arabia this weekend will convene a special summit on oil prices that could lead to cheaper crude on the world market.
The supply and demand of oil around the world is "normal," a key adviser to Saudi Arabia's oil minister said Friday, pointing to factors including speculators and currency fluctuations for rocketing oil prices.
Oil prices drifted lower Tuesday after retreating from an all-time high of nearly $140 a barrel a day earlier.
Oil prices briefly spiked more than $5 per barrel to a trading record Monday, but crude tumbled throughout the afternoon as traders took profits after prices couldn't get over the $140 a barrel hump.
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