Saudi Arabia plans to send its first female astronaut into orbit on a SpaceX rocket after striking a deal with Axiom

The purchase is part of a plan to send two Saudi astronauts to the International Space Station. NASA Saudi Arabia plans to send its first female astronaut into space, Axiom confirmed to Insider. The country bought two seats on a SpaceX ship as part of a plan to send Saudi astronauts to the ISS. The […]

Hasan Minhaj Responds to Saudi Arabia Episode Ban in Patriot Act Premiere

Hasan Minhaj has broken his silence regarding Saudi Arabia’s “very own Muslim ban.” During Sunday’s “Volume 2” premiere, the Patriot Act host addressed Netflix’s decision to remove an episode from its service after the Saudi government claimed that Minhaj’s criticism of crown prince Mohammad Bin Salman violated its anti-cybercrime law. The Patriot segment in question, which made […]

Formula E starts season 5 in Saudi Arabia with a faster electric race car

Formula E Most of the motorsports world takes a well-deserved break in December. The long Formula 1 championship is done, as is the even longer NASCAR season. But this weekend, one series is about to get started: it’s time for Formula E, which holds its first race of the 2018/2019 championship on Saturday. This is […]

Dozens of prominent activists have been held for months in Saudi Arabia without charge — and the spotlight on the Kingdom’s human rights record is stronger than ever

Saudi Arabia’s human rights record has come under intense scrutiny in recent months.  Earlier this year, the country detained dozens of prominent women’s rights activists — most without access to communication and many who were never formally charged with a crime.  Award-winning campaigner Samar Badawi was arrested in August, which sparked a massive feud between […]

Trump calls Saudi Arabia a ‘spectacular ally,’ despite CIA report blaming the crown prince for Jamal Khashoggi’s death

Reuters/Yuri Gripas President Donald Trump said Saturday that a CIA assessment blaming Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi was “very premature.” Trump said he would receive the complete CIA report on Tuesday, and that it was “possible” Crown Prince Mohammed ordered the killing. Trump made the remarks […]

US senators seek to stop weapons sales to Saudi Arabia over Yemen war, Khashoggi murder

A newly proposed bill in the US Senate would suspend the sale of weapons to Saudi Arabia and block refueling of Saudi warplanes bombing Yemen, as punishment for the death of a Washington Post columnist. A group of senators on the Foreign Relations Committee, led by Bob Menendez (D-New Jersey) and Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) […]

Crude oil futures pop higher as Saudi Arabia vows to cut production

Ulet Ifansasti/Getty Crude oil futures have spiked in early trade on Monday, finding support on reports that Saudi Arabia will cut production levels in December. Both WTI and Brent futures are up 0.75%, having jumped more than 1% in initial trade. RBC Capital Markets says the likelihood of an official production cut at OPEC’s December […]

Archaeologists find 300,000-year-old stone tools in Saudi Arabia

Enlarge (credit: Roberts et al. 2018) Stone tools unearthed in Saudi Arabia’s inhospitable Nefud Desert indicate that members of our genus Homo had ventured beyond the familiar borders of Africa and the Levant sometime between 300,000 and 500,000 years ago. And according to climate data captured in the bones of animals found at the site, […]