The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia says it will issue permits for some visits to Muslim holy sites during the upcoming month of Ramadan, but only if applicants comply with COVID pandemic restrictions. The Ministry of Hajj and Umrah announced earlier this week that only people who are fully vaccinated for…
The government of Kuwait confirmed on Monday that the regional standoff between Qatar, Saudi Arabia and other Gulf nations that began in June 2017 has been resolved between the two main players. Foreign Minister Ahmad Nasser Al Mohammad Al Sabah, who has represented Kuwait during mediation talks, delivered the news…
Global leaders offered their condolences to the Egyptian people on Tuesday following news that former president Hosni Mubarak had died in Cairo. Mubarak, 91, was a former military chief with a complicated legacy who was forced from office during the Egyptian uprising in 2011. He had been ill and required…
Tensions between Iran and the United States are edging toward what some analysts say could become a full-blown war to further destabilize the region. Libya, the focus of Sunday’s international efforts in Berlin, lies at the heart of a crisis that stretches across the Sahel and West Africa, as well…
Laureen is the editor of Africa Times
There’s excitement in the air in Saudi Arabia, where the press conference kicking off the Dakar Rally was held Friday. “You will already find sand, dunes, and all the ingredients of the Dakar, so get ready,” said race director David Castera. There are plenty of comparisons to the African continent,…
Saudi Arabian leaders reached out to the United States on Friday to express condolences after one of their citizens was identified as the shooter in an incident that left four people dead at Naval Air Station Pensacola, in the U.S. state of Florida. Others, including responding law enforcement officers, were…
Officials in Saudi Arabia say that Houthi rebels in Yemen are responsible for a piracy incident in the Red Sea on Sunday, one that affected governments are working to resolve through diplomatic channels but say calls attention to the security situation on a strategic global shipping route. A spokesman of…
Authorities in the United States filed charges on Wednesday against three men – two of them Twitter employees – who they say used internal access to user data to help Saudi Arabia track its dissidents, such as the late Jamal Khashoggi. The charges against the three, filed by the U.S….
President Uhuru Kenyatta, speaking at the Future Investment Initiative in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday, said it was time for Middle Eastern nations to renew the historic investment interest in African economies, one that dated back to the ancient days of maritime trade depending on dhows and monsoon winds. “Here we…
The heightened rhetoric following Saturday’s attack on Saudi Aramco oil infrastructure seemed more heat than light, as the United States accused Iran of being responsible – which Iran denies – and threatened retaliation in keeping with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s wishes. It’s still uncertain how much structural damage was…
While much attention is rightly focused on the perils of Mediterranean Sea crossings, the Human Rights Watch organization is calling attention to the conditions faced by Ethiopian migrants as they take other routes across the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. “A combination of factors, including unemployment and other economic…
Some 2 million people will experience this year’s hajj rites in Saudi Arabia, where roughly 10 percent of pilgrims in 2018 were from sub-Saharan Africa. Among this year’s pilgrims is Aisha Buhari, first lady of Nigeria. Buhari posted an Instagram photo Friday of herself, joined by the first ladies of…
Two years after Qatar was accused of sponsoring terrorism abroad – and isolated by many Gulf states and their African counterparts – comes the news that Qatar may well be coordinating attacks in Somalia. The New York Times reported Monday that it has possession of an audio recording made by…
Opposition leaders in Sudan, outraged by Monday’s attacks on protesters they say left more than 30 dead, have called for an “all-out political strike and civil disobedience” as they cut off negotiations with the country’s Transitional Military Council (TMC). The Forces of the Declaration of Freedom and Change issued a…
President Ali Bongo of Gabon greeted the new year with a video message for his nation, sent while he continues medical treatment in Morocco. Bongo touched on economic policies enacted in 2018 before acknowledging that there has been much speculation about his health, and assuring citizens in his West African…