Saudis Take a Small Dose of Democracy
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For the first time in 41 years, Saudi Arabia is allowing local elections. The ruling family's goal, political analysts and diplomats say, is to determine whether a more open government might help defuse a rising armed threat by Muslim  militants in the kingdom.
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Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah accuses Britain of doing too little to fight international terrorism.
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RIYADH, Saudi Arabia - Women may neither vote nor run in Saudi Arabia's first nationwide elections, the government announced Monday, dashing hopes of progressive Saudis and easing fears among conservatives that the kingdom is moving too fast on reforms.    Some women considered the move yet another indignity in a country where they need their husbands' permission to study, travel or work...
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Despite a campaign urging residents to register before Thursday's deadline, Saudi men &#151; women are barred from voting &#151; have shown little enthusiasm for the first nationwide elections in a kingdom long regarded as autocratic, secretive and resistant to reform.
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The Bush administration has welcomed the quick action of Saudi security forces to regain control of the US consulate in Jeddah in Saudi Arabia after it was stormed by militants last night.
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RIYADH, Saudi Arabia -- When university professor Khalid al-Dakhil was growing up, clergymen had a say in everything.
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The mixture of alarm, condemnation and muted admiration with which Saudis have reacted to Monday&#39;s raid on the US consulate in Jeddah reveals the variety of opinion in a country
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- When the Saudi government announced last month the particulars of municipal elections to be held here for the first time in 40 years, Nadia Bakhurji was thrilled that her country was taking a baby step toward democracy.
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CAIRO -- Saudi Arabia's royal family and government leaders are deeply divided over how to handle the growing crisis in Iraq and other looming Mideast problems like Iran, with some favoring strong aid to fellow Sunnis and others more cautious.
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Saudi Arabia launches a national awareness campaign to mobilise people against Islamic militants.
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Saudi Arabia's warm official welcome for President Bush, the scion of a family with close ties to the kingdom's ruling family, masks his deep unpopularity among ordinary Saudis.
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The Arab world's slow lurch toward democracy will take another step forward this weekend when the wealthy United Arab Emirates holds the first election in its 35-year history.
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Riyadh kicks off Saudi Arabia's first nationwide municipal elections, but women are banned.
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A top Saudi diplomat and member of the royal family predicted that women will be allowed to vote in future elections, giving women in the strictly segregated Islamic nation a political voice for the first time.
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RIYADH, Saudi Arabia -- Saudi Arabia's first open trial for democratic advocates was abruptly closed by the judge yesterday, a decision seen by progressive Saudis as a setback to reform efforts in the kingdom.
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Many are hoping a trip by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to Saudi Arabia will help calm sectarian tensions threatening the Middle East, notably those in Iraq and Lebanon.
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A Friday vote was seen as a regional test for political Islam in the Arab world.