Tag: Saudi Arabia

  • Salman, Shah Rukh, Saif and Akshay hangout with Saudi Prince Badr at Mannat

    Salman, Shah Rukh, Saif and Akshay hangout with Saudi Prince Badr at Mannat

    Bollywood actors Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan, Akshay Kumar and Saif Ali Khan were all spotted spending with Prince Badr bin Abdullah bin Farhan Alsaud, Saudi Arabia’s minister of culture, and Chairman of the General Entertainment Authority, along with Mohammed Al Turki, Chairman of the Kingdom’s Red Sea International Film Festival.

    Taking to Instagram, Alsaud dropped a series of images from his meeting with the above-mentioned stars, with a post that read: “Delighted to have engaged in insightful conversations on the beautiful world of films, exploring cross-cultural collaborations with Bollywood superstars @iamsrk @beingsalmankhan @akshaykumar #SaifAliKhan.”

    Al Turki also posted a selfie with Shah Rukh with the location tag placing them at the Bollywood superstar’s seaside Mumbai home, Mannat.

    Why Salman, Saif and Akshay reached Shahrukh Khan's house together in  Mannat, know the reason - News Tinger | Latest News Updates

    With the Don 2 star wearing the same t-shirt that he had on in the pictures with Prince Badr could imply that the meeting took place at the actor’s home, with all the stars present.

    SRK, Salman Khan, Akshay Kumar meet Saudi Arabia's Culture minister Bader  bin Farhan Alsaud – ThePrint

    You can get exclusive details in our new show, Maslay Aur Masala:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-4LRd_bz9c&t=428s

    Saudi Arabia has been giving a big push to feature Bollywood entertainment, with Salman having performed in the country last December as part of the Riyadh Season, where his Da-bangg Reloaded tour also featured the likes of Shilpa Shetty Kundra, brother-in-law Aayush Sharma, Saiee Manjrekar, Maneish Paul and others perform live.

    In January 2022, Joy Awards in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia has awarded the “Personality Of The Year” award to Bollywood actor, Salman Khan.

    The Bajrangi Bhaijaan hero shared his achievement on Instagram with his fans on Sunday. He was awarded by the Saudi Royal Court Advisor and Chairman of the General Entertainment Authority, Turki Alal Shikh in the ceremony.

    Ek Tha Tiger star also met with Hollywood actor, John Travolta and introduced himself by saying, “I work in the Indian film industry, my name is Salman Khan” while shaking hands with the American actor.

    On December 10, 2021, Saudi Arabia opened the doors for Bollywood to perform at the big event titled, Da-Bangg tour in Riyadh along with other actors including Shilpa Shetty, Jacqueline Fernandez, Prabhu Deva, Aayush Sharma, and Saiee Manjrekar.

    Salman and his troupe’s power-packed performance saw a sea of fans attending the concert, making it a huge success.

    Salman Khan will be seen in the cinema soon with his upcoming film Tiger 3 with Katrina Kaif.

  • Son brutally kills mother for talking to men on mobile phone

    18-year-old Hassan Ali killed his mother by stabbing a knife in her stomach because she used to converse with men on her mobile phone. The murder took place on a Tuesday morning in the area of Batapur, Lahore. After committing murder, he sat near his mother’s dead body for eight hours, reports Samaa.

    According to the police, Ali ransacked his own house to disguise the scene as a burglary and portrayed the murder of his mother as resistance to robbery. During the investigation, the police arrested Hasaan Ali over contradictory statements.

    According to their neighbour, Ali came out in the streets and knocked on every house and said that someone had killed his mother.

    Later on, Ali confessed to murdering his mother.

    He said, “I stabbed her (mother) in the stomach. While trying to save herself, she lifted a knife due to which her throat slit. Then, again her stomach was stabbed during resistance. I fled from the house and disposed the murder weapon in a canal and then returned back home.”

    The deceased’s husband is living in Saudi Arabia for many years and Hassan Ali is the only son of the couple.

  • Man reportedly divorces wife after finding out she used to smoke before marriage

    Man reportedly divorces wife after finding out she used to smoke before marriage

    A man in Saudi Arabia has reportedly divorced his wife after learning that she was a smoker before they got married. According to media reports, the husband who is a Saudi national, told his lawyer last week that he wanted to divorce his wife because he was afraid she might resume smoking.

    He that since there was “no guarantee” that the woman would not start smoking again, her habit might “hurt his social status”.  The man’s lawyer stated that the wife admitted to her husband that she used to smoke before they married.

    The husband also elaborated that he dislikes smoking ladies. As a result, he filed for divorce. The court ruled in favour of the man and ordered the lady to repay the dowry she received from her husband at the time of the wedding.

  • ‘We don’t look at Israel as an enemy’: Saudi Crown prince reveals in rare interview

    ‘We don’t look at Israel as an enemy’: Saudi Crown prince reveals in rare interview

    Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman called Israel a “potential ally” of Riyadh, in an interview with a United States (US) monthly magazine, The Atlantic.

    “But we have to solve some issues before we get to that,” he added.

    “We don’t look at Israel as an enemy, we look to them as a potential ally, with many interests that we can pursue together,” the prince said. Talking about the Palestine-Israel issue, he said that Riyadh hopes that the conflict between them is solved.

    Interestingly, the prince also opened up about Iran, he said, “They are neighbours. Neighbours forever. We cannot get rid of them, and they can’t get rid of us.”

    “Hopefully, we can reach a position that’s good for both countries and is going to create a brighter future for them and Iran,” he added.

    About the assassination of Saudi journalist, Jamal Khashoggi, the prince said that he was unfairly blamed for it.

    “Why would I do it?” he asked, saying that accusations that he ordered the killing “hurt me a lot”. He claimed that he never read a Khashoggi article in his life.

    “In any case, if that’s the way we did things, Khashoggi would not even be among the top 1,000 people on the list,” added the prince.

    The Kingdom does not have diplomatic relations with Israel but the two countries are believed to have ties. In 2020, Israel’s then-prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s secret visit to Saudi Arabia raised speculations.

    Under Mohammed bin Salman, a series of progressive developments have been made in Saudi Arabia, women were allowed to drive for the first time in 2018 in the Kingdom.

    In 2020, two Gulf countries— Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates normalised ties with Israel.

  • Saudi Arabia announces new rules for pilgrims in Makkah, Madina

    Saudi Arabia announces new rules for pilgrims in Makkah, Madina

    Saudi Arabia has announced new rules for pilgrims. Whether they are coming from inside the Kingdom or from other countries, pilgrims have been seen using mobiles during the call of prayer (Azan). Saudi Arabia has warned the public against playing or turning up the volume of music inside residential areas during Azan and Iqamah (the first and second calls to prayer, respectively), saying it is punishable by law.

    “Anyone who is caught playing ‘music’ of any kind during the call of prayer from mosques will now be fined SAR 1000 (Rs46,730) for a first-time violation and if violation repeats SAR 2000 (Rs93,461) will be charged,” announced the Twitter account of Haramain Sharifain.

    The Saudi Arabian government has also introduced a new fine ranging from SAR 250 to SAR 500 for anyone wearing shorts inside mosques or government offices.

    However, the government has clarified that men wearing shorts in public won’t be considered a violation of public decorum, except in mosques.

    Earlier, Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Hajj and Umrah issued new guidelines for Umrah pilgrims. All pilgrims will have to get the status of their vaccination checked six hours before performing Umrah.

    It made negative PCR test reports compulsory for pilgrims. The test should be taken no more than 48 hours before arrival even if they are vaccinated.

    There were 19 violations on the list of public etiquette violations approved in 2019. With the new decision, the list of public etiquette violations now stands at 20.


  • Several people killed in Yemen capital by a Saudi Arabia led airstrike

    Several people killed in Yemen capital by a Saudi Arabia led airstrike

    Saudi Arabia launched an airstrike in the capital city of Yemen, Sanaa which killed about 14 people in a residential building in a response to an attack on Abu Dhabi on Monday.

    Saudi Arabia state media said that the coalition has begun airstrikes against strongholds and camps in the capital city belonging to the Houthi rebel group.

    The strike targeted the home of a former military official which killed him, his wife and son, other family members, and some unknown casualties.

    On the other side, the deputy minister for the Houthi administration tweeted that the coalition strikes killed a total of 20 people.

    According to the Houthi media channel, the airstrike attack damaged the building, killed at least a dozen people, and several people were wounded as well.

    The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is backing Saudi Arabia in a war with Yemen that has been going on for the last seven years.

    On Monday, three petrol tanks blew up near a storage facility of an oil giant company, Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) in Abu Dhabi. A fire also erupted in a construction area at the Abu Dhabi airport.

    These attacks have been claimed by the Iran-backed rebel group, Houthi in Yemen.

    Pakistan also condemned the attacks on the UAE by saying, “violate the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the UAE and pose a grave threat to the regional peace and security”.

    The statement issued on Monday by the Foreign Office called for an immediate end to these attacks. It also offered condolences to the families of the victims of the attack including one Pakistani.

  • One Pakistani dead among three casualties in Abu Dhabi attack

    One Pakistani dead among three casualties in Abu Dhabi attack

    Three people were killed in a suspected drone attack in Abu Dhabi, the capital city of the United Arab Emirates, which involved two Indians and one Pakistani national.

    The incident happened when three petrol tanks blew up near a storage facility of an oil giant company, Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC). A fire also erupted in a construction area at Abu Dhabi airport.

    The company released the official statement, “ADNOC is deeply saddened to confirm that three colleagues have died. A further six colleagues were injured and received immediate specialist medical care.”

    Police found small flying objects at both places and claimed that they have never witnessed such a huge attack in the peaceful country of the Middle East.

    The Foreign Ministry of UAE said, “The UAE condemns this terrorist attack by the Houthi militia on areas and civilian facilities on Emirati soil…(It) will not go unpunished.”

    It further added, “The UAE reserves the right to respond to these terrorist attacks and criminal escalation.”

    A small number of flights were briefly stopped by Etihad Airways at the airport but after a few hours, normal operations were resumed.

    Police said, “Preliminary investigations indicate the detection of small flying objects, possibly belonging to drones, that fell in the two areas and may have caused the explosion and fire.”

    These attacks have been claimed by the Iran-backed rebel group, Houthi in Yemen.

    The Deputy Minister of Information Nasraddin Amer in Houthi-controlled Sanaa, the capital of Yemen confirmed that the rebel forces had carried out an attack. This attack was launched in reaction to the “UAE’s escalation” in two contested provinces of Yemen, Shabwa and Marib.

    The visit of the South Korean President, Moon Jae In to the UAE was also called off due to the current situation. The summit was planned between the South Korean President and Abu Dhabi’s crown prince.

    UAE is backing Saudi Arabia in a war with Yemen that has been going on for the last seven years.

    Saudi Arabia and Bahrain also condemned the attack and dubbed it as a “cowardly, terrorist” attack.

  • Pakistan decides to make cryptocurrency illegal

    Pakistan decides to make cryptocurrency illegal

    The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) and the federal government have come together to make a decision to ban the usage of all types of cryptocurrencies.

    The 38-page report has been submitted by the SBP Deputy Governor Seema Kamil to the Sindh High Court to declare it illegal.

    On October 20, 2021, the provincial high court directed the government to form a committee presided by the federal secretary of finance to determine cryptocurrency’s legal status and submit a detailed report.

    The submitted report has stated that digital currency is based on virtual business that could be used for terrorism financing and money laundering.

    It also listed eleven countries that banned digital currency including Saudi Arabia and China and urged the court to impose high penalties over unauthorised usage as these countries have implemented.

    The court ordered that the report should be submitted to the finance and law ministries for a final decision on its legal status. They will decide if a ban would be within constitutional jurisdiction.

    The hearing was heard by the two-bench judge headed by Justice Karim Khan Agha. The next hearing will be held on April 12 this year.

    Meanwhile, a TV host and crypto entrepreneur, Waqar Zaka pleaded to make digital currency legal. In his view, it would benefit the economy of the country.

    It was reported previously that Pakistanis have lost almost 18 crores in a cryptocurrency-related scam. Almost 55,000 people have become victims of the scam. In total, 11 mobile applications have been identified as part of the fraud.

    As per FIA Cyber Crime Reporting Sindh chief Imran Riaz, the applications that are involved include, MCX, HFC, HTFOX, FXCOPY, OKIMINI, BB001, AVG86C, BX66, UG, TASKTOK, 91fp.

  • In Saudi Arabia, women riders debut in camel beauty contest

    In Saudi Arabia, women riders debut in camel beauty contest

    For the first time in the kingdom, Saudi women paraded camels in a beauty pageant for the “desert ship”.

    “I hope today to reach a certain social standing, InshaAllah (God willing),” said Lamia al-Rashidi, 27, who participated at the weekend contest in the Rumah desert northeast of the capital Riyadh.

    Part of the famous King Abdul Aziz Festival, this event was previously a men-only event.

    “I’ve been interested in camels ever since I was little,” said Rashidi, whose family owns 40 camels.

    “Once this event was opened to women, I decided to participate,” said the young woman, wearing a black face covering and with a colourful shawl over her shoulders.

    The top five in the field of about 40 participants in the women’s event returned home with a total prize pool of one million riyals (about $ 260,000).

    The beauty of a camel is judged by several criteria, but the shape and size of the lips, neck and hump are the main attributes.

    Since Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman came to power in 2017, Gulf countries have lifted some restrictions on women as the country is opened up with radical reforms.

    This shift allows women to grab the steering wheel and participate in a mixed gender environment.

    “Women have always been an integral part of Bedouin society. They owned and looked after camels,” said Mohammed al-Harbi, a manager of the festival.

    Women´s participation was in keeping with “the historical heritage” of Saudi Arabia, he told AFP.

    Munira al-Mishkhas, another participant, chimed in: “Camels have been a part of us for a long time, but staging a contest for us (women) is a big step forward.”

    At just seven years old, Maras Binto Enad was the youngest contestant and her animal finished third. Her proud father, a 35-year-old camel dealer who said he had more than 200 beasts, was very pleased with the admission of the female.

    “This will increase enthusiasm for the festival and increase the value of the camels,” said Enad bin Sultan, clad in traditional costume and red-and-white keffiyeh headdress.

    The 40-day festival, which kicked off last month, is an annual Bedouin event that lures breeders from across the Gulf with total prize money of up to $66 million.

  • Grammy nominated Pakistani Arooj Aftab in new Coke Studio season, people can’t wait

    Grammy nominated Pakistani Arooj Aftab in new Coke Studio season, people can’t wait

    Coke Studio has revealed the line-up of December 2021’s Coke Studio season 14 in which the first Pakistani woman Grammy-nominated musician, Arooj Aftab is taking part. Netizens are expressing their excitement after the singer uploaded her coke studio poster on her social media accounts.

    Netizens expressed their excitement on her social media accounts

    https://twitter.com/sshireenqasim/status/1479379167896653827

    https://twitter.com/parlegstan/status/1479164715783704579

    While promoting the music show she wrote, “For folks who are phased by this – this is not an advertisement or endorsement. It’s a sponsored music show, the only major music platform in Pakistan. So this one is really for the culture! ❤️”

    Arooj Aftab was born in Saudi Arabia where she lived until she turned 11. She then moved to her hometown, Lahore with her family. She described her family as “fiendy music lovers” as they used to sit together and had deep conversations regarding music.

    She was raised listening to legendary musician and Qawwali singer, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and singer-songwriters like Jeff Buckley. She also covered the song, “Hallelujah” during her teenage time in the early 2000s which went viral in Pakistan through email and file-sharing sites like Napster and Limewire.

    Last year, The Grammies, the biggest music awards in the world, nominated her in the Best New Artist category and also for the Best Global Performance for her song, Mohabbat which also made it to the Summer playlist 2021 of Former United States (US) President, Barack Obama.

    Unfortunately, the Grammy Awards have been postponed indefinitely due to the rapid spread of the Omicron type of coronavirus, according to organisers. It was supposed to be held in a downtown Los Angeles arena on January 31 and broadcast live on the CBS network.