Princess: Stepping Out of the Shadows, стр. 76
27 October
. Saudi police detain Tariq al-Mubarak, a columnist who supported ending Saudi Arabia’s ban on women driving.
3 November
. A Kuwaiti newspaper reports that a Kuwaiti woman has been arrested in Saudi Arabia for trying to drive her father to hospital.
12 December
. Saudi Arabia’s Grand Mufti, the highest religious authority in the birthplace of Islam, condemns suicide bombings as grave crimes, reiterating his stance in unusually strong language in the Saudi-owned
Al Hayat
newspaper.
20 December.
Saudi Arabia beheads a drug trafficker. So far in 2013, seventy-seven people have been executed, according to an AFP count.
22 December.
Saudi Arabia’s official news agency says King Abdullah has appointed his son, Prince Mishaal, as the new governor of Mecca.
2014
20 February
. Rights groups criticize an agreement between Indonesia and Saudi Arabia aimed at giving Indonesian maids more protection in the kingdom, with one saying ‘justice is still far away’.
A new anti-terrorism law is introduced which critics claim will further stifle peaceful dissent in the kingdom.
16 March
. The local
Okaz
daily reports that organizers at the Riyadh International Book Fair have confiscated ‘more than 10,000 copies of 420 books’ during the exhibition, which began on 4 March. Organizers had announced ahead of the event that any book deemed ‘against Islam’ or ‘undermining security’ in the kingdom would be confiscated.
The Saudi government designates Islamic groups as terror organizations. The government bans any support or funding for these groups, which are the Islamic State (ISIS), the Muslim Brotherhood and the al-Nusra Front.
8 April
. Saudi Arabia’s Shura Council recommends that a longstanding ban on sports in girls’ state schools, which was relaxed in private schools in 2013, be ended altogether.
September
. Saudi Arabia (along with other Arab states) joins with the United States in air strikes against the Islamic State’s sanctuaries in Syria.
2015
23 January
. King Abdullah bin al-Sa’ud dies. He was the sixth king to rule. King Salman ascends the throne as the seventh king of Saudi Arabia.
March
. Saudi Arabia attacks Houthi rebels in neighbouring Yemen. Other Arab states join them in air strikes.
April.
King Salman donates more than $30 billion to his people.
King Salman creates a potential crisis in the kingdom when he breaks with King Abdullah’s plan to move away from the Sudairi clan (King Abdullah had appointed a half-brother – and youngest son of the first king – as Crown Prince). King Salman quickly reverses these appointments, pushing out the Crown Prince and moving to the third generation (the grandsons of the first king), appointing Interior Minister Mohammed bin Naif as the new Crown Prince. The king then appoints his own son, Muhammad bin Salman, as Deputy Crown Prince. With this unexpected move, King Salman moves the crown closer to the next generation of al-Sa’ud and specifically to the Sudairis, as both his nephew and son are descendants of the Sudairi side of the family.
May.
Two suicide bomb attacks on Shi’ite mosques in the Eastern Province kill at least twenty-five people, claimed by the Saudi branch of Islamic Group, a Sunni extremist group.
Saudi Arabia’s King Salman announces that he will not attend the summit meeting called by President Obama. The deputy Crown Prince, Muhammad bin Salman, will represent Saudi Arabia instead. This decision signals a huge shift in the relationship between the United States and Saudi Arabia.
King Salman and other leaders in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries go public with their displeasure at President Obama’s Middle East policies.
The government of Saudi Arabia advertises job openings for executioners for beheadings and limb amputations in public squares in the country.
The coalition led by Saudi Arabia resumes air strikes against the Houthi rebels in Yemen shortly after the five-day ceasefire ends. This renewed bombing threatens the ongoing relief efforts in Yemen.
Eighty people in Yemen are killed in one day from air strikes by the Saudi-led coalition against Houthi rebels.
The World Health Organization reports that approximately 2,000 Yemenis have died in the conflict since March. Millions of civilians are in urgent need of medical care for war-related injuries or other medical issues.
June.
The Saudi royal family announces that it is building a theme park attraction in the old capital of Diriyah. The park will feature museums and restaurants.
The Saudi Arabian military coalition fighting against the Houthi rebels in Yemen kills more than fifty people. Reports claim that most of the dead are civilians.
The conflict with Yemen escalates. Houthi rebels fire a Scud missile into Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia shoots it down.
Despite the Saudi-led bombing campaign, Houthi rebels have taken the capital city of Yemen’s Jawf Province, further consolidating their control over the country.
Saudi Arabia’s Supreme Court upholds the verdict against Raif Badawi, who was previously found guilty of insulting Islam. Its Foreign Ministry rejects all criticism of the conviction and sentence of ten years and 1,000 lashes for the liberal blogger. Badawi is lauded worldwide for his bravery in the face of government harassment, arrest, imprisonment and torture by lashing.
July.
Prince Saud al-Faisal bin Faisal bin Abdul Aziz al-Sa’ud dies at age seventy-five. The prince served as Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister for four decades. He was a highly educated and sophisticated man who was respected worldwide.
Reports say that 3,000 Yemenis have died in the past three months of fighting.
Prince al-Waleed bin Talal of Saudi Arabia says he will donate his entire $32 billion fortune to help eradicate disease, empower women and for relief for disasters.
September
. Hundreds of pilgrims die in a stampede near Mecca during the annual hajj pilgrimage.
November
. Women run for office in municipal elections for the first time in Saudi Arabian history. Twenty women are elected to office.
2016
January
. Shia cleric Nimr al-Nimr is executed by the Saudi government. There are Shia