Wajeha al-Huwaider picked up her passport, got in a taxi, and headed from her home in eastern Saudi Arabia to the nearby island kingdom of Bahrain -- a 45-minute drive that many Saudis take to get away for the weekend. Despite having a valid passport, Saudi authorities at the border sent al-Huwaider home. That's because in Saudi Arabia, a woman needs permission from her male guardian before she can leave the country. Al-Huwaider -- a vocal women's rights activist in ...

A judge in Saudi Arabia has said husbands are allowed to slap their wives if they spend lavishly, a Saudi newspaper reported this past weekend. In one fell swoop, the judge debased Islam, vilified the kingdom and disregarded the ideals the Saudi monarch himself embraces. NEW YORK (CNN) -- A judge in Saudi Arabia has said husbands are allowed to slap their wives if they spend lavishly, a Saudi newspaper reported this past weekend. In one fell swoop, the judge ...

The head of the U.N. Children's Fund has expressed concern over a Saudi judge's refusal for a second time to annul a marriage between an 8-year-old girl and a 47-year-old man. "Irrespective of circumstances or the legal framework, the marriage of a child is a violation of that child's rights," said Ann Veneman, executive director of UNICEF. "The right to free and full consent to marriage is recognized in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Consent cannot be free and ...

Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah on Friday appointed Prince Nayef bin Abdulaziz to be the nation's second deputy prime minister, making him second in line to the kingdom's throne, the state-run Saudi Press Agency said. The royal decree "was issued with immediate effect," SPA said. The appointment of Abdullah's powerful half-brother to the post means that Nayef is now the country's crown prince in waiting and second in succession to be king. Nayef, who currently serves as the interior minister, is ...

A Saudi Arabian court has sentenced a 75-year-old Syrian woman to 40 lashes, four months imprisonment and deportation from the kingdom for having two unrelated men in her house, according to local media reports.

Conjoined Egyptian twin boys Hassan and Mahmoud, who were successfully separated in Saudi Arabia Saturday, are recovering and are expected to lead normal lives, officials said. "The twins' vital signs are good; they're doing excellent," said Sami Al-Shalan, spokesman for the King Abdulaziz Medical City facility in Riyadh where the surgery took place. "The twins still have about 24 hours before a progress report can be issued. The anesthesia consultants are happy with the progress of the children." The boys ...

A team of medical experts successfully separated Egyptian twin boys Hassan and Mahmoud on Saturday -- the 21st procedure of this type to be performed in the kingdom, the nation's leading surgeon said. "The twins, almost an hour ago, have been separated for the first time in their lives," said Dr. Abdullah Al-Rabeeah, who also is the Saudi minister of health. The boys are less than a year old and were brought to the kingdom on February 10. While the ...