A former Bangladeshi beauty queen, Meghna Alam, has been detained for allegedly setting up a honey trap for a former Saudi ambassador in Dhaka, in an attempt to extort USD 5 million. Alam, who runs a charity, was initially detained without charge under the controversial Special Powers Act. Her arrest sparked a media outcry and concerns by rights watchdogs. Alam denies the allegations, claiming the diplomat wanted to marry her. The Saudi embassy has not commented, but media reports suggest the envoy left Bangladesh as the scandal unfolded.
Saudi Arabia has handed over nearly 15,000 passports of stranded Indian workers, surrendered by Saudi sponsors, to the Indian embassy in Riyadh, in a bid to resolve cases of immigration law violations. "Most passports, surrendered by sponsors to the Saudi authorities, belong to stranded Indian workers, including those languishing in jails on huroob (absconding) charges or on charges of violation of Saudi residency laws," said Sibi George, deputy chief at the Indian mission.
The Saudi embassy in New Delhi appears to have adopted an approach of stonewalling the government's efforts to get it to cooperate in the case involving one of its diplomats charged with the rape of two Nepalese women.
Saudi Ambassador Saud Mohammed Alsati was called in by the external affairs ministry and told that the Haryana police is seeking cooperation in the case, a day after the ministry received a report about the case from police.
The Saudi Arabian diplomat, who was charged with confinement and rape of two Nepalese women, on Wednesday night left the country.
The Bangladesh police have arrested four people in connection with the killing of a Saudi diplomat in Dhaka early this year in what has been described as a case of mugging.
The war of words began after Osama bin Laden's 18-year-old daughter Eman recently sought refuge in the Saudi embassy in Teheran.
The external affairs ministry has sought for a detailed report from the Gurgaon Police on the alleged sexual assault on Nepalese women at a Saudi diplomat's residence in the locality.
The visas will be granted by the Saudi embassies abroad and immigration authorities at the country's airports, without the applicant producing an invitation or recommendation letter from a Saudi company or the chamber of commerce and industry.
Nepal police have arrested two persons, including the daughter-in-law of one of the Nepalese maids rescued from a Saudi diplomat's residence in Gurgaon, who allegedly ran a trafficking racket which sold the women to Indian agents on the pretext of providing them jobs.
Saudi Arabia has severed diplomatic ties with Iran following attacks on the kingdom's embassy and consulate in the Islamic Republic over the execution of a Shiite cleric.
The CIA found that 15 Saudi agents flew on government planes to Istanbul and carried out the killing at the Saudi consulate, the report said, adding that it could complicate President Donald Trump's efforts to preserve US ties with one of the closest American allies in the region.
Saudi Arabia on Sunday came under attack globally a day after it carried out mass execution of 47 people, including Shia cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr who was a vocal critic of the government and the Saudi monarchy.
Authorities in Turkey are still searching for Khashoggi's remains. Last week, the Turkish chief prosecutor's office said the 60-year-old's body was dismembered after he was strangled, while the Washington Post reported investigators were looking into the theory that the body was dissolved in acid.
The report will address what 'we think the overall impact was and who caused it, and who did it', Trump said.
Did Saudi state television blur Michelle Obama's face?
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