RIYADH, May 6 (KUNA) -- Twenty-five people were killed and three still missing due to recent heavy rains and floods in Saudi Arabia, Director General of Civil Defense Saad Al-Tuwaijri said in a statement on Monday.

Al-Tuwaijri said nine of those killed were in Riyadh Region, seven in Al-Taef province, six in Al-Baha, two in Asseer Region, and one in Al-Madinah Al-Munawarah Region, while three still missing, two in Al-Baha valleys and one in Hail Region.

05/01/2013 16:40 GMT

RIYADH, May 01, 2013 (AFP) - Sixteen people have died and three more are missing in Saudi Arabia after downpours caused flash floods in several areas of the desert kingdom, the civil defence authorities said on Wednesday.

Two others died in flash floods in neighbouring Oman, local media reported, as cloudbursts swept across most Gulf countries.

The official Saudi SPA state news agency quoted a civil defence statement as saying people died in several areas including in the capital Riyadh, Baha in the south, Hail in the north and in the west.

FOOD SECURITY SNAPSHOT

• Further reduction in wheat production is forecast in line with Government’s policy
• Cereal imports forecast at high levels in 2012/13

Wheat production gradually phasing out

(Riyadh/New York, 30 November 2011) Ending a one-day mission to Saudi Arabia, Under-Secretary-General and Emergency Relief Coordinator Valerie Amos welcomed the opportunity to work more closely with the Kingdom in regional and international humanitarian affairs.

“Saudi Arabia plays an important role in humanitarian affairs,” said USG Amos in Riyadh. “In addition to contributing generously to crises in Somalia, Pakistan and Haiti, the Kingdom also engages actively in other key humanitarian response mechanisms such as the International Search and Rescue Advisory Group (INSARAG).”

27 Jan 2011

Source: Reuters // Reuters

* Calls for protest sent on Blackberry messenger

* At least four dead in Saudi floods, hundreds rescued

By Asma Alsharif

JEDDAH, Jan 27 (Reuters) - Activists in Jeddah called on Thursday for a protest against poor infrastructure after deadly floods swamped Saudi Arabia's second biggest city, a rare expression of dissent in the absolute monarchy.

Read the complete story on Alertnet

Forced Returns to War Zone Violate UN Guidelines

(New York, December 22, 2010) - The government of Saudi Arabia should immediately stop deporting Somalis to war-torn Mogadishu, Human Rights Watch said today.

Saudi authorities returned at least 150 Somali nationals, many of them children, from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, to Somalia's capital, Mogadishu, on December 17, 2010, press reports said. Saudi Arabia had deported an estimated 2,000 Somalis to Mogadishu in June and July, according to the United Nations refugee agency.

"Deporting anyone to a war zone

14 Sep 2010 15:10:05 GMT

Source: Reuters

* Thousands were evacuated during war with Yemeni rebels

* Border area with Yemen one of kingdom's poorest regions

RIYADH, Sept 14 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia will step up aid to citizens who were displaced from areas bordering Yemen during heavy fighting with Yemeni Shi'ite rebels last year, the ministry of finance said on Tuesday.

The move was announced after Saudi newspapers carried reports of citizens in the relatively poor Jizan province complaining of hardship and poor housing conditions after they had to abandon their

SANAA, 6 July 2010 (IRIN) - Ali Hassan Salem was 10 when he was trafficked to Saudi Arabia. "When I grew up I did not go to school, but cleaned cars," he said. Earning very little money in Yemen and having heard of the opportunities in Saudi Arabia, Ali decided to try his luck there.

"No-man's-land between the borders is a harsh place," Ali said. "There are wild animals and criminal gangs. I was lucky that nothing happened."

In Jizan across the border he found work at a construction site. "I didn't earn much and after expenses for