Riyadh - Somali pirates have released the Sirius Star tanker seized

Riyadh - A Saudi Arabian woman killed two people whilst illegally driving a truck, local media reported on Thursday. Women are banned from driving in the conservative Muslim country.

The woman crashed into a car, killing two of its passengers. One of them died instantly and the other died shortly afterwards at al- Duadmi hospital, the Saudi Arabian al-Watan news paper reported.

The incident could weaken the case of women's activists who have long pressed for women to have the right to drive. According to Saudi Islamic law women are prohibited from driving for religious reasons.

Riyadh - The first of two Saudi Arabian planes arrived in Riyadh on Friday carrying nine injured Palestinians for treatment in Saudi hospitals, local media reported.

Since the start of Israeli airstrikes on the Palestinian territory of the Gaza Strip on Saturday, more than 400 people have died, and some 2,200 have been injured, according to aid agencies.

A second Saudi plane has arrived at the Egyptian border town of al-Arish airport, ready to move more Gazan casualties to Saudi hospitals for treatment, a spokesman of the Saudi Ministry of Health, Khaled Marghany said in press statements.

Riyadh - A prominent Saudi Arabian Muslim cleric who called for attacks on Israelis worldwide in retaliation for the ongoing airstrikes on the Gaza Strip has been arrested, Saudi media reported on Wednesday.

Sheikh Awad al-Qarni issued a fatwa, or religious ruling, on Monday saying that "it is legitimate to spill (Israeli) blood as long as they are spilling the blood of our brothers in Palestine."

The report in the al-Rasad newspaper said that al-Qarni had been arrested in the south of the country and had been brought to the capital Riyadh. Police would not confirm the arrest.

Riyadh - Three prisoners sentenced to death escaped Malas prison in the Saudi Arabian capital Riyadh after attacking a prison guard, an official Saudi source said on Wednesday.

Most prison guards were busy checking visitors to the prison during the first day of the Muslim feast of Eid al-Adha.

The three prisoners seized the opportunity to escape after threatening a prison guard with a knife.

The brother of one of the escaped prisoners was waiting for them in a car outside the prison, the Saudi Arabian al-Sabq online paper reported.

One of the escaped prisoners, who suffered from hypertension and diabetes, fell before he reached the gate, the paper said.

Riyadh  - Around three million Muslims have gathered on Sunday on Mount Arafat in Saudi Arabia to perform one of the most important practices in the hajj pilgrimage.

During this day, which coincides with the 9th day of the last month in the Muslim lunar calendar, pilgrims spend hours praying and reading the Holy Koran.

Amid tight security, pilgrims headed to Arafat, which lies in the west of the Kingdom, late on Saturday.

Also known as the Mount of Mercy, it is the place Islam's prophet Mohammad is said to have delivered his Farewell Sermon to the Muslims who had accompanied him for the Hajj, 14 centuries ago.