Riyadh/Nairobi - The owners of a Saudi Arabian oil tanker captured by pirates off the coast of Somalia are negotiating a possible ransom, Saudi Arabia's foreign minister said on Wednesday, according to the Dubai-based al-Arabiya channel.

The Sirius Star, a supertanker owned by the Saudi Arabian firm Vela International that was carrying some 100 million-dollars-worth of crude oil was hijacked Saturday 830 kilometres south-east of the Kenyan coastal city of Mombasa.

Amid reports that the pirates had demanded a ransom, the ship was anchored Tuesday near the Somali port of Harardhere.

Athens/Nairobi - Saudi Arabia's foreign minister on Tuesday called the hijacking of a Saudi oil tanker by Somali pirates an "outrageous act."

In the first Saudi Arabian public statement about the hijacking, Prince Saud al-Faisal said there is a need to fight piracy.

"Piracy, like terrorism is a disease which is against everybody, and everybody must address it together," he said in Athens following talks with Greek Foreign Minister Dora Bakoyianni.

Manama, Bahrain - Relatives and supporters of three Bahraini detainees being held in Saudi Arabia on terrorism charges gathered in front of the UN House in Manama on Saturday to demand their immediate release.

The three include Abdulraheem al-Murbati, 47, who has spent more than six years in Saudi jails and former Guantanamo Bay detainee Abdulla Majid al-Nuaimi, 27, who was arrested recently as he attempted to enter Saudi Arabia.

Punj Lloyd Group, a leading engineering procurement & construction (EPC) and project management services company has informed that its wholly-owned subsidiary Sembawang Engineers & Constructors Pte Ltd (Sembawang) has entered into a JV with Dayim Al-Haditha (Dayim).

Under the arrangement, Sembawang will hold 49 per cent stake while Dayim will hold 51 per cent stake in the joint venture company christened “Dayim-Sembawang Engineering LLC”.

Riyadh, Nov. 9 : Pakistan''s Chief of the Army Staff, General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, who is on an official visit to Saudia Arabia, called on Prince Sultan bin Abdul Aziz Al-Saud, deputy prime minister and minister of defence, and Prince Khalid bin Sultan bin Abdul Aziz Al-Saud, assistant defence minister for military affairs.

According to the dawn, matters of mutual interest were discussed and it was agreed to enhance defence ties between the two countries.

Lahore, Nov 7: Saudi Arabia has reportedly agreed to bail out cash-strapped Pakistan with ‘substantial oil supply’ on deferred payment and cash assistance.

Saudi Arabia has agreed to provide ‘tangible assistance’ to “ease” Pakistan’s balance of payment pressure’ and assured the visiting Pakistani delegation of investing more than one billion dollars in the livestock and agricultural sectors.

“Foreign Minister Shah Mehmoud Qureshi is expected to announce the Saudi package in Islamabad on Friday,” the Dawn News reported.

The Saudi leadership also said that they would increase hiring of Pakistani labour and would provide more financial assistance through the Friends of Pakistan initiative.