Raffles Hotels & Resorts has opened its first hotel in Saudi Arabia in the holy city of Makkah.

Raffles Makkah Palace is located in the Abraj Al Bait complex, a seven-tower community directly adjoining the Masjid Al Haram (Grand Mosque) and the Kaaba.

Mohammed Arkobi, VP and MD of Fairmont Raffles Hotels International in Makkah.

Mohammed Arkobi, vice president and managing director of Fairmont Raffles Hotels International — Makkah, said the location gave Raffles “the opportunity to cater to the guests of the Holy City, making it a unique and one-of-a-kind experience”.

The 213-suite property is designed to offer “an extremely discrete yet highly refined residential sanctuary”, with personal butlers on hand to anticipate guests’ needs.

There are four outlets for guests to choose from: Najes, a stylish tea salon; Al Majlis serving Middle Eastern cuisine; Al Qasr combining international, Moroccan, Arabvic and Indian cuisines; and The Raffles Creamery, which presents customised Teppanyaki ice cream.

According to the hotel’s group director of communications and business development Khaled Yamak, the hotel signals a step forward for Saudi Arabia’s hotel market.

“Raffles Makkah Palace is considered a new step in the hospitality sector in Saudi Arabia. With its unique heartfelt service and enchanting accommodation, residents will feel the difference,” he said.

The hotel is designed to cater for both religious and business tourism, with a business centre and business rooms also available.

Raffles Makkah Palace is the first of three hotels operated by FRHI to open at the Abraj Al Bait complex.

Also underway are the Makkah Clock Royal Tower, a Fairmont Hotel — a 76 storey hotel with 858 rooms — and Swissotel Makkah, due to open in 2011.

Meanwhile in Makkah, Rotana has reported a “surge in visitor footfall” at its 426-room hotel Al Marwa Rayhaan, also close to the Grand Mosque and part of the Al Bait complex.

Suite at the Raffles Makkah Palace

Al Marwa Rayhaan by Rotana – Makkah GM Hany Khorshid said: “Al Marwa Rayhaan by Rotana achieved client satisfaction rate of 88% so far this month. At the same time, we are maintaining our commitment to deliver the highest levels of service quality to our guests to complement the corresponding business growth and the increasing investments in various hospitality and tourism infrastructure.
“Furthermore, with the arrival of the Holy Month of Ramadan, Al Marwa Rayhaan by Rotana is now prepared to accommodate a further surge in demand for hotel rooms and hotel facilities. Al Marwa Rayhaan by Rotana is particularly preparing for tourists from the UAE, Kuwait, Turkey and Egypt, which are traditionally the biggest markets for visitors during this season.”

Khorshid added: “We are now expanding our existing facilities and amenities that already include three world-class restaurants as well as transport facilities to and from the airport”.

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JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia — Saudi low-cost private airline Sama, launched in 2007 to serve Gulf and other Arab states, said it is to suspend services from Tuesday due to financial problems.

It was Sama’s only choice left “after several months of searching for alternatives to avoid suspending our operations,” the airline?s CEO Bruce Ashby said in a statement.

The carrier “had been awaiting a significant aviation relief package with respect to fuel subsidies … a gradual lifting of domestic fare caps, and additional funds to support past losses and growth of our business,” it said.

“We also tried to find strategic investors who are ready to invest in the company and pump the necessary liquidity to enable Sama to operate.” However, “none of these solutions were available in the right time to continue.”

But Ashby said Sama still hoped “to reach the necessary financing solutions to allow us to resume domestic and international flights in coming days.”

Sama first took to the air in 2007, serving 10 destinations in the kingdom and neighboring countries, including Egypt, Jordan, Syria and the United Arab Emirates, reaching the level of 164 flights a week.

The company, which owns six Boeing 737-300 planes, said normal flights would continue on Monday and it would provide passengers who had reservations for Tuesday with alternative bookings.

Copyright © 2010 AFP. All rights reserved.

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Ramadan Nights in My Country Exhibition 2010 aims to provide the needs of the family during the holy month of Ramadan with competitive prices. Profile for exhibit includes The exhibited articles will include jewelry, home accessories, antiques and gifts, sweets and chocolates, dates, nuts, perfumes, travel and tourism companies, textiles, and many other products.

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A 24-year-old British woman named Louise Pollard recently agreed to act a surrogate mother on behalf of Omar bin Laden, who is one of Osama bin Laden’s estimated 20 children, and Omar’s wife Zaina. But now Pollard, giving a tell-all interview to the local Bristol Evening Post, has a surprise announcement: She’s not just carrying Osama bin Laden’s grandchild; she’s carrying his twin grandchildren.

Omar Bin Laden and his wife Zaina

Pollard is joining an eccentric branch of an already strange and sweeping family tree. Omar, who is 29, traveled with his father to Sudan and Afghanistan in the 1990s but left in 2000 over objections to Osama’s life of violence. He has since consistently denounced his father. In 2006, he married Jane Felix-Browne, a 54 year old British grandmother who had legally changed her name to Zaina al-Sabah, now Zaina bin Laden. Their marriage was Omar’s second and Zaina’s sixth. They began searching for a surrogate mother and decided on Pollard, whom they gave 10,000 British pounds to be artificially inseminated, which did not succeed until the third attempt. In 2007, they briefly divorced under circumstances that remain unclear. Zaina claims the incident was staged by Omar at the beginning of his mental decline.

This past summer, Omar began acting erratically and reporting that he heard his father speaking to him. When he was diagnosed with schizophrenia, Zaina left their home in Qatar and returned to England. She told The U.K. Sun, “There’s no one else responsible for this. Omar loves and hates Osama at the same time. He loves him because he is his father, but hates what he has done. I think he suffered post- traumatic stress disorder after 9/11. Seeing what his dad had done ruined Omar’s life. He has not seen his father for more than ten years and wants peace in the world, not violence and war.”

Shortly after Zaina returned to the U.K., the bin Laden couple’s surrogate mother, Louise Pollard, was outed to The Sun by her brother. Pollard told the New York Post that Zaina plans to raise the child alone if necessary but hopes to reunited with Omar, who is still in Qatar. Omar has been unable to secure a visa to return to the U.K., which may or may not change when his children are born as British citizens. Pollard, announcing to the Bristol Evening Sun that she is carrying bin Laden twins, pleaded for the world to look past the bin Laden name, as she did. “Omar doesn’t have anything to do with his father. I’ve visited them in Qatar, and he’s just a normal guy who likes playing with his Playstation and listening to his music,” she said. “All I want to do is to help a nice couple who can’t have kids themselves. What’s wrong with that?”

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SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — Saudi Arabia has backed away from a plan to block BlackBerry messenger services after some of the country’s regulatory requirements were met, a media report said Tuesday.

Saudi Arabia’s Communication and Information Technology Commission made the decision due to “positive developments in the completion of part of the regulatory requirements on the part of service providers,” The Wall Street Journal’s online edition reported, citing an e-mailed statement from the country’s Communication and Information Technology Commission.

The agency did not elaborate on what the requirements were, the report said.

Research In Motion could not immediately be reached for comment.

Last week, the smart-phone maker denied that its BlackBerry services operate under different standards internationally, or that it stores or has access to customers’ data.

“Any claims that we provide, or have ever provided, something unique to the government of one country that we have not offered to the governments of all countries, are unfounded,” the company said in a statement.

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bloomberg — Saudi Arabia delayed shutting off Research In Motion Ltd.’s BlackBerry instant messaging until midnight tomorrow, giving operators time to test a system that can monitor user data, the state-run Saudi Press Agency said.

“Appropriate action on whether to suspend the service” will be taken after the proposed solution is shown to comply with regulatory requirements, the SPA cited a statement from the Saudi telecommunications regulator as saying. Saudi Arabia has said it wants to monitor BlackBerry messages to prevent terrorism and illegal activities.

The Saudi situation is being closely watched because it’s one of a growing number of countries in which RIM, based in Waterloo, Ontario, faces scrutiny over its BlackBerry e-mail and messaging services. The United Arab Emirates, India and Indonesia have also expressed concern that such mobile communications could be used to violate laws or national mores.

“The sooner they reach agreements and publicize them, the better,” said Pierre Ferragu, an analyst at Sanford Bernstein in London. He has an “underperform” rating on RIM. If the situation is not resolved “it could end up pushing users to go for an alternative brand in order to avoid problems if the service were actually shut off.”

The Associated Press reported yesterday that RIM reached a deal in Saudi Arabia that would allow authorities to monitor messages, citing an unidentified Saudi regulatory official. The accord involves installing a server inside Saudi Arabia to let authorities check the data of BlackBerry users, it said.

No Special Access

Saudi Arabia had earlier ordered its operators to turn the service off on Aug. 6. The service, however, has mostly remained on, users said. Services in the kingdom are “still working,” Farouk Miah, an analyst at NCB Capital in Riyadh, said today.

An unidentified RIM official was cited by Saudi Arabia’s Okaz newspaper today as saying that the company and regulators had “agreed on everything.”

Sultan al Malik, a spokesman for the commission, and Etihad Etisalat Co., the service provider known as Mobily, didn’t respond to e-mails seeking comment on the reported agreement.

RIM said in a statement Aug. 4 that it cooperated with governments around the world with standard practices and that any reports it gave special access or information to certain authorities were inaccurate. Marisa Conway, a RIM spokeswoman in New York, declined to make any further comment when contacted by Bloomberg News.

‘Legitimate Security Concern’

Saudi Arabia’s wireless operators include Saudi Telecom Co., Mobily and a unit of Kuwait’sMobile Telecommunications Co. known as Zain KSA. The carriers had been told to stop messaging services after a yearlong consultation with RIM failed to bring BlackBerry functions in line with Saudi Arabia’s telecommunications laws, the regulator said Aug. 4.

The delay came after U.S. and Canadian authorities began talks with foreign governments about potential BlackBerry bans.

“There is a legitimate security concern,” U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Aug. 5, “but there’s also a legitimate right of free use and access.”

Turkey’s telecommunications regulator Aug. 6 said there are “serious” security weaknesses related to BlackBerry services in the country, adding that it has set up a committee to look into the matter.

The U.A.E. said in a statement Aug. 4 that it wouldn’t be changing its decision to ban BlackBerry service in October and that it was open to discussions aimed at achieving a solution to the issue.

‘Overblown’

RIM rose $1.22 to $53.45 in Nasdaq Stock Market trading Aug. 6, ending four days of declines. The stock has dropped almost 23 percent this year.

RIM said Aug. 4 that it couldn’t meet requests from governments that it reveal codes for reading some users’ communications. The corporate service was designed to prevent RIM, or anyone else, from reading encrypted information.

“In some sense, the Saudi drama has been overblown as the government is already monitoring every other handset maker in the region offering SMS and e-mail, which it can monitor,” said Tero Kuittinen, an analyst with MKM Partners in Greenwich, Connecticut. He has a “buy” rating on the stock. “It’s only a question of whether RIM is going to go the level of other vendors, or if RIM is going to be particularly accommodating.”

The Indian government is still in talks with RIM over BlackBerry services in the country and is hopeful an agreement can be reached, Telecommunications Minister Andimuthu Raja said Aug. 5. India may ban RIM services unless the company agrees to resolve security concerns, a government official with knowledge of the matter said this past week.

Less Uncertainty

RIM has about 1.2 million subscribers in Indonesia, 1.1 million in India, and a combined 1.2 million in the U.A.E. and Saudi Arabia, said Mike Abramsky, an analyst at RBC Capital Markets in Toronto. RIM had 46 million subscribers globally at the end of May.

“What the market wants is less uncertainty,” said MKM’s Kuittinen.

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RIYADH/NEW YORK, Aug 3 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia on Tuesday ordered at least one Research In Motion’s BlackBerry smartphone service to be blocked as of Friday, becoming the latest government to threaten to curb the device on security grounds.

The issue, which pits governments against BlackBerry’s super-secure encrypted services, has flared at a particularly inopportune time for RIM. On Tuesday, the company wanted all eyes on the unveiling of its new BlackBerry model at an event in New York. [ID:nN03163111]

The new touch-screen BlackBerry Torch is considered RIM’s response to tough competition on its North American home turf from the likes of Apple Inc’s (AAPL.O) iPhone, which is driving the company to seek new markets offshore.

Hours before Saudi Arabia‘s move, a RIM (RIM.TO) (RIMM.O) executive said governments were unlikely to carry through on threats because state officials themselves depend heavily on the iconic devices for communication.

“I believe they’ll have trouble pulling the trigger to shut down BlackBerry,” RIM Chief Technology Officer David Yach told Reuters on the sidelines of the New York launch bash. “Most governments in the world rely on BlackBerry.” [ID:nLDE6721ZR]

Earlier, newspapers reported that RIM may make concessions to India and Kuwait after their governments voiced concerns the security risk posed by the smartphones, fearing they could be used for plots against the state.

Unlike rivals Nokia (NOK1V.HE) and Apple, RIM controls its own networks, which handle encrypted messages through centers in Canada and the UK.

But Canada-based RIM said in an emailed statement that “claims” it has provided unique wireless services or access to any one country are “unfounded.”

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huffingtonpost – But they can be built in the other 56 Muslim-majority countries in the world! As Americans, do we want to compare ourselves to the single exception to the rule of interfaith tolerance? After all, we pride ourselves on our freedom of religion, our freedom of speech, our freedom of expression… freedoms that are sadly lacking in many other countries, regardless of the religious bent of these countries’ majority population. What are we afraid of? Amidst the shouting and sound bites of the posturing politicos who are seeking to score points by raising the specter of the impending Islamization of the USA, the simple truth about allowing religious minorities the freedom to build their own houses of worship is being forgotten. It happened to the Irish Catholics, the East European Jews, and the Japanese — all waves of immigrants faced ethnic and religious discrimination. Discrimination based upon ignorance of their beliefs, fear of cheap labor depressing the average wage, even outright racial prejudice. It’s well documented, but as Santayana said, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” And after 9/11, as an American Muslim, all I can say is, “Here we go again.” I’ve heard so many canards about Islam by so-called ‘experts on Islam’ that I’m baffled as to their origins. Repeating a lie ad infinitum doesn’t make it true, just as selectively relating facts in order to prove one’s point doesn’t make for honest debate. And honest, open debate is what is desperately needed, especially in terms of the ‘Mosque at Ground Zero’ imbroglio. First of all, it’s an Islamic cultural center that will contain a prayer room, not a mosque with minarets. Second, it is not being built at Ground Zero, but a few blocks away. Third, if it were a mosque, since when did it become illegal to build a house of worship in America? And most important of all, why are we tarring an entire religion based upon the violent, extremist acts of a few? What did 9/11 have to do with Islam? If we ban the construction of a building associated with Islam, we are rewarding the perpetrators of 9/11 and punishing the innocent public yearning for a center for interfaith dialogue. A center envisioned by Muslims in response to the frequent question, “Where are the Moderate Muslims?” A center that seeks to educate and enlighten the curious or those who wish to obtain accurate facts from Muslims rather than believe the rants of those with an anti-Islam agenda. I fear the rising prejudice against Muslims in America is an ugly symptom of intolerance and xenophobia that is being spread by those who seek to ‘otherize’ the latest immigrant group. And Muslims are perceived as the threat of the decade. I reassure my children that this too shall pass, but when will it be safe for them to reclaim their religious and national identity in the same breath? When will it be okay for them to proudly state, “Yes, I’m an American and my religion is Islam”? I’ve lived in Pakistan, America, Sudan, England, Sri Lanka, and Kuwait; and visited an additional 40 countries at last count. I consider myself blessed to have glimpsed the rich variety of human beliefs within so many different societies around the world. But when the world’s sole superpower, the beacon of democracy and equality, succumbs to the petty claims of a few groups who willfully misunderstand the basic beliefs of the world’s second-largest religion… then I fear that I no longer recognize this country which I have loved and admired for so long. Yes, I know that churches cannot be built in Saudi Arabia, because I happen to live there at the moment. But those who repeat this fact ad nauseam are ignoring the undercurrents of change swirling within Saudi society. Change takes time. America is a young country that gave women the right to vote less than one hundred years ago. Blacks fought for civil and racial equality less than 50 years ago, and some would argue that their struggles continue to this day. Saudi Arabia is an even younger country. Given time, rising levels of education, and the cessation of wars which are perceived as attacks on Islam, I have no doubt that this socially conservative country will change. I am extremely proud to see evidence of pluralism in 98.3% of the Muslim-majority countries in the world — a small, but important fact that is rarely mentioned by those opposing the construction of mosques in the USA. Please, can we remember to aspire to the heights of greatness envisioned by our founding fathers? To establish a land which guarantees the rights of all individuals, regardless of race or religion?

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Italian furniture manufacturer Poliform have recently opened a new flagship store in Bahrain.

Description from Poliform:

Poliform has celebrated the recent opening of the new flagship store in Bahrain, giving evidence to the consolidated roots of the brand in the Arabian market.

The building rises in Palm Square, a white cube immersed in the middle of the square, cut out with wide windows that offer an insight into high-end solutions to all interiors needs: day systems, bedrooms, walk-in-closets and kitchens able to satisfy even the most sophisticated tastes. Commitment to quality, ability to interpret contemporary lifestyle trends and a flair for understanding the needs of its global clientele are the characteristics that make Poliform one of the worldwide leader in the design furniture sector. What makes the brand unique is the great ability in customizing the products according to Client’s taste, who is followed in the entire realization of a custom-made Home-project.

Poliform and Varenna, synonymous of high design and elegance, reconfirm themselves the leading Company of the sector in a geographic area renowned for its research of luxury and made-in-Italy quality.

[View with PicLens]

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Vanity Fair’s Maureen Dowd traveled to Saudi Arabia to experience first-hand the Arab kingdom’s newly declared commitment to tourism. But apparently she didn’t get the memo—that promise seems to only apply to men.

Saudi Arabia! Just the vacation spot for a headstrong, adventure-loving, cocktail-imbibing, fashion-conscious chick. Long averse to non-Muslim curiosity seekers, the Kingdom is now flirting with tourism, though drinking is forbidden and women can’t drive—or do much of anything—without a man. Armed with moxie and a Burqini, the author confronts the limits of Saudi Arabian hospitality, as well as various male enforcers, learning that, as always, it matters whom you know.Plus: A slide show of Maureen Dowd’s wild Saudi Arabian adventure.

I wanted to know all about Eve.

“Our grandmother Eve?” asked Abdullah Hejazi, my boyish-looking guide in Old Jidda. Under a glowing Arab moon on a hot winter night, Abdullah was showing off the jewels of his city—charming green, blue, and brown houses built on the Red Sea more than a hundred years ago. The houses, empty now, are stretched tall to capture the sea breeze on streets squeezed narrow to capture the shade. The latticed screens on cantilevered verandas were intended to ensure “the privacy and seclusion of the harem,” as the Lebanese writer Ameen Rihani noted in 1930. The preservation of these 500 houses surrounding a souk marks an attempt by the Saudis, whose oil profits turned them into bling addicts, to appreciate the beauty of what they dismissively call “old stuff.”

Jidda means “grandmother” in Arabic, and the city may have gotten its name because tradition holds that the grandmother of all temptresses, the biblical Eve, is buried here—an apt symbol for a country that legally, sexually, and sartorially buries its women alive. (A hard-line Muslim cleric in Iran recently blamed provocatively dressed women for earthquakes, inspiring the New York Post headline SHEIK IT!) According to legend, when Adam and Eve were evicted from the Garden of Eden they went their separate ways, Adam ending up in Mecca and Eve in Jidda, with a single reunion. (Original sin reduced to friends with benefits?) Eve’s cemetery lies behind a weathered green door in Old Jidda.

When I suggested we visit, Abdullah smiled with sweet exasperation. It was a smile I would grow all too accustomed to from Saudi men in the coming days. It translated into “No f—ing way, lady.”

“Women are not allowed to go into cemeteries,” he told me.

Visit Vanityfair.com for the complete article!

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