NEWS

18 May 2013: Saudi woman makes history by reaching Everest summit

Report from BBC News website
Raha Moharrak, 25, not only became the first Saudi woman to attempt the climb but also the youngest Arab to make it to the top of Everest.

She is part of a four–person expedition that also includes the first Qatari man and the first Palestinian man attempting to reach the summit.

They are trying to raise $1m (£660,000) for education projects in Nepal.

Originally from Jeddah, Ms Moharrak is a university graduate currently based in Dubai.

Coming from Saudi Arabia – a conservative Muslim country where women's rights are very restricted – she had to break a lot of barriers to achieve her goal, her climb team said.

A biography on the expedition website said convincing Ms Moharrak's family to agree to her climb "was as great a challenge as the mountain itself", though they fully support her now.

"I really don't care about being the first," she is quoted as saying. "So long as it inspires someone else to be second."

29th January 2013: Foreign Affairs Committee Hearing
MPs take evidence on UK’s relations with Saudi Arabia and Bahrain

The Society’s former Chairman, Sir Alan Munro, gave his views to the Parliamentary Committee on Foreign Affairs investigating the relations between the UK and Saudi Arabia, partly in his capacity as Hon. Vice–President of the Society.

To read the (uncorrected) transcription of his evidence, click here.