Saudi Arabia

05 August 2022; MEMO: Saudi Arabia's budget has witnessed a fiscal surplus of 135.4 billion riyals ($36.1 billion) during the first half of 2022 amid a rise in crude oil revenues.

04 August 2022; MEMO: Israel's national airline, El Al, has been given official approval from the Saudi Arabian authorities to operate flights in the kingdom's airspace, Israeli broadcaster Kan has confirmed.

"This approval will go into effect today, which is good news for Israeli tourists heading to Israel from countries in the Far East, as flying over Saudi reduces the length of flights," explained Kan. "The trip to and from Thailand will take about eight and a half hours, with Bombay at about five and a quarter hours."

01 August 2022; MEMO: Schools in Saudi Arabia operating under Turkiye's National Education Ministry will reopen soon, Anadolu News Agency reports.

In a statement, the Ministry said the schools will reopen as diplomatic contacts between Turkish and Saudi officials bear fruit.

Turkish Education Minister, Mahmut Ozer and his Saudi counterpart, Hamad bin Mohammed Al Al-Sheikh, discussed the issue on the sidelines of "The Transforming Education Pre‐Summit" held in Paris on 28-30 June, the statement added.

Aug 1 (Reuters) - Valvoline Inc (VVV.N) is selling its unit that makes lubricants, coolants and other automotive products to state-owned Saudi Aramco (2222.SE) for $2.65 billion in cash to sharpen focus on its retail services business.

The deal announced on Monday builds on the company's plan to separate the two units, with the sale proceeds set to fuel an expansion of the vehicle service center business Valvoline operates across the United States.

29 July 2022; MEMO: Saudi Arabia has reiterated that it will not change its firm position on the Palestinian issue, despite its decision to open its airspace to all international aircraft, including those from Israel, Anadolu News Agency reports.

This was stated by Mohamed Al-Atiq, the acting charge d'affaires of the Saudi Arabia's permanent delegation to the UN, during a Security Council session on Palestine, the official Saudi Press Agency reported on Thursday evening.

JEDDAH, Jul 26 (NNN-SPA) – Saudi Arabian Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, unveiled, yesterday, the design of THE LINE, a city to promote a green lifestyle confronting environmental crises.

The city, designed to be 200 metres wide, 170 km long and 500 metres above sea level, is a civilisational revolution that puts humans first, providing an unprecedented urban living experience, while preserving the surrounding nature.

RIYADH, July 26 (Reuters) - Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman left Saudi Arabia on Tuesday for Greece and France, state news agency SPA reported, his first visits to a member state of the European Union since the 2018 killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

Prince Mohammed, whose last official visit outside the Middle East had been to Japan in 2019 for a G20 summit, will discuss bilateral ties and matters of mutual interest, SPA said.

Saudi Arabia is set to build a 75-mile-long skyscraper across the desert as part of its planned NEOM megacity. According to the Wall Street Journal, the "Mirror Line" will have mirrored or reflective walls, and will end in the Red Sea.

Costing a staggering $1 trillion (£833 billion), the 1,600 feet high desert skyscraper will have two parallel structures and associated buildings which together will house five million people. It will have facilities for vertical farming, a yacht marina and a sports stadium, as well as a high speed railway running underneath.

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) — Police in Mecca say they have arrested a Saudi man who helped an Israeli-Jewish reporter sneak into Islam’s holiest city, defying a rule that only Muslims can enter the area.

While Muslims of any nationality and background can enter Mecca, non-Muslims are not permitted because a very specific code of conduct and behavior is required of all people within its boundaries, including certain forms of modesty, ritual cleansing and prayers.

22 July 2022; MEMO: Saudi Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman, will visit Greece on 26 July to meet Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, the Greek Foreign Ministry said on Friday, in his first visit to an EU country since the 2018 killing of Saudi journalist, Jamal Khashoggi, Reuters reports.

The Ministry said the pair was due to sign bilateral deals, without giving details. A Greek diplomatic source said the deals were in the fields of energy, military cooperation and an undersea data cable, among others.