Saudi Arabia

RIYADH, July 18 (Xinhua) -- The Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) said on Sunday that Saudi Arabia's nominee Muhammed Sulaiman Al Jasser has been elected as its new president for five years.

The election was confirmed by the IsDB Group General Secretariat, the IsDB said in a statement on its website.

The IsDB Board of Governors (BoG) adopted a resolution expressing profound gratitude and appreciation of Saudi Arabia for its continuous support to the bank since its inception, it said.

RIYADH, Jul 18 (NNN-SPA) – The first batch of pilgrims arrived yesterday, at the Grand Mosque in Mecca, to perform their first ritual for this year’s Hajj.

The ritual was performed with huge preparations and precautionary measures against COVID-19, and there are different locations that can accommodate 11,000 pilgrims in total, according to the General Presidency for Affairs of the Two Holy Mosques and the director of crowd management at the Grand Mosque.

15 July 2021; MEMO: Former UK Chancellor Philip Hammond has taken up a job with Saudi Arabia's finance minister, sparking concerns over the level of access and influence the Gulf kingdom will have on Britain.

15 July 2021; MEMO: The Saudi Coast Guard has turned away three Egyptian tourist boats near the Red Sea islands of Tiran and Sanafir, which President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi previously transferred to Saudi control amid outrage by opponents in 2016, Lebanese newspaper Al-Akhbar reported.

12 July 2021; MEMO: New details of alleged torture of prominent political activists detained in Saudi prisons have emerged, confirming widespread abuse and mistreatment that were reported by rights groups and media agencies over the past few years as the kingdom – under Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman – adopted a heavy-handed approach towards critics and dissidents.

09 July 2021; MEMO: Saudi Arabia is working on creating a digital news platform and a studio in Washington DC as part of the kingdom's efforts to exert political pressure on the White House and the US Congress, CNBC reported yesterday.

This new endeavour, which has not been officially announced, is backed by a subsidiary of the Saudi Technology Development and Investment Company (TAQNIA), according to US Department of Justice documents.

07 July 2021; MEMO: Saudi Arabia said it supports Egypt and Sudan in "preserving their legitimate water rights," Reuters reported the state news agency (SPA) saying yesterday.

"The kingdom supports the efforts of Egypt and Sudan to contain this crisis and their demands to solve it in accordance with the rules of international law. It also supports international moves aimed at finding a binding solution to end it," SPA added.

RIYADH, July 4 (Xinhua) -- Saudi Arabia approved on Sunday the security plan for 2021 Hajj season that takes into account precautions against COVID-19, the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported.

According to the plan issued by the Saudi interior ministry that aims to ensure the safety and security of pilgrims, a fine of 10,000 Saudi Riyals (2,666 U.S. dollars) will be imposed on anyone who attempts to enter the ritual sites without permission.

The ministry calls on all citizens and residents to obey the special regulations of this year's Hajj season.

RIYADH, June 29 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Saudi Arabia will start inoculating minors aged 12 to 18 with the Covid-19 vaccine produced by BioNTech/Pfizer, the Ministry of Health announced.

The announcement followed the approval of jabs for the age group by the Saudi Food and Drug Authority(SFDA), the kingdom’s state news agency SPA reported.

SPA cited the ministry as saying that 70 per cent of adults in the country received a jab and that it was starting to administer the second dose to people over 50.

30 June 2021; MEMO: Saudi Arabia is to launch a second national airline as part of Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman's Vision2030 strategy, which aims to diversify the kingdom's economy away from dependency on oil.