Saudi Arabia

RIYADH, May 11 (NNN-SPA) – Qatar’s Emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, arrived yesterday evening in Saudi Arabia, for an official visit.

The Emir was received by Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud, at the King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah.

Saudi Arabia’s King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud invited Qatar’s Emir to visit Saudi Arabia last month.

08 May 2021; MEMO: A Saudi official from the Saudi Foreign Ministry has revealed that the kingdom is talking with Iran to "deescalate tension" in the region, Arabic news sources reported Reuters stating on Friday.

According to the Arabic news sources, Reuters reported Ambassador Raed Karimli, head of Policy Planning at the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs, affirming: "It is early to say that we reached any specific outcomes," hoping success for these talks.

06 May 2021; MEMO: Saudi Arabia is considering barring overseas pilgrims from the annual Hajj pilgrimage for the second year in a row, Reuters reported yesterday.

Quoting two sources, the agency said that Riyadh was "worried" after a "global rise in the COVID-19 cases". "There has been no final decision on whether to pursue the ban," the sources stressed.

05 May 2021; MEMO: Saudi Arabian authorities appeared to have replaced the "Muslims only" phrase from traffic signs leading to the Prophet's Mosque in Al-Madinah Al-Munawwarah, Islam's second holiest site after Makkah.

Images have been shared on social media purporting to show that at least one of the highway signs now reads "Haram area" in reference to Madinah's Haram or sacred site.

(Reuters) --- Saudi Arabia is considering barring overseas pilgrims from the annual haj for the second year running as COVID-19 cases rise globally and worries grow about the emergence of new variants, two sources familiar with the matter said on Wednesday.

Such a move would restrict the pilgrimage to Mecca, a once in a lifetime duty for every able-bodied Muslim who can afford it, to Saudi nationals and residents of the kingdom who were vaccinated or have recovered from COVID-19 at least months prior to attending.

RIYADH, May 3 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Saudi Arabia will permit citizens immunised against Covid-19 to travel abroad from May 17, the interior ministry said, more than a year after Saudis were barred from external trips.

The ministry said three categories of people would be considered immunised — those who have received two doses of the coronavirus vaccine, those administered a single dose at least 14 days prior to travel, and people who have recovered from the infection within the last six months.

28 Apr 2021; MEMO: Major Chinese investors are in talks to buy a stake in Saudi Aramco, several sources told Reuters on Wednesday, as Saudi Arabia's state oil firm prepares to sell another slice of its business to international investors, Reuters reports.

28 Apr 2021; MEMO: Saudi Arabia plans to sell a one per cent stake in state-owned oil giant Saudi Aramco to a "leading global energy company" within the context of its Vision 2030 plan to diversify the kingdom's economy, Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman announced in an interview yesterday.

29 Apr 2021; MEMO: Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman said on Tuesday that Riyadh is ready to support the Houthis in Yemen if the movement expresses readiness to stop attacking the kingdom.

"The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia proposes an offer, including economic support and whatever they need in exchange for ceasing fire and sitting at the negotiating table," Bin Salman said in an interview.

28 Apr 2021; MEMO: In line with Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030, the kingdom has introduced the ancient Indian epics of Ramayana and Mahabharata into the school curriculum.

A tweet which has gone viral by Nouf Al-Marwaai, the first Saudi yoga instructor and founder of the Arab Yoga Foundation, included a screenshot of her son's social studies exam with questions on Hinduism and Buddhism.