Saudi Arabia

10 Apr 2021; MEMO: The Saudi Ministry of Interior has decided to fine anyone attempting to perform Umrah without obtaining a permit with 10,000 Saudi riyals.

07 Apr 2021; MEMO: Saudi Arabia reportedly owes billions of dollars to some of the largest construction companies in the world in unpaid bills for work completed on the Riyadh metro project, which is key to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's plan to modernise the Kingdom.

JEDDAH, Apr 5 (NNN-SPA) – Saudi Arabia’s critical COVID-19 cases rose in the past weeks, prompting calls from relevant authorities for the public to adhere to measures designed to limit the spread of the virus.

At a press conference yesterday, Interior Ministry spokesman, Lt. Col. Talal Al-Shalhoub, said, the “unfortunate rise in daily cases” is due to “individuals who have been lax in following precautionary measures.”

He added, “Each violation adds to the frightening rise in numbers.”

05 Apr 2021; MEMO: Professor Saad Al Faqih, a Saudi politician and founder of the Movement for Islamic Reform in Arabia (MIRA), said on Sunday that Saudi's detention of Dr Mohammad Al Khodari, Hamas' envoy to Riyadh, "is a breach of Saudi and international conventions."

New Delhi, Apr 4 (PTI) An Indian warship has begun a visit to Saudi Arabia and will participate in a military exercise with the navy of the Gulf nation in reflection of multi-faceted bilateral defence cooperation, officials said on Sunday.

An Indian Navy spokesperson said frigate INS Talwar arrived at the Jubail port of Saudi Arabia on Saturday.

"This visit underscores deep-rooted friendly ties and multi-faceted defence cooperation between India and Saudi Arabia," he said.

03 Apr 2021; MEMO: Normalising ties between Saudi Arabia and Israel would "bring tremendous benefits to the region as a whole," Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Faisal Bin Farhan Al-Saud announced on Thursday.

"It [normalisation] would be extremely helpful economically, socially and from a security perspective," he expressed in the interview with CNN.

01 Apr 2021; MEMO: The unemployment rate among Saudi citizens dropped to 12.6 per cent from 14.9 per cent in the last quarter of 2020, the Kingdom's General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT) announced yesterday.

RIYADH, Mar 31 (NNN-SPA) – Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, launched yesterday, the Shareek (Partner) programme, to promote partnership with the private sector in the kingdom.

The programme, which targets domestic companies, aims to boost resilience of the national economy and support sustainable growth and prosperity.

The crown prince predicted that, the programme will create thousands of new jobs and raise contribution of the private sector to GDP by up to 65 percent by the end of the decade.

31 Mar 2021; MEMO: Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman called Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan on Monday to wish him a speedy recovery from Covid-19 and discuss mutual relations, the Saudi Press Agency has reported. Khan tested positive for the virus on 20 March and has been in self-isolation at home ever since.

28 Mar 2021; MEMO: The Saudi-led coalition battling Yemen's Houthi forces has destroyed two explosive-laden boats that the Iran-aligned group planned to use in an "imminent" attack launched from the Red Sea port of Hodeidah, Reuters reported Saudi state media as saying.

The coalition in separate statements also said it intercepted and destroyed three armed drones launched towards southern Saudi Arabia, including the city of Khamis Mushait.