Saudi Arabia

27 Feb 2023; MEMO: Israel's national air carrier El Al yesterday began operating a new time-saving route via the airspace of Oman and Saudi Arabia, it said.

El Al Flight 083 departed from Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion Airport yesterday evening bound for Thailand's capital Bangkok, according to Xinhua, marking the first Israeli commercial flight using the new corridor.

The new route, the Israeli company said, would shorten flights to some Asian destinations by about two hours.

27 Feb 2023; MEMO: Saudi Arabia has agreed to provide Ukraine with $400 million in aid, surprising many with its assistance to the embattled country a year into Russia's invasion and the Kingdom's neutral stance throughout.

27 Feb 2023; MEMO: The Executive Committee of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) will hold an extraordinary, open-ended meeting today regarding "the escalation of the Israeli aggression against the Palestinian people," the OIC said in a statement on its website.

Recent Israeli raids on the Palestinian city of Nablus in the northern West Bank left 11 Palestinians dead and and over 100 injured.

23 Feb 2023; MEMO: The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) strongly condemned the Israeli "massacre" committed in the occupied West Bank city of Nablus and which resulted in 11 deaths and 102 injuries among Palestinians.

"This heinous crime constitutes an extension of the record of Israeli crimes and organised state terrorism practiced against the Palestinian people," the OIC said in a statement.

19 Feb 2023; MEMO: Saudi Arabia said Saturday that its good relations with Russia would benefit all, Anadolu reports.

Speaking at a panel of the Munich Security Conference 2023 on the geostrategic role of Middle Eastern countries, Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan reiterated that his country maintains a dialogue with Kyiv and Moscow and sees a willingness in the two warring parties.

But issues between Ukraine and Russia are complex, he said.

19 Feb 2023; MEMO: Saudi Arabia's foreign minister said consensus was building in the Arab world that isolating Syria was not working and that dialogue with Damascus was needed "at some point" to at least address humanitarian issues, including a return of refugees, Reuters reports.

16 Feb 2023; MEMO: Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF) has increased its stake in Japanese gaming giant Nintendo for the second time in a month. The PIF now owns 7.08 per cent, up from 6.07 per cent in January, according to a report by Trading View.

15 Feb 2023; MEMO: Saudi Arabia plans to establish 3,000 temporary houses for the victims of two deadly earthquakes that jolted Turkiye and Syria last week, Anadolu News Agency reports.

At least 35,418 people were killed and 105,505 others injured in two powerful earthquakes that rocked southern Turkiye on 6 February, according to the latest official figures.

15 Feb 2023; MEMO: Saudi Arabia has been selected to host the 2023 Club World Cup in December, FIFA announced yesterday.

The FIFA Council unanimously voted for the Saudi Arabian Football Federation to stage the event, which includes the six continental champions plus the host's national champions, Reuters reports.

The tournament will take place from 12-22 December.

RIYADH, Feb. 10 (Xinhua) -- Chinese tech giant Huawei has announced an investment of 400 million U.S. dollars to establish a cloud region in Saudi Arabia.

The announcement was made on Thursday during LEAP 2023, Saudi Arabia's largest and most comprehensive Information and Communications Technology exhibition.

The investment aims to boost Saudi Arabia's digital economy and enable access to more advanced and secure cloud services for government, corporate and individuals, said the company.