Saudi Arabia

18 October 2022; MEMO: The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) on Tuesday welcomed a decision by the Australian government to end its recognition of West Jerusalem as Israel's capital, Anadolu News Agency reports.

In a statement, the Jeddah-based grouping hailed Australia's "commitment to the two-state solution", adding that the Australian move "aligns with international law and relevant United Nations resolutions."

19 October 2022; MEMO: Saudi Arabia has sentenced a Quran reciter to 12 years in prison for leading prayers at Istanbul's Hagia Sophia eight years ago, as the Kingdom's crackdown on religious figures continues to intensify.

17 October 2022; MEMO: An official source in Hamas told Arabi 21 that the Saudi authorities will release the representative of Hamas, Muhammad Al-Khudari, who was arrested and sentenced to 15 years in prison, but his sentence then being reduced, later, to 6 years.

In exclusive statements to Arabi 21, the source said that Al-Khudari will be deported to Amman after his release, which was supposed to be today, but it was delayed until tomorrow due to some procedures.

18 October 2022; MEMO: OPEC+ member states lined up on Sunday to endorse the steep cut to its output target agreed this month, after the White House, stepping up a war of words with Saudi Arabia, accused Riyadh of coercing some other nations into supporting the move, Reuters reports.

Oct 15 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia will provide $400 million in humanitarian aid to Ukraine, Saudi state news agency SPA said, adding that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman made a phone call to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Friday.

The crown prince expressed the kingdom's readiness to continue efforts of mediation and support everything that contributes to de-escalation, SPA added.

12 October 2022; MEMO: Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister said that the efforts to extend the truce in Yemen still stand, Al Arabiya TV reported on Wednesday, after an initial UN-brokered pact between a Saudi-led coalition and the Houthi movement expired early this month, Reuters reports.

The Kingdom, the coalition and the Riyadh-backed Yemeni government are "keen on extending the truce," the Saudi-owned TV quoted Foreign Minister, Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, as saying.

12 October 2022; MEMO: Saudi's relations with the US are "strategic",  Foreign Minister Prince Faisal Bin Farhan said, stressing that the OPEC+ decision to cut production is a "purely economic" issue.

11 October 2022; MEMO: Saudi Arabia has announced that female pilgrims performing Hajj or Umrah no longer require a mahram, or closely-related male guardian to accompany them.

At a press conference at the Saudi Embassy in Cairo yesterday, the Minister of Hajj and Umrah, Dr Tawfiq Al-Rabiah, said that women from any part of the world could visit the Two Holy Mosques without a mahram.

8 October 2022; MEMO: Saudi Arabia has reopened a number of Turkish schools closed by the kingdom last year, according to a Turkish diplomat, Anadolu reports.

"A number of schools run by the Turkish Education Ministry began to operate since Sept. 2," Huseyin Eren Yildiz from the Turkish Consulate in Jeddah city told Anadolu Agency.

He said Turkish primary schools in the cities of Jeddah, Dammam and Tabuk have been reopened.

6 October 2022; MEMO: Saudi Arabia has planted more than 12 million wild trees and shrubs in a bid to combat desertification.

According to the Saudi Gazette, the National Centre for Vegetation Development and Combating Desertification (NCVC) planted the trees while starting the Integrated Management and Sustainable Development of Pastures Project, which is part of the Kingdom's National Pasture Strategy Initiative, in line with Saudi Arabia's Visio 2030.