Saudi Arabia

29 July 2022; MEMO: Saudi Arabia has reiterated that it will not change its firm position on the Palestinian issue, despite its decision to open its airspace to all international aircraft, including those from Israel, Anadolu News Agency reports.

This was stated by Mohamed Al-Atiq, the acting charge d'affaires of the Saudi Arabia's permanent delegation to the UN, during a Security Council session on Palestine, the official Saudi Press Agency reported on Thursday evening.

JEDDAH, Jul 26 (NNN-SPA) – Saudi Arabian Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, unveiled, yesterday, the design of THE LINE, a city to promote a green lifestyle confronting environmental crises.

The city, designed to be 200 metres wide, 170 km long and 500 metres above sea level, is a civilisational revolution that puts humans first, providing an unprecedented urban living experience, while preserving the surrounding nature.

RIYADH, July 26 (Reuters) - Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman left Saudi Arabia on Tuesday for Greece and France, state news agency SPA reported, his first visits to a member state of the European Union since the 2018 killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

Prince Mohammed, whose last official visit outside the Middle East had been to Japan in 2019 for a G20 summit, will discuss bilateral ties and matters of mutual interest, SPA said.

Saudi Arabia is set to build a 75-mile-long skyscraper across the desert as part of its planned NEOM megacity. According to the Wall Street Journal, the "Mirror Line" will have mirrored or reflective walls, and will end in the Red Sea.

Costing a staggering $1 trillion (£833 billion), the 1,600 feet high desert skyscraper will have two parallel structures and associated buildings which together will house five million people. It will have facilities for vertical farming, a yacht marina and a sports stadium, as well as a high speed railway running underneath.

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) — Police in Mecca say they have arrested a Saudi man who helped an Israeli-Jewish reporter sneak into Islam’s holiest city, defying a rule that only Muslims can enter the area.

While Muslims of any nationality and background can enter Mecca, non-Muslims are not permitted because a very specific code of conduct and behavior is required of all people within its boundaries, including certain forms of modesty, ritual cleansing and prayers.

22 July 2022; MEMO: Saudi Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman, will visit Greece on 26 July to meet Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, the Greek Foreign Ministry said on Friday, in his first visit to an EU country since the 2018 killing of Saudi journalist, Jamal Khashoggi, Reuters reports.

The Ministry said the pair was due to sign bilateral deals, without giving details. A Greek diplomatic source said the deals were in the fields of energy, military cooperation and an undersea data cable, among others.

22 July 2022; MEMO: Saudi police announced the arrest of a citizen and his transfer to the Public Prosecution after he is alleged to have facilitated the arrival of an Israeli-American journalist to Makkah, Islam's holiest site and into which only Muslims are allowed to enter.

22 July 2022; MEMO: An Israeli reporter sneaked around the holy city of Makkah yesterday during a trip to Saudi Arabia, despite rules forbidding entry to non-Muslims.

According to Bloomberg, in his report, journalist Gil Tamari noted that "Mecca is a holy city for Islam and non-Muslims aren't allowed to enter".

"I am the first Israeli journalist to broadcast from here, even in Hebrew", said Tamari.

21 July 2022; MEMO: Russian President, Vladimir Putin, and Saudi Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman, spoke by phone on Thursday and underlined the importance of further cooperation within the OPEC+ group of oil producers, the Kremlin said, Reuters reports.

The conversation took place six days after US President, Joe Biden, visited the Prince in Saudi Arabia – highlighting the Kingdom's importance to both Washington and Moscow at a time when Russia's war in Ukraine is roiling global energy markets.

21 July 2022; MEMO: Remote-controlled cameras will take over responsibility from US-led peacekeepers for ensuring international shipping retains freedom of access to the Gulf of Aqaba, whose coastline is shared by Israel and three Arab nations, officials said, Reuters reports.

Tiran Island, which lies in the Straits of the same name at the mouth of the Gulf, was handed to Saudi Arabia by Egypt, along with next-door Sanafir Island, in 2017.