Saudi Arabia

07 March 2022; MEMO: As the tragic reality of war unfolds in eastern Europe, visitors to a defence show in Saudi Arabia were met with the surreal sight of seeing the latest Ukrainian and Russian military hardware competing for attention in pristine exhibition halls, Reuters reported.

For Maxim Potimkov of Ukraine's state arms exporter and importer, standing alone amid his country's armoured vehicles, sales were the farthest thing from his mind.

05 March 2022; MEMO: Saudi Arabia has detained 143 people across six government ministries over corruption claims, reported on Friday by the Oversight and Anti-Corruption Authority (Nazaha).

According to a statement posted on Twitter, the Oversight and Anti-Corruption Authority confirmed that the detentions came after investigating 544 employees across six ministries throughout February.

03 March 2022; MEMO: Saudi Crown Prince, Mohammed Bin Salman, said he does not care whether US President Joe Biden misunderstood things about him and said the US leader should be thinking about America's interests, in an interview with The Atlantic published Thursday, and Reuters reports.

The de facto ruler of the world's top oil exporter, known as MbS, also warned the United States not to interfere in the internal affairs of the absolute monarchy.

04 March 2022; MEMO: Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman has announced the Kingdom's readiness to mediate between Russia and Ukraine, state-run Saudi Press Agency (SPA) has reported.

Bin Salman apparently spoke on the phone with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday and informed him of the mediation offer. The prince underlined the Kingdom's support for efforts that will lead to a political solution to end the crisis and achieve security and stability.

04 March 2022; MEMO: Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman yesterday said that the kingdom was viewing Israel as a "potential ally."

"We don't look at Israel as an enemy, we look to them as a potential ally, with many interests that we can pursue together. But we have to solve some issues before we get to that," Bin Salman told The Atlantic.

March 3 (Reuters) - Israel can become "a potential ally" of Saudi Arabia if the conflict with the Palestinians is resolved, the Saudi state-news agency SPA cited Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman as saying on Thursday.

"We look at Israel as a potential ally but before that it should solve its problems with the Palestinians," the agency cited him as saying.

27 Feb 2022; MEMO: Saudi Aramco has discovered natural gas fields in four regions of the kingdom, the Saudi Press Agency reported on Sunday, citing Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman.

The fields were found in the central area of the kingdom, in the Empty Quarter desert, near its northern border and in the eastern region, he said, according to the state news agency.

20 Feb 2022; MEMO: Saudi Arabia said it plans to hold a fifth round of direct talks with regional rival Iran, Anadolu reports.

"We are looking to schedule a fifth round of direct talks with Iran despite a lack of substantive progress so far," Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al-Saud said in a speech at the Munich Security Conference on Saturday.

The top Saudi diplomat called on Tehran to change its behavior in the region.

16 Feb 2022; MEMO: A job advert to recruit 30 female train drivers in Saudi Arabia has attracted 28,000 applicants, highlighting the scale of pent up demand as the conservative Kingdom opens up more opportunities to women, Reuters reports.

Spanish railway operator, Renfe, said on Wednesday an online assessment of academic background and English language skills had helped it to reduce the number of candidates by around a half, and it would work through the rest by mid-March.

RIYADH, Feb. 16 (Xinhua) -- Saudi Arabian carrier SAUDIA tweeted on Wednesday to launch 10 new destinations to its travel network in 2022, including China.

The move comes as a result of the recovery of the aviation industry from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Besides Chinese capital Beijing, the airline will also add direct flights to Bangkok, Barcelona, Malaga, Marrakech, Moscow, Seoul, Entebbe, Amsterdam and Chicago.

SAUDIA has not clarified when the new routes will begin to operate.