Saudi Arabia

02 Nov 2020; MEMO: Saudi authorities have been using social media platforms mainly to crackdown on opponents and critics of the state and to curtail freedom of expression in the kingdom.

AFP reported that the crackdown has included intellectuals as well as senior state officials.

01 Nov 2020; MEMO: A Saudi driver crashed his car into one of the outer gates of Mecca’s Grand Mosque early Saturday, according to the official SPA news agency.

Videos on social media showed a grey car ramming through barricades erected around the outer courtyard of the mosque before hitting one of the gates.

According to the spokesman of the Mecca province, Sultan al-Dousari, security authorities have launched an investigation into the incident.

28 Oct 2020; MEMO: Saudi Arabia has condemned the French cartoons abusing Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) but has not supported the campaign to boycott French products, Reuters reported yesterday.

Saudi officials said in a statement that the kingdom condemns all acts of terrorism, referring, according to Reuters, to the beheading of French teacher who displayed insulting cartoons of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) to his students.

22 Oct 2020; MEMO: Sources in Sudan and Egypt have revealed that Saudi Arabia is to pay $335 million to the US in order to accelerate normalisation of ties between the government in Khartoum and Israel, Safa news agency reported on Wednesday.

RIYADH, Oct 22 (NNN-SPA) – Saudi Arabia launched a national strategy to become a global leader in artificial intelligence (AI) by 2030.

Abdullah bin Sharaf Alghamdi, president of Saudi Data and AI Authority, announced the launch of the National Strategy for Data and AI, at the Global AI Summit, which kicked off virtually yesterday.

16 Oct 2020; MEMO: US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has urged Saudi Arabia to follow in the footsteps of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Bahrain to normalise diplomatic ties with Israel.

Meeting Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal Bin Farhan in Washington on Wednesday, Pompeo claimed it would be a strategic boost for the Jewish state amid normalisation with two other Gulf Arab kingdoms.

11 Oct 2020; MEMO: Saudi Prince Abdulrahman Bin Musa’ad has called for boycotting Turkish imports after Turkish President Erdogan announced that his country’s army in Qatar helps stabilise security in the Gulf states.

According to The New Khalij, the prince retweeted Erdogan’s remarks and wrote: “Therefore, I call for a full popular boycott for the Turkish products in order to protect the stability of Turkish economy and strengthen it.”

09 Oct 2020; MEMO: Saudi Arabia has reportedly threatened to return Bangladeshi workers from the kingdom if the country does not issue passports to some 54,000 Rohingya Muslims who have been living in the kingdom for decades.

07 Oct 2020; MEMO: A senior judge in Saudi Arabia is facing bribery and corruption charges, the local media revealed on Tuesday.

Although he is said to have been caught “red-handed” with around 250,000 Riyals in his possession, the identity of the judge is being kept secret. He denies the charges and claims that he is the victim of a “conspiracy”.

05 Oct 2020; MEMO: Saudi Arabia’s total production of gold increased 158 per cent to 12,353 kilogrammes in 2019 compared to the 4,789 kilogrammes recorded in 2014, a new report revealed.

According to the publication, the kingdom has also increased its total production of silver, reaching 5,588 kilogrammes in 2019 compared to 4,800 kilogrammes in 2014.