Saudi Arabia

05 Aug 2020; MEMO: Saudi Arabia has constructed a facility for extracting uranium “yellowcake” from ore with help from China, Western officials revealed to the Wall Street Journal yesterday.

04 Aug 2020; MEMO: Saudi Arabia has said that three Iranian boats were “forced” to leave its territorial waters last week.

The incident comes at a time of high tension between Riyadh and Tehran.

According to the state-run Saudi Press Agency, at 6.30pm local time on Thursday, the Saudi coastguard spotted three Iranian boats inside the Kingdom’s territorial waters. After the boats “refused to respond” to repeated warnings by the coastguard, “warning shots were fired… forcing them to retreat.”

Dubai, Jul 31 (AP/PTI) Saudi Arabia's King Salman was discharged from a hospital in the capital Riyadh after more than a week following surgery to remove his gall bladder, the Royal Court said.

The court said in a statement late Thursday the monarch, 84, left the King Faisal Specialist Hospital after a recovery.

30 July 2020; MEMO: In the light of the strict measures being put in place to curb the spread of coronavirus in the kingdom, Saudi authorities said they had detained 244 people who were attempting to infiltrate Makkah to perform the Hajj, Safa news agency reported yesterday.

According to local news sites, the Saudi security teams could identify and prove that the people who were detained were preparing to make their way towards Makkah.

29 July 2020; MEMO: The annual Hajj pilgrimage performed by Muslims from around the world has begun in Saudi Arabia’s holy city of Makkah, dramatically downsized due to the coronavirus pandemic.

In a bid to curb the spread of the deadly virus, only 1,000 pilgrims residing in the kingdom were given permission to take part, compared to roughly two million who usually flock to Makkah for the five-day ritual.

In an unprecedented move, international visitors have been banned  from taking part.

25 July 2020; MEMO: Saudi Arabia has been putting pressure on local businesses not to trade with Turkey and its industries in a bid to boost its unofficial boycott. The detention of trucks carrying produce from Turkey has raised tension between the two countries.

22 July 2020; MEMO: Saudi Arabia has put in place “integrated preparations” for providing safe and smooth services to pilgrims performing this year’s Hajj, Gulf News reported a Saudi government minister saying.

RIYADH, July 22 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Saudi King Salman held a cabinet meeting via video call from hospital in the capital Riyadh on Tuesday, a day after the 84-year-old monarch was admitted with what state media said was inflammation of the gall bladder.

The king was in stable condition.

A video of the king chairing the meeting was broadcast on Saudi state TV on Tuesday evening. In the video, which has no sound, King Salman can be seen behind a desk, wordlessly reading and leafing through documents.

Dubai, Jul 20 (AP/PTI) Saudi Arabia's King Salman has been admitted to a hospital in the capital, Riyadh, for medical tests due to inflammation of the gallbladder, the kingdom's Royal Court said Monday in a statement carried by the official Saudi Press Agency.

The statement said the 84-year-old monarch is being tested at the King Faisal Specialist Hospital.

The brief statement did not provide further details.

RIYADH, July 18 (NNN-AGENCIES) — G20 finance ministers and central bankers are set to hold talks Saturday aimed at spurring global economic recovery from a coronavirus-triggered recession amid growing calls to widen debt relief for crisis-hit poor countries.

The virtual talks, hosted by Saudi Arabia, come as the surging pandemic continues to batter the global economy and campaigners warn of a looming debt crisis across poverty-wracked developing nations.