Saudi Arabia

RIYADH, March 27 (NNN-AGENCIES) — World leaders promised US$5 trillion to stave off global economic collapse from the coronavirus pandemic that has killed 21,000 people and shut down huge swathes of the globe.

From New York to Paris to New Delhi life has ground to standstill with some three billion people confined to their homes as governments scramble to halt the disease’s deadly march across the world.

25 Mar 2020; MEMO: Amnesty International has revealed that 220 civil society organisations have announced a boycott of the G20 meeting due to be hosted by Saudi Arabia in November. The human rights organisation said that civil society groups around the world have expressed concerns about the participation of NGOs in the summit.

RIYADH, Mar 25 (NNN-SPA) – The Saudi Arabian G20 Presidency, will host a virtual G20 Summit, on response to the COVID-19 pandemic, tomorrow, March 26, the G20 Saudi secretariat said.

Saudi King, Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, will chair the meeting, to advance a coordinated global response to the COVID-19 pandemic and its human and economic implications, it said in a statement.

RIYADH, March 24 (Xinhua) -- The Saudi Arabian G20 Presidency will host the virtual G20 Summit on response to the COVID-19 pandemic on March 26, the G20 Saudi secretariat said on Tuesday.

Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud will chair the meeting to advance a coordinated global response to the COVID-19 pandemic and its human and economic implications, it said in a statement.

24 Mar 2020; MEMO: Saudi authorities have released hundreds of prisoners from Al-Shumaisi Prison as 119 new cases of coronavirus have been recorded, bringing the country’s total to 511.

Activists on Twitter shared a video showing what was said to be hundreds of prisoners spreading across the streets after they were released.

They added that most of the released prisoners are people who violated residency regulations or who were convicted in criminal cases.

23 Mar 2020; MEMO: Saudi Arabia will impose a three-week curfew as of Monday as part of the fight against the novel coronavirus, according to the official SPA news agency, Anadolu reports.

The curfew will start 7 p.m. local time until 6 a.m. (1600-0300 GMT) for three weeks under a royal decree issued by King Salman.

The royal order urged citizens to stay at their homes to help efforts aimed at stemming the spread of the virus.

22 March 2020; AFP: Confronted with a dizzying drop in prices, oil firms face a real challenge as they try to cut investment spending in order to survive a coronavirus-induced collapse in demand coupled with a Russia-Saudi Arabia price war.

Investment in oil exploration and production was set to hit just over half a trillion dollars this year according to the French research body IFPEN, as firms sought to maintain and expand output.

21 Mar 2020; MEMO: Two men have been arrested by the authorities in Saudi Arabia after posting videos online showing them drinking disinfectant and sterilising liquid that is unfit for human consumption, and thus misleading others into believing that it can protect them from the coronavirus.

RIYADH, Mar 21 (NNN-SPA) – Saudi Arabia predicted that the deficit of the 2020 state budget will range between seven and nine percent, amid the COVID-19 outbreak.

At a press conference, Saudi Finance Minister, Mohammed al-Jadaan, stressed the country’s financial and economic capability, to deal with the virus crisis with flexibility, by means of reducing expenditures or borrowing, according to the report.

20 Mar 2020; MEMO: Saudi Arabian authorities have stopped Muslim worshippers from entering and praying at the two holy mosques in Makkah and Medina in a bid to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus, Anadolu reports.