Saudi Arabia

12 Jan 2023; MEMO: Britain and Saudi Arabia have reached an agreement to strengthen cooperation on diversifying sources of critical minerals, including graphite and lithium, the British government said in a statement.

This came during the British Business Secretary, Grant Shapps's visit to the Saudi capital, Riyadh, during which he attended the Future Metals forum.

11 Jan 2023; MEMO: Saudi Arabia plans to use domestically-sourced uranium to build up its nuclear power industry, Energy Minister, Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, said on Wednesday, Reuters reports.

He added that recent exploration had shown a diverse portfolio of uranium in the Gulf Arab State, the world's top oil exporter.

10 Jan 2023; MEMO: The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) on Tuesday warned against any Israeli assault on the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Occupied East Jerusalem, Anadolu News Agency reports.

In a statement following an extraordinary meeting, the Jeddah-based organisation called for imposing sanctions on far-right Israeli Minister of National Security, Itamar Ben-Gvir, for violating the sanctity of the flashpoint site.

09 Jan 2023; MEMO: The mountains in and around the holy city of Makkah in Saudi Arabia have turned green after weeks of heavy rain and last month's flash floods, the Saudi Press Agency has reported. The agency shared a video clip on Twitter last Thursday showing the effect of the excessive rainfall.

09 Jan 2023; MEMO: The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) will hold an extraordinary meeting on Tuesday to discuss Israeli violations at the Al-Aqsa Mosque complex in Occupied East Jerusalem, Anadolu News Agency reports.

In a statement, the Jeddah-based organisation said the meeting comes "after the continuous Israeli escalation in the Occupied city of Al-Quds [Jerusalem] and the continuous violations against the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque."

09 Jan 2023; MEMO: Saudi Arabia will remove COVID-19 restrictions for the 2023 Haj season and host pre-pandemic numbers of pilgrims, the Kingdom's Ministry of Haj and Umrah said on Monday, Reuters reports.

In 2019, the last year before the pandemic struck, some 2.6 million people performed the Haj. The Kingdom allowed only limited numbers from its residents in 2020 and 2021 before it welcomed back one million foreign pilgrims in 2022.

08 Jan 2023; MEMO: Saudi Arabia is looking to bring Formula 1 racing teams to the region, with its sights set on McLaren and Aston Martin to relocate their headquarters to the kingdom.

Prince Khalid Bin Sultan Al-Faisal, president of the Saudi Automobile and Motor Federation reportedly wants to compete with Britain by becoming a major motor racing hub and hosting some of the top F1 teams. Currently, Britain is home to seven of the 10 F1 teams.

31 Dec 2022; AA: The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) on Saturday welcomed the passage of a UN General Assembly resolution seeking opinion of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on Israel’s occupation of Palestine.

In a statement, the pan-Muslim group hailed the stances of the countries that backed the resolution which "affirm their commitment to the international law and in line with their historical stances" towards supporting Palestinian cause.

28 Dec 2022; MEMO: The former head of Saudi Arabia's Public Security agency has reportedly been sentenced to 25 years' imprisonment, in one of the latest anti-corruption cases ruled on in the kingdom.

According to Prisoners of Conscience, a Twitter account which tracks and observes the situation of Saudi detainees, Lieutenant General Khaled Bin Qarar Al-Harbi was handed a sentence of 25 years in prison on charges of corruption and abuse of power.

RIYADH, Dec 27 (APP): The Saudi Ministry of Hajj and Umrah will organize the ‘Hajj Expo 2023’ conference and exhibition January 9-12, 2023.

The four-day event, being held under the patronage of Advisor to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques and Makkah Governor Prince Khaled Al-Faisal, was part of the ministry’s ongoing efforts to build an innovative ecosystem of services and solutions to better serve pilgrims at the Two Holy Mosques, while enhancing their religious and cultural experiences, a ministry press release said.