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DOHA, Qatar (AFP) — Saudi Arabia’s de facto leader has discussed regional security with Qatar during his first visit since the kingdom ended a four-year blockade, official media said. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman arrived late on Wednesday as part of a Gulf tour, nearly a year after relations were restored in January. Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt cut ties with Doha over allegations it supported extremists and was too close […]
DOHA, Qatar (AFP) — Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler Mohammed bin Salman arrived in Qatar on Wednesday as part of a Gulf tour, marking his first visit to the country after the two sides severed ties four years ago. Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain cut all links with Qatar in June 2017, alleging it backed radical Islamist groups and was too close to Riyadh’s rival Tehran — allegations Doha denied. But relations […]
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AFP) — Saudi Arabia has recorded the Gulf’s first confirmed case of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus in a citizen returning from North Africa, a health ministry official said Wednesday. The strain, which was first announced by South Africa but has since been discovered to have been present earlier in Europe, has prompted governments around the globe to reimpose travel restrictions, despite warnings from the World Health Organization this could […]
by Rania Sanjar Agence France-Presse RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AFP) – Top crude exporter Saudi Arabia will aim to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2060, its de facto ruler said on Saturday, days before the COP26 global climate summit. The kingdom, one of the world’s biggest polluters, said it would also join a global effort to cut methane emissions by 30 percent by 2030. The UN says more than 130 countries have set or are […]
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The Biden administration declassified an FBI memo Saturday that fortified suspicions of official Saudi involvement with the hijackers in the September 11, 2001 attacks, but it fell well short of proof that victims’ families suing Saudi Arabia had hoped for. The memo from April 4, 2016, which had been classified until now, showed links between Omar Bayoumi, at the time a student but suspected to have been a Saudi […]
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AFP) — Saudi Arabia said Tuesday it was lifting a ban on travel to three countries including the UAE after imposing the restrictions to stop the spread of Covid-19. The kingdom would reopen on Wednesday its land, sea and air ports to the United Arab Emirates, South Africa and Argentina, the official SPA news agency reported, citing an interior ministry source. The UAE, and especially Dubai, is a key leisure destination for […]
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AFP) — Saudi Arabia has begun compensating the families of health workers who died because of the coronavirus, state media reported on Sunday, after announcing last year that each will receive $133,000. The kingdom said in October it would distribute “500,000 Saudi riyals to the families of those who died as a result of Covid-19 working in the health sectors, be it government or private, civilian or military, Saudi or non-Saudi”. The […]
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AFP) — Any Saudi citizen wishing to travel abroad will be required to have had two doses of coronavirus vaccine from next month, tightening existing measures, the interior ministry said on Monday. “The second dose of the vaccine against Covid will be a condition of all overseas travel for all citizens from August 9, 2021,” the ministry wrote in a statement published by the official SPA news agency. Children under 12, those […]
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AFP) — Saudi Arabia has suspended flights to three countries, including the neighbouring United Arab Emirates, to protect against a coronavirus variant, the interior ministry said Saturday. The move comes seven weeks after the oil-rich kingdom permitted fully immunized citizens to travel abroad, after a ban on foreign trips that lasted more than a year. The UAE, and especially Dubai, is a key leisure destination for Saudis. Flights to and from the […]
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AFP) — Hundreds gathered Thursday for the first concert in the Saudi capital since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic to watch performances by Syrian diva Assala Nasri and Kuwaiti crooner Nabeel Shuail. Before stiff rules were brought in a year ago to stem the spread of coronavirus, the ultra-conservative kingdom had started to ease decades-long restrictions on entertainment, as part of efforts to improve its image and attract tourists. “This is […]
JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia (AFP) — Saudi Arabia and Pakistan signed agreements Saturday to improve ties, after months of strained relations between the close allies over the disputed region of Kashmir. Although the kingdom was the first foreign country Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan visited after his 2018 election, Riyadh appeared frustrated with Islamabad last year. And while the wealthy nation has supported Pakistan with billions of dollars in aid and loans in recent years, observers […]
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AFP) — Energy giant Saudi Aramco on Tuesday posted a 30 percent jump in first quarter profits, in a sign of recovery from last year’s oil market crash fuelled by the coronavirus pandemic. Aramco said its net profit rose to $21.7 billion in the first three months of the year, compared to $16.7 billion in the same quarter of 2020, owing to a stronger oil market and higher refining and chemicals margins. […]
