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Pharma major Venus Remedies Limited on Saturday said it has received marketing authorisation from the Saudi Food and Drug Authority (SFDA) for speciality oncology therapy -- Plerixafor. Plerixafor is a hematopoietic stem cell mobiliser used in combination with granulocyte-colony stimulating factor (G-CSF) to mobilise stem cells into peripheral blood for collection and autologous transplantation. It is standard-of-care in haemato-oncology, particularly for patients with multiple myeloma and non-Hodgkin lymphoma undergoing transplant, the company said in a statement. This is the first marketing authorisation the company secured for Plerixafor anywhere in the world, it added. Saransh Chaudhary, President, Global Critical Care, Venus Remedies Limited, and Venus Medicine Research Centre CEO, said, "This is our first Plerixafor approval anywhere in the world, and Saudi Arabia is the right market to launch it in". "Plerixafor sits squarely in the kind of therapy class we are building our
Saudi Arabia on Friday became the newest member of the International Big Cat Alliance, a platform that brings together countries which are home to the seven big cats lion, tiger, leopard, snow leopard, cheetah, jaguar and puma, officials said. With this, the alliance now has 26 member countries and five observer nations. In a post on X, the International Big Cat Alliance (IBCA) said, "The IBCA warmly welcomes the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia as its newest member country! A significant collective step towards advancing global cooperation for Big Cat conservation and a sustainable planet." Established in 2024 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the IBCA is a multi-country, multi-agency coalition comprising 95 big cat range countries and non-range countries with an interest in big cat conservation, scientific organisations engaged in big cat research, business groups and corporates committed to supporting the conservation efforts. The platform aims to facilitate collaboration and synergy amo
Saudi Arabia's no-frills airline flyadeal will start daily flights between Riyadh and Hyderabad from July 1, marking the commencement of its services to India. A sister company of Saudia Airlines, the Jeddah-based flyadeal has been flying for more than eight years. The flights between Riyadh and Hyderabad, starting from July 1, will be operated with A320 neo aircraft having 186 economy class seats, the carrier said in a release on Tuesday. flyadeal's acting CEO Sanjiv Kapoor said Hyderabad is the first step of the airline's planned expansion into India and added that it would announce flights to a second Indian destination soon. The airline has a fleet of 46 Airbus A320 family aircraft and operates flights from Riyadh, Jeddah, Madinah and Dammam to various destinations. Kapoor, who is also the Executive Vice President, Strategies at Saudia Group, said India is a key part of Saudia Group and flyadeal's long-term strategy. "Our promise of friendly, efficient, low-fare, and on-time
Pakistan has returned the total USD 3.45 billion it owed in debt to the United Arab Emirates, the country's central bank said Friday. The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) in a social media post confirmed the repayment and said that the transaction was completed on Thursday. "State Bank of Pakistan repaid a deposit of USD 1 billion to Abu Dhabi Fund for Development (ADFD), UAE on April 23, 2026. Deposits of USD 2.45 billion were repaid last week. This completes the repayment of total deposits of USD 3.45 billion to UAE," it said. The announcement came days after Pakistan received a USD 3 billion financial aid from Saudi Arabia. The deposit came in two tranches, with the second tranche of USD 1 billion received on April 21. The UAE had asked for the immediate return of the funds in the wake of the recent situation in West Asia following the US-Israel war on Iran. These funds were part of external financing support extended by the UAE in 2019 to help stabilise Pakistan's balance of payme
A Pakistani military contingent comprising around 13,000 soldiers and 10 to 18 jets has reached Saudi Arabia as part of a joint strategic defence agreement signed last year, the Gulf Kingdom announced on Saturday. The military contingent's deployment to King Abdulaziz Air Base in the Eastern Sector includes fighter jets and support aircraft from the Pakistan Air Force, according to a statement from Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Defence. The deployment aimed to enhance joint military coordination, improve operational readiness between the armed forces of the two countries, and support security and stability at regional and international levels, it added. A Pakistan government official also confirmed sending troops and jets to Saudi Arabia as part of the two countries' strategic defence agreement, under which any attack on one country would be considered an attack on another. Expert on international affairs Mohammad Mehdi told PTI that Pakistan had sent aircraft and troops to Saudi Arab
Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Saturday held discussions with Saudi Arabia's Trade Minister Majid bin Abdullah Al Qassabi on ways to strengthen supply chains disrupted due to the West Asia crisis, after holding talks with his counterparts from the UAE, Bahrain and Kuwait. All these countries are members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) with which India is negotiating a free trade agreement. The commerce ministry, in a statement, said that Goyal had a virtual call with Qassabi. "The Ministers reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening bilateral trade and expressed optimism for early progress in the India-GCC FTA negotiations," it said. Both sides noted the strain conflict has put on regional supply chains and stressed the need for an early recovery through coordinated efforts to ensure smooth trade flows, it said. Goyal highlighted India's steps to support exports to Saudi Arabia and the Gulf region. The joint attack launched by the US and Israel on Iran had
For the first time, Saudi Arabia has laid out the scale of damage inflicted to its oil output and exports, although it didn't specify when the attacks occurred. An energy ministry statement also gave the first public confirmation of Saudi casualties during the Iran war, saying one citizen working as an industrial security guard was killed and seven others wounded. Thursday's statement said strikes targeted production, transport and refining sites, as well as petrochemical and power facilities in Riyadh, the Eastern Province, and Yanbu on the Red Sea. The statement didn't attribute responsibility. A pumping station on the East-West Pipeline was among the hardest hit, cutting throughput by about 700,000 barrels per day, while outages at Manifa and Khurais reduced output by 600,000 more barrels per day. The major refineries, including SATORP, Ras Tanura and SAMREF, were also hit, with fires at Ju'aymah disrupting exports of liquefied petroleum gas and natural gas liquids.
Kuwait has accused Iran and its proxies of launching drone attacks targeting it on Thursday despite the two-week ceasefire in the Iran war, as Saudi Arabia said recent attacks damaged a key pipeline in the kingdom. The statement from Kuwait's foreign ministry, carried by the state-run KUNA news agency, put new pressure on the ceasefire ahead of planned talks on Saturday between the United States and Iran in Islamabad. Kuwait's foreign ministry said the drone attacks "targeted some vital Kuwaiti facilities" Thursday night. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia's state-run Saudi Press Agency, quoting an anonymous official, acknowledged a recent attack in the war that damaged its crucial East-West pipeline. That pipeline carries oil out to the Red Sea and avoids the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran maintains a chokehold on despite the pause in the fighting. Earlier in a potential boost to Middle East ceasefire efforts, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday that he authorised direct .
The King Fahd Causeway, a key bridge linking Saudi Arabia and the island of Bahrain, reopened Tuesday morning after closing for hours over possible threats from Iran. The King Fahd Causeway Authority made the announcement in a post on X, saying the only route by road between Bahrain and the Arabian Peninsula had reopened. Bahrain's airport has been closed over the Iranian attacks for weeks. The hours-long closure came after a ballistic missile attack from Iran targeted Saudi Arabia and may have done damage to energy infrastructure there. The kingdom has not elaborated on the damage from that attack.
The King Fahd Causeway, a key bridge linking Saudi Arabia to the island kingdom of Bahrain, closed early on Tuesday over threats from Iranian attacks. The King Fahd Causeway Authority made the announcement in a post on X. It said vehicle movements had been "suspended as a precautionary measure" over Iranian attacks targeting Saudi Arabia's Eastern Province. The 25-kilometre (15.5 mile) bridge is the only connection by road for Bahrain, home to the US Navy's 5th Fleet, to the Arabian Peninsula. US President Donald Trump has issued an ultimatum for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and threatened to bomb Iranian power plants and bridges if it doesn't by Tuesday 8 pm EDT.