Page 13 - Saudi Arabia

After 2 years out of team, N'Golo Kante key to France's success once again

It was a classic N'Golo Kant performance. Effective, understated and overshadowed by a teammate. With all the attention on Kylian Mbapp and his injured nose, Kant's tireless defensive midfield work was quietly crucial to France's 1-0 win over Austria at the European Championship on Monday. Kant had not played a competitive game for France in two years. It was as if the 33-year-old had never been away. He completed 92% of his passes and stopped Austria counterattacks to preserve France's lead following an Austria own goal. Of course he was brilliant, he was bright tonight, we needed that, France coach Didier Deschamps said through a translator. On a night when seven yellow cards were issued in total and emotions ran high, especially after Austria fans booed the injured Mbapp for what they saw as time-wasting, Kant brought much-needed calm to the French midfield. Kant was a key part of the team which won the 2018 World Cup but he last played a competitive game for France in the Nat

Heatwave claims 19 lives during Hajj 2024 as mercury soars in Saudi Arabia

Temperatures soared above 46 degrees Celsius this week in Saudi, making the outdoor rituals particularly challenging, especially for the elderly

Hajj 2024: Step-by-step guide, rituals and significance of the pilgrimage

The Hajj pilgrimage holds special significance for Muslims across the world. Here's the step-by-step guide to performing the annual holy ritual

More than 1.5 mn foreign Muslims arrive in Mecca for annual Hajj pilgrimage

Muslim pilgrims have been streaming into Saudi Arabia's holy city of Mecca ahead of the start of the Hajj later this week, as the annual pilgrimage returns to its monumental scale. Saudi officials say more than 1.5 million foreign pilgrims have arrived in the country by Tuesday, the vast majority by air, from across the world. More are expected, and hundreds of thousands of Saudis and others living in Saudi Arabia will also join them when the pilgrimage officially begins on Friday. Saudi officials have said they expect the number of pilgrims this year to exceed 2023, when more than 1.8 million people performed Hajj, approaching pre-pandemic levels. In 2019, more than 2.4 million Muslims made the pilgrimage. The pilgrims included 4,200 Palestinians from the occupied West Bank who arrived in Mecca earlier this month, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Awqaf and Religious Affairs. Palestinians in the Gaza Strip were not able to travel to Saudi Arabia for Hajj this year, because

Saudi Arabia set to raise $11.2 bn from secondary offering of Aramco shares

Aramco's book was covered four to five times near the bottom of the price range of 26.7 to 29 riyals

Air India's rise could impact three Gulf hubs, says Saudia Airlines

Calling AI a "sleeping giant", Muehlen said: "They have a legacy. They have the hearts of the Indian population. If they get it right, it would be more at the expense of the super-connectors"

Saudi Aramco courts foreign investors with roadshows in US, London

During Aramco's 2019 initial public offering, overseas investors had largely balked at valuation expectations and left the government reliant on local buyers

Yemen's Houthis sentence 44 to death on charges of treachery, spying

A court run by Yemen's Houthi rebels on Saturday sentenced 44 people to death, including a businessman working with aid groups, on spying charges, a defence lawyer said. The 44 were among 49 people who were detained by the Iran-backed rebels and accused of collaborating with the enemy, a reference to the Saudi-led coalition that has been at war with the Houthis since 2015, lawyer Abdel-Majeed Sabra said. Four were given prison sentences, Sabra said. Sixteen were sentenced to death in absentia, while 28 were brought before the Specialised Criminal Court in the capital Sanaa, Sabra said. Among those sentenced to death was Adnan al-Harazi, CEO of Prodigy Systems, a Sanaa-based company that developed systems to help humanitarian groups register and verify the distribution of aid to those in need in the war-stricken country. The Houthis detained al-Harazi in March last year after throwing stones at his company. Saturday's court ruling included the seizure of al-Harazi's properties, Sabr

OPEC meeting to shape India's Russian oil purchases as May levels stay high

Bloc members led by Saudi Arabia and Russia are holding a ministerial meeting on June 2 to decide the fate of global oil production

Saudi Arabia to sell shares worth $12 billion of oil major Aramco

The deal will test global investors' appetite for the world's biggest oil exporter amid questions about climate change and the future of fossil fuels

US slows licence approvals for AI chip exports to prevent resale to China

The United States Commerce Department extended chip export restrictions to include much of West Asia, along with China and other foreign countries, in October

Lenovo to issue $2 bn of convertible bonds to Saudi's Alat to repay debt

The world's largest maker of personal computers has become the latest Chinese firm to join a rush in Asia to raise capital through convertible bonds

Saudi King to be treated for lung inflammation hours after undergoing tests

Due to King Salman's health issue, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the de facto Saudi leader, postponed a visit to Japan that had been scheduled to begin on Monday

US NSA, Saudi's crown prince meet to discuss 'semi-final' security deal

President Joe Biden's national security adviser met early Sunday with Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to discuss what the kingdom described as the semi-final version of a wide-ranging security agreement between the countries. The announcement by the state-run Saudi Press Agency comes as the strategic deal had been upended after Hamas' October 7 attack on Israel that killed 1,200 people and saw 250 others taken hostage back to the Gaza Strip. In the time since, a punishing Israeli airstrike campaign and ground offensive there has killed over 35,000 Palestinians, endangering the security deal that had included Saudi Arabia diplomatically recognising Israel for the first time since its founding in 1948. Saudi state media released no images of Jake Sullivan and Prince Mohammed meeting in Dhahran, a city in the kingdom's far east that's home to its state-run oil giant, the Saudi Arabian Oil Co. known as Saudi Aramco. The semi-final version of the draft strategic agreemen

Saudi's King Salman suffering from fever, undergoes medical exams

Saudi Arabia's 88-year-old King Salman will undergo medical checks on Sunday after suffering from a high temperature and joint pain, state media reported. King Salman will undergo the examinations at the Royal Clinics at Al Salam Palace in Jeddah, the Red Sea port city, the state-run Saudi Press Agency reported. The treating medical team decided to conduct some examinations to diagnose his health condition and to check on his health, the statement said. It did not elaborate further. In April, the monarch entered a hospital for medical checks and was later discharged. King Salman took the throne in 2015. He's since elevated his son, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, to the kingdom's monarch-in-waiting. The crown prince is widely believed to be running the day-to-day affairs of the kingdom.

US NSA, Saudi's crown prince meet to discuss 'semi-final' security deal

President Joe Biden's national security adviser met early Sunday with Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to discuss what the kingdom described as the semi-final version of a wide-ranging security agreement between the countries. The announcement by the state-run Saudi Press Agency comes as the strategic deal had been upended after Hamas' October 7 attack on Israel that killed 1,200 people and saw 250 others taken hostage back to the Gaza Strip. In the time since, a punishing Israeli airstrike campaign and ground offensive there has killed over 35,000 Palestinians, endangering the security deal that had included Saudi Arabia diplomatically recognising Israel for the first time since its founding in 1948. Saudi state media released no images of Jake Sullivan and Prince Mohammed meeting in Dhahran, a city in the kingdom's far east that's home to its state-run oil giant, the Saudi Arabian Oil Co. known as Saudi Aramco. The semi-final version of the draft strategic agreemen

Israel resists grand bargain as US, Saudi officials work on security pact

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel has rebuffed calls for the creation of a Palestinian state, saying that it would become a "terror haven"

Saudi 'ordered to kill' those who resisted eviction for futuristic city

A former intelligence officer says Saudi government asked officers to 'kill those who protested land eviction notices

Saudi Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman's visit to Pakistan postponed

Saudi Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman's much-anticipated visit to Pakistan has been deferred for unspecified reasons, a report said on Saturday. He was earlier expected to arrive in Islamabad on May 19 on a two-day visit, Geo News reported. Commenting on the visit of the Saudi crown prince, Foreign Office Spokesperson Mumtaz Zehra Baloch on Friday clarified that details of the visit will be made public as soon as a schedule is worked out between Islamabad and Riyadh. Baloch was confident that the visit would take place soon and surely be valuable as the people of Pakistan were anxiously waiting for the leader from the brotherly country. The high-level visit was likely to take place after the recent diplomatic and trade-related engagements between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia following Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's visit to the Kingdom in March. The expected visit of the top dignitary, which has now been delayed, possesses vital importance to cash-strapped Pakistan eyeing big ...

Saudi Arabia's budget deficit at $3.3 bn in Q1 of 2024 on lower oil revenue

Oil revenues reached 181.922 billion riyals in Q1, up 2% from the prior-year period, but non-oil revenues increased 9% year on year during the quarter