Saudi Arabia

The MoU, signed on Friday, provides a framework for developing a protocol for establishing green transit corridors through the kingdom to connect Asia and Europe, Xinhua news agency reported, citing a Saudi Press Agency report.

"We will not make any concessions to the Palestinians. It's a fiction," Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich told Israel's Army Radio on Monday.

The General Authority for Statistics said Tuesday said that the number of pilgrims from Arab countries has reached more than 346,000, or 21 per cent of the total, reports Xinhua news agency. Among the pilgrims, more than 1 million from Asian countries, making up 63.5 per cent of the total, while nearly 223,000 others, or 13.4 per cent , came from African countries excluding the Arab nations.

US-Saudi relations, centred for decades on energy and defence, were badly strained by the 2018 murder of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi. What vitiated the atmosphere further was a remark made by the US President Joe Biden, who described MbS as a  pariah'. They were further exacerbated when Saudi Arabia, the world's biggest oil exporter, refused to help bring down skyrocketing energy prices.

Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Alireza Bigdeli on Tuesday addressed the opening ceremony in the Saudi capital of Riyadh, highlighting the importance of the occasion for the relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran, Xinhua news agency reported. Bigdeli said that, with the re-hoisting of the flag of Iran in Saudi Arabia and vice versa.

At the wedding ceremony held at the Zahran Palace on Thursday, King Abdullah II of Jordan and Queen Rania warmly welcomed international royals and heads of state, including Britain's Prince and Princess of Wales and US First Lady Jill Biden, reports Xinhua news agency.

The Ministry said on Wednesday in a statement that the decision was made based on the two sides' wishes to restore ties on the basis of mutual respect and common interests, Xinhua news agency reported. "Canada has appointed a new ambassador to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Jean-Philippe Linteau," the Canadian Foreign.