Search results

Bashar Al-Assad's regime in Syria has been readmitted to the Arab League after more than a bloody decade on the sidelines, after Saudi Arabia and the UAE orchestrated a vote in favour ahead of a 19 May summit in Jeddah. Regional opposition to Syria hasn't disappeared, but Qatar and Kuwait decided not to stand in the way of readmission, in a further indication of Riyadh's new-found desire to flex its diplomatic muscles whatever western allies might think.

Algerian foreign affairs and national community abroad minister Ahmed Attaf arrived in the Saudi city of Jeddah on 15 May for bilateral talks and preparations for the planned League of Arab States summit, to be held on 19 May.

MBC Group Holdings, a British Virgin Islands-registered company connected to Saudi Arabia’s Al-Ibrahim family, has submitted a petition to a Cayman Islands court to wind up its partnership with a son of Saudi Arabia's late King Abdullah Bin Abdelaziz. The move offers an insight into how lucrative deals were awarded in the later years of Abdullah’s reign and how those deals were treated when King Salman Bin Abdelaziz took over in 2015.

A son of the late Saudi Prince Talal Bin Abdelaziz, Prince Mohammed Bin Talal, in early May married a daughter of Dr Khaled Al-Fadal. Mohammed's brothers include businessman Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal and Asir governor Prince Turki Bin Talal.

Falling unemployment: The unemployment rate for Saudi nationals fell to 8% in Q4 2022 from 9.9% in Q3 22, according to data released by the General Authority for Statistics (Gastat) in early April. The female jobless rate fell from 20.5% to 15.4% over the same period. The Medina region had the highest rate of unemployment among Saudis at 12.2%, followed by Jazan at 11%. Riyadh had the lowest level at 6.7%, with Eastern Province at 6.9% and Mecca at 7%. 

Several sons of former Saudi crown prince Muqrin Bin Abdelaziz attended a wedding in Jeddah in late April between a daughter of Sheikh Gharam Allah Bin Rashid Al-Zanan Al-Zahrani and a man from the Al-Gharsan. Muqrin's sons present included Princes Fahd, Faisal and Bandar.

Almost 5,000 people have been evacuated from Sudan to Saudi Arabia since fighting broke out between rival generals in Khartoum on 15 April, the vast majority of them citizens of other countries.

The outbreak of fighting between rival generals in Sudan in mid-April has been met with an increasingly active diplomatic stance by Saudi Arabia, which has taken a clear lead among Gulf countries in responding to the crisis  – offering further evidence of the new approach being taken to international relations by Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman (MBS).

Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani travelled to London to attend the coronation ceremony of King Charles III on 6 May. Also to attend the service was Bahrain’s King Hamad Bin Isa Al-Khalifa, Kuwait's Crown Prince Sheikh Mishaal Al-Ahmed Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, and Oman's culture, sports and youth minister Sayyid Theyazin Bin Haitham Al-Said. It was not clear who would attend from the UAE or Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Aramco announced late April that a first shipment of low-carbon ammonia had arrived in Japan, where it will be used for power generation. The ammonia was produced by Sabic Agri-Nutrients, with feedstock from Aramco, and was sold to Fuji Oil Company for use at its Sodegaura refinery in Chiba, east of Tokyo.

The Saudi authorities have launched a new anti-drugs campaign, amid continued concern about the use of narcotics, in particular fenethylline hydrochloride, an amphetamine better known by the brand name Captagon, which is being smuggled in large quantities into Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries.

The High Court in London has issued a summary judgement against Prince Fahd Bin Sultan Bin Abdelaziz in his dispute with Credit Suisse over a loan for his yacht Sarafsa. Mr Justice Bright ruled in favour of the Swiss bank on 31 March and set out his reasoning in a full statement on 5 April, saying the prince had no real prospect of succeeding in defending his position if the case went to trial.

Saudi Prince Fahd Bin Saad Bin Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz Bin Turki was named governor of Al-Diriyah, a governorate on the outskirts of the capital. He takes over from Prince Ahmed Bin Abdullah Bin Abdulrahman, who was relived of the job after more than six years in post.

There is hope of peace in Yemen, but a breakthrough between Houthi rebels and Riyadh remains just out of reach, despite extensive talks in Sanaa, where ambassador Mohammed Al-Jaber made the first senior Saudi visit since 2015. However, further talks are due to be held in May, against the backdrop of improving Saudi-Iran relations and a wider regional trend favouring diplomacy over conflict.

A fresh outbreak of violence in Sudan between the country’s two military strongmen, General Burhan and Hemedti, has shown the limits of UAE and Saudi influence, despite years of close involvement by the Gulf powers.