RIYADH: King Salman received visiting Russian Minister of Energy Alexander Novak, who is heading the Russian side to the Saudi-Russian Joint Business Committee meeting held here Thursday.

RIYADH: Abdullatif Al-Zayani, secretary-general of the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), has strongly protested and condemned the “irresponsible” attacks and accusations levelled against the GCC by Qatari mainstream media.

RIYADH: Manama on Monday called for Qatar’s membership of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) to be suspended until it accepts the demands of the Anti-Terror Quartet (ATQ), comprising Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt and Bahrain.

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia lambasted Iran here on Sunday for their proxy war in Yemen, and charged the Tehran regime for supplying weapons to Houthi militants as well as to the forces loyal to former Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh.

RIYADH: The European aircraft maker, Airbus Defense and Space has secured orders for 70 aircraft from regional customers including Saudi Arabia.

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) has shelled out $1 billion for a 38 percent stake in Posco E&C, the construction arm of the giant South Korean steelmaker Posco.

RIYADH: A major conference hosted by the Public Investment Fund (PIF) gets underway in the Saudi capital today attended by some of the world’s top business leaders and money managers.

RIYADH: King Salman and Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Al-Abadi jointly inaugurated the first high-profile meeting of the Saudi-Iraq Coordination Council (SICC) on Sunday, recalling the age-old ties of “fraternity, blood, history and destiny” between the Kingdom and Iraq. US top diplomat Rex Tillerson also attended the landmark meeting.

Addressing the inaugural meeting at Al-Yamamah Palace, King Salman said: “We are facing in our region serious challenges in the form of extremism, terrorism, as well as attempts to destabilize our countries … These attempts require our full attention,” said the king at the SICC, which has been convened to upgrade SaudiIraqi strategic ties and counter Iran’s regional influence.

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia, which has extended SR54 billion ($14.4 billion) in humanitarian and developmental assistance to more than 80 countries in a year, ranks as the top donor among nations giving aid and assistance globally.

RIYADH: The Saudi Food and Drug Authority (SFDA) will host a major conference next month to discuss support of national industry in the food and medicine sectors.

RIYADH: In a major move to fight hostilities and prejudices toward Muslims and Islam globally, the Jeddah-based Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) has joined forces with three other organizations to hold a regional forum in Dakar on Monday.

RIYADH: Banque Saudi Fransi (BSF) has launched an independent investigation into alleged irregularities linked to the payment of employee bonuses. A senior director at the bank, Mohamad Abdulhadi, has retired it also emerged.

RIYADH: A probe is underway into alleged irregularities linked to employee bonuses at Banque Saudi Fransi (BSF). The Riyadh-based bank is part-owned by the giant French lender Credit Agricole.

RIYADH: King Salman made history on Wednesday as the first reigning Saudi monarch to visit Russia, where he is scheduled to hold wide-ranging talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin and other high-ranking Russian officials on bilateral, regional and international issues.

RIYADH: As part of their pledge to ensure peace and security in the Middle East and the world at large, Saudi Arabia and Russia have set a course to build strong and pragmatic relations. King Salman’s visit to Russia, which begins on Thursday, will foster relations and establish a road map for collaboration, signaling yet another sea change in the ever-evolving global order.

RIYADH: The Kingdom is set to start a new chapter in its overall relations with Russia, and herald a new era of Saudi-Russian economic cooperation following the high-profile visit of King Salman, which begins on Thursday.

RIYADH: Car rental companies, businesses and Saudi families are looking to hire female drivers from overseas in the wake of King Salman’s decree last week allowing women to drive.

RIYADH: The Kingdom’s decision to allow Saudi women to drive is a historic move that promises to have a huge effect on Saudi society and, by extension, the national economy.

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia and other Arab nations, have given a new dimension to their diplomacy in New York, and intensified efforts ahead of the annual UN General Assembly (UNGA) meeting to solve key regional issues that have been hampering peace and security in the Middle East.

RIYADH: World leaders, including heads of member states of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), on Sunday began arriving in New York to attend the 72nd session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA).

RIYADH: Iran has topped the world league table for money laundering and terror financing for the third consecutive year. It was followed by Afghanistan, Guinea-Bissau, Tajikistan and Laos in the annual rankings compiled by the Basel Institute on Governance, an independent anti-corruption group based in Switzerland. The three lowest ranked countries were Finland, Lithuania and Estonia.

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia and Japan held comprehensive talks in Jeddah on Monday on a range of issues including politics, trade, and ways to strengthen cooperation to implement the Saudi-Japanese Vision 2030.

RIYADH: Aimed at providing Saudi youths with basic and advanced training to join the fast-growing Saudi retail sector, Apparel Group on Wednesday launched a major training center, which was approved and certified by the state-owned Technical and Vocational Training Corporation (TVTC).

RIYADH: In a renewed move to defuse the worsening Qatar crisis, the US has announced plans to send a team including Tim Lenderking, deputy assistant secretary of state for Arabian Gulf Affairs, and retired Gen. Anthony Zinni to the Gulf within the next few days.