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Saudi Arabia

June 30, 2026

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Saudi Arabia's FM heads to China amid differences with US on Iran war

Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan’s visit to Beijing comes as commercial traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remains unstable.

A student attends a training seminar at the Tourism Ministry Training center in the city of Riyadh on August 30, 2022.

Interview

Saudi labor localization will take ‘generation or two': Armada CEO

Around 70% of Saudi Arabia's population is 35 years old or younger, according to the kingdom’s General Authority for Statistics, providing ample opportunity for an educated and technology-savvy national workforce in the coming decades.

Olivier Badard

CEO of Armada Holding

FADEL SENNA/AFP via Getty Images

Explainer

Gulf states push incentives for investors, expats after war dents image

Several Gulf states are working to recover their images as global havens of stability in the wake of the Iran war.

United Arab Emirates

Latest News

Interview

Franco-Gulf investment holds firm despite Iran war, French official says

French Trade & Invest Commissioner for United Arab Emirates and Middle East and Business France's regional director for the Middle East Axel Baroux. — Business France

Axel Baroux

France’s trade and investment commissioner for the UAE and Middle East

Saudi Aramco's VC arm sees boom in emerging technologies, retail

FAYEZ NURELDINE/AFP via Getty Images

Samuel Wendel

Senior Market Research Analyst

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Adam Lucente

News and Business Correspondent

In New York City, reporting on regional news, militancy, climate change

Jack Dutton

Chief Business Correspondent

In Bristol, reporting on regional business, climate change, AI, tech

Francesco Schiavi

In Bologna, reporting on security, defense, economy, governance

Sabena Siddiqui

In Karachi, reporting on South Asia, Middle East, Iran

Vanessa Ghanem

In Dubai, reporting on business, energy and politics

State Department legally skirted Congress freeze on Saudi arms sales, inquiry finds

An inspector general's report redacted by the State Department says that while the department found ways to legally bypass congressional restrictions on arms sales to Saudi Arabia, measures that Congress had called for were not taken.

TOPSHOT - A photo taken on March 18, 2018, shows a Yemeni child looking out at buildings that were damaged in an air strike in the southern Yemeni city of Taez. / AFP PHOTO / Ahmad AL-BASHA (Photo credit should read AHMAD AL-BASHA/AFP via Getty Images)

Yemen’s southern separatists abandon self-rule to pursue power-sharing plan

The news comes three months after the Southern Transitional Council announced self-rule in parts of southern Yemen.

Bokari amnesty.png

Saudi Arabia jails Yemeni blogger over video calling for LGBT rights

A Saudi court sentenced Mohamad al-Bokari to 10 months in prison over a social media post encouraging gay rights.

Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan al-Saud attends a joint press conference with his Egyptian counterpart Sameh Shoukry (unseen) after their meeting in the capital Cairo, on July 27, 2020. (Photo by Mohamed el-Shahed / AFP) (Photo by MOHAMED EL-SHAHED/AFP via Getty Images)

Intel: Saudi Arabia backs Egypt on Libya

Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister said his government supports Egypt’s calls for a cease-fire in Libya after a meeting with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in Cairo.

A handout picture provided by the Saudi Ministry of Media shows members of the hajj staff gathering around the Kaaba, Islam's holiest shrine, at the Grand Mosque in the holy city of Mecca, on July 26, 2020, amid preparations for the Hajj pilgrimage season. (Photo by - / Saudi Ministry of Media / AFP) (Photo by -/Saudi Ministry of Media/AFP via Getty Images)

16 fined for trespassing on Saudi holy sites ahead of restricted hajj

The violators were each fined 10,000 riyals ($2,666), authorities announced.

Saudi new King Salman stands during the arrival of US President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh on January 27, 2015. Obama landed in Saudi Arabia to shore up ties with new King Salman and offer condolences after the death of his predecessor Abdullah. AFP PHOTO / SAUL LOEB / AFP / SAUL LOEB (Photo credit should read SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images)

Saudi King Salman hospitalized in Riyadh

The 84-year-old monarch suffered from gallbladder inflammation, according to a statement from the royal court.

Employees wearing protective equipment work at the production line of Russia's biotech company BIOCAD, which is developing its own vaccine against the new coronavirus and working on another one in cooperation with the country's virus research centre in Siberia, Vektor, in Strelna on May 20, 2020. (Photo by OLGA MALTSEVA / AFP) (Photo by OLGA MALTSEVA/AFP via Getty Images)

Russia considers Saudi Arabia as trial site for COVID-19 vaccine

The two countries are also discussing having Saudi Arabia manufacture the drug.

Saudi Arabia permanently cancels license of Qatar's beIN Sports

The popular Doha-based sports network had been officially blocked in Saudi Arabia since the 2017 diplomatic row between the two Gulf countries.

Saudi Arabia announces steep fines for hajj trespassers

Fines of 10,000 riyals will be issued to anyone entering the holy sites without a permit.

A billboard displaying an advert for Aramco is pictured in the Saudi capital Riyadh on November 10, 2019. - From robots to sniffer drones, Saudi Aramco has ramped up spending on technological innovation while its rivals cut back amid soft oil prices, but the energy giant risks losing its edge after its much-anticipated IPO. Saudi Arabia is offering a sliver of the company, touted as the kingdom's crown jewel, in its upcoming initial public offering that is the bedrock of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's a

R&D potential could be key to spark Saudi economy

The impact of COVID-19 and low oil prices has led to even further expected declines in Saudi Arabia's gross domestic product, but research and development could hold the key to an economic reset.

Will formation of new government in Yemen lay groundwork for peace?

Despite agreeing to a cease-fire in south Yemen, it seems the chances of ending the conflict between the Saudi-backed government forces and the UAE-backed southern separatists and forming a new government are dim.

Workers take down a Belt and Road Forum panel outside the venue of the forum in Beijing on April 27, 2019. - Chinese President Xi Jinping urged dozens of world leaders on April 27 to reject protectionism and invited more countries to participate in his global infrastructure project after seeking to ease concerns surrounding the programme. (Photo by GREG BAKER / AFP) (Photo credit should read GREG BAKER/AFP via Getty Images)

China’s 'Belt and Road' push brings risks, rewards to Mideast

China's digital and satellite advances offer new regional opportunities and challenges for the United States in countering Beijing's economic influence in the region.