JEDDAH: The Saudi Royal Court said on Sunday that King Salman would undergo medical examinations at the Royal Clinics at Al-Salam Palace in Jeddah. The medical team decided to conduct tests on King Salman – who suffers from a high temperature and joint pain – to diagnose his health condition, the Royal Court said in a statement.

DHAHRAN:  Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman met with White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan in eastern city of Dhahran, the Saudi Press Agency reported on Sunday. During the meeting, the strategic relations between the two countries and ways to enhance them in various fields were reviewed, SPA said.

RIYADH: Teams from Saudi Arabia’s National Center for Wildlife will begin examining various caves in the Northern Borders region as part of the Caves Exploration Program, which began in 2022. It comes as part of a larger program that monitors ecosystems and biodiversity throughout the Kingdom. These sites will be added to an international map of biodiversity and natural heritage hotspots as historical ecosystems and natural biological museums.

JEDDAH: A four-decade long search has finally led to the heartwarming reunion of an US citizen with his Saudi family, putting an end to a painful era full of longing and searches that had long promised to end in disappointment. Two-year-old Eid Alsumani, now 42, and his older brother’s American mother cut ties with the family for reasons that have not been revealed to the public. She had met Saud Alsumani when he was a student in the US, after which they married and had two sons.

RIYADH: Jeddah’s King Abdulaziz University will enroll women in its maritime studies programs for the first time, the Saudi Press Agency reported on Saturday. The university will set up a dedicated agency for female students within the maritime studies faculty as part of an initiative that aligns with Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030, which encourages Saudi women to enter new professions, and aims to expand research and study opportunities in this field.

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Environment, Water and Agriculture, Abdulrahman Al-Fadhli, is heading the Kingdom’s delegation participating in the 10th World Water Forum in Bali and will attend the high-level session, on behalf of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. The forum, inaugurated by Indonesian President Joko Widodo, kicked off Saturday and runs until May 25, with heads of state and government, ministers and officials from 180 countries, and 250 international organizations attending.

RIYADH: Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis received the secretary-general of the Muslim World League on Tuesday in Athens, the Saudi Press Agency reported. During the meeting, Mitsotakis and Mohammed Al-Issa discussed a number of topics of common interest.

JEDDAH: Saudi Arabia has assumed the presidency of the Executive Council of the Arab League Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization until 2026. The official announcement was made on Friday during the 27th session of the ALECSO, which was held in Jeddah under the presidency of Saudi Arabia. During the session, Iraq handed over the presidency to the Kingdom.

MAKKAH: Hajj pilgrims departing from Juanda International Airport in Surabaya, Indonesia have praised the services of the Makkah Route Initiative, which include assistance with check-in procedures at 12 dedicated counters in the airport, ensuring that all health requirements are met, and organizing delivery of their luggage to their accommodation in the Kingdom, the Saudi Press Agency reported on Saturday.

RIYADH: The Kingdom’s aid agency KSrelief continued its projects in Sudan, Yemen, and Greece. In Sudan, KSrelief implemented a medical volunteer project for neurosurgery and spine surgery from May 12 to May 17. About 15 volunteer specialists from various medical fields assisted in performing 26 surgeries, the Saudi Press Agency reported.  In Yemen, KSrelief provided a convoy of 330 relief trucks, which delivered over 5,752 tonnes of critical supplies to people across 14 Yemeni governorates.  

RIYADH: Pakistani Minister of Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony Chaudhry Salik Hussain expressed his appreciation to Saudi Arabia for the exceptional services and facilities provided to Pakistani pilgrims who will be taking part in Hajj this year. Minister Hussain’s remarks came in a statement delivered in Madinah, where he is currently visiting to oversee Hajj arrangements for Pakistani pilgrims, the Saudi Press Agency reported.

RIYADH: King Salman issued a royal order on Friday to promote 26 judges at the Board of Grievances, Saudi Press Agency reported. President of the Board of Grievances and Administrative Judicial Council Sheikh Khalid bin Mohammed Al-Yousef said that the royal order confirmed the keenness of the Kingdom’s leadership to support the judiciary to develop its performance and achieve quality and efficiency. Earlier this month, the king issued a royal decree on Saturday to appoint 261 investigative lieutenants at the Ministry of Justice’s Public Prosecution.

MALE: CEO of the Saudi Fund for Development Sultan bin Abdulrahman Al-Marshad signed on Friday two development loan agreements with the Maldives’ Minister of Finance Dr. Mohammed Shafiq. These agreements will contribute to financing the Velana International Airport development project with a value of $100 million and the healthcare sector development project in the Maldives with a value of $50 million, provided by fund.

ARAR: Saudi Minister of Islamic Affairs, Dawah and Guidance Dr. Abdullatif Al-Asheikh inaugurated the Al-Hanouf Al-Zwain and Ali Mohammed Al-Melhem mosques in the city of Arar as part of a visit to the area to inspect work progress. The ministry’s undersecretaries and several department directors, as well as the director of the ministry’s branch in the Northern Borders region, Fahd bin Sulaiman Al-Khalifa, attended the event.

JEDDAH: With its low annual rainfall, much of Saudi Arabia’s vast landscape is covered by desert, broken by occasional oases. In its mountainous regions, valleys, and along its coastline, however, the Kingdom is home to multiple forest ecosystems. Forests play a pivotal role in combating climate change by acting as carbon sinks — storing carbon both above and below ground, thereby extracting it from the atmosphere, where it would otherwise contribute to the greenhouse effect.

MAKKAH: “The Future of Geospatial Information Using Artificial Intelligence Techniques” was the title of a workshop hosted at the Makkah municipality theater recently. Held by the Kingdom’s Geographic Information Systems section, the event included a presentation that highlighted the project’s services and achievements, along with its aims of enhancing land inventory and documentation efficiency in Makkah.

DHAKA: Saudi officers are working round the clock to offer smooth immigration to thousands of Bangladeshi Hajj pilgrims under the Kingdom’s Makkah Route initiative, authorities in Dhaka said on Friday. Most of the pilgrims are departing from Dhaka under the flagship pre-travel program, which was launched by the Kingdom in 2019 to help pilgrims meet all the visa, customs and health requirements at their airport of origin and save them long hours of waiting before and upon arrival in Saudi Arabia.

RIYADH: For the 18th year in a row, students from Saudi Arabia participating in the Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair have won nine special awards. The fair, being held in Los Angeles in the US, was sponsored by the King Abdulaziz and His Companions Foundation for Giftedness and Creativity, or Mawhiba, and the Ministry of Education.

ALKHOBAR: Celebrated American chef Jerome Grant ventured to Dhahran on Thursday to teach Saudi culinary students about a dish close to his heart. As a culinary diplomat, Grant visited ZADK Culinary Academy to break bread, learn about Saudi cuisine, and provide a bit of his homeland on a plate. Grant was joined on the visit by James Sindle, US consul-general in Dhahran. “It’s my first visit to Saudi. The food has been great, super tasty, great flavors, but also, there’s some similarities here and there, so it always felt welcoming and inviting,” Grant told Arab News.

DHAHRAN: Syrian star Faia Younan graced the stage at the King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture, Ithra, for the first of two evenings of music on Thursday. Returning to the Ithra stage after almost a year, the singer-songwriter performed a medley of her most popular hits, some original songs and a few covers. “Her music fuses modern arrangements, traditional instruments and lyrics based on classical literary poetry, shaping her unique musical identity,” Ithra said in a statement to Arab News.

DAMMAM: Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Friday received several princes, officials, scholars and a group of citizens at the Gulf Palace in Dammam, Saudi Press Agency reported. At the beginning of the reception, they all listened to a recitation of verses from the Holy Qu’ran, SPA added. The audience was also attended by Prince Saud bin Naif bin Abdulaziz, governor of the Eastern Region, energy minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, and Prince Mishari bin Abdullah bin Abdulaziz bin Musaed.  

RIYADH: The Kingdom’s aid agency KSrelief has provided 500 new mobile homes for Syrian refugees in Zaatari camp in Jordan, the Saudi Press Agency reported on Friday. The homes are for the most vulnerable families, including new arrivals and newlyweds. Meanwhile, in Yemen, the aid agency’s sanitation project has provided over the past week 12.2 million liters of water for residents in Saada, Hajjah and Hodeidah. Over 40,000 people in Yemen are benefitting from this initiative.

RIYADH: The President of Mauritania Mohamed Ould Ghazouani and his accompanying delegation arrived in Madinah to visit the Prophet’s Mosque on Thursday. The president will pray in the mosque and pay his respects to Prophet Muhammad and his companions Abu Bakr and Umar.  Earlier on Thursday, Ghazouani attended an Arab League summit in Bahrain.

MAKKAH: Innovators and entrepreneurs have been challenged to find ways to enhance the pilgrim experience in Makkah for people with mobility issues. To help them develop solutions, provide support and encourage collaborations, the General Authority for the Affairs of the Grand Mosque and the Prophet’s Mosque, Umm Al-Qura University and investment business Wadi Makkah Co. organized a week-long event that began at the company’s headquarters on Sunday.

RIYADH: Healthcare startup SDM is using artificial intelligence to make healthcare efficient, accessible and potentially life-saving by detecting the stages of chronic diseases such as diabetes through retinal imaging analysis of the eye. “When you hear the phrase ‘your eye is a window to your body,’ it’s actually the retina that is the window to any systemic diseases,” Dr. Selwa Al-Hazzaa, CEO and founder of SDM, told Arab News.

RIYADH: The Saudi Red Sea Authority has issued licenses for three tourist marinas: Al-Ahlam Marina in Jeddah and Jazan, and the Red Sea Marina in Jeddah.

RIYADH: Al-Afwaj security patrols in Al-Arida, Jazan, arrested a Saudi citizen for transporting in 10 Ethiopians, who illegally crossed the Kingdom’s border in his vehicle. The 10 Ethiopians were referred to the relevant authorities and, subsequently, to the Public Prosecution.

RIYADH: Financial transactions have been made easier by rapid and accelerating growth in technologies, but there are still obstacles to overcome, said Nabil Koshak, CEO of the Saudi Venture Capital Company. “Investors should fund the development of technologies that help fight these obstacles and crimes,” said Koshak, a panelist at the Arab Forum of Anti-Corruption Agencies and Financial Intelligence Units on its second day on Thursday in Riyadh.

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman met with Arab leaders on the sidelines of an Arab League summit taking place in Manama on Thursday. The crown prince met with Kuwaiti Prime Minister Sheikh Ahmad Abdullah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, Jordan’s King Abdullah, Syria’s President Bashar Al-Assad, and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. The summit has been dominated by the Israel-Hamas war and the crown prince said in a speech that the Kingdom “emphasizes the need for continued collaboration to confront the brutal aggression against Palestine.”

RIYADH: The Saudi coastal city of Al-Qunfudah on the Red Sea is celebrating the 13th season of its mango festival this week. Organized by the Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture’s branch in the Makkah region, the event began on Tuesday and will run for five days. Through the festival, organizers hope to promote mangoes and other agricultural products, as well as help farmers with marketing and develop the Kingdom’s agricultural industry. Several types of mangoes, including Tommy Atkins, Sensation and Langra, are grown locally in Al-Qunfudah.

RIYADH: Thomas Lid Ball, Norway’s ambassador to the Kingdom, hosted his last national day reception as his country’s representative in Saudi Arabia before taking up his new role later this year.  “This will be the last national day celebration here at the compound for my wife Camilla and me. At the end of August, I will take up the position as Norway’s representative to the Palestinian Authorities,” Ball said in his opening remarks. “We will remain forever grateful for the invaluable support from the fantastic team here at the embassy over the past years,” he said. 

RIYADH: Experts on urban heritage from Saudi Arabia are giving a series of lectures on the topic at the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization offices in Paris. Organized by the Saudi Heritage Commission, the program of four lectures explores some of the initiatives developed by the organization and the wider strategies on urban heritage in the Kingdom, the Saudi Press Agency reported.

MADINAH: French traveler Mohamed Boulabiar spent eight months walking through 13 countries to perform Umrah, the Saudi Press Agency reported on Wednesday. In an interview with the SPA shortly after arriving in Madinah on Wednesday, Boulabiar said he trained for two years for the 8,000-km walk. He started in Paris on Aug. 27, 2023, and walked through Switzerland, Italy, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia, Montenegro, Albania, Macedonia, Greece, Turkiye and Jordan before eventually reaching Saudi Arabia.

RIYADH: The Kingdom and Iraq have signed an agreement to counter money laundering and terrorism, the Saudi Press Agency reported on Thursday. The pact was signed between the General Directorate of Financial Investigation at the Presidency of State Security and the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Office of the Republic of Iraq. The agreement was inked on the sidelines of the Arab Forum of Anti-Corruption Agencies and Financial Intelligence Units in Riyadh.

JEDDAH: The 121st session of the Executive Council of the Arab League Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization concluded in Jeddah on Wednesday. During the two-day event, ministers and other representatives from 22 Arab nations discussed important topics, initiatives and proposals related to knowledge sharing, scientific advancement, and innovation within the framework of the work of the organization. It will be followed on Friday by its General Conference.