Saudi Press Agency

More than a million Muslim pilgrims were in Mecca Friday for the start of a hajj pilgrimage held against the grim backdrop of the Gaza war and in exhausting summer heat.

Crowds of robed worshippers will circle the Kaaba, with many expressing sadness eight months into the Israel-Hamas war.

Saudi Arabia has said that security forces had cleared hundreds of thousands of unregistered pilgrims from Mecca ahead of the Hajj which begins this week.

Crowd management is a major concern during the annual pilgrimage, one of the five pillars of Islam which drew more than 1.8 million Muslims last year, according to official figures.

Saudi Arabia and Russia have agreed to extend their voluntary oil production cuts through the end of this year, trimming 1.3 million barrels of crude out of the global market and boosting energy prices.

The dual announcements from Riyadh and Moscow pushed benchmark Brent crude above $90 a barrel in trading yesterday, a price unseen in the market since November.

Saudi Arabia said yesterday it was extending a voluntary oil production cut of one million barrels per day, and Russia said it was slashing exports by 500,000 bpd.

The moves were the latest attempts by major producers to stabilize markets rocked by factors including continued fallout from the Russian invasion of Ukraine and China's faltering economic recovery.

Türkiye has welcomed the "Jeddah Declaration," which envisages meeting humanitarian needs and facilitating relief activities between the Sudanese Armed Forces and Rapid Support Forces, the foreign ministry has said on May 13.

Ankara hopes that the declaration will lead to a permanent ceasefire and inclusive dialogue in Sudan, said the statement.

Saudi Arabia has put a second four-percent chunk of shares of the Aramco oil giant, worth tens of billions of dollars, under the control of the country's sovereign wealth fund, state media said Sunday.    

Saudi Arabia announced on March 12 the creation of a new national airline, part of a plan to turn Riyadh into a global aviation hub rivalling regional leaders like Dubai and Doha.

"Riyadh Air "aims to launch flights to more than 100 destinations around the world by 2030," the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported.

Saudi Arabia has announced it was disbursing billions of dollars directly to citizens to ease the effects of inflation amid growing online expressions of frustration over rising prices.    

Saudi Arabia on June 20 lifted a ban on citizens travelling to Türkiye and three other countries, state media reported, as the kingdom continues to relax coronavirus prevention measures.

At least 70 people were killed in an air strike on a prison as Yemen's long-running conflict suffered a dramatic escalation Friday that drew condemnation from UN chief Antonio Guterres.