Mohammed bin Nayef

A member of Saudi Arabia's Council of Allegiance was reportedly arrested in a wave of sweeping dentitions prompted by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, according to an online news outlet.

London-based Middle East Eye (MEE) identified the person arrested as Prince Mohammed bin Saad Al Saud, the son of Saad bin Abdulaziz, the late brother of incumbent King Salman bin Abdulaziz.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan congratulated Saudi Arabia's new crown prince Mohamed bin Salman in a telephone call early on June 22, with the two men expressing a desire for stronger ties between their countries, according to presidential sources.  
      

While we've been desperately trying to keep up with the breaking news as it rolls in almost every hour, we woke up on June 21 to see that Saudi King Salman bin Abdel Aziz had deposed his nephew, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, in favor of his son Mohammed bin Salman.

King Salman of Saudi Arabia promoted his 31-year-old son, Mohammed bin Salman, to be next in line to the throne on Wednesday, further empowering a young, activist leader at a time when the kingdom is struggling with low oil prices, a rivalry with Iran and conflicts across the Middle East.

Saudi Arabia's King Salman made his son next in line to the throne yesterday, handing the 31-year-old sweeping powers as the kingdom seeks radical overhaul of its oil-dependent economy and faces mounting tensions with regional rival Iran.

U.S. President Donald Trump basked in Saudi Arabia's lavish royal welcome on May 20 as he left behind, at least temporarily, the snowballing controversies dogging him in Washington. Trump rewarded his hosts with a $110 billion arms package aimed at bolstering Saudi security and a slew of business agreements.

You must have heard about the latest disaster in Mecca, Islam's holiest city, on Sept. 24. More than 700 pilgrims died in a stampede on the way to the ritual of "stoning the devil." And this was only a repetition of similar disasters that happened again in Mecca, and again during the Hajj, the annual pilgrimage that millions of Muslims come from all around the world to do.

After first pointing to an “act of God”, Saudi Arabia’s most senior Islamic figure said Thursday’s stampede, which killed more than 700 people at the annual Mecca pilgrimage to Mecca, was beyond human control.

The White House scrambled on May 11 to counter perceptions that  the Saudi king's absence from a summit later this week could undermine US efforts to assure Gulf states it remains committed to their security against Iran.

Newly crowned Saudi King Salman has refused an invitation to attend a landmark summit hosted by President Barack Obama, amid angst over US-Iran nuclear negotiations.