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Saudi to open 2,750km Riyadh-Gurayat rail line in Dec

The line will reduce travel time between the two cities from 13 to eight hours

Saudi plans PR hubs in Europe, Asia to counter negative coverage

The kingdom is aiming to improve its international image and highlight reform efforts

Saudi Shoura Council urges appointment of women to pronounce fatwas

The request comes as the kingdom seeks to make women a larger part of the workforce

Saudi foils ISIL bomb attempt, arrests ‘foreign spies’

The would-be ISIL bombers were identified as two Yemeni nationals

Oil up on Saudi, Russia meeting

Saudi to supply full crude allocations to most Asian refiners

The October allocations are in contrast to the steep cuts in the September allotments

Saudi says it is accelerating economic reforms, Aramco IPO on track

Riyadh plans to sell about 5 per cent of Aramco in 2018, to raise money for reinvestment in non-oil industries

Saudi to scale back reform plan

The kingdom is reportedly revising the timeframe of its reform efforts

Singapore’s Ascott Limited aims to have 20 properties in Saudi by 2020

The serviced residences operator has 12 properties in the kingdom, including seven in the pipeline

Saudi female workforce in retail climbs to 200,000 ahead of ban on foreigners

The milestone comes as the kingdom pushes ahead with plans to ban foreigners from working in shops selling female-specific products.

Saudi sovereign fund, SoftBank partner on robotics initiative

The two firms aim to establish a methodology for measuring the growth of the robotics industry

Saudi King Salman to visit White House early next year

King Salman held a phone call with US President Donald Trump on Wednesday

Bahrain ranked best global destination for expats, Saudi, Kuwait among the worst

The kingdom performed well in areas like ease of settling in where Saudi Arabia and Kuwait struggled

Iran’s talks about reconciliation ‘ridiculous’ – Saudi foreign minister

Last month, Iran’s foreign minister had said that the two countries would soon exchange diplomatic visits

Saudi seeks Islamic tourism boost as it diversifies economy

Pilgrims comprise the bulk of Saudi Arabia’s 20 million annual foreign visitors

In pics: Hajj 2017 ends, more than 2.35m pilgrims take part

Just over one million pilgrims came from Asia

Saudi authorities complete clean-up of Al-Musawara

The operation to tear down the old quarter began in May

Abercrombie & Fitch to launch first store in Saudi Arabia

American retailer enters Saudi market as part of franchise deal with Majid Al Futtaim

Saudi Crown Prince grants citizens free entry to 2018 World Cup qualifier

The kingdom’s national team can almost guarantee its entry to the tournament if it wins the match against Japan

Saudi authorities issue more than $1.33m in fines for illegal pilgrim trafficking

A total of 69 citizens and 22 residents were discovered illegally transporting pilgrims

Muslims at hajj worried about Trump’s policies

The US President and his policies about Muslims and immigrants are a regular conversation topic

Saudi Aramco uses seismic technology to re-explore vast Empty Quarter

The new seismic technology may improve the chances of successful exploration

Pilgrims gather on Mount Arafat for hajj

Saudi has said more than two million pilgrims have arrived for the pilgrimage

Muslims begin annual hajj pilgrimage in Makkah

Nearly two million worshippers, from nearly every country, arrived in Saudi this week

Saudi security forces brace for hajj but no militant threats detected

Strict measures are in place at the entrances to Makkah, Madinah and other holy sites

Saudi authorities turn away 400,000 pilgrims

A significant number of pilgrims have tried to enter the holy city without a permit

Saudi’s Yasref refinery contains fire, operations unaffected

The fire, which occurred at the weekend, was minor

Saudi official welcomes 104-year-old woman as special guest for hajj

Maria Marghani from Indonesia arrived in Saudi last week

Saudi introduces minimum salary requirements for domestic worker hiring

Citizens and residents will now have to prove they can afford domestic help

Saudi Shoura member criticises $3.1bn foreign consultancy bill

Hani Khashogji said Saudi consultants could perform the same work for a tenth of the cost

Saudi says it’s prepared to handle any stampede or disease at hajj

Some 30,000 health workers will be on hand, and 5,000 hospital beds are available.