400 kinds of dates on display at Al Jubail

Cairo, Mar 16: Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman said G20 summit will work to combat coronavirus and coordinate efforts to ease its economic burdens, state news agency SPA said on Sunday.

In a phone call with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Salman discussed international efforts to fight the flu-like disease, saying the next G20 summit, which will be hosted by the Kingdom, will work on finding medical solutions, SPA added.

The G20 Summit is an annual gathering of representatives of the world's largest economies.

Riyad, Apr 27: The Saudi-led Arab Coalition supporting Yemen’s UN-recognized government on Monday urged all parties to end any escalation of hostilities and return to the status that existed before the Southern Transitional Council (STC) declared self-rule.

In a statement carried by the Saudi Press Agency (SPA), the coalition emphasized “the need to cancel any step that violates the Riyadh agreement and work to accelerate its implementation.” 

On Sunday, the United Arab Emirates-backed STC scrapped a peace deal with the internationally recognized government of President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi.

Accusing the government of corruption and mismanagement, the separatists said they would “self-govern” the key southern port city of Aden and other southern provinces.

Yemen’s Foreign Minister Mohammed Al-Hadhrami described the move as a “resumption of its (STC’s) armed insurgency and rejection and complete withdrawal from the Riyadh agreement.” 

Authorities in Yemen’s southern provinces of Hadramawt, Abyan, Shabwa, Al-Mahra and the remote island of Socotra also rejected the separatist group’s claim to self-rule.

The government said local and security authorities in the five provinces dismissed the move as a “clear and definite coup.” 

Some of the provinces issued their own statements condemning it.

The coalition appealed to all parties to “give priority to the interests of the Yemeni people over any other interests”. 

It also urged the parties involved not to lose their focus on working to achieve the goal of restoring the state, ending the Houthi “coup” and “countering terrorist organizations”.

“The Coalition has and will continue to undertake practical and systematic steps to implement the Riyadh Agreement between the parties to unite Yemeni ranks, restore state institutions and combat the scourge of terrorism,” the statement said. “The responsibility rests with the signatories to the Agreement to undertake national steps toward implementing its provisions, which were signed and agreed upon with a time matrix for implementation.”

The STC has been part of the coalition-backed forces fighting the Iran-backed Houthi militia, which seized control of the Yemeni capital Sanaa and other provinces in 2014.

The Houthi “coup” has led to the formation of the Saudi-led coalition, which had since driven away the Houthis from the south and other provinces. President Hadi’s government has made Aden as its temporary seat.

Dubai, May 1: Saudi Arabia has reported 1,344 new coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours, bringing the total number of infections in the country to 24,097, the Ministry of Health announced on Friday.

The ministry also announced 7 more deaths and 392 new recoveries, raising the total number of fatalities and recoveries to 169 and 3,55 respectively.

Out of the 1,344 new cases reported today, 282 were confirmed in Riyadh, 237 in Madinah, 207 in Makkah, 171 in Jubail and 124 in Jeddah in addition to 114 infections in Dammam.

Authorities continue to urge people to stay at home unless necessary despite having relaxed some restrictions and curfews at the start of Ramadan.

Citizens and residents are allowed to go out for necessary needs between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. but must adhere to precautionary measures such as wearing a face mask and maintaining social distancing practices.