Saudi Arabia's top religious authority urged citizens to support government austerity measures, saying recent decrees were temporary moves necessitated by public interest, a newspaper reported on Thursday.
The US Senate voted overwhelmingly on Wednesday to override Barack Obama's veto of a bill allowing 9/11 victims to sue Saudi Arabia, the first such rebuke of his eight-year presidency.
CIA Director John Brennan said on Wednesday that legislation to allow lawsuits against the government of Saudi Arabia over the Sept. 11 attacks has "grave implications" for US national security.
The GCC budget deficits are forecast to "peak" at over $153bn this year against an estimated $119bn in 2015, after which it is likely to taper off but the "gap" is expected to persist over the medium term.
Saudi Arabia and Iran on Tuesday dashed hopes that OPEC oil producers could clinch an output-limiting deal in Algeria this week as the group and non-member Russia were still trying to bridge differences between the kingdom and Tehran.
A decision to slash ministerial pay by a fifth reflects Saudi Arabia's resolve to nudge its citizens into tolerating a fall in living standards at a time of low oil prices.
Saudi Arabia will cut ministers' salaries by 20% and scale back financial perks for public sector employees, according to a cabinet statement and royal decree broadcast on state-run Ekhbariya TV on Monday.
Hundreds of Pakistani construction workers are to fly home from Saudi Arabia this week but without the salaries they have waited months to receive, embassy officials said.
Saudi Arabia has offered to reduce oil production if rival Iran caps its own output this year, four sources familiar with the discussions told Reuters as Riyadh seeks an OPEC deal to curtail supply and boost prices.
The Saudi finance ministry has resumed payments to Saudi Binladin Group (SBG), the kingdom's biggest construction firm, for its work on government projects, Saudi Okaz newspaper reported.
Gulf Arab oil exporters are expected to see their budget deficits peak this year owing to the plunge in energy revenues, a report said on Tuesday.
Saudi Aramco said on Tuesday it had put out a minor fire at its Ras Tanura oil terminal where eight individuals were injured, including two Aramco employees.
