Saudi Arabia: Hajj to go ahead with 60,000 vaccinated residents

Saudi Arabian club Al Hilal has reportedly offered Lionel Messi a mind-boggling contract. Reports claim that their offer to the Argentine World Cup winner is worth $438 million (€400 million) per year. That offer is more than double what his longtime rival Cristiano Ronaldo is earning playing for Al-Nassr.

A Beijing-brokered deal between rivals Iran and Saudi Arabia marks major diplomatic progress which could reshape relations across the region which has witnessed decades of conflict and violence.

The two parties agreed to exchange nearly 900 detainees following a round of talks which aims to revive an expired ceasefire. Saudi Arabia restored diplomatic ties with Iran last month.

Find these stories and much more when you grab a copy of The Guardian on Thursday.⁣

In Yemen, more than 900 prisoners were released this past week as momentum builds to end the nine-year conflict there. This is linked to the fact that the leadership in Saudi Arabia and Iran are talking to each other again. The two powers broke off relations seven years ago, impacting politics and conflict across the region.

Spanish paper El Pais reveals that Saudi authorities bribed academics around the world in a bid to improve university rankings. There's outrage in Sri Lanka after authorities agree to make debt repayments to China in the form of macaques.

A boatload of civilians from more than 50 countries have arrived in Saudi Arabia from Sudan. Meanwhile, Germany said it had evacuated 700 people from the country.

Cristiano Ronaldo became the world's highest-paid athlete after his move to Saudi Arabian side Al-Nassr nearly doubled his annual playing salary while PSG duo Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe round off the top three, according to Forbes.

Paris St Germain forward Lionel Messi will not have his contract renewed at the club following an unauthorised trip to Saudi Arabia, French sports daily L'Equipe reported on Tuesday.

The country's warring rivals continue to fight each other in the capital and Darfur. Meanwhile, both the army and the powerful RSF paramilitary have sent representatives to talks in the Saudi port city of Jeddah.

A weekly news show produced with photos, videos and personal accounts from France 24 Observers around the world - all checked by our staff here in Paris.

Sudan's warring parties are not willing to stop fighting as each sees themselves capable of winning, a Saudi diplomat said. Meanwhile, clashes continued on the ground, with evacuation missions ongoing. DW has the latest.