Saudi Arabia's Health Minister Tawfiq Al Rabiah receiving the second dose of Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 coronavirus vaccine in the capital Riyadh, as part of a vaccination campaign by the ministry. AFP
Saudi Arabia's Health Minister Tawfiq Al Rabiah receiving the second dose of Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 coronavirus vaccine in the capital Riyadh, as part of a vaccination campaign by the ministry. AFP
Saudi Arabia's Health Minister Tawfiq Al Rabiah receiving the second dose of Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 coronavirus vaccine in the capital Riyadh, as part of a vaccination campaign by the ministry. AFP
Saudi Arabia's Health Minister Tawfiq Al Rabiah receiving the second dose of Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 coronavirus vaccine in the capital Riyadh, as part of a vaccination campaign by the ministry. AFP

Saudi health minister receives second dose of Covid-19 vaccine


Nada AlTaher
  • English
  • Arabic

Saudi Arabia's Minister of Health Dr Tawfiq Al Rabiah received a second dose of the Covid-19 vaccine in the capital Riyadh on Thursday after launching an app to track inoculations.

The  Tawakkalna application aims to verify that users have taken all the required doses of the Covid-19 vaccination, the Saudi Press Agency reported.

Tawakkalna now has nine million users, allowing them to keep track of their medical history and dates of inoculation.

Saudi Arabia became the first country in the Middle East to administer the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine last month.

On Thursday, the kingdom reported 108 new coronavirus cases and six deaths, bringing its total number of Covid-19 cases since the coronavirus pandemic began to 355,037, according to the Ministry of Health.

Saudi Arabia reopened its sea, land and air borders to foreign travellers on Sunday after a two-week ban imposed over fears of a new fast-spreading coronavirus variant.

Cargo flights and supply chains were exempted from the ban.

Profile of Bitex UAE

Date of launch: November 2018

Founder: Monark Modi

Based: Business Bay, Dubai

Sector: Financial services

Size: Eight employees

Investors: Self-funded to date with $1m of personal savings

Timeline

2012-2015

The company offers payments/bribes to win key contracts in the Middle East

May 2017

The UK SFO officially opens investigation into Petrofac’s use of agents, corruption, and potential bribery to secure contracts

September 2021

Petrofac pleads guilty to seven counts of failing to prevent bribery under the UK Bribery Act

October 2021

Court fines Petrofac £77 million for bribery. Former executive receives a two-year suspended sentence 

December 2024

Petrofac enters into comprehensive restructuring to strengthen the financial position of the group

May 2025

The High Court of England and Wales approves the company’s restructuring plan

July 2025

The Court of Appeal issues a judgment challenging parts of the restructuring plan

August 2025

Petrofac issues a business update to execute the restructuring and confirms it will appeal the Court of Appeal decision

October 2025

Petrofac loses a major TenneT offshore wind contract worth €13 billion. Holding company files for administration in the UK. Petrofac delisted from the London Stock Exchange

November 2025

180 Petrofac employees laid off in the UAE

Engine: 3.5-litre V6

Transmission: eight-speed automatic

Power: 290hp

Torque: 340Nm

Price: Dh155,800

On sale: now

Evacuations to France hit by controversy
  • Over 500 Gazans have been evacuated to France since November 2023
  • Evacuations were paused after a student already in France posted anti-Semitic content and was subsequently expelled to Qatar
  • The Foreign Ministry launched a review to determine how authorities failed to detect the posts before her entry
  • Artists and researchers fall under a programme called Pause that began in 2017
  • It has benefited more than 700 people from 44 countries, including Syria, Turkey, Iran, and Sudan
  • Since the start of the Gaza war, it has also included 45 Gazan beneficiaries
  • Unlike students, they are allowed to bring their families to France
Fifa%20World%20Cup%20Qatar%202022%20
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EFirst%20match%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ENovember%2020%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFinal%2016%20round%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDecember%203%20to%206%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EQuarter-finals%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDecember%209%20and%2010%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESemi-finals%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDecember%2013%20and%2014%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFinal%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDecember%2018%3C%2Fp%3E%0A