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  • Iran: Meet the ultra-conservative election winners taking over parliament

    Iran's recent parliamentary elections have seen prominent ultra-conservatives secure top positions, marking a significant shift in their favour on the benches of the Islamic Republic's Consultative Assembly. The 1 March elections, the first held since protests swept the nation following the death in police custody of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in September 2022, recorded a turnout of just 41 percent, the lowest figure since the 1979 revolution. With reformists mostly boycotting the ballot and voters abstaining in protest, the principlist Omana coalition, backed by President Ebrahim Raisi, and the Endurance Front, allied with former Islamic Republic Guard Corps (IRGC) commander and parliamentary speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, were the notable contenders.

  • Saudi Arabia announces Eid Al Fitr holidays for public and private sectors from April 8

    Saudi Arabia has announced a four-day holiday for both public and private sector employees for Eid Al Fitr from Monday, April 8.
    The Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development confirmed the holiday, allowing most workers to enjoy a long break from Monday until Saturday.

  • CEO interview: Riyadh’s King Abdullah Financial District is being ‘activated’ in 2024

    This year will see the "activation" of the King Abdullah Financial District (KAFD), according to the CEO of the firm developing the project, and will involve building more infrastructure, including car parking spaces, more office spaces, retail and the district’s “green lung”. Gautam Sashittal, CEO of KAFD Development and Management Company (KAFD DMC), said 95 buildings have been delivered in the district so far, amounting to 50% of the district area already being built on, an area of 1.6 million square metres. “Our challenge today is to keep the city active as we build for the future. So we already have 10 new projects that are either in design or under construction,” he said. 

  • As dust from elections settles, Iran’s conservatives clash over spoils

    The recent parliamentary and Assembly of Experts elections in Iran have seen hardliners score decisive victories against more traditional conservatives. In the aftermath of the Mar. 1 polls, divided conservatives have been battling out their differences in public. This comes despite the supreme leader warning against sowing differences for political gains.

  • Saudi Arabia leads global innovation with tech investments: Honeywell CEO

    Saudi Arabia’s proactive leadership and investments in advanced tech solutions have positioned it as a global innovation leader, according to a top official. During the LEAP 2024, Anant Maheshwari, president and CEO of Honeywell’s Global High Growth Regions portfolio, told Arab News that Saudi Arabia was a “crucial market” for the company, being one of only “three countries globally that is led as an independent market.”

  • Saudi Arabia’s NEOM unveils private residential golf community project Gidori

    The project’s progressive architecture centerpiece is a beach-front complex with a cantilevered structure that rises from the coastal landscape. “It will house 190 luxury sea-view apartments alongside a range of dining experiences, signature retail stores and garden spaces,” NEOM said in a statement.

  • DeepFest 2024: Bilingual Saudi-made humanoid robot, NASA’s innovations and more

    Co-located with LEAP, the world’s most-attended tech event, and powered by the Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA), the second edition of DeepFest is set to feature 150-plus leading AI experts and 120 global AI companies between now and March 7. On an opening day that saw presentations from the likes of HTC, Accenture, and Microsoft, Dr Yaser Al-Onaizan, CEO of SDAIA, opened the event by introducing the day’s theme as “The Dawn of AI” in front of a line-up of international thought-leaders, practitioners, policymakers, and academics from different fields to provide a 360 view of AI and its future.

  • Saudi Arabian private capital increasingly focused on domestic growth in 2024 and beyond

    The report finds two key themes are driving the future of Saudi Arabia’s position in the private capital landscape: The first theme is Saudi Arabia’s government, investors, and corporates are fostering partnerships with fund managers to bring further knowledge, infrastructure development, and co-investment to the country. From fund managers’ perspectives, Saudi Arabia is now more than just a location for raising investor capital. The second theme is Saudi Arabian appetite for domestic investment through private markets, which continues to swell as home-grown entrepreneurialism, and so investment opportunities, burgeon.

  • Mastercard partners with Loop to launch innovative payment solutions in Saudi Arabia

    Mastercard has partnered with Loop, a leading digital payments technology company licensed by SAMA, to empower businesses and consumers across the Kingdom with greater access to advanced credit card offerings and innovative payment solutions. The partnership will see Loop expand its portfolio, enhance its suite of products and services through leveraging Mastercard technology and expertise. Having signed an exclusive issuing agreement, Loop and Mastercard will partner to issue BIN ranges, enabling consumers, merchants and fintech’s across the Kingdom to benefit from innovative payment solutions.

  • Patty Tavatanakit Wins 2024 Aramco Saudi Ladies International

    Patty Tavatanakit fired an exceptional final round of 65 (-7) to win the 2024 Aramco Saudi Ladies International Presented by PIF by seven shots. The major champion produced a wire-to-wire victory with rounds of 66-70-69-65 at Riyadh Golf Club to win with a score of 18-under-par. It is a fifth professional victory for the 24-year-old, her first on the Ladies European Tour (LET) and her first since winning the 2021 ANA Inspiration.  “It’s been a long time since I’ve played this good,” she said. “It’s very emotional, I’m very emotional right now with how I have overcome that and looking back it was just one day at a time, keep working hard.