U.S.-SAUDI RELATIONS

Defense Secretary Esper in Riyadh for Surprise Visit; Kushner, Mnuchin to attend Future Investment Initiative

esper-saudi
Secretary of Defense Mark Esper arrived Monday in Saudi Arabia for an unannounced visit as the U.S. and Saudi Arabia seek to bolster their joint defense in the face of rising regional tensions.

Saudi Arabia

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U.S.-Saudi Relations

Pentagon chief visits Saudi Arabia as tensions simmer with Iran

U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper arrived in Saudi Arabia on Monday, with tensions simmering between Washington and Tehran, and Russia seeking to boost its influence...

 

Debt Finance

Saudi Arabia hires JPMorgan, Standard Chartered for $2.5 bln sukuk

Saudi Arabia has hired banks including JPMorgan and Standard Chartered to manage a $2.5 billion issuance of sukuk, or Islamic bonds, the kingdom’s first international...

 

Aramco Trading Company

Saudi Aramco arm seeking to boost oil trading volumes by a third by 2022: executive

Aramco Trading Co.'s current volumes average 4.5 million b/d of crude and refined products, Ibrahim al-Buainain told reporters at the company's headquarters in Dhahran. Aramco Trading,...

 

FII 2019

Mnuchin, Kushner to attend Saudi ‘Davos in the Desert’ after 2018 snub

Key members of Donald Trump's inner circle will attend the Saudi economic forum known as "Davos in the Desert" one year after shunning it in...

 

Vision 2030

Saudi Arabia Wants to Lower Unemployment. It Needs Tourists To Help

But the position was “better than sitting at home,” the 23-year-old Saudi said, asking to withhold her last name so she could speak freely. “Before,...

 

Desalination

The World Can Make More Water From the Sea, but at What Cost?

Even in Saudi Arabia, where vast oil reserves (and the wealth that comes from them) have made the country the world’s desalination leader, responsible for...

 

Art and Culture

Saudi Arabia Joins The Gulf’s Culture Race With Plans For Modern Art Museum

Saudi Arabia is to build a modern art museum on the outskirts of the capital Riyadh, in the latest stage of the race among Gulf...

 

Saudi-Japan

Saudi minister hails ‘special relationship’ with Japan

The minister was speaking at the launch in Tokyo of the Japanese-language online edition of Arab News, in the latest stage of its global expansion....

 

Capital Markets

Saudi stock market outperforms on Q3 results, Dubai ends losing streak

Saudi Arabia's stock market rose sharply on Tuesday, outperforming other regional markets on the back of strong corporate earnings, while Dubai rebounded through gains in financials and property...

 

Saudi-UAE

UAE, Saudi national carriers expand codeshare deal

The national carriers of the UAE and Saudi Arabia on Tuesday announced an expansion of a codeshare agreement signed last year. Etihad Airways and Saudia marked...

 

Security and Defense Conference

Saudi-GCC Chiefs of Staff and a host of friendly countries hold Security and Defense Conference

The Security and Defense Conference of the Chiefs of Staff of the Gulf Cooperation Council States and a number of friendly countries including Egypt, France,...

 

Cyber Security Forum

Saudi Arabia to Host Global Cybersecurity Forum in February 

The two-day forum will bring together a range of decision-makers and experts from government, business and academia, as well as investors and representatives of international...

 

Art and Culture

New York Hosts Saudi Arabian Art Show

New York just hosted a Saudi art exhibition with ‘Humanity’ as the theme, and it was launched around the same time humanitarian discussions took place...

 

Horse Racing

Leading Saudi Owner Buys Into Gronkowski

Mishref is no stranger to international ownership. A regular at the leading global sales, he has seen his green and white silks carried to victory...

 

Saudi +

Regional and related topics

Turkey in the Region

Turkey’s Erdogan meets with Putin in Russia to discuss Syrian operation

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan met with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday to discuss Turkey’s offensive in Syria, hours before a five-day cease-fire between Syrian...

 

Syria Withdrawal

U.S. Plan to Protect Kurdish-Held Syrian Oil Fields Sows Confusion

Originally, the internal Pentagon plan did not include any stipulations about U.S. troops guarding the oil fields in Kurdish-held territory, the official noted. Framing the...

 

Trump Foreign Policy

US, European lawmakers swipe Trump and Turkey in new Syria joint statement

In a rare joint statement, top foreign affairs lawmakers from the United States and multiple European allies on Monday condemned both President Donald Trump’s decision...

 

Afghanistan

US has already pulled 2,000 troops from Afghanistan, Gen. Austin Miller says

Army Gen. Austin Miller said Monday approximately 2,000 U.S. troops had left Afghanistan in the past year, the New York Times reports. That means there...

 

Israel

Israel’s Netanyahu gives up effort to form new government

Netanyahu, who heads the right-wing Likud party, said he had been unable to form a government following an election in September, and was returning the...

 

Lebanon

Perspective: In Lebanon, Pan-Sectarian Protests Are Raging as Forest Fires Burn

What Lebanon is witnessing today is a revolt, not a revolution. The protesters, impressive and numerous as they may be, are unlikely to succeed in...

 

Libya

Amnesty: Possible War Crimes in Fighting for Libya’s Capital

A leading rights group says it has evidence of potential war crimes by Libyan factions fighting a months-long battle for the capital, Tripoli. A report by...

 

Yemen Civil War

Yemen rebels say Saudi-led airstrike kills 5 civilians

Yemen’s Houthi rebels say an airstrike by the Saudi-led coalition has killed at least five civilians, including two children, when it hit a vehicle in...

 

MENA Tech Investing

Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala launches $250 million MENA tech investment vehicles

The state investor stated that its new MENA tech funds will invest in companies and venture funds that help boost local tech incubator Hub71—which was...

 

Iran

Iran May Pay To Play in Crypto Amid Sanctions, Financial Tensions

The International Monetary Fund forecasts that Iran’s real gross domestic product growth for 2019 will fall to -9.5% and the annual inflation rate will reach...

 

Social Media

Facebook Finds New Disinformation Campaigns and Braces for 2020 Torrent

Three of the disinformation campaigns originated in Iran and one in Russia, Facebook said, with state-backed actors disguised as genuine users. The campaigns were aimed...

 

SoftBank

WeWork takeover by SoftBank includes $1.7 billion payout for former CEO: report

Under the deal, the potential valuation of WeWork would drop to about $8 billion, a stunning fall from its peak of $47 billion, and an...

 

ISIS

Islamic State Turns to Teen-Friendly TikTok, Adorning Posts With Pink Hearts

The posts from approximately two dozen accounts, identified by social-media intelligence company Storyful, appeared to target TikTok’s users as part of a new show of...

 

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