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QUOTED
“Confirmation of adding Saudi Arabia to our schedule for 2020 is an exciting prospect… and having seen the quality of the event staging [at Royal Greens in KAEC] for the Saudi International, I am sure this will be a fantastic experience for our players.”
–Alexandra Armas, Ladies European Tour CEO, in an announcement confirming that Saudi Arabia would play host to its first-ever women’s golf tournament in March. [ESPN.com]
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TOP STORY
Saudi Arabia’s Ambassador to the United States Princess Reema al-Saud visited the Naval Air Station Pensacola in Florida on Thursday to “personally extend her deepest condolences for the tragedy that unfolded last week and to reinforce Saudi Arabia’s full cooperation with U.S. authorities in investigating this senseless act of violence,” the Saudi embassy in Washington, D.C. said in a statement. [more]
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TOP STORY
This week, Saudi Arabia unveiled its 2020 budget, which signals an end to the expansionary trend of recent years, assumes lower oil prices than in 2019, and continues to invest in the economic diversification as outlined in the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 economic and social reform plans. [more]
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TOP STORY
Saudi Aramco’s shares rose SAR 3.20, or 10% (the daily limit) to 35.2 riyals in Riyadh, raising the company’s valuation to $1.88T.
The debut, by any measure, is a success, and officially makes Saudi Aramco the world’s most valuable company. [more]
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TOP STORY
A recent Arab News — Arab Strategy Forum research study conducted by YouGov found that 55 percent of Arab youth believe corruption is the main problem in their country, but unemployment was close behind at 46 percent, according to Arab News.
In the Arab world, 65 percent of the population are under the age of 30.
The study interviewed 3,079 Arabic speakers aged 18 years and above across 18 countries in the Middle East to better understand their concerns, and to gauge their opinions on the intersections of Islam and politics in Arab life, Arab News said in a report.
[More from Arab News]
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MORE TOP STORYLINES
Via Mariam Nabbout in stepfeed.com : Saudi women have been taking the countrys job market by storm for a while now. The most recent official statistics revealed that the number of Saudi women working in both public and private sectors reached a total of 596,700 in the first quarter of 2019, rising by 282.5 percent. This year, 440,700 women started working compared to 156,000 in 2018.
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Via Sarah Algethami, Matthew Martin and Archana Narayanan in bloomberg.com : The figures represent the base fee being paid by Aramco, which will decide the amount of discretionary incentive fees at a later date, the people said. If Aramco opts to dole out additional money, most of it would likely go to the domestic banks that brought in the bulk of the IPO orders.
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in arabnews.com : The most searched of the year was Future Gate. Over a year ago, the Ministry of Education introduced the Future Gate initiative with the aim of promoting digital learning in schools.
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MORE ON THE KINGDOM AND BEYOND
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Saudi Arabia and other oil-rich Persian Gulf states have tried to avoid taking a position on America’s geopolitical rivalries in recent years,...[By Summer Said and Stephen Kalin via wsj.com]
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Saudi Arabia is moving closer to a potential deal to acquire a minority stake in a Pakistan mine controlled by Barrick Gold Corp., people with...[By Dinesh Nair, Matthew Martin, and Thomas Biesheuvel via bloomberg.com]
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It’s shaping up to be a banner year for the mobile esports industry, with an unprecedented amount of activity in the space in 2024. The...[via digiday.com]
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Saudi-based ACWA Power recognized as the world’s largest private water desalination company and a frontrunner in energy transition with a focus on green hydrogen, secured...[By Pooja Chandak via solarquarter.com]
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“Those Arab countries are in a very critical situation,” said Oraib Al Rantawi, director of the Al Quds Center for Political Studies, a think...[via nbcnews.com]
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When ancient humans pushed into the Arabian Peninsula, they found a world marked by magma. Swaths of it once erupted from volcanoes, leaving a landscape...[By Robin George Andrews via nytimes.com]
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Alongside further expansion in Saudi Arabia – the largest branded coffee shop market in the Middle East – Barn’s is also expected to...[via worldcoffeeportal.com]
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Turkey could finalize terms for delivery of a second consignment of S-400 advanced missile defenses from Russia by April when the first batch will be...[By Ece Toksabay and Orhan Coskun via reuters.com]
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"It's crazy to think that we're in 2019 and still have three hours a day when there is no electricity," says Lara Kais, 33, who...[By Tim Whewell via bbc.com]
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Tehran’s overt meddling in Iraqi politics is seen as enabling a weak government as well as the rise of dozens of Shiite militias and their...[By Scott Peterson via csmonitor.com]
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A source on the ground detailed to Military Times that a firefight between the Taliban and Afghan and U.S. forces lasted nine to 10 hours....[By Shawn Snow via militarytimes.com]
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The move amounted to a stern condemnation of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who has grown close to Russia in recent months and who criticized...[By Burgess Everett via politico.com]
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The most difficult negotiations may be the ones that take place within the Quartet and specifically between Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi, rather than the...[By Kristian Coates Ulrichsen via washingtonpost.com]
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Saudi Arabia doesn’t “trust the Iranians,” said a Saudi official, but Riyadh hopes it “can at least come to an agreement to stop possible attacks...[By Benoit Faucon, Summer Said and Warren P. Strobel via wsj.com]
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The IRGC has expanded its activities inside and outside of Iran through a set of costly strategies that are made autonomously from those of the...[By Sara Bazoobandi via agsiw.org]
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General Morteza Qorbani said, “If the Zionist regime makes the smallest mistake toward Iran, (the Revolutionary Guards) will reduce Tel Aviv to ashes from Lebanon,”...[via tv7israelnews.com]
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António Guterres said unrestrained climate change would allow only the “survival of the richest,” while former U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said the “absence...[By Frank Jordans and Aritz Parra via apnews.com]
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Oil rose to its highest in nearly three months on Friday as progress in resolving the U.S.-China trade dispute and Britain’s general election result appeared...[By Alex Lawler via reuters.com]
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And as the Caucasus becomes an increasingly central region for China’s Belt and Road Initiative, investors from the Middle East see great potential in this...[By Sebastian Rees via albawaba.com]
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Oman’s Sultan Qaboos has returned home after medical treatment and checks in Belgium, Oman state media said on Friday, citing a Royal Court statement.
Western-backed Qaboos,...[By Lisa Barrington via reuters.com]
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