QUOTED

Quoted

“We will face criticism whether we do something or we don’t…Saudi Arabia is going through a transformation. We were always criticized that we are not opening up to the world, we’re not doing anything in the kingdom, we’re not opening up to tourism…Sports has been a tool for social change within the kingdom.”

Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki al-Faisal, the 36-year-old head of Saudi Arabia ‘s General Sports Authority, in an interview with the AP about the numerous major sporting events now being hosted by the country. [Associated Press]

TOP STORY

U.S. Probe of Saudi Oil Attack Shows it Came From the North – Reuters Report

Oil Facility

The United States said new evidence and analysis of weapons debris recovered from an attack on Saudi oil facilities on Sept. 14 “indicates the strike likely came from the north, reinforcing its earlier assessment that Iran was behind the offensive,” Reuters reports in an exclusive.

The attacks on September 14th were significant. Two of Saudi Arabia’s most important oil facilities were brazenly attacked and set ablaze, causing a disruption of half of Saudi Arabia’s total daily oil production and 5% of the world’s crude supply.

The Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen said that the attacks were drone strikes they carried out, and claimed responsibility for them. The Houthis also said they would strike again.

But in an interim report of a U.S. investigation – “seen by Reuters ahead of a presentation on Thursday to the United Nations Security Council – Washington assessed that before hitting its targets, one of the drones traversed a location approximately 200 km (124 miles) to the northwest of the attack site,” according to Reuters.

“This, in combination with the assessed 900 kilometer maximum range of the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), indicates with high likelihood that the attack originated north of Abqaiq,” the interim report said, referring to the location of one of the Saudi oil facilities that were hit.

[Click here to read more from Reuters]

 

 

TOP STORY

The Big Business of Riyadh Season: GEA Nets $270 Million from Entertainment Push

General Entertainment Authority's Turki al-Sheikh

The chairman of the General Entertainment Authority (GEA) in Saudi Arabia said that the Kingdom’s “Riyadh Season” of events has generated more than SR1 billion ($270 million) for the GEA, according to Arab News. [more]

 

TOP STORY

Unemployment declines in Saudi Arabia, further gains seen in 2020 – Jadwa Investment

Vision 2030 media

Unemployment in Saudi Arabia declined in the 3q 2019 and is likely to continue to improve as a pick-up in the non-oil private sector growth should translate to more jobs, according to a recent report from Jadwa Investment. [more]

 

TOP STORY

Global Construction Giant Bechtel Opens New Office in Al-Khobar, Saudi Arabia

Photo courtesy of Bechtel.

Global engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) firm Bechtel has re-opened its office in Al-Khobar to “meet the increasing demand for quality services in the Oil and Gas sector in Saudi Arabia and in the region,” SUSTG has learned. [more]

 

MORE TOP STORYLINES

Pentagon review of Saudi military trainees finds no threats

Via Darryl Coote in upi.com : The Pentagon has said an initial screening of about 850 Saudi Arabian international military students training on bases in the United States found no signs that they pose any immediate threats to the country.

Saudi EDM festival Middle Beast welcomes thousands in its opening night

thenational.ae and other media outlets report on MDL Beast, the region’s biggest dance music festival spanning five stages in Riyadh and featuring over two dozen DJs including the first female DJ from Saudi Arabia.  More than 60,000 people showed up for the first day.

From Greta Thunberg to Saudi visas: this is how the travel industry has evolved in 10 years

Via Hayley Skirka in thenational.ae : Perhaps the defining moment of the decade for the Middle East travel scene happened in September, when Saudi Arabia launched tourism visas after being closed to outsiders for decades.

 

MORE ON THE KINGDOM AND BEYOND

Saudi crown prince, US House Armed Services Committee chairman discuss ties

Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has received in Jeddah Chairman of the US House Armed Services Committee Mike Rogers, the Saudi Press Agency...[via arabnews.com]

 

Eid Season 2024 returns to Saudi Arabia

Scheduled to take place from 10 to 14 April — depending on the moon sighting — Eid Season 2024 will kick off with Eid prayers....[By Shaheera Anwar via factmagazines.com]

 

KlasJet Obtains a Permit to Operate in Saudi Arabia

KlasJet, a well-known exclusive private and corporate jet charter company and a part of the world's largest ACMI providers, the Avia Solutions Group family,...[via aviationpros.com]

 

Saudi Arabia’s Diriyah Biennale Looks to the Future amid an Imperiled Present

The second edition of Saudi Arabia’s Diriyah Contemporary Art Biennale—titled “After Rain” and on view through May—proposes petrichor as a...[By Tessa Solomon via artnews.com]

 

Perspective: What Western Media Won’t Tell You About A Women’s Saudi Arabia

The Saudi people are tired. Tired of having...[By Francesca Gilbard via sundialpress.co]

 

Manga Productions Chief Essam Bukhary on Saudi Manga Craze and How Partnership With Japanese Studios Is the ‘Future of the Anime Industry’

Saudi Arabia, where popular anime characters such as “Captain Tsubasa” and “Dragon Ball” protagonist Son Goku...[By Nick Vivarelli via variety.com]

 

Houthis threaten Saudi Arabia’s oil installations for ‘supporting US aggression’

Yemen’s Houthi rebels have threatened to target Saudi Arabia’s oil installations should the country allow a US-led coalition to use its airspace to counter the...[via hellenicshippingnews.com]

 

How smaller GCC states view the Iranian-Saudi détente

Both Iran and Saudi Arabia have taken steps to build on their diplomatic breakthrough. There has been a reopening of embassies with ...[By Giorgio Cafiero via amwaj.media]

 

Saudi Arabia denounces Israeli decision to confiscate West Bank land

Israel’s actions “undermine the chances of a just and sustainable peace based on the two-state solution,” the statement on SPA added. ...[By Tamara Abueish via alarabiya.net]

 

Perspective: Saudi Arabia Goes for Transformative Hat Trick

The idea is to open up the economy and end its dependence on oil and gas; modify the existing fundamentalist tradition, which dates back to...[By Alvaro Vargas Llosa via independent.org]

 

Top 10 Netflix Films in Saudi this week

Weekly Top 10 lists of the most watched TV and films in countries around the world....[via netflix.com]

 

Lebanon

Can Lebanon’s newly designated PM save the economy?

Nominated with the support of Iran-backed Hezbollah and its allies, Prime Minister-designate Hassan Diab and the cabinet he has vowed to form quickly must win...[By Tom Arnold via reuters.com]

 

Iraq

Iraq’s Shia leader calls for early election amid unrest, protests

"The fastest and most peaceful way out of the current crisis, and avoiding the unknown or chaos or civil strife, is to go back to...[via aljazeera.com]

 

Syria-Russia

Russia and Syria Hold First Navy Drills Together as They Launch New Assault

In exercises involving some 2,000 personnel, 10 vessels and a number of aircraft as well, the Russia and Syrian armed forces signaled a new level...[By Tom O'Connor via newsweek.com]

 

Iran

New centrifuges being tested, President Rouhani says

Rouhani said at a meeting with Iranian expatriates in the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday that the country is now testing IR-9 centrifuges,...[By Joshua Berlinger and Mallory Gafas via cnn.com]

 

Afghanistan

Inside Taliban’s Afghanistan, violence remains path to power

The Dec. 11 Bagram attack, which killed two people and wounded more than 70, derailed the most recent round of peace talks in Doha, Qatar....[By Susannah George via washingtonpost.com]

 

Qatar Dispute

Persian Gulf Standoff Starts to Thaw on the Soccer Field

“The conflict is an issue between governments,” he said, sitting in the lobby of the ornate hotel where his sports heroes were staying. “Believe me,...[By Declan Walsh via nytimes.com]

 

Turkey in the Region

Analysis: Turkey’s Economic Relations with Gulf States in the Shadow of the 2017 Qatar Crisis

Nader Habibi assesses the economic implications for Turkey by examining changes in four important areas with Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Qatar...[By Nader Habibi via brandeis.edu]

 

Iran

Perspective: Rethinking Iranian regional influence and internal stability

The regime, wrote political scientist and reformist Alireza Alavi Tabar in the Kalameh news website, “has been weakened, but it doesn’t mean it is on...[By Scheherazade Faramarzi via atlanticcouncil.org]

 

Gulf Shipping

French warship to spearhead European mission in Gulf from next year

A European operation to ensure safe shipping in the Gulf region, scene of attacks on merchant vessels this year, will get underway next month when...[via reuters.com]

 

Mediterranean Sea

Egypt Rejects Turkey-Libya Deal on Sea Rights, Security

Egypt has told the U.N. Security Council it rejects two agreements between Turkey and Libya’s U.N.-supported government on maritime rights in the Mediterranean and military...[via nytimes.com]

 

ME Risks

Commentary: A Guide to Middle East Risks in 2020

Governments and companies in the region raised a record $111 billion selling debt this year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg....[By Netty Idayu Ismail via bloomberg.com]

 
 

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