Gulf expert Theodore Karasik writes that Saudi Arabia is moving to provide more jobs for Saudis, and that under new King Salman, change is in the works for its troubled labor sector.
The US Embassy in Riyadh and at its diplomatic missions Jeddah and Dhahran in Saudi Arabia suspended all consular services for two days over security fears.
Saudi Arabia's Housing Minister Shwaish bin Saud Dhwaihi has been relieved of his post as minister of housing, following a royal order, according to reports.
He will be replaced Essam bin Saad bin Saeed, Minister of State.
The Saudi Press Agency reports that the CSC Globe, the world's largest shipping vessel currently in operation has docked at the Red Sea port of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is in Riyadh today to meet with King Salman and other high-level Saudi officials. The Secretary's "Full Schedule" of meetings is an opportunity for the Secretary to build rapport with new Saudi officials, a State Department spokesperson said.
According to a Reuters report, Saudi Arabia's King Salman has made "subtle changes" in decision-making roles that lay the groundwork for a generational shift in energy and economic policies.
According to a Bloomberg report, Saudi banks are making it difficult for startups get off the ground by decreasing loans to entrepreneurs, despite the fact that these loans are backed by a government SME Loan Guarantee Program.
After a rough second half of 2014, Saudi Arabia's stock market, the Tadawul or TASI, is up 11.2 percent this year as Reuters, in a recent survey, noted that funds are seen as increasingly bullish on Saudi Arabian equities.
At the Global Islamic Conference that brought together scholars in Mecca, Prince Khaled Al-Faisal read a speech on behalf of King Salman in which the monarch urged the defeat of extremism and noted, "Terrorists do not at all represent Islam."
Military officials from 26 nations descended on Saudi Arabia this week for a two-day meeting to discuss joint efforts to combat the self-styled Islamic State extremist group, or Daesh, in Iraq and Syria, according to the Saudi Press Agency.
