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  • When is Eid al-Adha? And when will Hajj 2024 begin? All you need to know

    The Muslim world is gearing to celebrate Eid al-Adha this year on or around Sunday June 16, according to various astronomical calculations. The date, however, can change depending on the beginning of the Dhu al-Hijjah month. It is expected that Saudi Arabia will call on Muslims in the Kingdom to sight the crescent moon on June 6.

  • Alipay+ expands to Saudi Arabia. Good news for luxury?

    Chinese fintech giant Ant Group is aggressively expanding abroad, with its eyes now on Saudi Arabia. Singapore-based Ant International, which extends the group’s innovative fintech solutions to global markets, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Ministry of Investment of Saudi Arabia (MISA) to facilitate business growth in the kingdom.

  • What’s behind Saudi Arabia’s increase in crude oil prices for Asian market?

    According to Bloomberg, the increase is in line with Saudi Arabia’s efforts to keep prices up amid a fading risk of war in the Middle East. The outbreak of the war in Gaza in October led to spillover conflicts throughout the region, including strikes by the Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen on international shipping in the Red Sea. Concerns of an all-out war rose further with Iran’s unprecedented attack on Israel last month, though Israel's response was perceived as limited, Al-Monitor reported at the time.

  • China vs. U.S.: Who’s Winning Hearts and Minds?

    The U.S. is currently beating China in the competition for leadership approval in much of the world. But, as a new Gallup report shows, this approval can depend a great deal on who is in power. Based on relative net approval scores, the U.S. enjoyed an advantage in 81 out of 133 countries that Gallup surveyed in 2023, while China had an advantage in 52. The United States' net approval advantage was largest in Kosovo at +154 points (+78 U.S. net approval and -76 Chinese net approval). China’s advantage was largest in Russia at -132 points (-82 U.S. net approval and +50 Chinese net approval). In any country, net approval of the U.S. minus net approval of China results in a relative net approval score between 200 and -200. A score of 200 means everyone approves of U.S. leadership and disapproves of Chinese leadership, while a score of -200 indicates the opposite. A score of 0 suggests parity, where the U.S. and China share the same net approval score.

  • F-15EX ‘Dogfights’ Eurofighter, Rafale Aircraft For Big, Fat Saudi Deal; Can Boeing Outdo Airbus & Dassault?

    With three options on the table, there is also conjecture that the kingdom might take the Qatar route and make its fleet more diverse by adding Rafales to the mix of its existing fleet comprising the F-15SA and the Eurofighter Typhoons. Although the officials in the kingdom have not officially acknowledged their interest in the French Rafale or the Airbus Eurofighter, a potential acquisition of either of these fighters may come as yet another setback to the US arms industry, which is believed to be steadily losing ground to European and even Chinese and Russian arms manufacturers in the Middle Eastern region.

  • Perspective: Unfairly Maligned? The Cost of Mediation on Qatar-U.S. Relations

    Moreover, many of Qatar’s past actions toward Gaza that voices within the United States and Israel now denounce were implemented at the behest of officials in Washington and Tel Aviv. A look back at Qatari mediation in Gaza over the past decade could remind U.S. policymakers of Qatari maneuverability in the region when crises erupt.

  • F-15EX ‘Dogfights’ Eurofighter, Rafale Aircraft For Big, Fat Saudi Deal; Can Boeing Outdo Airbus & Dassault?

    With three options on the table, there is also conjecture that the kingdom might take the Qatar route and make its fleet more diverse by adding Rafales to the mix of its existing fleet comprising the F-15SA and the Eurofighter Typhoons. Although the officials in the kingdom have not officially acknowledged their interest in the French Rafale or the Airbus Eurofighter, a potential acquisition of either of these fighters may come as yet another setback to the US arms industry, which is believed to be steadily losing ground to European and even Chinese and Russian arms manufacturers in the Middle Eastern region.

  • Will Iran’s supreme leader revise his ‘nuclear fatwa’?

    Following Iran's Apr. 14 military action against Israel in response to the Apr. 1 bombing of the Iranian consulate in Damascus, a senior commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) explicitly suggested the possibility of a revision to Tehran’s objection to atomic weapons. The suggestion may only be a part of the war of words between Iran and Israel. However, the fact that such discourse is rapidly becoming mainstream in Iran raises questions of what may lie ahead—including whether a shift may take place under Khamenei, who has long opposed atomic weapons on a religious basis.

  • Vision 2030: What are Saudi Arabia’s overarching goals?

    The first goal of Vision 2030 is to cultivate a content and fulfilled society, laying the foundation for the attainment of economic prosperity.

    According to the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 official website, the goal focuses on creating strong roots that embrace modern Islam, national pride and Saudi heritage and culture, while also providing world-class entertainment options, sustainable living, and efficient health and social care systems.

  • Can Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 still succeed?

    “I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone who believed it would be built as conceived, Saudis included,” Jim Krane, energy research fellow at Rice University’s Baker Institute, told The New Arab.

    “Erecting a 100-mile-long skyscraper in the middle of nowhere is not a great use of scarce resources.”