MUST-READS

• US fitness brand flexes muscles with Saudi expansion

  US-based Xponential Fitness has defied the economic crisis caused by coronavirus to open up six of its boutique studios in Saudi Arabia. The newly opened studios in Riyadh represent the brands – Club Pilates, Pure Barre, CycleBar, YogaSix and AKT – and are part of a franchise agreement signed last summer with the Ezdihar Sports arm of Fawaz Abdulaziz Alhokair Company to bring more than 50 Xponential Fitness studios to the kingdom over the next few years.

• Top UAE official laments PA’s ingratitude after Abbas envoy rants on Israel ties

  Anwar Gargash slams Palestinians’ ‘lack of loyalty’ after Ramallah diplomat calls Emirati leader a ‘little dictator’ and says UAE, Bahrain have ‘become more Israeli than Israelis’

• Afghan forces launch counter assault after Taliban offensive overshadows talks

  Afghan security forces launched a counter offensive in the south against Taliban fighters, officials said on Tuesday, as fighting raged for a third straight day in a major insurgent offensive that has overshadowed peace talks.

• Amid Pandemic and Economic Crisis, Israel to Advance at Least 4,430 Settlement Units

  The Higher Planning Council (HPC) of the Civil Administration is set to convene to advance at least 4,430 settlement units in the West Bank in two consecutive meetings on 14 and 15 October. This will be the first time the HPC will have held such a hearing in eight months, and follows a declaration by Prime Minister Netanyahu on 1 October that he has instructed it to approve 5,400 units. It is set to make 2020 the highest year on record in units in settlement plans promoted since Peace Now began recording in 2012.

• Saudis blow hot and cold over flu vaccine as winter approaches

  Unlike a few other vaccinations, flu shots are not mandatory in Saudi Arabia. But guidelines from the Scientific Committee for Influenza and Pneumococcal Vaccination recommend that the public and health care professionals receive the vaccine every year, especially during flu season as the composition of the vaccine is modified annually.

• ‘Quarterback’ of Election Day intel effort reveals more countries seeking to influence American voters

  Evanina would only confirm that all three countries identified in the NCSC’s public statements – Russia, China, and Iran – have made attempts to penetrate the major campaigns and candidates this year, but he would not disclose whether those digital attempts this year were successful – only that the sheer number of attempts has soared.

• IMF eases back on forecasts for Saudi Arabia’s economic slump

  In June, the IMF predicted that Saudi Arabia's GDP will shrink by 6.8 percent this year, its worst performance since the 1980s oil glut, as low crude prices and coronavirus continued to batter Middle East economies. But on Tuesday in its latest World Economic Outlook, the IMF said the Saudi economy was forecast to shrink by 5.4 percent before delivering 3.1 percent growth in 2021.

• Israel’s Cabinet ratifies Abraham Accords

  Shortly before the Cabinet approved the normalization agreement with the United Arab Emirates, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan spoke over the phone and agreed to meet "soon."

• ‘A slap in the face’: 9/11 families say US-Sudan deal would torpedo two-decade lawsuit

  In exchange for taking Sudan off the terror list — where it has sat since 1993 and remains alongside Iran, North Korea, and Syria — the State Department is requiring that Khartoum pay $335 million toward a court settlement reached in May with the victims of al-Qaeda’s embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania in 1998.

• Perspective: On peace with Israel, Saudi Arabia media offers clues to kingdom’s thinking

  The new stance being advanced in the Saudi media is significant not just for what it signals about the kingdom’s position. In recent years, the Saudi media has become increasingly influential across the wider Arab world.

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