MUST-READS

• Kuwait’s New Crown Prince Pledges Commitment to Democracy, Peace

  Kuwait's new Crown Prince Sheikh Meshal al-Ahmad al-Sabah took the oath of office in Parliament on Thursday, pledging the Gulf Arab state's commitment to democracy and peace and calling on Kuwaitis to shun divisions. The assembly unanimously endorsed the octogenarian Sheikh Meshal for the role in what has been a smooth succession that retained power firmly within the ruling family's oldest ranks following last week's death of Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad.

• Nobel Peace Prize 2020: World Food Programme Wins for Work to Combat Hunger

  The World Food Programme was awarded the 2020 Nobel Peace Prize as the fight against hunger takes on greater urgency in a world shaped by conflict and the coronavirus pandemic. The organization is being honored “for its contribution to bettering conditions for peace in conflict-affected areas and for acting as a driving force in efforts to prevent the use of hunger as a weapon of war and conflict,” the Norwegian Nobel Committee said on Friday.

• Saudi researchers launch solar-powered cooling project

  King Abdullah City for Atomic and Renewable Energy (KACARE) has launched a project designed to demonstrate the effectiveness of renewable energies. Specifically, it aims to show how solar thermal technologies can be used in industrial processes, in particular to power cooling systems. It is part of the second round of an initiative launched by KACARE, under the patronage of its president, Khalid Al-Sultan, to localize renewable-energy technologies and empower the industrial sector in this field.

• Saudi seeks developers for Ras Mohaisen desalination scheme

  Saudi Water Partnership Company (SWPC) has invited firms to express interest by 5 November for the contract to develop a new desalination plant, using seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO) technology in Ras Mohaisen. The plant will have a design capacity of 300,000 cubic metres a day (cm/d). Ras Mohaisen is located approximately 300 kilometres south of Mecca, on the Red Sea coast in Saudi Arabia’s Western Province.

• Facebook, Twitter dismantle global array of disinformation networks

  Facebook Inc and Twitter Inc said on Thursday they had taken down more than a dozen disinformation networks used by political and state-backed groups to deceive users on the social media platforms in multiple countries. In separate statements, the two companies said they had identified and suspended more than 1,000 accounts between them, which used fake identities and other deceptive behaviors to spread false or misleading information.

• Nearly three million migrants stranded by COVID-19 – UN report

  Coronavirus border closures and restrictions have stranded nearly 3 million migrants around the world who want to return home but cannot, the U.N. migration agency said on Friday, adding some had been “warehoused” in unhygenic settings. The International Organization for Migration report is the most comprehensive to date on the issue, covering more than 100 countries. It includes only migrants who want to return but are unable to do so because of the COVID-19 restrictions -- such as seafarers stuck on decommissioned ships, miners or construction workers.

• Saudi Arabia’s Al-Tuwaijri wishes remaining WTO candidates luck, stresses future importance of organization

  Al-Tuwaijri, Saudi Arabia’s candidate for the top job at the WTO, also emphasized the importance of the organization as the world prepares for a “period of post-pandemic economic recovery.” “I remain wholeheartedly passionate about the importance of the organization’s role in facilitating free trade and steering the world in the right direction,” he said in a statement. The adviser minister to the Royal Court thanked all member states “for their tireless efforts to reach a consensus on the final two candidates for the next position of director-general.”

• J.P. Morgan sees Saudi Arabia offering deeper oil cuts

  A worsening global oil demand outlook will prompt OPEC to reverse a planned easing of oil cuts in 2021 with Saudi Arabia offering deeper cuts below its current quota, J.P. Morgan said in a research note. "Against relatively bearish investor sentiment on the near-term demand outlook as COVID-19 potentially accelerates infections into winter, we highlight the potential for Saudi to drive incremental cuts at the Nov. 30 OPEC meeting," analysts including Christyan Malek said in a note.

• Deal signed to train Saudis in hospitality sector

  The agreement, which was signed by Hadaf Director General Turki Al-Jawini and QIC CEO Michael Reininger, is a further step towards nationalizing the Kingdom’s labor market. It includes a training program for 1,200 high-school graduates, all of whom will reportedly have job opportunities at the end of the program, which will run for 30 months, the first six of which will be dedicated to English-language training. The rest of the program will cover academic and on-the-job training.

• Saudi Arabia extends distance learning until the end of December, minister says

  Distance learning will continue at Saudi schools until the end of the first term of the educational year, which concludes in December, Saudi Arabia’s education minister Hamad bin Mohammed Al Shaikh announced via Twitter on Thursday. In August, the minister said public schools would implement distance learning for the first seven weeks of the new term, which started on Aug. 30, as a precaution against coronavirus.

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