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  • Visiting Saudi Arabia? Here are five government mobile apps every tourist must download

    If you wish to visit Saudi Arabia and want to know more about visa requirements, flight or accommodation bookings and transportation services, Saudi Arabia has official mobile applications that help tourists plan a smoother and hassle-free experience. Whether you are visiting the country for Umrah, leisure purposes, or to spend time with family and friends, here are five apps you should download.

  • What’s behind Syria’s return to the Arab League?

    The Arab League’s decision to re-admit Syria after shunning it for 12 years was a significant symbolic victory for Damascus, part of a larger regional realignment and an indication of the United States’ waning role, analysts say. But it may not immediately bring the reconstruction dollars that Syrian President Bashar Assad is hoping for. Nor is it likely to bring the changes Syria’s neighbors want, such as an agreement on refugee returns and moves to reduce drug trafficking. Syria is returning to the Arab fold even though there is no sign of a resolution to the country’s uprising-turned-civil war, now in its 13th year. The long-stalemated conflict has killed nearly a half million people since March 2011 and displaced half of the country’s pre-war population of 23 million. Multiple mediation attempts have failed.

  • Factbox: How big is the aid crisis caused by the Sudan fighting?

    Aid workers say fighting between rival military factions in Sudan is pushing poorly-funded humanitarian programmes in the region to a breaking point. Even before the violence began on April 15, millions of people in Sudan and neighbouring countries were dependent on aid due to poverty and conflict. Since then, hundreds have been killed, including at least five humanitarians; food stocks have been looted; and many international aid workers have left.

  • Lionel Messi’s future: Barcelona, Saudi Arabia or Miami?

    So if not in Paris, where will Messi be playing football next season? Is a return to Barcelona, the club he served with such distinction until 2021, financially viable? Does Messi’s lucrative ambassadorial role with the Saudi tourist board suggest he will follow Cristiano Ronaldo and play club football in the Middle East? What about a long-mooted move to Inter Miami and Major League Soccer?

  • Barça, Saudi Arabia, Miami, Rosario.. where next for Lionel Messi?

    Already under contract with the Saudi tourism board to promote the country on social networks, the Argentine star is also being courted to sign up to play in the local championship, potentially recreating Messi’s legendary rivalry with 'CR7', who has been playing for Al-Nassr since the last January transfer window.

  • Who Bombed the Kremlin?

    “We are looking into the report but aren’t able to confirm it or validate its authenticity,” the official said. “We have said throughout the conflict that we do not encourage or enable Ukraine to strike within Russia.” The drone pictured in the strike did not appear to be the large Tu-141 reportedly used in previous Ukrainian attacks. The likely payload on such a small drone calls into question the Kremlin’s claim that Putin was the target, said CNA analyst Sam Bendett.

  • Is the two state solution dead? Will Israeli or Iranian protests succeed? And other questions.

    According to the fifth wave of the Middle East Scholar Barometer, jointly fielded by the Project on Middle East Political Science and the University of Maryland’s Critical Issuss poll, Middle East academic experts continue to grow more pessimistic about the prospects for an Israeli-Palestinian two state solution and even more likely to describe its current reality as a one state reality akin to apartheid.

  • Is Israel a democracy? Here’s what Americans think

    Although the protests have largely ignored Israel’s military rule over millions of Palestinians, they drew attention to threats to democracy even within Israel’s pre-1967 borders. It is hard to know if these protests have had any impact on the way Americans perceive Israel, and if they did, in what direction.

  • Should Bankers Move to Saudi Arabia? Pay is Surging, But Hiring is a Challenge

    Recruiter Hays Plc estimates that most banking professionals in Saudi Arabia can earn roughly 20% more than their counterparts in Western financial centers. Those expat executives willing to relocate to the kingdom from neighboring Dubai can ask for 20% to 35% extra, according to headhunting firm Mark Williams. Senior hires are able to command even higher amount.

  • Should Bankers Move to Saudi Arabia? Pay is Surging, But Hiring is a Challenge

    But on the ground, hiring is proving to be a challenge. While MBS, as the de facto ruler is known, has eased many social regulations, alcohol is still banned and extramarital relations and homosexuality remain punishable as ‘moral crimes.’ The severe rules and the prospect of a monotonous lifestyle in Riyadh often make expats reluctant to move. Meanwhile, experienced local employees are in short supply. That’s fueling a fight for talent and boosting salaries, bankers and headhunters say.