MUST-READS

• China will be a driving force for the world economic recovery, official says
  China aims to be strong driving force for the world economic recovery this year, opening its markets wider to foreign investors and promoting high quality growth, the country's top legislator Zhao Leji said on Thursday.
  China will make tech innovation a new point of economic growth and is willing to collaborate with other countries on it, Zhao, the chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, said at the opening plenary of the annual gathering of the Boao Forum for Asia.

• Ireland to intervene in South Africa genocide case against Israel
  Ireland said on Wednesday it would intervene in South Africa's genocide case against Israel, in the strongest signal to date of Dublin's concern about Israeli operations in Gaza since Oct. 7.
  Announcing the move, Foreign Minister Micheal Martin said that while it was for the World Court to decide whether genocide is being committed, he wanted to be clear that Hamas' Oct. 7 attack and what is happening in Gaza now "represents the blatant violation of international humanitarian law on a mass scale."

• Biden’s oil boom

  Almost no matter the metric, the U.S. oil and gas industry has flourished under President Joe Biden, even though his administration has pushed hard to transition the U.S. economy toward a carbon-free future to fight climate change.

• New poll shows waning American support for Israel war in Gaza

  A new Gallup poll shows a majority of Americans (55%) now oppose Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, while only 36% approve of it. That marks a sharp drop in support for Israel’s military campaign since its poll in November, which then found that 50% of Americans approved of Israel’s military action in Gaza, compared with 45% who disapproved.

• State Dept. human rights staffer quits over Biden’s Gaza policy

  Annelle Sheline, 38, stepped down after a year as a foreign affairs officer in the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, with nearly half that tenure marked by the war Israel launched in response to a devastating Hamas attack on Oct. 7.

• Unemployment among Saudis down to 7.7% in Q4 2023

  The unemployment rate among Saudis fell to 7.7% in the fourth quarter of 2023, compared to 8.6% in the third quarter of 2023, according to the General Authority for Statistics’ (GASTAT) labor force survey.   The unemployment rate in Q4 2023 is at the lowest ever level, based on the data available since 1999.   The Kingdom’s Vision 2030 targets an unemployment rate of 7%.

• The new kid on Saudi Arabia’s tourism scene

  The announcement of Soudah Peaks was made through an integrated campaign titled ‘Above the Clouds’ that spanned various platforms, including a digital presence, a video showcasing the natural beauty and heritage of the region, and out-of-home advertising in key locations such as Dubai, Paris, London, New York, Geneva and Riyadh.

• Crown prince receives governors of Saudi regions

  Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has received governors of the Kingdom’s regions following their 31st annual meeting, the Saudi Press Agency said early Thursday. The Crown Prince was briefed on the most prominent topics discussed at the annual meeting.

  He commended the governors’ efforts to serve the country, citizens and residents, and their work to achieve comprehensive development.

• Saudi Aramco chief says world should ‘abandon fantasy’ of phasing out fossil fuels

  "One of the challenges here is that while society wants to see emissions reduced, nobody wants to pay for it," Woods said. Nasser called for policies more in tune with the "real world." While alternative energy can reduce emissions, "when the world does focus on reducing emission from hydrocarbons, it achieves much better results," Nasser said.

• Iraq-Saudi engagement weathers tumultuous regional climate

  Amid growing regional tensions, Iraq has sought to strengthen relations with Saudi Arabia and advance its nascent economic ties with the Kingdom. The bilateral relationship was fraught for decades, sparked by former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein’s (1979-2003) invasion of Kuwait in 1990. This situation continued for well over a decade after the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq, when Riyadh declined to send an ambassador to Baghdad.

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