MUST-READS

• Saudi Arabia Integrates AI Technology to Enhance Visitor Guidance at Grand Mosque

  A total of 52 screens, spanning 279 square meters, have been placed inside and outside the mosque to offer personalized guidance content for pilgrims. This approach utilizes the expertise of a specialized team, comprising scholars well-versed in religious and guidance aspects. The team curates bespoke content for specific occasions, ensuring the information is timely and relevant for the needs of visitors.

• Saudi Pro League winners & losers of the 2023-24 season so far

  The intrigue around the league's potential remains following its eye-opening summer of spending, and it remains to be seen just how that is backed up during the winter window, with a number of top players again being linked with big-money moves to the Middle East. On the pitch, a number of the big-name arrivals have lived up to their billing, though not every club goes into the break especially happy with how their campaign is panning out. Managers are beginning to come under fire, and there is a fear that the title race could be over already.

• Global Shipping’s Chokepoints

  With more and more shipping companies extending full or partial closures of Red Sea shipping routes due to attacks by Yemeni rebels, global trade could be seriously affected. According to a new analysis based on 2019 data published in academic journal Communications in Transportation Research, 22-23 percent of maritime-traded goods between non-neighboring countries pass through the Red Sea, more specifically its chokepoints Bab-el-Mandeb and the Suez Canal. Other estimates even put the share of seaborne cargo passing through the area as high as 30 percent.

• Revolutionizing Health Care: Saudi Arabia’s Digital Health Transformation

  In August 2022, the Saudi Ministry of Health launched the Middle East’s first virtual hospital. Seha stands as the world’s largest facility of its kind, symbolizing Saudi Arabia’s ambitious health-care sector transformation, a vital component of its Vision 2030 reform agenda. Under the leadership of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi Arabia is making significant strides in securing the substantial funds, advanced technology, and focused expertise needed to meet the kingdom’s rising health-care challenges.

• Kuwait’s New Emir: A Frank Speech Signals a Sharp Change in Direction

  Kuwait's new emir, Meshal al-Ahmed al-Jaber al-Sabah, announces an end to the current populist terms of engagement with the Parliament, which seems to suggest a forceful corrective – and perhaps more domestic strife – to come.

• Saudi Arabia Speeds up Development of Maritime, Logistics Sector with $4.5b Investments

  The country jumped eight ranks in container handling, reaching the 16th position out of the largest 100 ports worldwide, according to Lloyd’s List. Moreover, the Kingdom climbed 17 ranks to reach the 38th position out of 160 countries in the logistics efficiency index, which is issued by the World Bank. According to the Authority, the Kingdom made significant progress in the Liner Shipping Connectivity Index, achieving the highest regional advancement, according to the UNCTAD report. The index recorded 79.01 points in the fourth quarter of 2023, compared to 77.66 points in the previous quarter.

• Iran Suspends Relaunch of Saudi Flights in Setback For Detente

  In a televised statement, Iran’s Minister of Culture Mohammad-Mehdi Esmaeili said the problem is “a technical disagreement” between the countries’ aviation authorities, describing it as “nothing serious.”

• Saudi Cancels Flight Permits For Iranian Pilgrims

  Flights to Saudi for Iranian pilgrims traveling to Umrah have been canceled amid ‘technical disagreements’ between the two nations. The anticipated journey was scheduled to commence on Wednesday morning, marking the first pilgrimage group after a 9-year diplomatic hiatus between Tehran and Riyadh. However, a "technical disagreement," as described by the minister of culture, led to the cancellation of the flight. The National Airline of Iran (Homa) had previously announced plans for two daily flights for Umrah operations, preparing to dispatch 30,000 Iranian pilgrims to Saudi Arabia.

• Ancient Saudi city to get world’s longest battery-powered tram
  The AlUla Experiential Tramway will run 22km with 17 stations.
  It will link five historical districts in the ancient oasis city, which is located on the Red Sea coast in Medina province.
  The company is also supplying 20 of its Citadis trams, equipped with Mitrac B batteries, and what Alstom describes as its “fast and invisible ground-based static charging system”.

• Why Saudi Arabia and the UAE may sit out new US-led Red Sea initiative

  When it was first announced on Dec. 18, the US Defense Department said 10 countries would be participating in Prosperity Guardian: the US, the United Kingdom, Bahrain, Canada, France, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Seychelles and Spain. Three days later, Pentagon Press Secretary Pat Ryder said as many as 20 nations had said they would back the initiative, though some of the original nations, like Spain and Italy, later put out public statements that appeared to distance themselves from it. (The Combined Maritime Forces, under which the new effort falls, is made up of 39 international partners, including KSA and the UAE.)

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