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  • 72-Hour Ceasefire in Yemen Set for Wednesday Night
     

    The United Nations Special Envoy to Yemen announced a 72-hour cease-fire to begin Wednesday night, after he received commitments from all of the country’s warring factions, according to reports. Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed said the cessation of hostilities will begin at 8:59 p.m. UTC Wednesday and could be renewed after the initial three-day period. Twice […]

     
  • Despite Downturn, Half in New Poll Expect Saudi Economy to Improve
     

    With tough economic decisions at hand and the price of oil at a tipping point, where is the Saudi economy heading? In a recent poll conducted by Bayt.com and YouGov, 50% of respondents in Saudi Arabia expect business conditions to improve in one year, and 40% believe things will improve in the next six months. […]

     
  • Deadly Coalition Missile Attack on Funeral in Yemen Draws International Condemnation, Prompts U.S. Review of Support
     

    The ongoing conflict in Yemen was further inflamed this weekend after a missile attack on a funeral hall killed over 160 civilians, sparking outrage across the war-torn country. Yemeni officials and witnesses are blaming the Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen for the attack, which threatens to significantly alter the war’s course. The coalition initially denied […]

     
  • Video: Paramotoring in Saudi Arabia’s Qassim Desert
     

    A recently released report and video by Reuters highlights the start and growth of a “paramotoring” club in the Qassim Desert in Saudi Arabia as “a hobby, curiosity, a change.” Paramotoring, also referred to as powered paragliding, involves the use of a motor driving propeller that is worn on one’s back. The motor can be stopped and started in […]

     
  • Jadwa Investment Revises Saudi GDP Down to 1.1%
     

    The latest quarterly GDP update on the Saudi economy from Jadwa Investment finds year-on-year growth continued to slow for the fourth consecutive quarter, “mainly owing to a deceleration in annual GDP growth for both the oil sector and the non-oil private sector.” However, in real terms, the Saudi economy was 1.4 percent larger in the second quarter […]

     
  • Top Saudi Investment Officials in New York for Two-Day JPMorgan Chase Event
     

    Saudi Capital Market Authority Chairman Mohammed Al-Jadaan and Tadawul stock exchange Chief Executive Officer Khalid Al Hussan are among officials attending a two-day event in New York City this week organized by JPMorgan Chase & Co., Bloomberg reports. According to Bloomberg, senior representatives of the kingdom’s economy ministry and central bank will also be present. The […]

     
  • Opposition to JASTA ‘Bubbles’ but Override Still Likely after White House Veto on Friday
     

    President Obama vetoed the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act (JASTA) on Friday, setting up an expected showdown with Congress over the controversial bill that would open up foreign nations to lawsuits in the United States. In a thoughtful letter to Congress attached to the veto, President Obama says that while he has deep sympathy […]

     
  • White House Lobbies Senate on JASTA, Works Toward 34 Votes to Prevent Veto Override
     

    Some Senate Democrats on Capitol Hill continue to consider their votes on the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act (JASTA) and, according to some reports, are “starting to show cracks in their support” of the legislation after efforts by the Obama administration to convey the risk of the bill’s potential international relations fallout.  JASTA, which would expand […]

     
  • Al-Jubeir in Wall Street Journal: ‘Iran Can’t Whitewash Its Record of Terror’
     

    Saudi Foreign Minister Adel Al-Jubeir blasted his Iranian counterpart in a new op-ed published by the Wall Street Journal, saying that Iran cannot “whitewash its record of terror.” “The fact is that Iran is the leading state-sponsor of terrorism, with government officials directly responsible for numerous terrorist attacks since 1979. These include suicide bombings of the U.S. […]

     
  • Houthi Rebels Claim Capture of Post Inside Saudi Border
     

    Officials from Yemen’s Shiite Houthi militia say their fighters and allied troops have captured a Saudi military post in the border region of Jazan, according to reports.  According to a report in the Associated Press, the claim has been denied by a Saudi military spokesman. However, a 15-minute video clip posted on social media networks and aired late […]

     

MUST-READS

  • Will growing Saudi investment in Iraq hit Iranian roadblock?

    Gulf Arab investment in Iraq has swelled in recent years, signaling a new and widening rapprochement with Baghdad. Yet, while Iran and Saudi Arabia last year agreed to normalize relations, it is unclear whether Arab investment in Iraq—without stoking Iranian ire—is tenable. Riyadh and its Arab neighbors recognize that any move against their interests by Iran-backed  Iraqi armed groups would undermine the investments that their broader strategy depends on.

  • Will Gulf Camping Survive the Tourism Boom?

    The Gulf Cooperation Council’s “Grand Tours” unified visa is expected to launch by the end of 2024, permitting intercountry travel for foreign nationals living in all six GCC states akin to the European Union’s Schengen Area. With the unified visa projected to ease travel logistics and boost tourism revenue, tourism sectors across the GCC states are strategically working to craft multicountry tourism packages in tandem with the announcement of the visa.

  • Israel bombards central Gaza as tanks advance deeper in Rafah

    Israeli forces bombarded the Gaza Strip's historic refugee camps in the centre of the enclave and struck Gaza City in the north on Thursday, killing at least 13 people, and tanks pushed deeper into Rafah in the south, health officials and residents said. One Israeli airstrike killed six people in Zawayda town in central Gaza and two other people were killed in a strike on a house in Bureij camp. An Israeli air strike killed three people in a car in Deir Al-Balah, a city packed with people displaced from elsewhere in Gaza, health officials said.

  • Saudi Arabia sees 60 million tourists in first half of 2024

    Saudi Minister of Tourism Ahmed Al-Khateeb announced that in the first half of 2024, the number of tourists reached 60 million, spending a total of SR150 billion. He emphasized the country's commitment to developing the tourism sector, which currently represents 3% of Saudi Arabia's GDP, while noting that the sector  accounts for 10% of the global economy. Al-Khateeb revealed that in 2023, Saudi Arabia welcomed approximately 109 million tourists, including 27 million international visitors, placing the country 11th globally in terms of tourist numbers.

  • VLCC rates under pressure as Saudi Arabia slashes exports

    New data from Vortexa shows VLCC utilisation for OPEC+ – excluding Iran and Venezuela – fell sharply during June and reached a record low earlier this month, as exports from the group, especially Saudi Arabia, fell sharply. “The lack of sizeable alternative routes for VLCC flows, i.e. outside of OPEC+ (mostly Middle East) to Asia, is likely to keep VLCC rates under pressure,” Vortexa warned in a tanker update this week. VLCC rates have been on the slide this month, ducking well below the $30,000 a day mark.

  • Saudi Arabia Condemns Israeli Attack on UNRWA School in Gaza

    Saudi Arabia strongly condemned on Thursday Israel’s targeting of the Al-Razi United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) school in the Nuseirat refugee camp and its attack on the Attar area in Khan Younis in Gaza.

  • Saudi Cabinet approves establishment of national minerals program

    According to a ministry statement released earlier this year, the Kingdom’s mineral wealth is valued at an estimated SR9.4 trillion ($2.5 trillion). The Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources Bandar Alkhorayef thanked King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for the cabinet’s approval and said the program will effectively drive growth in the minerals sector and exploit the country’s mineral wealth.

  • ‘I’ll always protect’ Saudi Arabia, former US President Trump says

    Donald Trump has vowed to “always” protect Saudi Arabia if he is re-elected as US president during the upcoming elections in November. The former president and Republican nominee, who will run against Joe Biden in a few months, made his first trip abroad to Saudi Arabia after entering the White House in 2017.

  • JinkoSolar to build 10GW n-type cell and module factory in Saudi Arabia

    The facility will be built and financed through a joint venture (JV) between JinkoSolar Middle East, the Renewable Energy Localization Company (RELC) – a subsidiary of the state-run Saudi Public Investment Fund – and Vision Industries (VI), an investor in Saudi clean energy industrial projects and supply chains. Both JinkoSolar and RELC will hold 40% equity and VI the remaining 20%.

  • NASA Signs US, Saudi Arabia Agreement for Civil Aeronautics, Space Collaboration

    The United States and Saudi Arabia signed a framework agreement that opens new possibilities for cooperation with NASA in areas such as space science, exploration, aeronautics, space operations, education, and Earth science. NASA Administrator Bill Nelson signed on behalf of the U.S., and CEO of the Saudi Space Agency Mohammed bin Saud Al-Tamimi signed on behalf of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.