MUST-READS

• MERS
  WHO MERS update for Saudi Arabia

  Globally, WHO has been notified of 897 laboratory-confirmed cases of infection with MERS-CoV, including at least 325 related deaths.

• Sports Venues
  Aramco gets bids for 11 stadiums

  The new stadiums each with a capacity to accommodate 45,000 spectators, will be built in much the same way the state-of-the-art King Abdullah Sports City located about 50 km from Jeddah was built. A pre-bid meeting was held with selected groups in Bahrain on September 26. The bidders have been asked to submit their unit rates for work as Aramco has fast-tracked the scheme and the final designs have yet to be completed.

• Israel-Palestine
  Jerusalem train line destined to connect Jews and Arabs has widened bitter divide

  When it opened three years ago, the Jerusalem Light Rail was hailed by city boosters as a symbol of coexistence, a whispery smooth ride across some of the most bitterly fought real estate in history.

• NCB
  Fatwa No Barrier to Saudi Arabia’s $6 Billion Bank IPO

  Saudi Arabia’s largest bank said in a statement yesterday it attracted 215.8 billion riyals ($58 billion) of bids from about 1.2 million investors as of 8 p.m. in Riyadh. While that pales by comparison with the almost 9 million who subscribed for Alinma Bank’s IPO in 2008, NCB’s offering to sell 300 million shares was almost 16-times oversubscribed, signaling investors pitched for larger blocs of shares.

  • AFP - Saudi Bank Ends 'The Mother Of All IPOs'
• Saudi-Egypt
  Egypt signs $350m in oil, power financing deals with Saudi Arabia

  Egypt signed $350 million (Dh1.3 billion) worth of financing agreements with Saudi Arabia on Saturday aimed at upgrading its power grid and securing imports of petroleum products as it seeks to end its worst energy crisis in decades.

• Al-Qaeda in Pakistan
  Arab, Haqqani Network commanders reported killed in latest drone strike in South Waziristan

  Despite US government officials' claims that al Qaeda has been "decimated" in Afghanistan and Pakistan, the CIA continues to target the group's command and control in the region. The CIA, which operates the drone program in Pakistan, has launched eight strikes in North and South Waziristan in October. This is the highest number of strikes in Pakistan a single month since January 2013, when seven were launched. The US has averaged between two to three strikes a month, excluding a gap in 2014 between January and May, when no strikes were launched.

• MENA Startups
  What do investors in the MENA want from startups?

  While most of the funders surveyed currently have a presence in either Jordan, the UAE, or Lebanon, 83% plan to expand and increase their activity in the next two years, and most of them are seeking to become more involved in Saudi Arabia and the UAE. While challenges in obtaining investment differ from one market to the other, there are some similarities across the region. Thirty-six percent of entrepreneurs surveyed said that the supply of venture funding in their countries was small, and 24% thought that investors are not offering enough value beyond cash.

• Egypt-Gaza
  Egypt demolishes Sinai homes for Gaza border buffer

  Egypt has begun demolishing homes along its border with the Gaza Strip as part of a planned 500m buffer zone that is intended to prevent weapons smuggling.

• Savola Group
  Savola Stock Surging for Key Shareholders

  Savola was founded in 1979 as Saudi Vegetable Oils and Ghee Co. as an importer and refiner of edible oils. Food manufacturing and wholesale sales remain its primary business, accounting for more than half of the company’s revenue. Retail sales make up 41 percent of its business, almost all of which is generated by its network of 260 Al Azizia Panda United food markets. “The food and retail segments are growing at double digits,” said NCB Capital’s Tomalieh. “Those areas benefit from population growth, which right now is around the 2.5 percent mark in Saudi.”

• Afghanistan
  Violence marks Afghan president’s first month

  Suicide bombers, roadside bombs and rocket attacks on the Afghan capital have intensified in the one month since President Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai took office as the Taliban are sending a message that they disapprove of his tough stance on ending the insurgency and close security ties with Washington, officials, analysts and the Taliban said. In recent days, central Kabul's diplomatic neighborhood has been shaken by late night rocket attacks. On both Friday and Sunday nights, rockets were fired into the heavily fortified "green zone," sending locals running for cover and international residents into basement safe rooms to await the all clear.

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