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QUOTED
“According to data released by the General Authority for Statistics, labor force participation across Saudis and non-Saudis reached 66.6 percent during the third quarter, reflecting a year-on-year increase of 0.2 percentage points and a quarterly rise of 0.4 percentage points.” Saudi Arabia’s unemployment rate hits 3.7%: GASTAT [Arab News]
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TOP STORY
A high-level Syrian delegation, led by newly appointed Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan al-Shibani arrived in Riyadh on Wednesday in its first official visit abroad. [more]
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MORE TOP STORYLINES
Via Haider Abdul Redha Al-Lawati in zawya.com: The GCC countries are witnessing many developments in a number of sectors, especially in the population sector, which is growing significantly and leaving many contradictions in the Gulf society. According to the figures of the GCC Statistical Centre, in the month of July 2022, the total population of the GCC countries reached 57.3 million people, constituting 0.7 per cent of the total world population of 7.8 billion people at the time. The increase in the population of the GCC countries during the past three years was 1.3 million people. It is expected that 90 per cent of the GCC population will live in cities by 2050, while all GCC countries seek to build more housing units to accommodate them over the next four decades. However, today there are thousands of young Gulf citizens on their way to work in various economic sectors adopted by the Gulf governments in order to reduce the number of expatriate workers and to adjust the current percentages in the total and percentages of the population.
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Via Tim Black in spiked-online.com: The conflict between Israel and Iran and the fall of Assad are directly related. On the eve of Hamas’s barbaric attack on Israel on 7 October 2023, Iran was in a position of relative strength. Through political alliances and a network of militias known as the ‘axis of resistance’ (including Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Houthis in Yemen and assorted Shia groups in Iraq), it exerted considerable power throughout the region. And nowhere more so than in Syria, where Iranian proxies, with help from Russia, were effectively propping up Assad’s dictatorship. Hamas’s attack on Israel changed everything. It ignited a conflict that has ultimately destroyed the balance of power in the region. Over the past 15 months, Israel has decimated Iran’s militias. It has crushed Hamas in Gaza, crippled Hezbollah in Lebanon and carried out air strikes and assassinations in Iraq and even Iran itself. The Israeli pounding of Iran’s proxy forces has not only impacted Tehran – it has also undermined those dependent on Iranian support for their very survival, such as Assad’s Syrian regime.
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in saudigazette.com: Saudi authorities have announced the implementation of the first mandatory phase of unified charging ports for electronic devices in Saudi Arabia, effective January 1, 2025. This initiative from the Communications, Space and Technology Commission (CST) and the Saudi Standards, Metrology and Quality Organization (SASO) mandates the use of USB Type-C as the standard charging port across various devices. The unified charging ports decision aims to enhance user experience, reduce consumer costs, and promote the adoption of high-quality charging and data transfer technologies. Additionally, it aligns with environmental sustainability goals by reducing electronic waste and supporting the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The first phase covers mobile phones, tablets, digital cameras, e-readers, portable video game consoles, headphones, earphones, portable speakers, amplified speakers, keyboards, computer mice, portable navigation systems, and wireless routers.
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MORE ON THE KINGDOM AND BEYOND
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Saudi Arabia has finalised an arrangement for securing a shariah-compliant revolving credit facility worth $2.5 billion, the...[By Enas Alashray and Ahmed Tolba via reuters.com]
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Dakar Rally drivers and riders recount Stage 2 of the event, where competitors took two days to traverse nearly 1000 km....[via youtube.com]
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Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund plans to raise $7 billion from its first murabaha credit facility, as the fund diversifies its funding...[By Aarti Nagraj via thenationalnews.com]
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Saudi Arabia raised $12 billion from global debt markets in a three-part bond sale, attracting strong investor...[By Rachna Uppal and Enas Alashray via reuters.com]
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Saudi Arabia’s Interior Ministry confirmed that the provisions of the “Use of Security Surveillance Cameras” law prohibit the transfer or publication of security surveillance camera...[via arabnews.com]
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Among the venues announced Tuesday for the 24-team regional competition were the 70,000-capacity King Fahd Sports City Stadium and King Saud University Stadium, both in...[via france24.com]
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That the Gulf’s various sovereign wealth funds have become some of the most dominant players in global dealmaking has rarely been in...[By Matthew Martin via bloomberg.com]
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Saudi Arabia’s water sector witnessed significant shifts in 2023, with a 31 percent increase in desalinated seawater production, now comprising 50 percent of the country’s...[via azernews.az]
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Saudi Arabia will need estimated funding of SAR139 billion ($37.02 billion) in 2025 to cover the potential budget deficit. Finance minister Mohammed Al Jadaan has approved...[By Pramod Kumar via agbi.com]
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Saudi Coffee Company has launched its second annual Saudi Sip of Excellence Competition in partnership with the global nonprofit Alliance for Coffee Excellence. Designed...[By April Hawksworth via gcrmag.com]
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Saudi Arabia, one of the largest bond issuers in emerging markets last year, has started 2025 with a funding spree as the country fuels its...[By Abeer Abu Omar and Matthew Martin via yahoo.com]
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Jeddah King Abdulaziz International Airport and Riyadh King Khalid International Airport each posted record passenger traffic in 2024, reflecting the continuing strong performance of aviation...[By Dermot Davitt via moodiedavittreport.com]
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The world’s top crude oil exporter, Saudi Arabia, has raised the price of its crude loading for Asia in February by more than expected...[By Tsvetana Paraskova via oilprice.com]
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The Communications, Space and Technology Commission (CST) and the Saudi Standards, Metrology and Quality Organization (SASO) have announced that the first mandatory phase of the...[By Aayushya Ranjan via techafricanews.com]
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The man who drove a truck into a crowd of New Year's Eve revellers in New Orleans early on Wednesday morning was a US citizen named Shamsud-Din Jabbar and...[via middleeasteye.net]
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Shamsud-Din Jabbar, the 42-year-old Texas man accused of crashing a...[By Nathan Layne via reuters.com]
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The unthinkable in the troubled Middle East happened in 2024, with a major geopolitical shift after the stunning collapse of the Syrian regime at the...[By Dalal Saoud via upi.com]
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Russian gas exports via Soviet-era pipelines running through Ukraine came to a halt on New Year's Day,...[By Vladimir Soldatkin and Dan Peleschuk via reuters.com]
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