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QUOTED
“For me, it is an honour that the league is growing and many star players are coming to make the league even better and more competitive. To be the first one — let’s say a star — to come here is an honour, but what I’m looking forward to is the next five to 10 years of the league still improving. Not only the first teams, but also the academies.” Cristiano Ronaldo Talks Life In Saudi Arabia, Growth Of Saudi Pro League [Sports Illustrated]
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TOP STORY
With the Dakar Rally already underway from January 3 to January 17, Saudi Arabia has kicked off another year full of sporting events in 2025. [more]
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MORE TOP STORYLINES
Via Valentina Pasquali in agbi.com: Saudi officials have signed a preliminary deal this week to issue residential mortgage-backed securities, a first for the Gulf. The Saudi Real Estate Refinance Company (SRC), which is owned by the Public Investment Fund (PIF), and the Hassana Investment Company, which manages the assets of the national social security and pension fund, signed the memorandum of understanding on January 1. “Our partnership with Hassana marks a significant milestone in supporting the evolution of the housing finance landscape and fostering the development of Saudi Arabia’s capital markets,” SRC’s chief executive Majeed Al Abduljabbar said in a statement. Mortgage-backed securities are investments like bonds. Each is a share in a bundle of home loans and other real estate debt bought from the banks or government entities that issued them. Investors in mortgage-backed securities receive periodic payments like bond coupon payments.
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in saudigazette.com: The Line 3 (Orange Line) covering Madinah Road would connect the east of Riyadh to its west, and extends from Jeddah Road in the west to the second eastern ring road adjacent to the Khashm Al-Aan area in the east with a total length of 41 km. This marks the completion of the phased operation of the six lines of the Riyadh Metro network according to the plan previously announced when the project was inaugurated by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman on Nov. 27, 2024. The RCRC said in a statement that at 6:00 am on Sunday, passengers will be received on the Orange Line at the following five stations: Jeddah Road Station, Tuwaiq Station, Douh Station, Harun Al-Rashid Road Station, and Al-Naseem Station, which is one of the transfer stations that connects the Orange Line and the Purple Line. The commission also announced the operation of three new stations on the Blue Line that connects the Olaya Street to Batha and these are Al-Morooj Station, Bank Al-Bilad Station, and King Fahd Library Station. Three lines that started operations in the initial phase on Dec. 1 were the 1st line (Blue Line); 4th line (Yellow Line); and the 6th line (Purple Line). In the second phase, two more lines — Line 2 (Red Line) and Line 5 (Green Line) — became operational on Dec. 15.
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in insideworldfootball.com: Adding another tournament to a busy decade of football events, Saudi Arabia will host the 2026 Gulf Cup. The news was confirmed on the sidelines of the current Gulf Cup in Kuwait where the tournament’s general assembly unanimously awarded the finals to Saudi Arabia next year. A prestigious prize in the region, the Gulf Cup was first played in 1970. It’s the fifth time that Saudi Arabia will organise the tournament, having welcomed the regional finals in 1972, 1988,2002 and 2014. The staging represents another boost to the country’s hosting credentials. Last year, Saudi Arabia welcomed the Club World Cup, the first FIFA tournament on Saudi soil since the Confederations Cup in 1997.
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MORE ON THE KINGDOM AND BEYOND
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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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In a move that has both bemused and intrigued the global beverage industry, Saudi Arabia has launched Milaf Cola, a fizzy drink made from dates....[via youtube.com]
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WWE, in partnership with The General Entertainment Authority (GEA), on behalf of HE Turki Alalshikh, announced that the 39th annual Royal Rumble will be held in January...[via wwe.com]
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Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken spoke today with Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud. The Secretary reaffirmed U.S. support for...[via state.gov]
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Severe storms hit Saudi Arabia, as torrential rains and high winds delayed flights at King Abdulaziz International Airport, in Jeddah, on Monday, January 6. Severe rains,...[via news.yahoo]
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The Islamic State has lost thousands of fighters to death or prison and suffered the demise of its self-declared caliphate in Iraq and...[By Alissa J. Rubin via nytimes.com]
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Asia-Pacific’s economies are likely to experience labor market shifts because of artificial intelligence, with advanced economies being affected more. About half of all jobs in...[By Tristan Hennig, Shujaat Khan via imf.org]
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After years on top of the global electric vehicle market, Tesla has lost the title of world’s largest EV producer to Chinese powerhouse BYD....[By Felix Richter via statista.com]
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