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QUOTED
“Millions of students are currently enjoying a vacation at the end of the first semester, which runs through November 17. The holiday, which began on Thursday, has given a significant boost to the hotel business in Riyadh, where an annual entertainment and tourist festival is underway. Room costs have reached SR7,000 per night, especially at five-star hotels in central Riyadh, according to the Saudi news portal Sabq, citing booking websites. Occupancy rates at some central Riyadh hotels and those near the airport have reached 100%, while overall citywide occupancy is at 76%.” School break sets price records for Riyadh hotels [Gulf News]
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TOP STORY
A school holiday combined with the busy 2024 Riyadh Season events have pushed occupancy and price levels for Riyadh hotels to record highs. [more]
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MORE TOP STORYLINES
in arabnews.com: The summit builds on the earlier Arab-Islamic summit held in Riyadh on Nov. 11, 2023, following the directives of King Salman and complementing the efforts of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to address the dangerous and unprecedented developments in Gaza and the rest of Palestine. The foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Egypt, Qatar, Turkiye, Indonesia, Nigeria, and Palestine, along with the secretaries-general of the Arab League and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, aim to initiate immediate international action to halt the war on Gaza and achieve a lasting, comprehensive peace.
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Via Zainab Fattah in bloomberg.com: Saudi Arabia will need to build 115,000 homes each year for the next six years to fulfill demand from a young population and hit ownership targets set by the oil-rich nation’s government, according to Knight Frank LLP. The kingdom’s government wants homeownership to reach 70% by 2030 from 63.7% at the end of 2023. The Saudi government’s target along with new household formation are helping drive much of the demand in a country where 45% of citizens are below 20 years old, according to the report. The kingdom’s Sakani program, which includes social housing, has 883,562 applications from people looking to buy homes with financing help through guarantees on mortgages below 520,000 riyals ($138,448). The kingdom’s population grew in Saudi at 1.8% annually compared with a global rate of 1.1% between 2010 and 2002, according to the World Bank.
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Via Ismaeel Naar and Vivian Yee in nytimes.com: Moving into tennis, Saudi Arabia recently hosted the Six Kings Slam, an exhibition showcasing the top men’s players. And it struck a three-year deal with the financially struggling WTA to bring its finals to Riyadh in part with the promise of awarding some $15 million in prize money this year. Those are the highest winnings in the history of women’s tennis, satisfying players’ demands for prize parity with men. “The Western world can keep reporting that our country is sportswashing, or whatever, but what matters is that my sisters and I can watch our favorite sports stars right here at home,” said Maryam al-Shammeri, who was in the crowd for the WTA final on Saturday night with her brother and two sisters.
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MORE ON THE KINGDOM AND BEYOND
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The study mapped 910 sponsorships in different sports and 1,412 positions in 207 Saudi entities, noting that the kingdom has significantly expanded its web of...[By Ed Dixon via sportspro.com]
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TotalEnergies will build an 0.3 gigawatt (GW) solar park in Saudi Arabia, while EDF Renewables will build...[By America Hernandez via reuters.com]
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The MoU outlines a roadmap to assess the deployment of new DAC systems in the Kingdom, focusing on availability of natural resources including subsurface CO₂...[via climeworks.com]
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The World Bank Group–Saudi Arabia Knowledge Hub (K-Hub) will serve as a platform for knowledge generation and exchange to drive greater development impact for countries....[via worldbank.org]
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Saudi Arabia today is synonymous with megaprojects. Since the launch of the Vision 2030 reform agenda, the Kingdom has rolled out a range of major...[By Zeina Zbibo via arabnews.com]
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Saudi Arabia unveiled five new initiatives, valued at $60 million (SR 225 million), reinforcing the Kingdom's leading role on climate and environment efforts. The initiatives were...[via saudigazette.com]
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A separate power purchase agreement for the Kingdom’s Al Masa’a solar power plant project was signed between the Saudi Power Procurement Company (SPPC), French state-owned...[via alarabiya.net]
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Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman inaugurated the “One Water Summit” in Riyadh on Tuesday evening in the presence of several presidents and...[via argaam.com]
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As FIFA approaches its December 11 vote to appoint the 2034 World Cup host, the football association is once again under fire for allegedly...[By Dario Sabaghi via law.com]
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Efforts to integrate carbon capture and utilisation (CCU) technologies into construction in Saudi Arabia’s futuristic Neom city have taken a major step forward as CarbonCure...[By Anthony Wright via gasworld.com]
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Saudi Arabia accounts for nearly 75 percent of Middle East investment in climate technology start-ups worldwide, according to a 2023 report by auditor PwC. But its...[via phys.org]
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Saudi Arabia’s Neo Space Group (NSG) is making an acquisition in the Earth observation space, acquiring UP42 from Airbus Defence and Space. Terms of the deal were not disclosed in...[By Rachel Jewett via satellitetoday.com]
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The development of electric vehicle (EV) infrastructure presents a promising pathway to reduce transportation emissions, particularly when integrated with low-carbon...[By Ryan Alyamani and Thomas Gertin via kapsarc.org]
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In October 2023, FIFA made a surprising move that effectively set the stage for Saudi Arabia’s bid to host a future FIFA World Cup...[via playthegame.org]
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Saudi Aramco is not only the largest oil producer globally but also the most profitable business, surpassing tech giants like Apple and...[By John Calabrese via agsiw.org]
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During a three-day official state visit focused on boosting business ties, Mr Macron told a Saudi-French business forum in Riyadh that one of...[By Sunniva Rose via thenationalnews.com]
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French President Emmanuel Macron announced on Tuesday, December 3, that he and Saudi Arabia's de facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, would...[via lemonde.fr]
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The United States charged an Iranian man on Friday in connection with an alleged plot ordered by...[By Katharine Jackson via reuters.com]
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