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  • The best things to experience in Saudi Arabia according to the people who know it

    Closed to tourists until recently, Saudi Arabia is still an unknown quantity for many would-be travelers.

    That’s changing fast. The country reported a 56% growth in international arrivals in 2023 from 2019 pre-pandemic levels, according to the UNWTO.

    So, where are some of the best places in this emerging tourism destination to go?

  • Perspective: Deciphering Blinken’s Unguarded Optimism

    No reputable analyst would doubt the need to end the bloody conflict in Gaza as soon as possible and to divert the attention of the warring parties to peaceful regional endeavors, for which Blinken called. But the rosy picture he depicted was quite surprising, to say the least, in light of the continued bloodletting in Gaza facilitated and supported, financially and militarily, by the Biden administration. The White House still refuses to call for a permanent halt to the fighting despite its daily perfunctory nod to the massive human toll on Palestinian civilians in Gaza.

  • Davos Dispatch: The case for optimism amid global upheaval

    Amid the geopolitical gloom that pervaded the World Economic Forum here this past week—with intractable wars in Europe and the Mideast and unsettling tensions in Asia—International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva made a case for optimism, quoting the legendary economist John Maynard Keynes. Georgieva reminded a select group of global political, business, and civil society leaders of Keynes’ words from a 1930 essay, written against the backdrop of the Great Depression, the rise of communism and fascism, and national and international despair (the meeting was off-record, but Georgieva approved this to be shared publicly):

  • Saudi Arabia launches National Biotechnology Strategy set to transform the Kingdom

    According to the official Vision 2030 website, the National Biotechnology Strategy will build on the Kingdom’s existing strengths, including access to robust capital, a large market, the government’s commitment, and a unique gene pool.

    These factors will advance Saudi Arabia’s capabilities across four strategic plays: vaccines, bio-manufacturing & localization, genomics, and plant optimization.

  • Saudi Arabia gears up for safe Hajj season with early security preparations

    Saudi transport authorities have urged private sector institutions involved in the annual Hajj pilgrimage to initiate early security measures for the upcoming season.
    The instructions to transport agencies primarily focus on the carrying any explosive substances. A strict prohibition on the use of such substances in Mecca and Medina has been mandated for a month-long period, spanning from the 20th of Dhul Qadah to the 20th of Dhul Hajjah, coinciding with the Hajj season, Saudi news website Akhbar24 said.

  • US Extends Lead Over China in Race for World’s Biggest Economy

    US gross domestic product rose 6.3% in nominal terms — that is, unadjusted for inflation — last year, outpacing China’s 4.6% gain. While some of the outperformance reflected America’s elevated price increases, the 2023 outturn underscores a broader point: The US economy is emerging from the pandemic period in a better place than China’s.

    “It is a striking turn of fortunes,” said Eswar Prasad, who once led the International Monetary Fund’s China team and is now at Cornell University. “The strong performance of the US economy, in tandem with all the short-term and long-term headwinds the Chinese economy is facing, renders it a less obvious proposition that China’s GDP will someday overtake that of the US.”

  • Biden to send CIA chief to advance new hostage release/extended pause deal

    The planned talks, to involve Burns as well as Israel Mossad chief David Barnea, Egyptian intelligence chief Abbas Kamal, and Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani, are expected to be held in Europe. They come as Israeli media reported that a tentative agreement on the principles for a deal to release all the remaining hostages in exchange for an extended cessation of hostilities has been reached.

  • World Court says Israel must take steps to prevent acts of genocide in Gaza

    The World Court on Friday ordered Israel to take action to prevent acts of genocide as it wages war against Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip, but it stopped short of calling for an immediate ceasefire.
    Ruling on a case brought by South Africa, the court said Israel must ensure its forces did not commit genocide and take measures to improve the humanitarian situation for Palestinian civilians in the enclave.

  • US, Israeli intelligence chiefs to discuss Gaza hostage deal -sources

    U.S. Central Intelligence Agency Director William Burns and his Israeli counterpart will meet with Qatari officials in coming days for talks on a second potential Gaza hostage deal, three sources familiar with the matter told Reuters on Thursday.
    Burns and the head of Israel's Mossad intelligence service, David Barnea, will meet with Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani in Europe this weekend, one official briefed on the meeting told Reuters.

  • China presses Iran to rein in Houthi attacks in Red Sea, sources say

    Chinese officials have asked their Iranian counterparts to help rein in attacks on ships in the Red Sea by the Iran-backed Houthis, or risk harming business relations with Beijing, four Iranian sources and a diplomat familiar with the matter said.
    The discussions about the attacks and trade between China and Iran took place at several recent meetings in Beijing and Tehran, the Iranian sources said, declining to provide details about when they took place or who attended.