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  • Saudi Arabia to host first-ever Olympic Esports games in 2027: Video

    The first-ever Olympic Esports games will be held in Saudi Arabia in 2027. The IOC hasn’t released which games will be apart of the event yet. NBC News’ Dana Griffin spoke with professional Esports player, Alvin Avila who shared his excitement for the games. 

  • Rubio: Russia, US need to normalize embassy staffing

    American negotiators who met with Russian diplomats in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday said the two countries agreed on “four principles” that will move cease-fire talks between Russia and Ukraine forward — starting with the restaffing of embassies. “For us to be able to continue to move down this road, we need to have diplomatic facilities that are operating and functioning normally,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters after the meeting, sitting alongside national security adviser Mike Waltz and Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff. The meeting between the U.S. officials and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Vladimir Putin aide Yuri Ushakov — which lasted roughly 4.5 hours — is an “important first step” of a “long and difficult journey,” Rubio said.

  • Saudi prince proving crucial to Trump efforts to end Ukraine, Gaza wars

    Top U.S. and Russian officials wrapped up their meetings Tuesday in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, to discuss a pathway to end the war in Ukraine, days before Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is set to convene a summit with leaders from Egypt, Jordan, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates to discuss an Arab response to U.S. President Donald Trump's vow to take over Gaza. The two separate talks reflect the growing role of the prince in Trump's efforts to fulfill his campaign promise to end the wars in Ukraine and Gaza. The Saudi talks signaled a major détente between Washington and Moscow and an abrupt end of U.S. policy under former President Joe Biden to isolate Russia and support Ukraine "for as long as it takes."

  • Hamas will free 6 Israeli hostages and the bodies of 4 others

    Hamas said Tuesday it will release six living Israeli hostages on Saturday instead of three, as well as the bodies of four others on Thursday. The surprise increase by the militant group apparently comes in return for Israel allowing mobile homes and construction equipment into the devastated Gaza Strip. Israel is expected to continue releasing hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, including many serving life sentences for deadly attacks, in exchange for hostages. The warring sides have yet to negotiate a second and more difficult phase of the ceasefire. Palestinians and Arab countries have universally rejected U.S. President Donald Trump’s proposal to remove the Palestinian population from Gaza and take over the territory.

  • Middle East Balance of Power Continues to Shift

    The setbacks suffered by Iran and its Axis of Resistance partners in their post-October 7 battles against Israel have set the stage for a realignment of the Middle East balance of power. The leading beneficiary of the power shift is the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, which has sparred with Iran for regional influence since Iran’s 1979 Islamic revolution. Another competitor of both Saudi Arabia and Iran, Türkiye, has benefitted from the overthrow of the regime of President Bashar al-Assad of Syria by Turkish-backed Sunni Islamist armed dissidents. At the same time, the Kingdom by no means regards Iran as eliminated from the region’s power structure. Iran’s Supreme Leader, Grand Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has stated an intent to rebuild Iran’s resistance axis gradually, including in Syria. In March 2023, under pressure from the Iran-led Axis and doubtful the U.S. would continue to protect the Arab Gulf monarchies, Saudi leaders, using China’s mediation, finalized a restoration of relations with Tehran in March 2023.

  • Secretary of State Marco Rubio, National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, and Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff with Jennifer Hansler of CNN and Matthew Lee of the Associated Press

    But I think the most important part is the President has stated his desire, his determination, to end this war, to end the killing that is going on.  The death and destruction that is happening as this war goes on and on, month after month after month in the killing fields of eastern and southern Ukraine, is unacceptable.  It is not in the interest of either country.  It’s not in the interest of the world and certainly not in the interest of United States and Europe.

  • GCC economies are broadening their tax bases

    GCC economies are expanding their tax bases to diversify non-oil revenue, enhance fiscal sustainability and respond to international tax developments such as the new global minimum tax for large multinational enterprises. In recent years, GCC countries have introduced a range of tax reforms, such as the introduction of value-added tax (VAT), excise duties, real estate transfer taxes and more recently broad-based corporate income taxes. Non-oil tax revenues in 2023 ranged from 1% of GDP in Kuwait16 to 9% in Saudi Arabia.17 Although Kuwait and Qatar have yet to introduce VAT and despite VAT rates in the other GCC countries being low by international standards, most of the non-oil tax revenue in the GCC comes from taxes on the import and consumption of goods and services. This is in part due to the absence of personal income taxes in the GCC and some of the GCC countries having limited corporate tax regimes that only apply to foreign-owned businesses and the hydrocarbon sector.

  • Data centers are getting a lot of buzz from GCC investors – it makes sense

    In real estate investment, a new heavyweight has emerged: data centers. These have become essential infrastructure, driving investment returns and redefining real estate portfolios in the Gulf. But these aren’t your typical real estate plays. These facilities house the digital backbone of our online lives—servers, storage systems, and networking gear that keep businesses and consumers connected. They require precise environmental controls, ample power supplies, and top-tier security, making them complex yet lucrative investments. The GCC's cloud computing market is projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 17% from 2022 to 2027, according to MarketsandMarkets. Data centers offer steady returns through long-term leases with tech giants and enterprises.

  • Russia’s wealth fund chief will meet US delegation in Saudi Arabia: Source

    Russia’s sovereign wealth fund chief Kirill Dmitriev will meet a US delegation in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday to focus on strengthening ties and increased economic cooperation, a source in Riyadh told Reuters. The meeting involving Dmitriev is the first confirmation that the US-educated former Goldman Sachs banker will be involved in talks with the United States. Dmitriev, 49, is an investment banker who studied at Harvard and Stanford in the 1990s. He worked at the US firms Goldman Sachs and McKinsey before returning to Moscow.

  • Neom spends $37bn on infrastructure development

    Saudi Arabia’s $500 billion giga-project Neom has spent more than SAR140 billion ($37 billion) on infrastructure development so far, a senior company executive has said. Several real estate projects are still under development, with work on infrastructure and utilities continuously progressing, chief development officer Denis Hickey told PIF Private Sector Forum last week. The developer has two investment vehicles. Neom Investment Fund focuses on sector growth and partnerships, while the Neom Investment Office handles real estate development and launching new initiatives in other sectors.