MUST-READS

• No alcohol at 2034 World Cup, says Saudi ambassador

  No alcohol will be allowed at the 2034 World Cup in Saudi Arabia, says the country's ambassador to the United Kingdom. In an interview on LBC, Prince Khalid bin Bandar Al Saud said alcohol would not be sold anywhere during the tournament, including hotels.  "At the moment, we don't allow alcohol," Prince Khalid told LBC., external "Plenty of fun can be had without alcohol - it's not 100% necessary and if you want to drink after you leave, you're welcome to, but at the moment we don't have alcohol." Asked whether that meant fans would be able to drink once they returned their hotels, as was the case at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, he added: "No, there is no alcohol at all."

• Trump poised to attend Saudi-backed conference in Miami in February, sources say
  U.S. President Donald Trump is scheduled to attend a meeting of global financiers and tech executives hosted by Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund in Miami later in February, according to several people with knowledge of the event. Trump's participation would come after Saudi Arabia condemned his call to displace Palestinians from Gaza as part of a U.S.-led rebuilding plan. It also follows Trump's call in January for Riyadh to invest $1 trillion in the U.S. - a figure about matching the size of the Saudi PIF sovereign fund's assets.  According to the people, who spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity, Trump is scheduled to deliver an in-person address at the gathering. A Riyadh-based representative for the FII Priority summit, opens new tab, scheduled for February 19 to 21, declined to comment. Representatives for the U.S. embassy in Riyadh didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

• Saudi Arabia aims to become mining powerhouse

  Saudi Arabia is making significant investments in exploration to discover new mineral deposits. Al-Mudaifer noted the increase in exploration companies operating in the country: "The number of companies on exploration has increased in Saudi Arabia from 23 in 2023 to 132, 4 times in just one year because the potential is there and the enablement is here." To support exploration efforts, the Kingdom has launched a regional geological survey and established exploration incentives. "We have completed most of it," Al-Mudaifer said about the survey. "65% of the data that we acquired is in our national geoscience database." The country also provides financial support to exploration companies, covering up to 25% of their initial costs.

• Saudi Arabia Releases New Hajj 2025 Rules for Pilgrims

  Saudi Arabia has introduced significant changes for the 2025 Hajj pilgrimage, aiming to improve safety and streamline the experience for all attendees. One of the most notable updates is a new rule prohibiting children from accompanying pilgrims. This decision was made by the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah to protect young children from the risks associated with overcrowding, which is a common challenge during this highly anticipated annual event. In an effort to make the Hajj experience more accessible, Saudi Arabia has announced that first-time pilgrims will be given priority for the 2025 season. The goal is to ensure more Muslims can fulfill this sacred journey at least once in their lifetime. This decision highlights the government's commitment to making Hajj a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for as many people as possible.

• Saudi crown prince, Russia’s wealth fund chief were involved in US prisoner release, source says
  Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Russia's sovereign wealth fund chief Kirill Dmitriev were involved in negotiations for the release of U.S. teacher Marc Fogel from a Russian prison, a source close to the negotiations between Russia and the United States told Reuters on condition of anonymity. The Kremlin could not be reached for immediate comment. The Saudi embassy in Moscow did not immediately reply to a request for comment. The Saudi crown prince, also known as MbS, helped to negotiate the biggest U.S.-Russian prisoner swap since the Cold War in August 2024.

• Saudi Arabia’s Texas Refinery Just Made a Power Move

  While some U.S. refiners are scaling back, Saudi Arabia’s Motiva Enterprises just made a power move. The Saudi Aramco-owned refinery in Port Arthur, Texas, has quietly expanded its capacity, now processing a record 654,000 barrels per day—officially making it the largest refinery in the United States above Exxon’s Beaumont and Marathon’s Galveston Bay. Motiva pulled this off without a flashy billion-dollar project—just good old-fashioned optimization, removing bottlenecks in the system to squeeze out more production. And they did it at a time when smaller, less efficient refineries are dropping like flies. LyondellBasell’s Houston plant is closing. Phillips 66’s Los Angeles refinery is shutting down.

• AGI by 2050 tops Saudi R&D goals

  Developing national Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) by 2050, tops the list of Saudi Arabia’s ambitious R&D goals, according to a presentation made at LEAP25 by Acting Head of RDIA (Research, Development and Innovation Authority) Dr. Mohammed Alotaibi on Wednesday. AGI is one of three ‘moonshot' goals identified in the RDIA’s ‘Innovation Outlook in Economies of the Future”, a guiding framework to align, communicate and shape the Kingdom’s research agenda. The first national R&D moonshot goal is to  establish five cognitive cities across Saudi Arabia by 2040; the second is to develop a scalable, fault tolerant quantum computer by 2045; and the third moonshot goal is to develop aligned artificial general intelligence by 2050. Additionally, the RDIA launched strategic alliances in fields of autonomous logistics, quantum computing, and AI-driven healthcare, alongside major investments in semiconductor manufacturing.

• Neuralink competitor Paradromics secures investment from Saudi Arabia’s Neom

  Texas-based neurotech startup Paradromics on Wednesday announced a strategic partnership with Saudi Arabia’s Neom and said it will establish a Brain-Computer Interface Center of Excellence in the region. Paradromics is building a brain-computer interface, or a BCI, which is a system that deciphers brain signals and translates them into commands for external technologies. The company will work with Neom to “advance the development of BCI-based therapies” and set up the “premier center for BCI-based healthcare” in the Middle East and North Africa, it said in a release.

• Saudi Arabia’s First Luxury Train Is A Moving Oasis Of High Design

  From Italy’s new La Dolce Vita Orient Express to the United Kingdom’s new Britannic Explorer, luxury rail travel is having a global renaissance, and the Middle East is about to get in on the action with Dream of the Desert, a new 14-carriage luxury train coming in 2026. Unveiled by Saudi Arabia Railways (SAR) and Arsenale (the Italian hospitality house behind Accor’s upcoming La Dolce Vita Orient Express train), this five-star rolling masterpiece promises to define high-end rail travel across the Arabian Peninsula.

• Saudi media shifts tone on Israel and Hamas after Trump’s Gaza plan

  Saudi media have launched an unprecedented wave of criticism against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump following their recent remarks on plans for the forced displacement of the Palestinians from Gaza. The reaction has marked a noticeable significant shift in the kingdom's media coverage of Israel and Hamas, which has been picked up on by several pan-Arab outlets. This is significant given that Saudi media is generally seen as towing the government line on key issues and has a record of echoing state foreign policy. What stood out in the official response was the deliberate omission of Netanyahu's official title, with the state-run Al-Ikhbariya channel later confirming that it was intentional. "The name of the state no longer applies to Israel," a commentator on the channel said, reinforcing a stronger Saudi stance following years of talk on normalisation.

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