MUST-READS

• Saudi Arabia’s path to carbon neutrality: Analysis of the role of Hajj pilgrimage, energy consumption, and economic growth

  Saudi Arabia's religious sites stimulate economic growth and create green jobs through sustainable tourism. Tourism expansion may raise carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions due to energy use. Thus, this article examines 1970–2019 time series data to assess how Hajj pilgrims, energy consumption, and economic growth affect Saudi Arabia's CO₂ emissions. The transport segment is the leading generator of CO₂ pollution due to the heightened energy consumption related to travel and tourism (Irfan et al., 2023). The tourism business has been a foremost contributor to GDP expansion in developed as well as emerging nations over the past forty years, playing a pointed function in the globe's economic evolution (Wijesekara et al., 2022).

• Netanyahu says deal to release hostages held in Gaza has been reached after last minute snags

  Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Friday a deal to return hostages held in the Gaza Strip has been reached, after his office said earlier there were last minute snags in finalizing a ceasefire that would pause 15 months of war. Netanyahu said he would convene his security Cabinet later Friday, and then the government to approve the long-awaited hostage deal. Netanyahu’s pre-dawn statement appeared to clear the way for Israeli approval of the deal, which would pause the fighting in the Gaza Strip and see dozens of hostages held by militants in Gaza released in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel. The deal would also allow hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians to return to the remains of their homes in Gaza.

• CR7 ‘set to extend’ his Saudi deal with an eye-watering pay rise

  According to reports from Saudi Arabian outlet Al Khabar, which have seen been corroborated by Sky Sports and journalist Ben Jacobs, Ronaldo could put pen to paper on a new deal in the Kingdom very soon. The 39-year-old is currently one of the highest-paid athletes in the world and is being offered a pay rise worth over £3m-per-week, plus several performance-related bonuses. The deal would see Ronaldo extend his playing days into 2026 with the veteran attacker looking to be in contention to play for Portugal in the North and Central American World Cup.

  • Daily Mail - Revealed: New details emerge of Cristiano Ronaldo's new Saudi mega-contract, including part ownership of Al-Nassr, with deal confirming his place as world's highest-paid athlete
• Commentary: Biden could have had the best presidential record – Gaza destroyed it

  US President Joe Biden may be on the brink of finally securing a ceasefire in Gaza between Israel and Hamas, but his atrocious mishandling of that devastating conflict will leave a terrible and lasting bloodstain splattered over the record of what might have otherwise been one of the great presidencies of recent decades. It’s a tragedy, an outrage and a shame that will linger over US foreign policy for many years to come. Mr Biden presided over a remarkable string of domestic legislative achievements, with just a tiny majority in both the House of Representatives and the Senate in his first two years. It was arguably the finest domestic record since Lyndon B Johnson in the early 1960s. This ground-breaking legislation addressed climate change, health care, pandemic relief, industrial policy and many more crucial issues.

• Saudi Arabia vows to be ‘fast and furious’ in mining as it reveals $100 billion investment

  Saudi Vice Minister of Mining Affairs Khalid al-Mudaifer announced Wednesday the development of a new mineral investment project valued at $100 billion, and that $20 billion of it was already in the final engineering phase or under construction. While the vice minister did not provide further details, Saudi officials have discussed plans to significantly expand the country’s exploration for lithium, as well as for other critical minerals and rare earth elements including copper, gold, zinc, phosphate and nickel. The minister highlighted Manara, a recently established venture between Ma’aden and the kingdom’s sovereign wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund, or PIF. Manara was established to invest in mining assets around the world and develop more resilient global supply chains. “We don’t claim to have all the resources or abilities, so we’ve created Manara to make sure we can reach out for the resources that we need,” bin Salman said. “We have to be doing it as fast and furious as possible.”

• Oil is no longer an energy security challenge as critical minerals take center stage, Saudi minister says

  “Oil is no longer an energy security challenge – it’s going to be gas, electricity, predominantly minerals,” Saudi Energy Minister Abdulaziz bin Salman told attendees at the annual Future Minerals Forum in Riyadh. “Today some of these countries, they have, as a country, 50% of the ownership of some of these required minerals and critical minerals ... countries are racing to access critical minerals and secure their own supply chain. Rushing to secure access to resources will ultimately lead to higher emissions, higher metals costs and higher energy prices.” The energy minister was referring to minerals critical to the energy transition and advanced technologies – including lithium, cobalt, nickel, graphite, manganese and other rare earth elements crucial for making things like electric vehicles, batteries, renewable energy technology, computers, and household goods.

• Saudi mining company Ma’aden reveals ‘promising’ gold and copper discoveries

  Saudi Arabian Mining Company (Ma'aden) said on Wednesday that it has discovered “promising” deposits of gold and copper in the kingdom. Ma'aden, the biggest mining company in the Arab world, discovered gold and copper intercepts at Wadi Al Jaww and Shayban in the Arabian Shield region, it said. Multiple intercepts of recoverable gold and copper grades were found in the exploration areas of the Shayban EL at Blocks 6 and 7. The results indicate “wide intersections of gold mineralisation at Wadi Al Jaww, and gold and copper mineralisation at Jabal Shayban”, it said. New drilling results from Ma’aden’s flagship Mansourah-Massarah mine also showed strong gold mineralisation.

• Why Did a Major Saudi Industrial Group Suddenly Leave Iran?

  Savola Group, the largest Saudi investor in Iran and a dominant player in its cooking oil market, has sold all its assets in the country. Valued at approximately 705 million Saudi riyals ($188 million), the company has also exited Iran’s stock market. Savola Group was founded in January 1979, a month before the victory of the Islamic Revolution in Iran, with a capital of 40 million Saudi riyals. It began by producing vegetable oils in Saudi Arabia and quickly grew into one of the leading food industry giants in the Middle East, North Africa and Turkey, supplying edible oils, sugar, bread, dried nuts, frozen food, spices, dates and confectioneries. In addition to production, Savola is active in retail, owning the largest grocery chain in the region, Panda Retail Company. By 2024, the Savola had increased its capital by 112%, ranking 9th among Saudi Arabia's top 100 companies and 2nd in the industrial sector.

• Saudi Arabia to scale up lithium expansion as it diversifies from oil

  Saudi Arabia has announced a new joint venture (JV) between Aramco, the world’s largest oil company, and state-owned mining company Ma’aden, marking a significant step in its push to dominate critical minerals. The partnership aims to extract lithium— an essential component in electric vehicle (EV) and electronic devices — from high-concentration deposits while exploring cost-effective direct extraction technologies. Commercial lithium production is expected to commence by 2027, the companies said. Demand for transition minerals such as lithium, cobalt, and nickel is surging globally. Aramco forecasts a 20-fold increase in domestic lithium demand between 2024 and 2030, sufficient to support 500,000 EV batteries and 110 gigawatts of renewable energy sources.

• Gaza ceasefire deal prompts hopes of end to war between Israel and Hamas

  The ceasefire will go into effect on Sunday, Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani announced during a press conference in Doha. "It gives us great pleasure... to announce the success of the joint mediation efforts and the fact that the two belligerents in the Gaza Strip have reached a deal on the prisoner and the hostage swap and announce a ceasefire in the hopes of reaching a permanent ceasefire between the two sides, as well as allowing the access of large quantities of relief aid to the Palestinian brothers in the Gaza Strip," Al Thani said. Qatar, alongside Egypt and the United States, helped negotiate the agreement with Israel, with the incoming US administration of President-elect Donald Trump joining efforts to apply pressure on the Israelis.

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