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  • Saudi-owned Sela strikes deal with Olympics hero Mills

    Sky News has learnt that Sela, which has gained international prominence in recent years as the shirt sponsor of Saudi-owned Premier League side Newcastle United, will announce later on Tuesday the formation of a partnership with Origin Sports Group. The alliance will come soon after Sela agreed a collaboration with The Ring and TKO to form a new international boxing promotion company. Sela's joint venture with Origin will include the establishment of an international headquarters in London, with a board including Sela's head of international business, Ibrahim Mohtaseb.

  • Eid Al-Fitr holiday announced for private, non-profit sectors

    The Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development (HRSD) announced that the four-day Eid Al-Fitr holiday for the private and non-profit sectors will start on March 29. Meanwhile, the Saudi Exchange (Tadawul) will close for the holiday at the end of March 27 session. Trading will resume on April 3.

  • Saudi Arabia rebrands as mediator for global crises

    Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is increasingly busy hosting state leaders who fly in to discuss pressing global conflicts. This Monday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met the Saudi Crown Prince to speak about Russia's war in Ukraine. This is ahead of a Tuesday meeting between Ukrainian and a US teams set to negotiate a potential end to Russia's war of aggression, as well as a security deal that would include US access to Ukraine's valuable mineral and metal deposits. It will be the first time that Ukrainian and US delegates talk face-to-face after the public spat between US President Donald Trump and President Zelenskyy in the White House in late February. The fact that the two countries have agreed to meet in Saudi Arabia — and not, say, in Europe — highlights the emerging key position of the oil-rich kingdom in the Middle East. "Saudi Arabia has indeed established itself as a platform for dialog in the last two to three years," Sebastian Sons, a senior researcher for the German think tank CARPO, told DW. "In Saudi Arabia's foreign policy strategy, it currently plays a very important role to talk to everyone," he added.

  • US wants Ukraine to ‘do difficult things,’ Rubio says ahead of Saudi ceasefire talks

    The two sides have framed Tuesday's talks as a way to reset bilateral relations following last month's explosive Oval Office meeting between Trump, Zelenskyy and Vice President JD Vance. The showdown prompted Trump to denounce Kyiv as the main impediment to peace in Ukraine, as well as placing a freeze on U.S. military aid and some intelligence sharing. "The most important thing that we have to leave here with is a strong sense that Ukraine is prepared to do difficult things," Secretary of State Marco Rubio -- who will lead the U.S. delegation -- said on Monday ahead of the talks. Zelenskyy has stressed his readiness for peace, though repeatedly warned that any agreement must ensure deterrence against future Russian aggression. On Monday, Zelenskyy -- who will not take part in Tuesday's talks -- traveled to Saudi Arabia to meet with crown prince and de facto ruler Mohammed bin Salman.

  • PIF launches Al Waha, first Saudi-owned duty-free retailer

    PIF today announced the establishment of Al Waha Duty-Free Company (Al Waha), a travel retailer and the first Saudi-owned duty-free operator. Al Waha, a wholly owned PIF company, will become a leader in travel retail and secure a greater share of passenger spending for the Saudi economy.  Al Waha will develop luxury retail outlets in select locations across the country and feature a variety of merchandise including distinctive, high-quality Saudi products. Al Waha will operate its airport outlets on a duty-free basis, and will explore additional travel retail opportunities at land border crossings and seaports, as well as channels such as inflight shopping. Majed Al-Assaf, Head of Consumer Goods and Retail in MENA Investments at PIF, said: “By establishing Al Waha as a national travel retail champion, PIF intends to grow the Saudi travel retail industry and further support its ambitions for the tourism sector in Saudi Arabia. Al Waha will offer a distinctive traveler experience across Saudi travel retail touch points through diverse product offerings, a duty-free operation and a superior digital customer journey.

  • Saudi Arabia tries to shed ‘pariah status,’ remaking itself as a key middleman in global conflicts

    MBS, as he is widely known, is trying to transform Saudi Arabia’s image from the deeply conservative, oil-rich theocracy whose officials murdered the American-based Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018 into a regional giant built on diplomacy, business, tourism, entertainment and sports. “This is a new Saudi Arabia — better educated, well-traveled and more open to ideas than in the past,” added Lippman, author of the book “Saudi Arabia on the Edge.” As well as the Ukraine summit, Trump revealed last week that the first foreign visit of his second term would be to Saudi Arabia, just as it was during his first administration. As then, he said that, in return, the Saudis had agreed to invest a bonanza sum in American businesses, this time $1 trillion.

  • A landmark for the Kingdom as PIF launches Al Waha, first Saudi-owned duty-free retailer

    In a breakthrough for the Kingdom’s rapidly evolving aviation and tourism landscape, Public Investment Fund (PIF) today announced the establishment of travel retailer Al Waha Duty-Free Company (Al Waha), the first Saudi-owned duty-free operator. Al Waha, a wholly owned PIF company, pledges to become a leader in travel retail and secure a greater share of passenger spending for the Saudi economy. Al Waha will develop premium and luxury stores in select locations across the country and feature a variety of merchandise including distinctive, high-quality Saudi products. The newly formed entity will operate its airport stores on a duty-free basis. It will also explore additional travel retail opportunities at land border crossings and seaports and channels such as inflight shopping.

  • Secretary Rubio’s Meeting with Saudi Crown Prince Mohamed bin Salman Al Saud

    Secretary of State Marco Rubio and National Security Advisor Mike Waltz met this evening with Saudi Crown Prince Mohamed bin Salman Al Saud in Jeddah. The Secretary thanked the Crown Prince for once again hosting the United States in talks to help resolve the Ukraine war and secure a lasting peace. The leaders discussed Yemen and threats to navigation from Houthi terrorists that threaten global commerce, American interests, and Saudi citizens and infrastructure. The Secretary talked about Syria, and ways to promote a stable government, free of terrorism. They discussed reconstruction in Gaza; the Secretary thanked the Crown Prince for hosting Arab countries and reiterated the United States firm commitment that any solution to the situation in Gaza must not include any role for Hamas.

  • Rubio in Saudi Arabia for US-Ukraine talks, hopes to resolve Ukraine aid pause

    “The Ukrainians are already receiving all defensive intelligence information as we speak. I think all the notion of the pause in aid broadly is something I hope we can resolve. Obviously, I think what happens tomorrow will be key to that,” Rubio told reporters aboard a military plane before landing in Jeddah. “We're not going to be sitting in a room drawing lines on a map but just get a general sense of what concessions are in the realm of the possible for them [Ukrainians],” Rubio said, adding that there is no military solution to the war, and that both Russia and Ukraine need to “do difficult things.” On Tuesday, Rubio will join U.S. national security adviser Mike Waltz for the Jeddah talks with Ukrainian officials as President Donald Trump pushes to broker a swift end to the war.

  • Analysis: Why Saudi Arabia Makes Sense For Ukraine Peace Talks

    The talks are slated to bring together a Ukrainian delegation that will include Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha, Zelenskyy's chief of staff Andriy Yermak, and Defense Minister Rustem Umerov. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio is also due in Jeddah; in addition to meetings with Ukrainian counterparts, the State Department said he is also expected to meet with the Saudi crown prince. Saudi Arabia’s role in potential peace talks came into focus in February, when US and Russian diplomatic officials held a first round of talks on ending the war in Ukraine. Those discussions yielded the promise of slightly less frigid relations between Washington and Moscow, with the two countries agreeing to begin restoring diplomatic ties. But the ruckus in the Oval Office showed, dealmaking with Trump is a highly personal affair. And the Saudi crown prince, widely known by his initials MBS, has a uniquely close relationship with the US president.