Episode 60! The 966 wishes everyone a fun and safe Saudi National Day. This week, the hosts re-connect after a two week hiatus for the 60th episode of the show. First, the hosts discuss Richard’s one big thing, which is a deep dive on Saudi-Greece relations of late and why that bilateral relation is one to watch. Then the hosts discuss Lucien’s one big thing: the uptick in news and activity in the MENA region’s airline deals and development of tourism in Saudi Arabia. The hosts conclude as always with the program’s Yallah segment, which is expanded to 8 topics for this week.
15:10 – Lucien’s one big thing is the uptick in news and activity in the MENA region’s airline deals and development of tourism in Saudi Arabia. A ton has happened in the previous few weeks and months for the airline industry in Saudi Arabia and the region. Not only is a new airline coming to Saudi Arabia, the Kingdom has invested heavily in airport expansion, tourism, and much more.
31:01 – Yallah! 8 top storylines (2 extra this week!) to get you up to speed headed into the weekend.
•Saudi Arabia turns to AI for crowd management at holy sites
Artificial intelligence algorithms are to be developed and rolled out across Saudi Arabia to help crowd management and streamline services for pilgrims visiting holy sites in the Kingdom, the second edition of the Global AI Summit in Riyadh heard. AI technologies introduced recently at the two holy mosques have been helping keep crowds under control as they enter and leave thanks to faster decision-making, while ensuring that no more than the right number of people are present anywhere around the sites at any given time.
•NEOM To House Saudi Arabia’s Largest Studio With An Industry Leading Production Incentive Scheme
NEOM, the highly anticipated futuristic region in northwest Saudi Arabia by the Red Sea that is currently being developed, has announced the opening of NEOM Media Village and Bajdah Desert Studios. Together the structures will be the Kingdom’s largest sound stages with extensive production facilities. With the opening, NEOM also formally stated that it would be offering an industry-leading 40%+ production incentive scheme for feature films, non-scripted and scripted TV, and commercials. There is also an opportunity for producers to garner a higher percentage of rebate based on their contribution to developing the industry in the region.
Saudi Arabia bans the use of national flag in commercial promotions
Saudi Arabia has banned the use of the national flag in commercial promotions including publications, local media reported. In a circular issued by the Ministry of Commerce on Saturday, individuals and businesses have been banned from using the flag in commercial promotions including publications, goods and products, brochures and special gifts. The ministry said that the national flag contains the name of Allah, and the official state emblem of two swords and palm tree. The ban also covers pictures and names of Saudi leaders and officials.
•Saudi FA launches Women’s Premier League, Division One
The Saudi Football Association launched on Thursday the first edition of the Saudi Women’s Premier League, with the participation of 8 teams. The teams participating are Al-Nasr (previously the Kingdom’s women’s team), Al-Hilal (previously Al-Tahadi women’s team), Al-Yamama, Nessor Jeddah, Shoalat Al-Shargia, Al-Aseffa, Sama w Maras. The new season will start on October 13, on a home-and-away basis, with a total of 56 matches. The federation also approved the establishment of a Division One, with the participation of 17 teams, which will be distributed across three regions. That league will start on November 11, also on a home-and-away basis.
•‘Global AI Corridor’ deal with Saudi Aramco aims to link Riyadh to California
Saudi Aramco announced a deal to launch a ‘Global AI Corridor’ in partnership with Beyond Limits, a US-based artificial intelligence company. “The corridor is designed to develop and commercialize complex AI solutions, train Saudi talent, support Saudi start-ups, and together with a global partner build a local AI ecosystem,” Saudi Aramco CEO Amin Nasser said at the Global AI Summit in Riyadh. The deal, valued at $250 million, aims to link Riyadh to the US state of California, Beyond Limits CEO AJ Abdallat told al-Arabiya TV on Tuesday. It will include building a center with Aramco that will focus on energy and combating climate change and will span five years, Abdallat added.
•Oxford archaeologists discover monumental evidence of prehistoric hunting across Arabian desert
Archaeologists at the University of Oxford’s School of Archaeology have used satellite imagery to identify and map over 350 monumental hunting structures known as ‘kites’ across northern Saudi Arabia and southern Iraq – most of which had never been previously documented. The distribution of the star-shaped kites now provides the first direct evidence of contact through, rather than around, the Nafud desert. This underlines the importance areas that are now desert had under more favourable climatic conditions in enabling the movement of humans and wildlife. It is thought the kites were built during a wetter, greener climatic period known as the Holocene Humid Period (between around 9000 and 4000 BCE).
•Saudi Arabia’s $620 Billion Wealth Fund Plans to Add N.Y. Trading Team for US Subsidiary
According to a report in Bloomberg, The US subsidiary of Saudi Arabia’s $620 billion Public Investment Fund plans to hire a team of about 50 staff for its New York office, as it expands its investments in the United States. USSA International, a wholly-owned unit of the Public Investment Fund, will recruit for roles including investment research, legal and compliance, as well as a chief of staff, according to people with knowledge of the matter. It will also build a team for equity trading at a later stage, the people said, asking not to be identified as the information is private.
