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QUOTED
“As Saudi Arabia makes a play for the diplomatic mainstage, Prince Mohammed is motivated to be proactive rather than reactive, to counsel pragmatism rather than rigidity,” Laura Blumenfeld, senior fellow and Middle East analyst at the Johns Hopkins School for Advanced International Studies, Saudi prince proving crucial to Trump efforts to end Ukraine, Gaza wars [VOA]
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TOP STORY
Saudi Arabia recently assumed the Chairmanship of the Global Operational Network of Anti-Corruption Law Enforcement Authorities (GlobE Network), an initiative that includes 124 countries and is an extension of the kingdom’s anti-corruption efforts at home. [more]
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MORE TOP STORYLINES
in thesoufancenter.org: 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.
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Via Nick Vivarelli in variety.com: The long-gestating deal — widely believed to involve PIF paying $1 billion in exchange for 10 per cent of DAZN — gives Saudi Arabia a piece of DAZN, which in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region rivals powerhouse beIN Sports, from neighboring Qatar. Qatar, incidentally, hosted the FIFA soccer World Cup in 2022, while Saudi Arabia will be hosting the 2034 edition of that event. Founded in 2007, London-based DAZN, which has been dubbed the “Netflix of sports,” is now operating in more than 200 markets, having gone on a systematic sports rights’ buying spree that caused the streamer to report a £1.2 billion ($1.51 billion) loss for 2023. The deal with Surj Sports will certainly help shore up DAZN’s finances.
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Via Leen Al-Rashdan in yahoo.com: After largely sitting out last year’s flurry of aircraft orders, some of the biggest airlines in the Middle East are now preparing to replenish their fleets, with hundreds of planned purchases set to cement the region as key growth driver for Boeing Co. and Airbus SE. Among the carriers set to add planes is Flydubai, which is looking to purchase at least 200 narrowbody jets plus 100 options, according to people familiar with the negotiations. Neighboring Etihad Airways is meanwhile in talks for as many as 40 widebody aircraft, said the people who asked not to be identified discussing confidential deliberations. Joining the fray is Qatar Airways, which is closing in an order for about 230 twin-aisle aircraft in coming months, while Gulf Air, the national carrier of Bahrain, is in talks for about a dozen widebody jets, the people said.
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MORE ON THE KINGDOM AND BEYOND
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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...[By Patsy Widakuswara via voanews.com]
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Crown Prince Mohammed now finds himself at the center of the Trump administration’s outreach to Russia, a country Saudi Arabia carefully maintained ties to during...[By Jon Gambrell via apnews.com]
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Negotiations Tuesday between Russia and the United States led by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio have concluded in...[By Csongor Körömi via politico.eu]
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has postponed an official visit to Saudi Arabia set for this week amid U.S.-Russia negotiations in Riyadh. Zelensky, who...[By Ellen Mitchell via thehill.com]
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The more than four-hour meeting in Riyadh -- which was attended by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov --...[By Reid Standish via rferl.org]
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Lavrov, aged 74 and in office since 2004, is Moscow's longest-serving foreign minister since Soviet times. A graduate...[via reuters.com]
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Saudi Arabia’s commitment to digital transformation is a cornerstone of its Vision 2030 initiative, which aims to diversify the economy and position the Kingdom as...[via middleeastbriefing.com]
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The Opec+ group’s market share was 53 percent when it was set up in 2016. That figure is likely to drop...[By Eva Levesque via agbi.com]
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Surj Sports Investment, a unit of Saudi’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), has acquired a minority stake in UK-based global...[By Neil Halligan via agbi.com]
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More than 50 applications are currently under review by the regulator and the exchange, Al-Rumaih said, adding that around 100 applications are with advisors waiting...[via alarabiya.net]
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On September 14, 2024, a senior Emirati official dismissed reports about the country’s interest in resuming long-deadlocked negotiations to purchase Lockheed Martin’s F-35...[By Leonardo Jacopo Maria Mazzucco via agsiw.org]
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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...[via nbcnews.com]
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This February marks one year since Alat’s launch—a year of bold ambition, breakthrough innovation, and rapid growth. From multi-billion-dollar partnerships to industry...[via linkedin.com]
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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....[via apnews.com]
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American negotiators who met with Russian diplomats in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday said the two countries agreed on “four principles” that will move...[By Andrew Howard via politico.com]
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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...[via state.gov]
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The Gaza war has over the past year expanded to include Israeli attacks on Iranian and Syrian territory, and on Iran-allied Hezbollah in Lebanon. In...[By Mohanad Faris via amwaj.media]
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Since 2018, Qatar’s cultural scene has been enriched by a unique program highlighting Middle Eastern fashion. Fashion Trust Arabia is an annual fashion competition envisioned...[By Ethan Dincer via agsiw.org]
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