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QUOTED
“Suppliers in the Middle East will find themselves competing with producers in Asia, and particularly China, as exports are redirected from the US to other markets, increasing competition in the region.” Kaye Ayub, head of price analysis at the UK steel market insights company MEPS International, What Trump’s steel tariffs mean to the Middle East [Arabian Gulf Business Insight]
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TOP STORY
Sotheby’s inaugural auction in Saudi Arabia which was also the kingdom’s first major international art and luxury auction, took place in Diriyah this weekend and included works by regional and Saudi artists. [more]
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MORE TOP STORYLINES
in saudigazette.com: In his keynote speech, Alswaha emphasized that these significant investments and initiatives were made possible through the support and empowerment of Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman. These initiatives aimed to enable the technology sector and accelerate Saudi Arabia’s transition toward an innovative and sustainable AI-driven economy, in line with Vision 2030 objectives. Al-Swaha said that the region is witnessing rapid transformations in the digital economy sector, as it has grown by 73 percent to reach $260 billion, with Saudi Arabia accounting for 50 percent of this growth, making it one of the leading countries in this field. The number of technical specialists has increased from 150,000 to 381,000, reflecting Saudi Arabia’s rapid growth in the fields of technology and innovation. Al-Swaha highlighted the importance of bridging the digital gap between nations during what has become known as the “smart era,” and explained the role the Kingdom plays in empowering women in the field of technology. “In the smart era, the gap between the Global North and South will grow and worsen, as only one to two billion people are expected to join this exclusive club, while 6.5 billion people will be left behind by 2030.”
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Via Hassan Al-Mustafa in arabnews.com: However, it is often overlooked that Saudi Arabia is not an emotional state and its policies are not based on reactive measures. Instead, the country operates according to a strategic vision that prioritizes its national security first and the broader Arab national security second. Consequently, Riyadh has not limited itself to narrow calculations but has instead considered the larger context of the Middle East. It recognizes the genuine threat posed by aggressive Israeli policies, understanding that the destruction of Gaza, assaults on the West Bank and the displacement of Palestinians will not lead to peace. Rather, these actions are likely to foster further extremism and violence, potentially creating a new generation that is willing to take up arms against Israel — not only within the Occupied Territories but also among sympathizers from various countries around the world, which could lead to wider conflicts.
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Via Nick Vivarelli in variety.com: Saudi filmmaker Abdulaziz Alshlahei’s drama “Hobal” about clashes between tradition and modernity within a Saudi family during the early 1990s is scoring mightily at the Saudi Arabian box office, outperfoming Hollywood titles such as “Mufasa: The Lion King,” “Flight Risk” and “Den of Thieves 2: Pantera.” The timely film in which a Saudi family is forced by its grandfather to live in isolation in the desert at the outbreak of the 1990 Gulf War, when a young girl falls ill, prompting her mother to fight the patriarchy to try and save her child, is striking a deep chord with Saudi audiences. “Hobal” has now pulled more than 500,000 admissions since its Jan. 2 release via distributor Qanwat Group, racking up a handsome roughly $5.7 million take to date, according to figures from the Saudi Film Commission which compiles Saudi box office numbers.
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MORE ON THE KINGDOM AND BEYOND
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Saudi Arabia has expressed its appreciation of the positions adopted by Arab and Islamic countries in condemning Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s proposal to ethnically...[via middleeastmonitor.com]
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Looking at the issue objectively, Saudi Arabia does not need to normalise relations with the occupation state of Israel after the collapse of the...[By Khalid Al-Hroub via middleeastmonitor.com]
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In an exclusive interview with Arab News on the sidelines of the LEAP 2025 technology conference, Steve Lutes, vice president for Middle East affairs at...[By Hajar AlQusayer via arabnews.com]
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Saudi Arabia’s Industrial Production Index (IPI) added 2.1% year-on-year (YoY) in December 2024, data issued by the General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT) showed. The IPI...[via argaam.com]
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The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region has long been at the center of the global energy universe, with national oil companies (NOCs) and...[via oilprice.com]
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My team and I had our eyes on Saudi Arabia with a clear purpose: to meet the people and organizations leading the charge in conservation...[By Andi Cross via forbes.com]
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President Donald J.Trump’s decision to re-designate Yemen’s Houthi movement a foreign terrorist organization marks a full-circle moment in Washington’s oscillating approach to the...[By Fatima Abo Alasrar via agsiw.org]
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Sotheby’s reported a full house for the “Origins” sale, which was held in a 250-seat outdoor amphitheater and featured participants from 45 countries. The sale...[By Aimee Dawson via cnn.com]
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Sotheby’s inaugural auction in Saudi Arabia, titled “Origins,” concluded on Saturday with a total of $17,283,840 in sales in the fine art and luxury categories. The...[By Ghadi Joudah via arabnews.com]
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The startup has an existing agreement with Aramco Digital, the technology subsidiary of oil major Aramco, through which the companies built a critical AI...[By Stephen Nellis via yahoo.com]
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Saudi Arabia's NEOM, a Red Sea urban and industrial development, has signed a deal with DataVolt to...[By Menna Alaa El-Din and Nayera Abdallah via reuters.com]
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Cloud software seller Salesforce said on Monday that it plans to invest $500 million in Saudi Arabia related to artificial intelligence, as countries compete...[By Rishi Kant via yahoo.com]
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Salma al-Shehab, a Leeds University doctoral candidate who was handed a decades-long sentence for her tweets in 2022, has been released from a...[By Dania Akkad via middleeasteye.net]
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Chinese electric vehicle (EV) startup Rox Motor has expanded into the Saudi market as it focuses its resources overseas. The company announced its official entry into...[via cnevpost.com]
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Competing in front of the passionate home crowd, Golf Saudi ambassadors Dustin Johnson, Talor Gooch, Harold Varner III, Jason Kokrak not only showcased their skills...[via golfsaudi.com]
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Billed as “The Greatest Sneaker Show on Earth,” Sneaker Con is one of the world’s largest sneaker conventions, which has previously been held in cities...[By Hajar AlQusayer via arabnews.com]
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The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is gearing up to host the fourth edition of the Saudi Media Forum 2025, set to take place in the...[via spa.gov]
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Flummoxed by mixed messages coming from the Trump administration, historic deep distrust of the U.S. especially after Trump in 2018 quit the Iran nuclear deal,...[By Laura Rozen via substack.com]
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After seemingly giving his blessing to talks with the US, Iran’s supreme leader is questioning the value of negotiations with the Donald Trump administration. The...[via amwaj.media]
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