Via Vladimir Soldatkin in reuters.com: Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is not expected to attend a Russian-hosted BRICS summit later this month, according to the Kremlin, which said the worlds biggest oil exporter would be represented by the kingdoms foreign minister. The BRICS group originally consisted of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, and has expanded to include Ethiopia, Iran, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates and others. Two sources with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters in January that Riyadh was still considering the invitation to join BRICS.

Via Samia Nakhoul, Parisa Hafezi and Pesha Magid in reuters.com: Gulf states are lobbying Washington to stop Israel from attacking Irans oil sites because they are concerned their own oil facilities could come under fire from Tehrans proxies if the conflict escalates, three Gulf sources told Reuters. As part of their attempts to avoid being caught in the crossfire, Gulf states including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar are also refusing to let Israel fly over their airspace for any attack on Iran and have conveyed this to Washington, the three sources close to government circles said.

Via Kal Sajad in bbc.com: Saudi Arabia has played host to some of the biggest boxing events over the past 12 months, and on Saturday – for the first time – the Kingdom will host a womens world title fight. Australias Skye Nicolson will defend her WBC featherweight title against Briton Raven Chapman, on the undercard of Artur Beterbiev v Dmitry Bivol, in Riyadh. This is a much-needed and big shot in the arm for womens boxing as it joins the Riyadh Season train which is moving to a greater destination for boxing, promoter Eddie Hearn tells BBC Sport.

in arabnews.com: Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman received the Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in Riyadh on Wednesday. During the meeting, Saudi-Iranian relations and the latest regional developments were discussed, Saudi Press Agency reported. The meeting was also attended by Saudi officials including Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan who received Aragchi separately, earlier on Wednesday.

in maaal.com: A recent statistic for the Global Crime Index for 2023 showed that Saudi Arabia and Japan topped the list of the safest and least crime countries in the G20, as the Kingdom came in second place in the list of the safest countries, with a rate of 75.3, reflecting the success of ongoing efforts to enhance security and stability in the country, and reliance on strict legal systems and advanced technologies to monitor security, in addition to community programs aimed at enhancing safety and preventing crime.

Via Kristin Smith Diwan in agsiw.org: Today, seven years on, Mohammed bin Salman’s reign has become more settled and predictable. The kingdom’s 94th National Day still catered to young people and families but presented more of an establishment feel, complete with military parades and fireworks. Official imagery and national songs extolled the extensive Saudi urban and industrial projects. If the earliest days of this most nationalist of eras promised festivities, now it’s time to get down to work. 

Via Haitham El-Tabei in sports.yahoo: The Saudi Pro League, the second biggest spender in the summer of 2023, behind only the English Premier League, dropped to sixth this year, trailing the Big Five European competitions that it aims to rival. According to analysts, Saudi officials are assessing the commercial returns of their record outlay as Saudi Arabias lavish drive to modernise its oil-reliant economy comes under budgetary strains. I think they achieved the purpose last year, they put themselves on the map, they put the league on the map, said James Dorsey, a senior fellow at the National University of Singapores Middle East Institute.

Via Tom Bateman in bbc.com: Former Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert says Biden’s diplomacy has amounted to an unprecedented level of support, pointing to the huge US military deployment, including aircraft carrier strike groups and a nuclear power submarine, he ordered in the wake of October 7. But he believes Biden has been unable to overcome the resistance of Netanyahu. “Every time he came close to it, Netanyahu somehow found a reason not to comply, so the main reason for the failure of this diplomacy was the consistent opposition of Netanyahu,” says Olmert.

Via Kelsey Warner in semafor.com: Abu Dhabi has overtaken Oslo to become the world’s richest city in terms of assets managed by sovereign wealth funds. With $1.7 trillion under management as of October, the UAE capital is now the undisputed “capital of capital” (a slogan Abu Dhabi has been pushing since at least 2023), according to New York-based Global SWF.  If the holdings of the central bank, public pension funds, and royal private offices — which would include the realm of Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan who oversees the Royal Group, under which AI firm G42 is housed — are added, the total would reach $2.3 trillion. Abu Dhabi is likely to maintain its status atop the rankings, with its sovereign wealth coffers forecast to swell to $3.4 trillion by 2030.

Via Chantal Fouad in gulfnews.com: Saudi Arabias e-commerce sector is experiencing growth, with 39,769 new businesses registered in the third quarter of this year, reflecting a 9.4 per cent increase compared to last year. According to the latest data from the ministry of commerce, Riyadh topped the list with 16,274 registrations, followed by Mecca at 10,023 and the Eastern Province with 6,328. The regions of Medina and Qasim reported 1,897 and 1,302 registrations, respectively.

Via Gagandeep Kaur in fierce-network.com: Aramco Digital has also signed several Memorandums of Understanding (MoU) at the Global AI Summit held in Riyadh recently. It inked a deal with Cerebras Systems and FuriosaAI to explore collaboration in the supercomputing and AI domains and also partnered with South Koreas Rebellions to deploy Rebellions Neural Processing Unit chips in Aramcos data centers. In addition, Aramco Digital has signed an MoU with SambaNova Systems to accelerate AI capabilities, innovation and adoption across the country. It also announced the deployment of an AI supercomputer powered by NVIDIA GPUs, one of the regions first systems of its kind.

Via Hussein Ibish in msnbc.com: A mutual drawdown could center on the implementation of United Nations Security Council resolution 1701, adopted in the aftermath of the last major Israel-Hezbollah war in 2006. The resolution holds that Hezbollah should withdraw its fighters and heavy equipment from the south of Lebanon up to the Litani River, about 25 km (roughly 15.5 miles) into the country.

in spa.gov: Saudi camel owners continue their strong performance at the fourth edition of the Saudi Camel Racing Federation Cup, held in Najran from October 1 to 5. So far in the competition, Saudi Arabia secured 10 cups, the UAE claimed five cups, and Qatar won one cup. Saudi camels also led in the overall standings, winning 71 out of 104 rounds held over the four days. Qatar came in second with 14 rounds, followed by the UAE with 12. Kuwait and Bahrain each won three rounds, while Oman secured one round.

Via Fahad Abuljadayel in yahoo.com: The Tadawul All Share Index index slipped 3.7% in the first four trading days of October, as Israel intensified its campaign against Iran-backed Hezbollah and weighed retaliation for Tehran’s missile attacks. While the gauge spent months shrugging off simmering tensions and weak oil prices, the latest setback has wiped out its entire year-to-date gain.

Via Sudev Kiyada, Vijdan Mohammad Kawoosa, Adolfo Arranz, Simon Scarr, Emma Farge and Angus McDowall in reuters.com: Israel’s military campaign since Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack has devastated the Gaza Strip, leaving an estimated 42 million tonnes of debris piled where houses, mosques, schools and shops used to stand. In April a U.N. estimate reckoned that this would take 14 years to dispose of, while the U.N. official overseeing the problem said the clean-up would cost at least $1.2 billion.