in arabianbusiness.com: Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport has been named winner in both the ‘Large’ and ‘Global’ Airport categories in Cirium’s 2024 On-Time Performance report. It was a double celebration for Saudi Arabia as Saudia was a close runner-up with 86.35 per cent among the airlines. Saudi was second only to Aeromexico, Mexico’s flag carrier, which was named the most On-Time ‘Global Airline’ in 2024 with a 86.7 per cent on-time rate. American giant Delta Air Lines secured third place with 83.46 per cent. Qatar Airways, with 82.83 per cent on-time arrivals and 82.56 per cent on-time departure, was placed fifth globally, one place behind LATAM Airlines at fourth.

Via Valentina Pasquali in agbi.com: Gulf countries risk being dragged into the great power “rivalry” between China and the United States when it comes to advanced technology, forcing them to pick a side. As high-tech restrictions are rolled out by Beijing and Washington, the days of buying state-of-the-art semiconductors from the US while installing China’s 5G networks might be over, according to industry insiders. Mohammed Soliman, director for strategic technologies and cybersecurity at the Middle East Institute, says GCC countries have so far managed to strike a balance between exploiting Chinese technology and maintaining strong ties with the US. “However, the intensifying US-China rivalry will make accessing both tech ecosystems increasingly difficult, impacting supply chains, intellectual property and talent flows,” Soliman warns.

Via Robin Mills in agbi.com: The oil price is currently a bit lower than the GCC countries would like it, set to end the year at around $74 per barrel for Brent crude. At this price, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait run moderate budget deficits, while the UAE, Qatar and Oman will record decent surpluses. Revenues are high enough to avoid a crisis and provide ample funds for growth; low enough to encourage reform and ward off complacency. So GCC energy policies in 2025 have the following recipe: maximise oil and gas revenues, continue development and reform of the traditional petroleum sector, and expand into new energy and related businesses, both at home and abroad. Opec+ has not enjoyed a successful year. Despite continuing its production restraint, including extension of the voluntary cuts by some members throughout 2024, oil prices ended in virtually the same place as they began. They have slipped steadily since briefly topping $91 per barrel in April.

Via Tim Black in spiked-online.com: The conflict between Israel and Iran and the fall of Assad are directly related. On the eve of Hamas’s barbaric attack on Israel on 7 October 2023, Iran was in a position of relative strength. Through political alliances and a network of militias known as the ‘axis of resistance’ (including Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Houthis in Yemen and assorted Shia groups in Iraq), it exerted considerable power throughout the region. And nowhere more so than in Syria, where Iranian proxies, with help from Russia, were effectively propping up Assad’s dictatorship. Hamas’s attack on Israel changed everything. It ignited a conflict that has ultimately destroyed the balance of power in the region. Over the past 15 months, Israel has decimated Iran’s militias. It has crushed Hamas in Gaza, crippled Hezbollah in Lebanon and carried out air strikes and assassinations in Iraq and even Iran itself. The Israeli pounding of Iran’s proxy forces has not only impacted Tehran – it has also undermined those dependent on Iranian support for their very survival, such as Assad’s Syrian regime.

Via Haider Abdul Redha Al-Lawati in zawya.com: The GCC countries are witnessing many developments in a number of sectors, especially in the population sector, which is growing significantly and leaving many contradictions in the Gulf society. According to the figures of the GCC Statistical Centre, in the month of July 2022, the total population of the GCC countries reached 57.3 million people, constituting 0.7 per cent of the total world population of 7.8 billion people at the time. The increase in the population of the GCC countries during the past three years was 1.3 million people. It is expected that 90 per cent of the GCC population will live in cities by 2050, while all GCC countries seek to build more housing units to accommodate them over the next four decades. However, today there are thousands of young Gulf citizens on their way to work in various economic sectors adopted by the Gulf governments in order to reduce the number of expatriate workers and to adjust the current percentages in the total and percentages of the population.

in saudigazette.com: Saudi authorities have announced the implementation of the first mandatory phase of unified charging ports for electronic devices in Saudi Arabia, effective January 1, 2025. This initiative from the Communications, Space and Technology Commission (CST) and the Saudi Standards, Metrology and Quality Organization (SASO) mandates the use of USB Type-C as the standard charging port across various devices. The unified charging ports decision aims to enhance user experience, reduce consumer costs, and promote the adoption of high-quality charging and data transfer technologies. Additionally, it aligns with environmental sustainability goals by reducing electronic waste and supporting the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The first phase covers mobile phones, tablets, digital cameras, e-readers, portable video game consoles, headphones, earphones, portable speakers, amplified speakers, keyboards, computer mice, portable navigation systems, and wireless routers.

Via Mark Lomas in alarabiya.net: After a memorable 2024 for many of Saudi Arabia’s athletes, attention is now turning to the new year and the talented young sportsmen and women who could enjoy a breakout 2025. From football to swimming, MMA to motorsport – Al Arabiya English highlights the Kingdom’s most promising athletes for 2025.

Via Jonathan Gornall in arabnews.com: In 1924, Riyadh was a small oasis town, covering less than one square kilometer and home to no more than 30,000 people. One hundred years ago, the motor car had yet to displace the camel as the primary form of transport and the future capital of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was still contained within the defensive walls that had encircled it for 200 years. Today, Riyadh is a vast metropolis, the largest city on the Arabian Peninsula. Ever expanding, the capital is currently spread over 1,500 square kilometers and has a population close to eight million, largely reliant on the car.

in saudigazette.com: The Ministry of Commerce has instructed all government and private entities that they should not use the term sponsor and should be satisfied with the term employer. The ministry emphasized that Article 2 of the Labor Law defines employer as any natural or legal person who employs one or more workers in return for a wage. The ministrys directive came in a letter sent by it to the Federation of Saudi Chambers. In turn, the federation has conveyed the ministrys directive through a circular sent to chambers of commerce and industry in various regions of the Kingdom. It was stated in the circular that the definition of worker is any natural person, male or female, who works for the benefit of the employer and under his management or supervision in return for a wage.

Via Valentina Pasquali in agbi.com: Housing became a scarce commodity in Saudi Arabia in 2024. Expat workers flocked to Riyadh, attracted by the Vision 2030 push. Government policies boosted the home ownership rate for nationals. Rising land and construction costs also made housing and commercial units more expensive, says Imad Damrah, Colliers’ managing director for Saudi Arabia. “Freehold residential apartments in high-rise towers in Riyadh performed strongly, as did affordable National Housing Company residential communities,” Damrah tells AGBI. Residential sale numbers in the capital climbed 31 percent year on year in the third quarter, CBRE says. Average villa and apartment prices rose five and four percent respectively.

Via Beatrice Farhat in al-monitor.com: Shibani’s announcement comes one day after Syria’s de facto leader, Ahmed al-Sharaa — who also heads Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, which led the lightning-fast offensive that toppled Assad earlier this month — praised Saudi Arabias support for Syria. In a wide-ranging interview with the Saudi-owned Al-Arabiya channel on Sunday, Sharaa stated that Saudi Arabia seeks stability in Syria and highlighted several investment opportunities in the country, though he did not provide further details. “I am proud of everything that Saudi Arabia has done for Syria, and it has a major role in the country’s future,” he said. A high-ranking Saudi delegation, led by a royal court adviser, visited Damascus and met with Sharaa on Dec. 22. No details of the meeting were made public. According to a source close to the Saudi government who spoke to Agence France-Presse last week, the talks focused on the situation in Syria and the Captagon drug file.

Via Kim Martin in thepienews.com: On the heels of the first Saudi-US Higher Education Partnerships Forum, co-organised by the Saudi Arabian Ministry of Education, the US Embassy, and IIE, and held in Riyadh,The PIE sat down with Michael Ratney, US ambassador to Saudi Arabia to explore the evolving landscape of educational collaboration between the two nations. “There’s a decades long educational affinity between Saudi and the US,” said Ratney. “Saudi Arabia has been sending students to the US for decades… We think there’s probably over 700,000 Saudis that have studied in the US over the years.” Historically, much of this outbound mobility has been, and continues to be, driven by the Saudi’s government scholarship program – the King Abdullah Scholarship program. In recent years, Vision 2030 – Saudi’s national economic and social transformation program – has meant the sending of students has been more focused.

Via Nick Vivarelli in variety.com: This year’s Dec. 12-14 edition of Soundstorm – which started out in 2019 as an electronic dance music festival – featured over 200 international artists spanning rap, rock, pop, and house music. It marked Soundstorm’s strongest lineup thanks to chart-topping artists such as Eminem, Linkin Park, and rock bands including Thirty Seconds to Mars and U.K. trio Muse, as well as hip-hop stars like Russ, G-Eazy, J.I.D., and Busta Rhymes, to name a few. Along with a host of top Arabic acts such as Lebanese artist Elissa, Syrian singer Nassif Zeytoun, and Saudi DJ and producer Cosmicat. Variety spoke to Mdlbeast CEO Ramadan Alharatani about how he attracted bigger acts from the U.S. such as Eminem who, making his first appearance in Saudi Arabia, performed his hit “Love The Way You Lie” for a crowd of more than 100,000 fans.

in gulfnews.com: Saudi Arabia’s stock market has closed 2024 on a high, going by the response the final offering has garnered. The retail subscription for AlMoosa Health pulled in 395,986 investors subscribing at SR127 a share – and generating a retail tranche oversubscription of a substantial 408.71%. The total retail demand came to SR1.4 billion. The retail tranche had 2.66 million shares, or 20% of the total offer size. This is the second IPO from a Saudi healthcare company this year. (The Dr. Soliman Abdel Kader Fakeeh Hospital Co. was the earlier one.)

Via Laura Gardner Cuesta in yahoo.com: FDI inflows dropped 8% quarter-on-quarter to 18 billion riyals ($4.8 billion) in the three months through September and were also down from a year ago, according to data released Monday by the Saudi General Authority for Statistics. The tally brings inflows to $14.5 billion for the first nine months of 2024. That’s below year-ago levels and just half way to reaching the government’s target of $29 billion in 2024. To meet that goal, Saudi Arabia would need one of its biggest quarterly hauls ever for foreign investment. Saudi Arabia aims to quadruple FDI inflows to $100 billion by 2030 as it seeks to share some of the financial burden of spending on its economic diversification plan. Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman’s government also sees foreign expertise as critical to training the local population in new industries like technology and minerals exploration and catalyzing growth in those sectors.