By Alexander Cornwell DUBAI (Reuters) – Negotiations between China and an Arab bloc for a free trade agreement have stalled over concerns by Saudi Arabia that cheap Chinese imports could undermine its ambitions to transform the kingdom into an industrial powerhouse, sources say. Saudi Arabia has backed renewed efforts over the past two years for […]
Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince is reportedly open to having “tough conversations” about Vision 2030. MBS might be ready to discuss which projects should proceed first, the Financial Times reported. Saudi has been deflecting suggestions that some of its megaprojects are facing financial issues. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman may finally be ready to have some […]
(Reuters) – U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm will visit Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates next week to work on “climate co-operation” and other issues, two Biden administration officials told Reuters on Friday. The visit will run from Tuesday through Thursday, with Granholm visiting the UAE first, one of the officials said. It will […]
Rory McIlroy said he has been “some way” involved with discussions with Saudi backers of LIV Golf. McIlroy has long been one of the most vocal critics of LIV Golf, insisting in July last year that he would rather retire than play on the Saudi Arabian breakaway, but has softened his stance on the influx […]
Crossing the Line Saudi Arabia is working on a comically colossal skyscraper, called “The Line,” that aims to stretch across 105 miles of desert and tower over the Empire State Building. And that’s only one part of an even greater ambition, the world’s largest construction project simply called “Neom.” Unsurprisingly, The Line is already turning […]
(Bloomberg) — The head of Saudi Arabia’s new investment fund for semiconductor and artificial intelligence technology said the country would divest from China if it were asked to do so by the US. Most Read from Bloomberg “So far the requests have been to keep manufacturing and supply chains completely separate, but if the partnerships […]
Arsenal duo Gabriel Jesus and Thomas Partey are on the radar of clubs in the Saudi Pro League, according to the Daily Express. The 27-year-old Brazilian has scored four goals with five assists in 25 games for Arsenal in the Premier League this season while Partey, 30, has played in 12 games. The future of […]
(Bloomberg) — Saudi Arabia raised the price of its flagship crude to Asia for a third consecutive month, as the kingdom tries to tighten the oil market to prevent a global surplus. Most Read from Bloomberg State-owned Saudi Aramco raised the June official selling price of Arab Light crude for customers in Asia by 90 […]
By Humeyra Pamuk, Alexander Cornwell and Matt Spetalnick WASHINGTON/DUBAI (Reuters) – The Biden administration and Saudi Arabia are finalizing an agreement for U.S. security guarantees and civilian nuclear assistance, even as an Israel-Saudi normalization deal envisioned as part of a Middle East “grand bargain” remains elusive, according to seven people familiar with the matter. A […]
By Timothy Gardner and Jonathan Landay WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A Democratic U.S. senator on Wednesday urged President Joe Biden to include strict nonproliferation safeguards in any nuclear power deal with Saudi Arabia that might come as part of a potential normalization of relations agreement brokered by Washington between the kingdom and Israel. The Biden administration […]
JERUSALEM (AP) — Saudi Arabia confirmed in a letter to the United Nations that a female fitness instruction who was popular online received an 11-year prison sentence but did not specify any of her alleged “terrorism offenses.” Though the kingdom insisted the case had nothing to do with the instructor’s online presence, human rights activists […]
Secretary of State Antony Blinken will travel to Saudi Arabia next week to meet with regional partners as talks between Israel and Hamas remain deadlocked, the State Department announced Saturday. “The Secretary will discuss ongoing efforts to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza that secures the release of hostages and how it is Hamas that is […]