📢 Some personal news: Excited to re-join
@FT
as Saudi correspondent to cover the kingdom and the Gulf during these ~ interesting times ~ Please send tips, story ideas and more 📩 ahmed.alomran
@ft
.com
New by me
@FT
— Saudi officials fear brutal images emerging from the shattered Gaza Strip will radicalise their young population, disrupt economic and social reform plans
Americana, which operates KFC and Kirspy Kreme in the Middle East, reports 51.8% decline in Q1 profit as boycott over Gaza war and Ramadan slump hit sales 📉
KSA has NOT officially accepted invitation to join BRICS yet. Saudi FM Prince Faisal says they “appreciate” invite but wait for details on nature of membership, would make decision after “internal deliberations.”
Kuwait orders all restaurants and cafés in the country to offer customers free filtered tap water and not force them to buy bottled water 🚰 Rest of GCC should do this or at least give customers a choice between local and imported bottled water brands.
Kushner now on stage with former Italian PM Matteo Renzi after a sudden change of schedule. Their session was originally supposed to take place in 1h 40m
🚨 Iran’s Sepahan game against al-Ittihad in the Asian Champions League cancelled after the Saudi team refused to take the pitch reportedly due to the presence of a Qassim Suleimani’s bust in the ground
☀️ It’s hot in the Gulf:
🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia warns daytime temperatures in the Eastern Province would reach 46-50ºC this week
🇧🇭 Bahrain records unprecedented electricity consumption as A/C systems struggle to cope
🇶🇦 Qatar to hold national dialogue on climate change in October
Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chair
@SenatorMenendez
calls for immediate freeze of US cooperation with Saudi Arabia, including arms sales (via
@AndrewDesiderio
)
🚨 New by me and
@tariqpanja
— Saudi Pro League plans to bring in more big names using a new centralized approach backed by a massive war chest from the PIF
FIFA chief Gianni Infantino confirms on Instagram that Saudi Arabia will host the 2034 World Cup after what he described as “constructive dialogue and extensive consultation.”
Gianni Infantino gives interview to beIN Sports Arabic channel ahead of the World Cup final, says he has learned how to dance Qatari folk dances (if the translation is accurate)
Qatar dedicates the last part of the Asian Cup opening to Gaza: host nation captain handed over the oath tournament to captain of Palestine NT, and Palestinian music to conclude the ceremony
Saudi sovereign wealth fund launches SRJ, a new company that will invest in acquiring and creating new sports events IP, commercial rights of popular sports competitions and hosting major global events in the kingdom
Saudi Aramco awards $7.7 billion contracts to expand gas production. Lion’s share going to Korea’s Samsung and GS E&C, making it the biggest order for Korean companies in the kingdom’s history 🇸🇦🇰🇷
Mnuchin visited the Gulf 18 times during his time in office and filed papers to create a precursor to his new investment firm just one day after leaving government. He raised $2bn from four Gulf states, half of it from Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund
🚨 Riyadh-bound aircraft of Saudi Airlines damaged after coming under fire at Khartoum airport with crew and passengers on board. Flights to and from Sudan suspended until further notice —statement
🇧🇭 Bahrain government confirms that its ambassador in Tel Aviv has returned home and the Israeli ambassador to Manama left “a while ago.” Direct flights between the two countries stopped for weeks too, statement adds.
Al-Ettifaq won the Saudi league title in 1983 without a single defeat. They won the King’s Cup (twice), the Crown Prince Cup, multiple Gulf and Arab club championships. Signing Henderson is definitely _not_ the most significant day in their history.
Kuwait FA says the national team will not withdraw from the Gulf Cup in Iraq despite “disorganization” that prevented the country’s official delegation from attending the opening ceremony
🚨 Iran says it reached a deal with Saudi Arabia to resume diplomatic relations and reopen embassies after mediation by China. No confirmation from the kingdom yet
Shaye al-Nafisah, who scored Saudi Arabia’s first goal in their 1984 Asian Cup final triumph, died aged 60. He probably never received the recognition he deserved because he played his whole career at a little-known club in a small town outside Riyadh.
“[The internet] wasn’t supposed to be six boring men with too much money creating spaces that no one likes but everyone is forced to use because those men have driven every other form of online existence into the ground.”
Qatar’s old Ministry of Interior building, designed by Lebanese architect William Sednaoui in the 1960s, has been converted into a luxury hotel set to open next month
🚨 Saudi Arabia warns against attacking Rafah, calls for urgent UN Security Council meeting to stop Israel from causing imminent humanitarian catastrophe —foreign ministry statement
This is not specific to Chinese tech companies. Saudi Arabia now has significant localization requirements for most JVs with foreign partners, including Western defense firms
Saudi Arabia warns Israel against attacking Rafah, describing the imminent operation as part of Israel’s “bloody and systematic” campaign aimed at forcefully storming all areas of the Gaza Strip and displacing its residents —foreign ministry statement
🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia strongly condemns the “heinous crime committed by Israeli occupation forces” by bombing the hospital in Gaza —foreign ministry statement
Saudi unemployment rate in Q4 2023 was 7.7%, lowest since KSA began collecting data. But labour force participation is also down. As
@GulfStatesInst
’s Tim Callen notes, this suggests growing number of working-age Saudis are becoming discouraged from engaging in the labour market
🚨 Saudi Arabia says important to conduct investigation into allegations against UNRWA workers to reach “evidence-based facts,” urges key donors to continue “supporting humanitarian missions” operating in Gaza —foreign ministry statement
@tod_tv
The
@tod_tv
account is now being flooded by complaints from Saudi users, with some claiming the government’s
@media_ksa
has blocked access to the TOD app and website. Huge confusion and frustration for fans as the tournament begins. No comment from TOD so far.
Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi expected to travel to Riyadh this Sunday for the extraordinary Islamic leaders summit to discuss the Gaza crisis. This would be his first visit to Saudi Arabia since the two countries agreed to restore diplomatic relations —AFP
Saudi coach and players deny social media rumors that members of the national team were awarded luxury Rolls-Royce cars after their victory against Argentina
#KSA
#FIFAWorldCup
First computers I ever encountered as a kid were Sakhr machines used by older cousins. Here’s
@SultanAlQassemi
with a rememberance of Sakhr founder Mohammed al-Sharekh, who passed away last week
“Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries cannot normalize with Israel if they’re having been seen as throwing the Palestinians under the bus,” Lindsey Graham said. “I think the Arabs are going to demand some form of two-state solution to recognize Israel.”
Ringside at the Fury vs Ngannu 🥊 clash in Riyadh last night: GEA chief Turki al-Alsheikh, PIF chief Yassir al-Rumayyan, Prince Alwaleed, Cristiano Ronaldo, Mike Tyson, Eminem, and Rio Ferdinand, among others. Kanye West also made an appearance.
It is Ronaldo vs Messi in Saudi Arabia later this month when PSG plays a friendly against a combined XI of
@AlNassrFC
and
@Alhilal_FC
as part of Riyadh Season. Tickets now on sale at
“Before the 7th of October, a lot of de-escalation had happened, which brought a lot of hope for the region, and we don’t want the recent events to derail that,” the Saudi finance minister said
“Why are we doing it? We’re doing it for all the right reasons for our people: improve the quality of living, have more sporting events within the kingdom.” —PIF chief Yasir al-Rumayyan on the LIV-PGA deal
💰 Saudi Arabia added nearly $4 billion to its US Treasury holdings by the end of last year, taking its stockpile to $132 billion, the highest since early 2021. (BBG)
Shame
#KSA
could not build on the great start. Limitations of the squad exposed by a couple of injuries and a lack of focus let them down when it mattered.
#FIFAWorldCup
Some insights from Saudi Arabia’s latest annual report on internet usage in the kingdom:
🔘 Top apps (excluding official govt apps):
1. TikTok
2. imo
3. Facebook
4. CapCut
5. Snapchat
6. WhatsApp
🔘 Local auction site
@haraj
is more popular than