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CNN —A Saudi court has sentenced a retired teacher to death over his comments online, say his brother and advocacy group Human Rights Watch. Muhammad al-Ghamdi, a 54-year-old retired Saudi teacher, was sentenced “following 5 tweets criticizing corruption and human rights violations,” his brother Saeed bin Nasser al-Ghamdi tweeted last week. According to the European Saudi Organization for Human Rights, Saudi Arabia has executed at least 92 people this year so far. In 2022, UK-based human rights organization ALQST cataloged 148 executions in Saudi Arabia – more than twice the number of executions it recorded in 2021. “The Saudi authorities asked me several times to return to Saudi Arabia, but I refused to do so.

Persons: Muhammad al, “, Saeed bin Nasser, Ghamdi, ” Joey Shea, Lina Alhathloul, Loujain, ”, Saeed Organizations: CNN, Saudi, Human Rights Watch, ‘, Human Rights, European Saudi Organization for Human Rights, Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Interior Locations: Saudi, Saudi Arabia, United Kingdom

☆ Saudi Chairman of Credit Suisse’s Largest Investor Resigns
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-27 | by ( Summer Said | Dave Sebastian | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

DUBAI—The chairman of Credit Suisse Group AG’s largest shareholder has resigned less than two weeks after his comments set off a panic with the European lender’s shareholders that eventually led the Swiss government to engineer a takeover by rival UBS Group AG. Ammar al-Khudairy, the chairman of Saudi National Bank, is leaving for personal reasons and will be succeeded by Chief Executive Saeed Mohammed al-Ghamdi , the bank said on Monday. It didn’t say whether the resignation was tied to Mr. Khudairy’s comments on SNB’s investment in Credit Suisse.

☆ Saudi National Bank appoints Al Ghamdi as chairman
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

DUBAI, March 27 (Reuters) - Saudi National Bank Chief Executive Saeed Mohammed Al Ghamdi has been appointed as the bank's chairman after the resignation of Abdul Wahed Al Khudairy for personal reasons, it said on Monday. The bank's board also appointed Talal Ahmed Al Khereiji as acting CEO, with all changes effective March 27. The changes come nearly two weeks after Al Khudairy told Reuters the kingdom's biggest bank by assets would not buy more shares in Credit Suisse (CSGN.S) on regulatory grounds, which sent the Swiss bank's shares to record lows. Saudi National Bank, which acquired almost 9.9% of Credit Suisse for 5.5 billion riyals ($1.46 billion) last November, was sitting on a loss of about 80% on its investment last week in the wake of a forced takeover of the Swiss bank by its domestic rival UBS (UBSG.S) for $3.2 billion. Reporting by Hadeel Al Sayegh Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips and David GoodmanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Saudi National Bank chair resigns just days after Credit Suisse comments sparked sell-off
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-27 | by ( Ruxandra Iordache | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

The Saudi National Bank (SNB) headquarters beyond the King Abdullah Financial District Conference Center in the King Abdullah Financial District (KAFD) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Tuesday, Dec. 6, 2022. Saudi National Bank Chairman Ammar al-Khudairy resigned his post on Monday, days after his comments exacerbated the share collapse of troubled bank Credit Suisse . Al-Khudairy is stepping down "due to personal reasons," the bank said. The then-SNB chairman said the Saudi bank would not intercede "for many reasons outside the simplest reason, which is regulatory and statutory." The comments fueled investor panic, sinking Credit Suisse shares 24% during that session, despite effectively reiterating SNB's previous position that it did not intend to expand its holdings beyond its then 9.9% interest as Credit Suisse's largest shareholder.

☆ Credit Suisse investor’s exit will zip some lips
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, March 27 (Reuters Breakingviews) - The fate of Saudi National Bank’s (1180.SE) chairman may persuade other investors to maintain radio silence for a while. Asked by a television interviewer whether Saudi National Bank would invest more money into Credit Suisse, Al Khudairy replied “absolutely not”. Although SNB lost more than $1 billion on its Credit Suisse investment, Gulf investors are unlikely to stop investing in banks globally. Indeed, the Saudi bank was part of an investor group that proposed injecting around $5 billion into Credit Suisse as an alternative to the UBS deal, the Wall Street Journal reported. But big bank investors may avoid appearing on live television for a while.

☆ Saudi National Bank chair resigns after Credit Suisse comments
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-27 | by ( Hanna Ziady | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

Ammar Al Khudairy had resigned “due to personal reasons” and would be replaced by CEO Saeed Mohammad Al Ghamdi, Saudi National Bank said in a statement Monday. During an interview with Bloomberg TV on March 15, Al Khudairy ruled out increasing the bank’s stake in Credit Suisse. That was in response to a question on whether Saudi National Bank was open to further equity injections into Credit Suisse if there was a call for additional funds. Saudi National Bank, which is 37%-owned by Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, acquired a 9.9% stake in Credit Suisse in October for $1.5 billion, making it an anchor investor in the bank’s turnaround plan. Had the bank increased its shareholding in Credit Suisse beyond the 9.9% level, it would have been subjected to additional regulatory obligations.

☆ Why Egypt is asking its people to eat chicken feet
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( Nadeen Ebrahim | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +17 min

Abu Dhabi CNN —Egypt’s economic situation is so dire that the government is asking people to eat chicken feet. In Egypt, chicken feet are seen as the cheapest of meat items, considered by most as animal waste rather than food. After the recommendation to switch to chicken feet, the price of one kilogram of the product reportedly doubled to 20 Egyptian pounds ($0.67). But those firms don’t operate like private companies, enjoying special privileges without disclosing their financial data to the public. Experts have questioned why international creditors had not leveraged their loans to drive Egypt’s military out of the economy.

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