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☆ Golf’s new Saudi deal presents questionable political, business and sporting realities
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-07 | by ( Stephen Collinson | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +12 min

And the deal is also undeniably a great piece of business, assuming PGA Tour players accept it. And all pending litigation between LIV Golf and the PGA Tour was also mutually ended under the new agreement. He “co-opted the 9/11 community last year in the PGA’s unequivocal agreement that the Saudi LIV project was nothing more than sports washing of Saudi Arabia’s reputation,” the group said in a statement. Unresolved sporting conundrumsThere are as many sporting questions about the PGA Tour/LIV Golf partnership that remain unanswered. Then there is the question of how current PGA Tour members will respond.

Persons: LIV Golf, Arnold Palmer, Jamal Khashoggi, Prince Mohammed bin Salman, –, LIV –, Jay Monahan, Monahan, ”, “, Saudi LIV, ” Monahan, Dustin Johnson, Phil Mickelson, Patrick Reed, Cam Smith, Donald Trump, LIV, Trump, Khashoggi, ” Trump, Joe Biden, Antony Blinken, Tuesday’s LIV, Qataris, Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema, ” Yasir Al, Rumayyan, of Famer Greg Norman, Collin Morikawa, Mickelson, Alan Shipnuck, Shipnuck Organizations: CNN, PGA, Saudi, Post, Premier League, Global, Families United, Saudi shills, Crown, Formula One, NBA, Tour, Qatar, Soccer, Manchester City, United, Newcastle, Indian Premier League, Al, Real, Saudi Public Investment, “, Saudi Public Investment Fund, CNBC, of Famer, Open, Twitter Locations: Washington, Saudi, Qaeda, Riyadh, China, Western Europe, East, India, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Ittihad, Real Madrid, French

☆ Saudi Arabia Relishes a Triumph That Transcends Sports
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-07 | by ( Vivian Nereim | Ahmed Al Omran | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

When a Saudi-backed upstart golf league began recruiting high-profile players from the top U.S. circuit, the American tour’s commissioner lamented a “foreign monarchy that is spending billions of dollars in an attempt to buy the game of golf.”The commissioner, Jay Monahan, who heads the PGA Tour, sniped at players who left for the new league, LIV Golf, hinting at the stain that the Saudi government’s human rights violations would leave on them. But on Tuesday, Mr. Monahan sat smiling with the head of the Saudi sovereign wealth fund to announce that the PGA Tour and LIV Golf were forming what promises to be a lucrative partnership. “I recognize that people are going to call me a hypocrite,” Mr. Monahan said later. “But circumstances do change.”The deal, if it goes forward, represents an enormous victory for Saudi Arabia and its de facto leader, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, in a bid to become a major player in global sports, giving the kingdom considerable sway over the game of golf. But the significance of the moment transcends sports, as Saudi Arabia under Prince Mohammed seeks greater political influence in the Middle East and beyond.

Persons: Jay Monahan, sniped, LIV Golf, Monahan, LIV, “, Mr, Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Prince Mohammed Organizations: PGA Locations: Saudi, Saudi Arabia

☆ Blinken heads to Saudi Arabia amid strained ties, Israel normalization in mind
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-06 | by ( Humeyra Pamuk | Thomson Reuters | Humeyra Pamuk Is A Senior Foreign Policy Correspondent Based In Washington Dc. She Covers The U.S. State Department | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan traveled to Saudi Arabia on May 7. Speaking at the pro-Israel lobby group the American Israel Public Affairs Committee on Monday, Blinken said Washington had "a real national security interest" in advocating for the normalization of diplomatic relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia, but cautioned that it will not happen quickly. "[Blinken should explain] why Chinese interests do not align with Saudi Arabia, and why closer relations in a strategic way inhibit closer relations with Washington," Goldberg said. U.S. citizens and residents with family members detained in Saudi Arabia called on Blinken in a letter on Tuesday to press Saudi officials for an immediate release of their relatives. The list included prominent cleric Salman al-Odah, children of former spy chief Saad al-Jabri, human rights defender Mohammed al-Qahtani and aid worker Abdulrahman al-Sadhan.

Persons: Antony Blinken, Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Jake Sullivan, Blinken, Washington, Richard Goldberg, Goldberg, Joe Biden, Prince Mohammed, Jamal Khashoggi, Biden, Bashar al, Assad, Salman al, Saad al, Mohammed al, Abdulrahman, Arshad Mohammed, Simon Lewis, Aziz El Yaakoubi, Leslie Adler, Sharon Singleton Organizations: Saudi, White House, diplomat's, Israel, American Israel Public Affairs, Foundation for Defense of Democracies, MbS, Arab, U.S, Thomson Locations: Saudi Arabia, Riyadh, Iran, Jeddah, U.S, Israel, Saudi, Washington, Syria

☆ Saudi's crown prince and Putin are teaming up to keep oil prices high in a geopolitical gambit likely to annoy the US
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-05 | by ( Tom Porter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Saudi Arabia said it is cutting oil production to stabilize oil markets. The move is likely to irk Joe Biden, who has clashed with the Saudis on oil production. The Saudis have previously worked with Russia to cut production, thus boosting prices. Saudi Arabia is the world's biggest oil producer and most influential member of the group, so has significant power over global oil markets. The production cut will likely be among the issues discussed when US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken visits Saudi Arabia next week.

Persons: irk Joe Biden, —, Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman al, Saud, Prince Abdulaziz, Saudi Arabia's, Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Alexander Novak, Biden, State Anthony Blinken Organizations: Saudis, Service, Privacy Policy, Reuters, Brent, White, State, New York Times, Kremlin Locations: Saudi Arabia, Russia, Privacy Policy Saudi Arabia, Saudi, Vienna, Austria, Russian, Riyadh, Ukraine, Opec, India

☆ Blinken to Talk to Saudis About Normalizing Ties With Israel
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-05 | by ( Edward Wong | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

The NewsSecretary of State Antony J. Blinken said Monday that he planned to talk to Saudi leaders and other Gulf state officials this week during a visit to Saudi Arabia about the possibility of the kingdom normalizing ties with Israel. “The United States has a real national security interest in promoting normalization between Israel and Saudi Arabia,” Mr. Blinken said at a conference of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee. Mr. Blinken and other Biden aides are trying to grapple with politics in Israel, Saudi Arabia and the United States that would make normalization difficult. Growing tensions would hamper negotiations over the conditions for normalization that Saudi Arabia demands. Mr. Biden was outraged in October when Saudi Arabia led the OPEC Plus oil-producing nations in a coordinated production cut.

Persons: Antony J, Blinken, Biden, ” Mr, “, Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel Organizations: American Israel Public Affairs Committee, OPEC Locations: Saudi, Saudi Arabia, Israel, United States, U.S

DUBAI, June 5 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund will take control of four of the kingdom's top soccer clubs including Al-Nassr, which Cristiano Ronaldo plays for, as the government revives a plan to privatise several state-owned sports clubs. All are in the top-flight Saudi Professional League, except Al-Ahli which is in the second-tier Saudi First Division. The privatisation plan, mainly focused on soccer clubs and launched by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, allows companies and development agencies to invest in and take over clubs, SPA reported earlier on Monday. The kingdom aims for the revenue of the Saudi Professional League to increase to 1.8 billion riyals ($480 million) annually by 2030 from 450 million riyals. Saudi oil giant Aramco will own Saudi First Division club Al-Qadsiah, Third Division side Alula FC will be owned by the Royal Commission for Al-Ula while First Division club al-Diraiyah FC will be controlled by Diriyah Gate Development Authority.

Persons: Cristiano Ronaldo, PIF, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Ula, Ronaldo, Al Nassr, Lionel Messi, Jana Choukeir, Yousef Saba, Sriraj Kalluvila, Emelia Organizations: Al, Public Investment Fund, Twitter, Saudi Professional League, Saudi, Division, Saudi Crown, Second Division, NEOM, Saudi First Division, Alula FC, Royal Commission, First Division, Diraiyah FC, Diriyah, Development Authority, Investment, Premier League, Newcastle United, Reuters, Thomson Locations: DUBAI, Saudi, al, Ittihad, Al, Ahli, Hilal, Saudi Arabia, Portuguese, Argentina

☆ Saudi Arabia needs more than higher oil prices to fund its grand plans
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-05 | by ( Eoin Mcsweeney | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Abu Dhabi, UAE CNN —Saudi Arabia surprised traders again on Sunday with an oil production cut of about 1 million barrels a day, roughly 1% of global supply, which sent oil prices climbing. But Saudi Arabia knows that it cannot rely solely on a fluctuating oil market for income. Saudi Arabia targets $100 billion in annual foreign direct investment (FDI) by 2030. “We think about where most of the tourism development for Saudi Arabia, it’s along the Red Sea coast. Alongside China’s slowing economy and a sluggish oil market, there are fears for a potential global recession, with Russia’s ongoing war on Ukraine adding uncertainty to the market.

Persons: Amena Bakr, “ There’s, ”, Karen Young, Investment Khalid Al, Falih, CNN’s Becky Anderson, “, ’, ” Falih, Prince Mohammed bin Salman, King Salman, Young, Bakr Organizations: UAE CNN —, Brent, Saudi, Organization of, Petroleum, Energy Intel, Monetary Fund, Columbia University Center, Global Energy, Forbes, Saudi Central Bank, ”, Investment, Gulf Cooperation, Investors, CNN, EU Locations: Abu Dhabi, UAE, UAE CNN — Saudi Arabia, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, OPEC, Saudi, “, Riyadh Monday, Gulf, Dubai, Turkey, Qatar, Syria, Yemen, Iran, Sudan, Red, China, Japan, Korea, Germany, Europe, United States, Ukraine

☆ IATA director general weighs in on Saudi Arabia’s new carrier Riyadh Air
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-05 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailIATA director general weighs in on Saudi Arabia’s new carrier Riyadh AirIATA Director General Willie Walsh discusses Saudi Arabia’s new carrier Riyadh Air, announced by Prince Mohammed bin Salman in March 2023.

Persons: Willie Walsh, Prince Mohammed bin Salman Organizations: Riyadh Air, Saudi Locations: Saudi

☆ Middle Eastern investors are pouring money into US media, sports, and entertainment — here are the 9 most active players and their key leaders
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-05 | by ( Lucia Moses | Claire Atkinson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

Investors in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and United Arab Emirates are pouring money into Western media and entertainment. Sovereign funds and other entities in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the UAE are pouring millions into US media and entertainment, and they're finding plenty of takers. The channels for money from Saudi Arabia and other parts of the Middle East are complex. Insider broke down the key entities — their owners, leaders, and high-profile investments and joint ventures — in the top three Middle Eastern nations pouring money into US entertainment and media. It describes itself as the largest media company in the Middle East and North Africa and runs one of the largest TV news channels, Al Arabiya.

Persons: Jamal Khashoggi's, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, —, WME, Jimmy Finkelstein's, Abu Dhabi's, It's, Yasir Al, Rumayyan, Waleed bin Ibrahim Al Ibrahim, Sam Barnett, Peter Smith —, Christina Wayne, SRMG, Mohammed bin Salman, Alrashid, Johnny Depp, Jeanne du Barry, Sharon Stone, Bruno Mars, Luca Guadanigno, Vince McMahon's, Turki Al, Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Dayel, Mansoor bin Ebrahim Al, Mahmoud, Peter Chernin, Nasser Al, Germain, BeIN, Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad, Khalifa Al, Vincent, Asghar Farhadi's Oscar, Nart Bouran, JAF, Jeff Zucker, Graydon Carter's, it's, Semafor, Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Sheikh Mansour, Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber Organizations: United, Sovereign, Saudi, Washington Post, Saudi Crown, Endeavor, UFC, IMI, Abu Dhabi Media Investment Corporation, Public Investment Fund, Saudi Aramco, Newcastle United, English football, PGA, MBC, Shahid, Netflix, Vice Media, Variety, MBC Group's, Antenna Group, Cineflex Studios, NBCUniversal International, Amazon, AMC, Saudi Research, Media, Publicly, Red Sea, Cannes, Penske Media Corporation, Bloomberg Media, Vince McMahon's WWE, country's General Entertainment Authority, Development, Cultural Development Fund, George Washington University, American University . Qatar Qatar Investment, Qatar Investment Authority, Providence, BeIN Media, Paris Saint, Miramax, Paramount, Doha Film, Doha Film Institute, H.E, Hollywood Reporter, United Arab Emirates Abu, Investment Authority, UAE, Abu, Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, Hollywood, Dubai Studio, Dubai Media City, National Geographic, BBC News, International Media Investments International Media Investments, National, CNN, Sky News Arabia, Reuters, JAF Communications, Grid, RedBird Capital Partners, Punchbowl News, New York Times, Manchester City, The, Abu Dhabi National Oil Company Locations: Saudi Arabia, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, UAE, Saudi, East, North Africa, Al Arabiya, Netherlands, Greece, Dubai, Jeddah, SRMG, Riyadh, Doha, Europe, Americas, ViacomCBS, Qatari, Thani, Abu Dhabi

☆ Royal wedding showpiece highlights Jordan's role as West's stable ally
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-01 | by ( Suleiman Al-Khalidi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Prince Mohammed last visited Jordan a year ago following years of tensions, also prompting hopes then that warmer ties would unlock more fulsome economic support. KING-IN-WAITING[1/10] Jordan's Crown Prince Hussein and Rajwa Al Saif are seen together at their royal wedding ceremony, in Amman, Jordan, June 1, 2023 in this screen grab taken from a video. At the Arab League summit in Jeddah last month, he walked alongside his father to greet Crown Prince Mohammad. Washington's desire for a stable ally in an otherwise volatile region meant it too has often turned a blind eye to Jordan's slow democratic reforms and mixed human rights record. It's the prince's wedding, not ours," said Abdullah al-Fayez, a retired servicemen living on slim savings on the outskirts of Amman.

Persons: Prince Hussein, Rajwa Al Saif, Britain's William, Kate AMMAN, King Abdullah, Jordan, Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Lady Jill Biden, Britain's Prince, Princess of Wales, William, Kate, Prince Mohammed, Hamza, Hussein, Joe Biden, Prince Mohammad, Prophet Mohammed, Alia Ibrahim, Abdullah al, Suleiman Al, Khalidi, John Stonestreet Organizations: West, Saudi, U.S, Royal Hashemite, REUTERS, Georgetown, Sandhurst, League, International Monetary Fund, Thomson Locations: Saudi, West, U.S, Amman, Jordan, Jeddah, Mecca, Iraq, Syria

☆ Ukraine peace plan is only way to end Russia's war, says Zelenskiy aide
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-29 | by ( Max Hunder | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

He pushed back on a flurry of peace initiatives from China, Brazil, the Vatican and South Africa in recent months. "There cannot be a Brazilian peace plan, a Chinese peace plan, a South African peace plan when you are talking about the war in Ukraine," Zhovkva said in an interview late on Friday. Zelenskiy made a major push to court the Global South this month in response to peace moves from some of its members. Moscow has bolstered ties with Global South powers during the war in Ukraine, including by selling more of its energy to India and China. 'PEACE SUMMIT'Zhovkva said the reaction to Ukraine's 10-point peace plan had been extremely positive at the G7 summit.

☆ Assad banks on new 'global order' to help revive his status
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-22 | by ( Cnn Staff | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

During his address, Assad presented himself as an elder statesman, lecturing his neighbors about the need to take advantage of changes in global politics. “Today we are faced with an opportunity of change in the global order, which has become multipolar due to the hegemony of the West, which is devoid of principles, morals, friends or partners,” Assad told the summit, held in the Saudi port city of Jeddah. But observers have differed as to whether real economic cooperation with Syria is possible without access to the Western financial system, which has been blocked by Western sanctions on the country. “They can also try working with or through Russia, and possibly with and through Iran – although that carries its own obvious risks,” he said, referring to Arab states that want to do business in Syia. There are plenty of ways of doing this.”Assad’s ultimate goal however, said Landis, is to get sanctions lifted with the help of Arab states.

☆ Syria's Assad to attend Arab summit, bringing regional isolation to an end
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( Aziz El Yaakoubi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/2] Syria's President Bashar al-Assad arrives to attend the Arab League Summit in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, May 18, 2023. Assad is expected to address the summit later on Friday, along with other Arab leaders. At an Arab summit hosted by Qatar a decade ago, the Syrian opposition sat in Syria's seat. A bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers introduced a bill last week intended to bar U.S. recognition of Assad as Syria's president and enhance Washington's ability to impose sanctions. Government forces have used chemical weapons more than two dozen times during Syria's civil war, U.N. war crimes investigators said.

☆ Syria's Assad shakes hands, kisses cheeks with onetime foes at Arab League summit
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( Maya Gebeily | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

May 19 (Reuters) - Every handshake would count, and Syria's President Bashar al-Assad had plenty of them at Friday's Arab League Summit - along with hugs and kisses - from his onetime foes in the region. As Assad lined up for the League's family photograph, he shook hands with his Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. One after the other, Arab leaders welcomed Syria's return to the Arab league and during his own address, Assad repeatedly said that Syria belonged to the Arab world. Syria's state news agency had reported that the Emir and Assad shook hands and spoke briefly on the sidelines before the summit began - but there was no statement on Qatari media. An Arab official told Reuters that the Emir did not hold any bilateral meetings and left the summit before Assad spoke.

☆ Syria's Assad to attend Arab summit, bringing isolation to an end
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( Aziz El Yaakoubi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Ostracised by most Arab states following the crackdown on protests against his rule in 2011 and the ensuing civil war that killed 350,000 people, his government's readmission to the bloc is a signal that Assad's isolation is ending. Assad is expected to address the summit later on Friday, along with other Arab leaders. A bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers introduced a bill last week intended to bar U.S. recognition of Assad as Syria's president and enhance Washington's ability to impose sanctions. Government forces have used chemical weapons more than two dozen times during Syria’s civil war, U.N. war crimes investigators said. While Arab countries appear to have brought Assad in from the cold, they are still demanding that he curbs Syria's flourishing drugs trade and that war refugees be allowed to return.

☆ Ukraine's Zelenskiy lands in Jeddah to attend Arab League - al-Hadath TV
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

DUBAI, May 19 (Reuters) - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy landed in Jeddah on Friday to attend an Arab League summit, where Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, heavily-backed by Russia in his country's civil war, will also be present now that his regional isolation ended. He is also due to attend the G7 leaders' summit in the Japanese city of Hiroshima this weekend. Last year Prince Mohammed won a diplomatic triumph when he secured the release of 10 foreigners captured by Russia in Ukraine. The kingdom faced heavy criticism from the United States over an OPEC+ decision to cut oil production, seen as helping Russia to refill its coffers by boosting prices. Even though the October decision initially drew heavy criticism from the United States and other Western countries, market dynamics since then have shown the cuts to be prudent.

For PIF, the Lucid (LCID.O) bet is proving challenging. "The EV manufacturing plan is still one of the boldest parts of the Saudi plan," said Justin Alexander, director at Khalij Economics and Gulf analyst at GlobalSource Partners. Its investment was worth about $17.4 billion in mid-2022, the wealth fund's bond prospectus showed, and around $26 billion when Lucid was listed in 2021. The Saudi government has agreed with Lucid to buy up to 100,00 of its vehicles over the next decade. "Rather than fixing on short term results, the future of PIF's stake in Lucid will be dependent on the plans to build a Lucid factory in Saudi, on taking Lucid private again and/or on the potential integration with Ceer," said Global SWF Managing Director Diego Lopez of plans for a new Saudi EV maker.

☆ Biden is trying to lure Saudi Arabia's crown prince away from China with lucrative promises, despite once threatening to make him a 'pariah'
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-10 | by ( Tom Porter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

The US has replaced its threats with lucrative contracts for the crown prince as part of a high stakes power game being waged over dominance of the region. Biden last weekend dispatched his national security advisor, Jake Sullivan, to Saudi Arabia, for discussions with Saudi officials. Last year, Crown Prince Mohammed and Xi agreed to deepen their cooperation across a range of economic and security issues. Chinese President Xi Jinping holds talks with Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud at the royal palace in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Dec. 8, 2022. "It is important to note that Saudi Arabia is not seeking to burn its bridges with the United States.

☆ Top Biden aide discusses Yemen peace efforts with Saudi crown prince
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, May 7 (Reuters) - U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan met Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman during a visit to the kingdom on Sunday and reviewed what the White House called "significant progress" in Yemen peace efforts, the White House said. Sullivan, President Joe Biden's top White House national security aide, also thanked the crown prince for Saudi support to U.S. citizens during evacuation from Sudan, the statement added. U.S. special envoy Tim Lenderking travelled to Oman and Saudi Arabia earlier this month to seek to advance Yemen peace efforts, the State Department said. A Saudi-led military coalition intervened in Yemen in 2015 after the Iran-aligned Houthis ousted the government from the capital Sanaa. But the White House statement made no mention of Israel.

☆ Saudi Arabia wants to be a bigger player in the Middle East — this time with diplomacy
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( Nadeen Ebrahim | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

“And that can only reflect well on the Kingdom.”This new diplomacy comes as Saudi Arabia prioritizes economic growth at home, which requires regional stability to succeed. Saudi efforts at revamping its image as a peace-broker may face credibility challenges, however, given its near decade-long combative foreign policy and the bad press it attracted. That group is party to the Sudan conflict that Saudi Arabia is trying to help end. Despite its controversial past, Saudi Arabia may still carry enough influence to bring quarreling parties to the negotiating table, analysts say. “Saudi (Arabia) does not pretend to be an impartial mediator but its voice carries weight with many parties in the region,” Shihabi said, adding that where it can, Saudi Arabia wants to use that influence to reduce tensions.

During the current fighting Egypt has joined calls for an effective ceasefire while saying they consider the conflict an internal matter for Sudan. The most important regional ally for Hemedti before the conflict was the United Arab Emirates. Hemedti said he advised Sudan to cut ties to Wagner after the U.S. imposed sanctions on the private military contractor. Saudi Arabia has had close ties to Burhan and Hemedti, both of whom sent troops to the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen. Israel, which had been hoping to move forward in normalising ties with Sudan, has also offered to host talks.

☆ Saudi Arabia's Neom is a $500B futuristic city being built in the desert — but it could morph into a surveillance dystopia
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Bill Bostock | Tom Porter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Saudi Arabia is building a futuristic mega-city called Neom deep in a desert bordering the Red Sea. But critics fear that sophisticated technology could be used to surveil residents. Saudi Arabia hopes to build a futuristic mega-city 33 times the size of New York City from scratch. It's called Neom, a planned 16-borough city on the Red Sea coast in the northwestern Saudi province of Tabuk. As Insider reported, they believe that the Saudis could be preparing to use sophisticated Chinese surveillance technology to tightly monitor and control Neom's residents.

☆ China doesn’t want US cars like Ford and General Motors. That’s a big problem for their futures.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-24 | by ( Diamond Naga Siu | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

America has a problem: China — the world's largest car market — doesn't want its vehicles. In 2022, data shows Ford and General Motors' car sales in China each dropped more than 20% from the year before. My colleagues Alexa St. John and Nora Naughton break down how the future of US automakers hinges on China. Although Google founder Larry Page's flying car company Kittyhawk majorly flopped, it left us with some interesting vehicles. Hop aboard to see all the funky flying car models here.

☆ The Saudi crown prince wants to build a trillion-dollar utopia in the desert. His deals with China reveal a darker vision.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-23 | by ( Tom Porter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

It's part of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's modernizing vision of the country. But behind the outlandish plan, developed by Saudi Arabia's powerful crown prince Mohammed bin Salman, is a much darker reality. Crown Prince Mohammed appears keen to replicate those projects on a grander scale. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman announces a zero-carbon city called "The Line" to be built at NEOM in northwestern Saudi Arabia, January 10, 2021. It appeared to be the beginning of a fruitful partnership for Crown Prince Mohammed.

☆ As Xi Befriends World Leaders, He Hardens His Stance on the U.S.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( David Pierson | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

And he has talked on the phone with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler, offering well wishes for the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. But even as Mr. Xi has offered a glad hand to those and other world leaders in recent weeks, it has been only the cold shoulder for the United States. China has rebuffed attempts by the Biden administration to restart high-level talks and lower tensions over Taiwan. And Mr. Xi’s government has intensified a campaign of ridicule and criticism of the United States and Western democracy. And it has lent urgency to concerns that the two powers are on a collision course that could lead to dangerous accidents, or even war, over Taiwan and other geopolitical flash points.

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