🚨 Saudi Arabia freezes Riyadh rents for 5 years as property costs soar.

🇸🇦 Our latest long read: Can Vision 2030 uplift Saudi Arabia’s rural areas?

🚨 Scoop: Saudi Arabia to shift management of Sindalah island from Neom to Red Sea Global after delayed opening.

PwC culls jobs of 60 partners and 1,500 staff in the Middle East after Saudi clash.

🚨 Saudi Arabia and Pakistan sign strategic defence pact.

🔝 This is the most-read story on FT right now >>

🚨 My latest story: Saudi authorities shut down two dozen music “lounges” in recent weeks over violations to public health and hygiene codes, but their existence has been controversial for years as conservatives see them as signs of the rapid decay of morals and social norms.

Google Pay finally launches in Saudi Arabia. China’s Alipay+ expected to arrive next year.

🚨 Qatar calls for “concrete steps” against Israel at Arab-Islamic summit in Doha after the missile strikes.

🇸🇦 New Saudi riyal sign, first revealed in February, has now been officially added to the latest Unicode Standard, Version 17.0.

🚨 Israel launches attack on Hamas in Doha. Qatar condemns “cowardly” targeting of residential buildings.

🚨 My latest story: Saudi small-town brands are going national as economic reforms and SMEs support start to pay off.

🎮 Saudi-backed Savvy Games Group is looking to China and other Asian markets for its next multibillion-dollar deal.

🚨 My latest story: Saudi Arabia’s financial hub finally takes shape as KAFD comes to life.

🇷🇺 Gulf tourists are flocking to Russia as the country deepens its ties with the region after years of western sanctions.

🚨 FT Exclusive: BCG leaders face backlash from lucrative Middle East business over Gaza aid work; CEO town hall meeting to ease tensions appeared to backfire as staff walked out in anger.

🚨 Delays to Saudi Arabia’s snow mountain in Neom’s Trojena put the 2029 Asian Winter Games at risk. Officials discussed approaching S Korea or China about relocating the games and instead holding the subsequent edition in the kingdom four years later.

🚨 BlackRock strikes $11 billion Saudi natural gas deal.

🚨 Saudi Arabia’s PIF writes $8 billion off value of flagship giga-projects.

🚨 Saudi Arabia condemns Israel’s decision to occupy the Gaza Strip and denounces its “persistence in committing crimes of starvation, brutal practices, and ethnic cleansing against the brotherly Palestinian people.” —Foreign ministry statement

Global Voices was an important part of my formative blogging years and continues to play a vital role in amplifying voices from around the world. If you can, please help keep it strong.

📈 Saudi GDP up 3.9% in Q2, driven by steady growth of non-oil sector and increased crude output —government flash estimates

📉 Saudi stock market has been one of the worst performing in the world this year. Failure of new listings to match the stellar performance of debuts in 2023 and 2024 is raising doubts about the progress of economic diversification plans.

💧 Saudi utilities giant ACWA Power controls more than a quarter of the desalinated water in Saudi Arabia, UAE, Oman and Bahrain. Now the company looks to bring its desalination tech to Central and East Asia, Africa and Southern Europe.

Saudi Arabia pledges $6 billion of investments in Syria, a show of support after sectarian violence broke out in Sweida last week.

🚨 US tech giant Apple launches direct-to-consumer online sales in Saudi Arabia today. The company is expected to open its first physical store in the kingdom next year.

Saudi Arabia is set to participate in Intervision, the music contest launched by Putin after Russia was banned from Eurovision over the war in Ukraine.

Merlin Mann: “The real ‘zero’ in Inbox Zero is more about consciously managing the amount of our attention that we commit (or, far more often, cede) to thinking and worrying about what may or may not be piling up while we’re away doing the real work of our lives.”

🚨 Saudi Arabia welcomes measures by Syrian government to achieve security and stability, condemns Israeli attacks on Syrian territories —foreign ministry statement

🚨 ACWA Power-led consortium signs $8.3 billion deal to build 15GW solar and wind farms in Saudi Arabia as the kingdom accelerates its renewables push.

🚨 Saudi food delivery app Jahez acquires Qatari rival Snoonu in $234 million deal.

Saudi Arabia’s current priority is reaching a permanent ceasefire in Gaza, FM Prince Faisal said yesterday in Moscow when asked about normalisation. “What we are seeing is the Israelis are crushing Gaza...This is completely unnecessary, completely unacceptable and has to stop,” he added.

Saudi Arabia sticks with Iran after Israel war https://on.ft.com/3GjyjAz

Saudi defence minister Prince Khalid bin Salman secretly met with Trump and other senior US officials in the White House on Thursday to discuss de-escalation efforts with Iran, according to Fox News sources.

🚨 New by me on how the 12-day war changed Saudi Arabia’s regional calculations: a weaker Iran and more belligerent Israel make normalisation less likely.

The recent flood of fake football highlights on YouTube came from.. Egyptian content makers.

🚨 Saudi Aramco and Adnoc slow $60 billion acquisition spree as oil prices fall.

What a wild game that was in Orlando! Al-Hilal beat Manchester City 4-3 to advance to the Club World Cup quarter-finals 🔵🇸🇦

No learnings. The word is lessons.

🚨 Gulf states warn against outbreak of wider conflict in region.

🚨 Saudi airports urge travellers to check with airlines affected by airspace closures as many pilgrims are still in the process of leaving the kingdom after the conclusion of hajj.

UN conference hosted by France and Saudi Arabia to promote two-state solution postponed after Israel’s attack on Iran.

Saudi Arabia will send two rare Arabian leopards to the US National Zoo in Washington.

🕋 My latest: Saudi Arabia plans for safer Hajj as more than 1 million pilgrims arrive.

Can the Gulf really become an AI superpower?

🚨 Exclusive: Saudi Arabia plans to maintain the current pace of government spending despite widening budget deficit.

🚨 Scoop: Saudi AI company courts US tech investors and plans $10 billion venture fund.

BlackBerry co-founder plans to invest $100 million over the next five years to develop luxury golf resorts in Saudi Arabia.

Recap of Trump’s Gulf tour: a four-day jamboree of opulent ceremonies, unabashed flattery and, above all, a glut of petrodollar-fuelled deals the transactional president so cherishes.

✈️ Saudi Arabia is spending $1 trillion over 10 years to make tourism a pillar of a diversified economy away from dependence on oil revenues. My long read on how the kingdom’s tourism revolution is unfolding will run in HTSI magazine this weekend