600 food baskets distributed to families in Niamey

The schemes are part of the 2025 “Etaam” Food Basket distribution projects. (SPA)
The schemes are part of the 2025 “Etaam” Food Basket distribution projects. (SPA)
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Updated 10 March 2025
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600 food baskets distributed to families in Niamey

600 food baskets distributed to families in Niamey
  • The fourth phase of the project aims to distribute 390,109 food baskets to 2.3 million people across 27 countries during the holy month of Ramadan

NIAMEY: The King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center recently distributed 600 food baskets to vulnerable families in Niamey, Niger, benefiting 1,400 people.

It came as part of the Kingdom’s humanitarian and relief efforts, carried out through its humanitarian arm, KSrelief, to assist people and countries in need worldwide.

Meanwhile, the center distributed 260 food baskets to vulnerable families in the Rajshahi area of Dhaka, Bangladesh, benefiting 1,280 people from 260 families.

The schemes are part of the 2025 “Etaam” Food Basket distribution projects.

The fourth phase of the project aims to distribute 390,109 food baskets to 2.3 million people across 27 countries during the holy month of Ramadan, at a total cost of more than SR67 million ($17.88 million).

 


Royal Saudi Air Force joins search and rescue drill in Turkiye

Royal Saudi Air Force joins search and rescue drill in Turkiye
Updated 17 sec ago
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Royal Saudi Air Force joins search and rescue drill in Turkiye

Royal Saudi Air Force joins search and rescue drill in Turkiye
  • Saudi team brought two Cougar search and rescue helicopters, along with full aircrews and technical support
  • 11-day drill focuses on combat search and rescue operations that support broader air missions

RIYADH: The international combat search and rescue exercise Phoenix of Anatolia began on Monday at Turkiye’s Konya Air Base, with the Royal Saudi Air Force joining units from several other countries.

The Saudi team brought two Cougar search and rescue helicopters, along with full aircrews and technical support, according to Lt. Col. Pilot Abdulrahman Al-Mansour, who leads the Saudi contingent.

“Our team includes six air controllers and aims to improve readiness in realistic conditions while exchanging expertise with other forces,” Al-Mansour said.

The 11-day drill focuses on combat search and rescue operations that support broader air missions. One focus is training tactical air control teams to coordinate with allied systems, the Saudi Press Agency reported on Tuesday.

The Saudi delegation arrived last week and was received by Rear Adm. Abdullah bin Gaith, the Kingdom’s military attache in Ankara.


KSrelief continues to aid Lebanon’s refugee population

KSrelief continues to aid Lebanon’s refugee population
Updated 13 May 2025
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KSrelief continues to aid Lebanon’s refugee population

KSrelief continues to aid Lebanon’s refugee population

RIYADH: Dozens of ambulance missions have been carried out by the Souboul Al Salam Association’s ambulance service in the Miniyeh district, northern Lebanon, in a Saudi-funded initiative.

Financially backed by KSrelief, the initiative ran from May 2-5.

The mission aimed to provide transportation and burn treatment for Syrian refugees and the local community.


WWE, Riyadh Season to host Night of Champions in June

WWE, Riyadh Season to host Night of Champions in June
Updated 13 May 2025
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WWE, Riyadh Season to host Night of Champions in June

WWE, Riyadh Season to host Night of Champions in June
  • Kingdom Arena to hold event on June 27

RIYADH: World Wrestling Entertainment, in collaboration with Riyadh Season, will host the Night of Champions event at the Kingdom Arena, part of the Kingdom’s ongoing commitment to creating international entertainment, the Saudi Press Agency has reported.

The SmackDown show will take place on Friday, June 27.

The event will be exclusively live on Peacock in the US but will also be available on Netflix and other outlets for people in Saudi Arabia.


Saudi Arabia, US explore ways to build next generation of AI

Saudi Arabia, US explore ways to build next generation of AI
Updated 13 May 2025
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Saudi Arabia, US explore ways to build next generation of AI

Saudi Arabia, US explore ways to build next generation of AI
  • Partnerships key, says David Sacks, Silicon Valley veteran
  • Google’s Ruth Porat outlines her firm’s work in Kingdom

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia and US officials discussed ways to further collaborate on artificial intelligence at the Saudi-US Investment Forum here on Tuesday.

The discussions took place during two sessions titled “Pioneering Digital Futures: Joint Leadership in AI and Emerging Technologies,” and “Digital Foundations: Building the Next Generation of AI and Infrastructure.”

In the first session, the speakers were Saudi Minister of Information and Communications Technology Abdullah Alswaha and David Sacks, a Silicon Valley veteran who is helping the administration of President Donald Trump develop the crypto industry.

Sacks said he was impressed, during his tour of some technology companies, that founders and entrepreneurs in Saudi Arabia “are really on the cutting edge of what’s happening with AI.”

“The thing that that I’ve learned in Silicon Valley for the past 25 years is that every successful company in Silicon Valley gets to be that way by creating an ecosystem, and the biggest, the most powerful companies … are the ones that create the biggest ecosystem.”

“In fact, they do that by creating a standard. They want everyone to build on top of them. They create app stores, things like that. In fact, they’re able to build these ecosystems without even having any lawyers involved.

“There’s no need for a contract. You just publish an API (Application Programming Interface) and people will build. And I think in a similar way, the United States needs to encourage the world to build on our text that.

He spoke about how Trump challenged them to be at the forefront of the AI race. “He said, we have to win the AI race. The United States has to win the AI race,” Sacks said.

“And the answer is that we have to build the biggest partner ecosystem. We need our friends like the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and other strategic partners and allies to want to build on our cap.”

Sacks also criticized what has become known as former US President Joe Biden’s diffusion rule.

This restricted access to mainstream computing applications and set caps on the number of advanced chips that could be exported to most countries.

“Over the past few years, that’s been the opposite of the approach in Washington,” said Sacks.

“The Trump administration just announced that (it) would be rescinding what’s known as the Biden diffusion rule, which was a rule that came out in January.”

Using iPhones as an example, Sacks said that if Trump had created a rule for these products, the technology backing it would not have spread throughout the world.

He said that the diffusion of iPhones was “a very good thing” for the US.

“I think in a similar way, we want our technology to diffuse or to spread. We want people to use it. We want to become the standard.

“And I think that in Washington, that mentality is, I think that sorely lacked over the past few years, but we’re gonna bring it back.”

In the later session CEOs and tech innovators discussed growth in this sector globally, and developments in the Kingdom.

Ruth Porat, president and chief investment officer of Alphabet and Google, outlined her company’s work in Saudi Arabia.

“Google is now building data centers, bringing graphic processing units, tensor processing units, and developing the most advanced version of our AI software Gemini which is now available in 16 Arabic dialects,” said Porat.


Saudi Stock Exchange chair says Vision 2030 has turned Kingdom into ‘reliable, investible destination’

Saudi Stock Exchange chair says Vision 2030 has turned Kingdom into ‘reliable, investible destination’
Updated 13 May 2025
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Saudi Stock Exchange chair says Vision 2030 has turned Kingdom into ‘reliable, investible destination’

Saudi Stock Exchange chair says Vision 2030 has turned Kingdom into ‘reliable, investible destination’

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia has become a more attractive destination for investment since the Kingdom introduced its ambitious Vision 2030, according to the head of the Saudi Stock Exchange Sarah Al-Suhaimi.

“Eight years into Vision 2030, (it) has turned Saudi Arabia to a reliable and investible destination; this has been proven by numbers and I think this is just the beginning,” Al-Suhaimi said during the Saudi-US Investment Forum on Tuesday.

It had been made possible under the Kingdom’s leadership and by everyone working in the Saudi capital market to “create a market that is globally integrated, open and trustworthy” — from local and international participants alike, she said.

“Particularly, as we are in the Saudi-US investment forum, I would like to mention a few examples of a very old relationship (between both countries).

“One of them, if we talk about capital market infrastructure, our partnership between Nasdaq — an American stock exchange — goes more than 20 years back. And now we’re working together on upgrading those systems.”

Tuesday's session hosted Saudi Stock Exchange Sarah Al-Suhaimi alogside BlackRock CEO Larry Fink (R), and Saudi economist Muhammed Al-Jasser (L). (Supplied)

Al-Suhaimi said that the Saudi Stock Exchange, or Tadawul, was among the world’s largest stock exchanges.

“We have a very advanced stock exchange, which also led us to be one of the tenth largest exchanges in the world.”

The same session also hosted Citigroup CEO Jane Fraser, who said it was “quite remarkable what Saudi Arabia has done” in diversifying its economy — whether in tourism, life sciences, gaming and sports, and AI.

“I think it is so wonderful and but also quite remarkable what the Kingdom has done,” Fraser said.

“This is now mutually a beneficial relationship. Now, this isn’t the US coming in saying to Saudi what the advice is and what to do, this is about trying to support a partner, but equally a partner supporting the US back home as well,” she said.

Meanwhile, BlackRock CEO Larry Fink said tens of trillions of dollars of financial firepower is sitting idle in cash amid trade war worries and uncertainty over the United States economy, whose deficits are beginning to spook investors.

“There is 12 trillion euros sitting in bank accounts in Europe. In the United States, there's $11 trillion sitting in money markets funds. When there is uncertainty, you are going to keep more and more money in cash and that is what we witnessed,” Fink told delegates at the Riyadh forum. 

He also praised Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030 economic transformation program, saying the kingdom was building a diversified economy that had potential to become a 21st century global leader.

(with input from Reuters)