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Economy & Business

Flames burn at a facility belonging to Saudi oil giant Aramco south of Riyadh

Explainer

Aramco HQ attack exposes Saudi defense gaps, infrastructure vulnerabilities

The Iran-linked Yemeni militants struck at the heart of Saudi Arabia’s oil industry this week amid an expanding campaign against key infrastructure.

Abdulrahman Alfozan in an undated photo

Who is Abdulrahman Alfozan, Saudi national charged in bugging OpenAI meetings?

The Saudi national who was arrested for allegedly planting a covert listening device at OpenAI’s offices has extensive experience working at leading technology companies in the US and serves as a venture partner at a Saudi venture capital firm.

TOPSHOT - Smoke rises from the direction of an energy installation in the Gulf emirate of Fujairah on March 14, 2026. Smoke could be seen rising from the direction of a major UAE energy installation on March 14, in what appeared to be the latest strike targeting the Gulf's petroleum facilities hours after the US struck Iran's Kharg Island. (Photo by AFP via Getty Images) /

Explainer

IMF projects Gulf rebound in 2027. Can energy production keep pace?

Restoring shipping access in the Strait of Hormuz is only part of the recovery, as Gulf producers also need to repair damaged infrastructure to avoid further disruption to production and exports.

Men walk at a terminal at Saudi Arabia's King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah on December 12, 2019. (Photo by GIUSEPPE CACACE / AFP) (Photo by GIUSEPPE CACACE/AFP via Getty Images)

Jeddah airport flights disrupted as Houthis escalate threats

Saudi Arabia’s busiest airport, Jeddah King Abdulaziz International Airport, saw widespread flight cancellations and delays on Tuesday.

Latest News

Analysis

How Manchester City fallout tests Gulf’s global investment model

UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed and Manchester City's Emirati owner and UAE Vice President Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Explainer

What Houthi airport attacks mean for Saudi Arabia’s aviation ambitions

A Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft of Saudi airline Riyadh Air is pictured on the tarmac at King Khalid International Airport, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, June 7, 2026.

Saudi Arabia outlines oil export plans amid escalating Houthi attacks

Guests attend the 25th WPC Energy Congress, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Oct. 12, 2026.

Riyadh’s skies remain unsettled after deadly Houthi strikes

Cars drive past the gates of King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh on Sept. 19, 2026.

Samuel Wendel

Senior Analyst, Middle East Business & Tech

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Adam Lucente

News and Business Correspondent

In New York City, reporting on regional news, militancy, climate change

Jack Dutton

Chief Business Correspondent

In Bristol, reporting on regional business, climate change, AI, tech

Sabena Siddiqui

In Karachi, reporting on South Asia, Middle East, Iran

Vanessa Ghanem

In Dubai, reporting on business, energy and politics

Francisco Serrano

In Lisbon, reporting on North Africa business

A stock market ticker displays financial information and world time zones in the lobby of the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange.

Israeli shekel, stocks rally as Netanyahu pauses judicial reform

The right-wing Israeli government’s controversial judicial reform plans have divided Israeli society and led to concerns among the Israeli tech sector and global financial institutions.

Lebanese forces try to prevent protestors from vandalising a private bank during a demonstration by members of the banks depositors committee against monetary policies, on March 24, 2023. - Lebanon's economic meltdown, described by the World Bank as one of the worst in recent global history, has plunged most of the population into poverty according to the United Nations. (Photo by ANWAR AMRO / AFP) (Photo by ANWAR AMRO/AFP via Getty Images)

Lebanon PM reverses daylight saving time decision after 48 hours of anarchy

The decision to postpone the switch to daylight saving time sparked a wide debate in Lebanon, in some cases taking on a sectarian nature.

A man rides a scooter with a woman and two children along a main street adorned with Christmas and New Year's decorations, in the northern suburb of Shubra (home to a large Christian population), Cairo, Egypt, Dec. 31, 2021.

Egypt offers cash for families to control births

The Egyptian government intends to pay 1,000 Egyptian pounds to married women with two children or less annually as part of efforts to curb population growth.

A general view shows the solar plant in Uyayna, north of Riyadh, on March 29, 2018. - On March 27, Saudi announced a deal with Japan's SoftBank to build the world's biggest solar plant. (Photo by FAYEZ NURELDINE / AFP) (Photo credit should read FAYEZ NURELDINE/AFP via Getty Images)

Oman's green hydrogen to face competition from Saudi Arabia, UAE

Oman aspires to be the Middle East's top producer and exporter of green hydrogen as global demand grows. It'll have to go through Saudi Arabia and the UAE first.

Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

This picture taken on Nov. 17, 2019, shows the Hong Kong-flagged container ship CSCL STAR sailing through Egypt's Suez Canal.

Egypt-China relations strengthen with $2 billion factory deal

China is making major economic inroads into Egypt along with other countries in the Middle East.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk leaves the Phillip Burton Federal Building on January 24, 2023 in San Francisco, California. Musk testified at a trial regarding a lawsuit that has investors suing Tesla and Musk over his August 2018 tweets saying he was taking Tesla private with funding that he had secured. The tweet was found to be false and cost shareholders billions of dollars when Tesla's stock price began to fluctuate wildly allegedly based on the tweet. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

Elon Musk denies report that Saudi Arabia, UAE intend to invest in SpaceX

An arm of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund and an Abu Dhabi-based company were reported to be looking to invest in Elon Musk’s SpaceX, according to The Information, which cited people familiar with investor discussions.

People buy traditional lanterns and foodstuff ahead of the holy Muslim month of Ramadan at the market Sayyida Zeinab district, Cairo, Egypt, March 12, 2023.

This Ramadan, food prices change Egypt's longstanding Iftar customs

Surging food prices force Egyptians to strictly stick to the basics ahead of Ramadan.

The Dubai metro track is seen along Sheikh Zayed Road, as the Gulf emirate prepares to open its new metro network in a bid to cut dependency on cars and ease congestion, United Arab Emirates, Sept. 9, 2009.

UAE, Oman call for bids on $3 billion transnational railway project

The move aims to expand the role of the private sector in the state-owned project and promote regional integration, with the project connecting Oman’s Sohar Port with the UAE's National Rail Network.

An oil tanker unloads imported crude oil at Qingdao port in China's eastern Shandong province on May 9, 2022. - China OUT (Photo by AFP) / China OUT (Photo by STR/AFP via Getty Images)

Russia surpasses Saudi Arabia as China’s top oil supplier

Energy-related cooperation between Saudi Arabia and China remains strong, but Russia and Saudi Arabia will continue to compete for the Chinese oil market in the near future.

ISTANBUL, TURKEY - DECEMBER 05: People wallk past a currency exchange shop on December 5, 2016 in Istanbul, Turkey. As the Turkish Lira plunged to record lows in past weeks, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in a speech Saturday said his political enemies were trying to sabotage the economy and urged citizens to convert their foreign currency savings into lira or gold. Borsa Istanbul, Turkey's main stock exchange, became the first institution to act on the presidents call, converting all it's cash assets to li

Increased gold reserves help stabilize Turkey's currency ahead of May elections

The value of Turkey's gold reserves have reached an all-time high of $50.6 billion and account for almost 40% of the central bank's gross foreign assets.

Piero Cingari

Saudi central bank

Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain raise interest rates, mirroring Federal Reserve

The US Federal Reserve raised rates by 0.25% on Wednesday, despite concerns about the effect on the global financial climate.

The safety car drives in front of Red Bull Racing's Mexican driver Sergio Perez (L) during the Saudi Arabia Formula One Grand Prix at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit in Jeddah on March 19, 2023. (Photo by GIUSEPPE CACACE/AFP via Getty Images)

Saudi Arabia inks 14 deals at Jeddah Grand Prix in boost to sports industry

The agreements were part of a comprehensive sponsorship program hosted by Invest Saudi, the kingdom’s investment promotion entity. The value of the deals was not disclosed.