Good morning, ladies and gents. We have a brisk issue for you this morning, led by Mabanee expanding financing for the Avenues Riyadh project to SAR 11.4 bn. Meanwhile, the upcoming visit by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to Washington is set to see Riyadh push for a defense pact — and against closer ties with Israel.
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HAPPENING TODAY-
WEATHER- Misty skies are expected along parts of the Eastern Region and Dammam today, with patches of dense fog reducing visibility at times, while light rain is expected to fall over Makkah, Al Baha, and Asir. The rest of the Kingdom is to have clearer skies.
- Riyadh: 29°C high / 14°C low.
- Jeddah: 35°C high / 25°C low.
- Makkah: 35°C high / 23°C low.
- Dammam: 31°C high / 16°C low.
PSA-
Title deed registration for 47.3k properties in Riyadh, Al Qassim, and the Eastern Province kicks off today and runs until 12 February 2026, state news agency SPA reported yesterday. Owners can register through the Real Estate Registry platform or at service centers.
WATCH THIS SPACE-
The Eastern Province Mayoralty will launch the first phase of the Dammam Global City project by the end of the month, Saudi Gazette reported last week. This initial phase involves a SAR 200 mn investment of the project’s total SAR 600 mn, said Faisal Al Zahrani, a spokesman of the mayoralty.
Project details: Spanning 600k sqm between Dammam and Qatif, the global village developed in partnership with unnamed Thai investors will feature 16 country-themed pavilions, a 240k-sqm artificial lake with a floating restaurant, a 10k-seat open-air amphitheater, a 17k-sqm amusement park, and an outdoor skating rink.
This is set to be one of two global villages in the Kingdom, along with the 2 mn sqm Expo 2030 site — located around Wadi Al Sulai, north of Riyadh — which will be transformed into a global village when the event wraps up.
The Kingdom aims to increas emid- and upper-mid-range hotel keys for Hajj and Umrah performers, Tourism Minister Ahmed Al Khateeb told Reuters on the sidelines of the annually-held UN Tourism General Assembly, hosted by Riyadh for the first time. “We started with building luxury destinations for luxury travellers. And we have already started building destinations for the middle class and upper middle class,” Al Khateeb said.
Saudi plans to double the Two Holy Mosques visitors to 30 mn, amid wider plans to attract 150 mn visitors annually by 2030, with at least 50 mn from abroad.
ALSO- Ten new resorts are set to open in the upcoming months on the PIF-owned Red Sea Global’s Sheybarah Island, offering a “much lower price point" than other resorts, Al Kateeb added.
The General Directorate of Passports (Jawazat) will soon launch a digital self-deportation platform for illegal residents, Saudi Gazette reported, citing Acting Director General Major General Saleh Al Murabba as saying during the Digital Government Forum. Jawazat will also introduce a smart tracking system for travelers to get their identities verified via smart cameras, with up to 35 identities verified simultaneously.
SPORTS-
Kazakhstan’s Elena Rybakina stole the spotlight at the WTA Finals in Riyadh, cruising past Belarus’s Aryna Sabalenka in straight sets to claim the singles crown. Belgian Elise Mertens and Russian Veronika Kudermetova took the doubles trophy after a clean sweep over Brazil’s Luisa Stefani and Hungary’s Tímea Babos.
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THE BIG STORY ABROAD-
The US Senate voted to end the 40-day government shutdown, after a group of Senate Democrats supported an agreement to fund some departments and agencies until 30 January, passing the Senate in a 60 to 40 vote. The amended federal funding package will have to go through the House of Representatives and land on President Trump's desk before the shutdown can officially end, which could take several days.
The longest shutdown on record heavily weighed down on the US economy, putting federal workers on leave, delaying food aid and slashing airport trips, while also delaying the release of key economic figures on employment, inflation and oil trading. (CNBC | Washington Post | Reuters | Financial Times)
ALSO- Head of the BBC and its top news executive both resigned yesterday, following criticism of the broadcaster’s editing of a speech by President Trump on 6 January 2021. (Associated Press)



