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Microsoft Says it Aims to Make Saudi Arabia Global Innovation Hub

Turki Badhris, head of Microsoft Arabia (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Turki Badhris, head of Microsoft Arabia (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Microsoft Says it Aims to Make Saudi Arabia Global Innovation Hub

Turki Badhris, head of Microsoft Arabia (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Turki Badhris, head of Microsoft Arabia (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Microsoft recently announced a major partnership with the Saudi Ministry of Investment under an initiative focused on innovation.

This move aims to push Saudi Arabia to the forefront of global technology, especially in areas like Artificial Intelligence (AI), cloud computing, cybersecurity, and the Internet of Things(IoT).

Turki Badhris, head of Microsoft Arabia, explained in an interview with Asharq Al-Awsat during the “Leap 24” exhibition in Riyadh this month that the initiative aims to introduce over 70 of Microsoft’s partners to Saudi Arabia’s potential.

It also aims to support the Kingdom’s ambition to become a key innovation center in line with its national transformational plan, Vision 2030.

Badhris explained that the initiative aims to showcase the Kingdom’s potential and attract companies and investors with incentives.

This reflects Microsoft’s commitment to being a leader in AI, stressed Badhris.

The planned cloud data center in the Kingdom is expected to spur economic growth and diversification.

Badhris emphasized in his interview with Asharq Al-Awsat that this will contribute to Saudi Arabia's economic growth and diversification, in line with Microsoft’s vision to empower institutions of all sizes across sectors through advanced AI models.

The company’s investments aim to establish a vibrant tech ecosystem, boosting the Kingdom’s status as an innovation and investment hub.

Numerous institutions from various sectors are keen to utilize Microsoft’s cloud data centers to speed up digital transformations and drive innovation.

According to Badhris, these cloud data centers will have a positive impact on the Kingdom's economic growth, with forecasts suggesting that Microsoft, its partners, and cloud users could generate approximately $24 billion in new revenue over the next four years, surpassing 2022 levels.

The fast-paced evolution of cloud technology and AI highlights the crucial need for workforce development across all industries to boost their digital skills and address skill gaps in emerging tech.

Microsoft is actively working to equip the national workforce with the necessary skills for innovation and technology leadership, affirmed Badhris.

He stressed Microsoft’s role in preparing current and future workers in the Kingdom to embrace upcoming innovations and leverage emerging technologies like AI.

Saudi Arabia’s booming startup scene, the largest in the region, saw the birth of approximately 1,500 startups last year alone, buoyed by various government support programs, according to Badhris.

The head of Microsoft Arabia emphasized the company’s dedication to nurturing innovation through collaborations aimed at supporting startups and entrepreneurs.

In a joint effort with the Saudi Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, Microsoft announced the establishment of an Excellence Center in early March.

This initiative aims to equip professionals across the Kingdom with the advanced skills needed to thrive in the digital age and enhance their employability prospects.

Saudi Arabia’s national workforce program has equipped over 108,000 professionals in the Kingdom with the latest digital skills crucial for success in the AI era.

Microsoft, alongside the Ministry of Education, has trained over 250,000 teachers in the past two years and reached 5.6 million students through the “Madrasati” coding program.

Furthermore, more than 70,000 individuals have benefited from Microsoft Learn, completing 18,000 educational paths.

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Business

Lebanon is Handing over an Assad-era General after War Crimes Questioning

(FILES) Syria's President Bashar al-Assad speaks during a press conference with Iraq's Prime Minister in Damascus on July 16, 2023. (Photo by LOUAI BESHARA / AFP)
(FILES) Syria's President Bashar al-Assad speaks during a press conference with Iraq's Prime Minister in Damascus on July 16, 2023. (Photo by LOUAI BESHARA / AFP)
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Lebanon is Handing over an Assad-era General after War Crimes Questioning

(FILES) Syria's President Bashar al-Assad speaks during a press conference with Iraq's Prime Minister in Damascus on July 16, 2023. (Photo by LOUAI BESHARA / AFP)
(FILES) Syria's President Bashar al-Assad speaks during a press conference with Iraq's Prime Minister in Damascus on July 16, 2023. (Photo by LOUAI BESHARA / AFP)

Lebanon’s judicial authorities have decided to hand over a former senior Syrian military officer under ousted President Bashar Assad to Damascus after questioning him over crimes he allegedly committed during the country’s conflict, officials said Tuesday.

Maj. Gen. Adel Issa will be the first military officer to be handed over by Lebanon since Assad’s fall in late 2024. He is expected to stand trial in his home country. There were no immediate details on the alleged crimes.

The decision comes days after a vote in parliament that made Lebanon the first Arab country to abolish the death penalty, a step that will become formal once it is published in the Lebanese Official Gazette.

The judicial officials said Issa is being handed over to Syria in accordance with a 1951 agreement between the countries that calls for handing over suspected criminals.

On Tuesday afternoon, Issa was taken by members of Lebanon’s General Security Directorate, who will drive him to a border crossing and hand him over to Syrian authorities, two judicial and two security officials said. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations.

After Syrian fighters opposed to Assad marched into Damascus to end the Assad family's five-decade rule in December 2024, a number of military and security officers fled to Lebanon, where some remain.

Dozens of other former members of his security agencies accused of atrocities have been arrested and put on trial in Syria.

Last week, a Syrian court sentenced Assad and his younger brother Maher to death in absentia while their maternal cousin, Brig. Gen. Atef Najib, became the most senior security official to be sentenced to death while in custody. The Assad brothers fled to Russia during the ouster.

Issa was questioned last week by judge Ahmad Rami Hajj, Lebanon’s public prosecutor at the Court of Cassation, over alleged crimes he had committed in Syria’s eastern province of Deir el-Zour and the northern province of Raqqa during Syria’s conflict that broke out in 2011.

The judicial officials told The Associated Press that Issa denied all the charges against him, saying he was a military officer carrying out orders.

The Syrian embassy in Beirut sent Issa’s charge sheet to Lebanese judicial authorities earlier this month, the officials said.

Issa was detained on Aug. 8 when he went to the Syrian embassy in Beirut for some paperwork. Embassy officials contacted Lebanon’s prosecutor’s office to tell them that Issa is wanted in Syria. He has been held at Beirut’s Palace of Justice detention center.

Issa had fled to Lebanon by crossing illegally after Assad’s fall, the officials said.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a war monitor, said after commanding the Syrian army’s 17th Division, Issa was moved in 2015 to command ground forces in Deir el-Zour that borders Iraq, and that he retired in late 2016.

Syria’s conflict, which began with anti-government protests in March 2011 before turning into a civil war, left half a million people dead and over 1 million wounded.

Business

Aramco, Maaden Sign Joint Venture Agreement on Mineral Exploration, Hard-Rock Mining in Saudi Arabia

File photo of the Saudi flag - SPA
File photo of the Saudi flag - SPA
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Aramco, Maaden Sign Joint Venture Agreement on Mineral Exploration, Hard-Rock Mining in Saudi Arabia

File photo of the Saudi flag - SPA
File photo of the Saudi flag - SPA

Aramco and Maaden announced the signing of a shareholders’ agreement to form a Joint Venture (JV) to unlock new opportunities in mineral exploration and hard-rock mining in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Combining the strengths of two leaders in their respective fields, the JV would focus on copper and other minerals critical to the energy transition. The JV plans were first disclosed in January 2025.

The JV is expected to be owned 51% by Maaden and 49% by Aramco, and focus on exploration across Zone-4, also known as the Transition Zone, within the Arabian Platform. It represents a major new opportunity for mineral discovery in the Kingdom.

Spanning approximately 182,000 square kilometers, nearly 10% of Saudi Arabia’s total land area, the expected exploration area stretches along a 100-kilometer-wide zone running parallel to the Arabian Shield.

Aramco Vice President of Transition Minerals Saleh M. Al Saleh said: "Over 90 years, Aramco has accumulated and analyzed the largest amount of geological and geophysical data ever acquired in a single basin for the Kingdom. This partnership intends to leverage this legacy information to find minerals in the JV area within the basin. Maaden’s expertise, our people, high-performance computing, and AI are expected to play a pivotal role in accelerating the discovery of key transition minerals at low cost."

Maaden Executive Vice President for Exploration Darryl Clark said: “Maaden has been advancing one of the world’s largest single jurisdiction exploration programs across the Arabian Shield to help unlock the Kingdom’s mineral potential. This joint venture would take that ambition into a new area. By combining Maaden’s exploration and development expertise with Aramco’s extraordinary knowledge of the Arabian Platform, we would have an opportunity to move faster, explore smarter, and create new opportunities to discover the minerals that will power the energy transition.”

Copper, which is increasingly significant for electric vehicles, power networks, energy storage, and renewable energy systems, would be a main focus of the JV. Copper is a major metal making up over 20% of the $1.2 trillion mined metals market. The copper market is currently valued at approximately $250 billion and is projected to grow to over $400 billion by 2035. The JV would also explore for other energy transition minerals including zinc, lead, and rare earth elements that are expected to be crucial to industries of the future.

Leveraging advanced computational algorithms, AI, and high-performance computing, the JV intends to target areas most likely to contain copper and valuable minerals, accelerating the path from regional screening to target definition and discovery. This is expected to support long-term sector development, reinforce the Kingdom’s role in the global minerals value chain, and help meet rising demand for transition minerals.

The effectiveness of the shareholders’ agreement and the incorporation of the JV is conditional upon the fulfillment of certain condition precedents, including, but not limited to, obtaining all the required corporate and regulatory approvals and antitrust clearance.

Business

Gold Slips on Firmer Treasury Yields, Oil Prices; Fed Minutes in Focus

An employee displays a gold necklace at a jewelry store in Varanasi, India (AFP)
An employee displays a gold necklace at a jewelry store in Varanasi, India (AFP)
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Gold Slips on Firmer Treasury Yields, Oil Prices; Fed Minutes in Focus

An employee displays a gold necklace at a jewelry store in Varanasi, India (AFP)
An employee displays a gold necklace at a jewelry store in Varanasi, India (AFP)

Gold fell on Tuesday, pressured by higher Treasury yields and oil prices, while traders awaited minutes of the US Federal Reserve's July policy meeting for clues on the outlook for interest rates.

Spot gold was down 0.4% to $4,397.42 per ounce, as of 0624 GMT, while US gold futures for December delivery dropped 0.5% to $4,452.90. Yields ‌on the benchmark ‌10-year US Treasury note extended gains, raising ‌the ⁠opportunity cost of holding ⁠non-yielding bullion.

Oil prices edged higher after Iran said it would shift to a "fully offensive" military posture following a breakdown in efforts to negotiate a permanent end to the war with the United States, while Washington ruled out extending a temporary ceasefire agreement.

Oil prices will remain one ⁠of the key factors keeping gold under ‌pressure as the situation in ‌the Middle East continues to look uncertain, ANZ analyst Soni ‌Kumari said.

Traders' expectations around Fed policy rates are ‌going to be important for gold, with a focus on technical levels, Kumari added.

Elevated energy prices tend to raise inflationary fears and bolster expectations of higher interest rates. While gold is typically seen ‌as a hedge against inflation, higher interest rates tend to diminish bullion's appeal.

However, market ⁠pricing for ⁠a September quarter-point hike flipped to a nearly 65% chance of a "hold" after unexpected job losses in July, lower-than-expected consumer price inflation and weaker retail sales.

Investors are also awaiting minutes of the Fed's most recent policy meeting, with the release scheduled for Wednesday.

Spot gold may test support at $4,381, a break below which could open the way towards the $4,320 to $4,351 range, according to Reuters technical analyst Wang Tao. Among other metals, spot silver slipped 0.7% to $65.32 per ounce, platinum lost 0.6% to $1,759.63 and palladium dipped 0.6% to $1,325.47.