Saudi Arabia's first cinema in decades will open in the capital later this month, officials have said, while also announcing an agreement over the opening of dozens of theatres by 2023.

Saudi state media said on Wednesday that Public Investment Fund (PIF), Saudi Arabia's main sovereign wealth fund, had signed a deal with AMC Entertainment Holdings to operate cinemas in the kingdom.

The two sides are expected to establish up to 40 theatres in 15 Saudi cities over the next five years, SPA reported.

Further ahead, between 50 and 100 cinemas will be set up in about 25 Saudi cities by 2030, it added.

The first cinema will open in Riyadh on April 18, according to a statement by the information ministry's Centre for International Communication.

It will reportedly be located in the capital's King Abdullah Financial District, in a site originally intended to be a symphony concert hall.

The announcement comes after the Saudi government said in December 2017 that it would lift a 35-year ban on cinemas and allow films to be screened as early as next year.

However, critics at the time questioned whether the move signalled a new era of free speech.

"I don't think it ushers a new era for freedom of expression," Joseph Fahim, an Egyptian film critic and programmer, told Al Jazeera.

"There have been several films made in Saudi [Arabia] before, and TV production is established in there."

"There are concrete rules no Saudi filmmaker can transcend, namely anything related to the royal family."

Millions of people in the kingdom already have digital access to films through online-streaming services such as Netflix.

There are still questions about about what kinds of films will be screened in the new cinemas, as well as whether movie theatres will be segregated by gender.

Saudi Arabia placed a complete ban on cinemas in the early 1980s.

In January, feature-length animated children's films were screened in makeshift theatres.</s>RIYADH - Saudi Arabia on Monday announced "spying" on your spouse's phone is now a criminal offence potentially punishable by a hefty fine - and a year in jail.

"Married individuals planning to spy on their spouse in Saudi Arabia will need to think twice, because such an activity could potentially attract a fine of 500,000 riyals ($133,000, 108,000 euros), along with a prison term for a year," read an English-language statement released by Saudi Arabia 's information ministry.

The provision, part of a new anti-cybercrime law which came into force last week, is meant to "protect morals of individuals and society and protect privacy", the ministry said.

The move comes amid a "steady increase in cybercrimes such as blackmail, embezzlement and defamation", the statement said.

The ultra-conservative kingdom is among the world's top per capita users of cellphone apps and social media.

More than half of Saudi Arabia 's citizens are under 25, many of whom spend much of their time on mobile platforms, away from official strictures and traditions.

Saudi Arabia has launched a string of highly-publicised policy changes since the rise of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to power last year.

The country will allow women to drive as of June and has lifted a decades-long ban on cinemas.

Saudi Arabia 's legislation on cybercrime has drawn harsh criticism from international rights groups in the past.

Dozens of Saudi citizens have been convicted on charges linked to dissent under a previous sweeping law, particularly linked to posts on Twitter.

Last September, authorities issued a public call for citizens to report on the social media activities of their fellow citizens, under a broad definition of "terrorist" crimes.

It directed suspicious activity be reported via the government-run "We are all security" app.</s>CAIRO (Reuters) - A three-month-old ban on taking electronic devices such as laptops into aircraft cabins on flights from Egypt to the United States will be lifted on Wednesday, EgyptAir [EGY.UL] Chairman Safwat Musallam said on Tuesday.

On March 25, the United States banned electronic devices larger than a mobile phone from cabins on direct flights to the United States from 10 airports in the Middle East, North Africa and Turkey.

 "The ban on taking laptops and other electronic devices aboard aircraft cabins on EgyptAir flights to New York will be lifted as of tomorrow and for a year or until another emergency amendment is introduced," Musallam said in a statement.

 A similar ban on flights to London was still in effect, he added.

 The ban was imposed at 10 airports in Egypt, Morocco, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar and Turkey to address fears that bombs could be concealed in electronic devices.

 It was not immediately clear why the ban was lifted but other airlines in Turkey, the UAE, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar and Morocco all announced in recent days that bans on their flights were lifted or in the process of being lifted.

 Egyptian Civil Aviation Minister Sherif Fathy welcomed the lifting of the ban and said it came as a result of close cooperation between Cairo International Airport and EgyptAir employees, which put U.S. authorities at ease.

 Flag carrier EgyptAir is the only Egyptian airline that flies to the United States. It only operates flights between Cairo and New York.

 

 (Writing by Ahmed Aboulenein; Editing by Eric Knecht and Alison Williams)</s>The news coincides with crown prince Mohammad bin Salman's whirlwind trip to Los Angeles.

The Saudi Arabian royalty tour of Hollywood is resulting in some industry partnerships.

On Wednesday, at an event at the Four Seasons in Beverly Hills — which was entirely booked by the Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, whose stay in Los Angeles is part of a three-week visit in the U.S. — live entertainment partnerships with the likes of Cirque du Soleil were unveiled.

Cirque du Soleil will produce a performance for the first time in Saudi Arabia. The production will be designed exclusively for Saudi National Day on Sept. 23 of this year, at the King Fahd Stadium in Riyadh for a live and televised audience.

The Wednesday event, titled "Vision 2030: The Future of Entertainment in Saudi Arabia," was hosted by the head of the country's General Entertainment Authority (GEA), Ahmed Al Kahteeb, who gave the afternoon's keynote, focusing on the country's younger population, 70 percent of which is under the age of 30. (This stat was reiterated multiple times by several panelists throughout the afternoon).

Feld Entertainment is entering a long-term relationship with the country's GEA committed to producing international events in Saudi Arabia, including “Disney on Ice,” “Disney Live,” and “Marvel Experience”, all of which will be staffed with Saudi talent.

An investing partnership with National Geographic Encounter will allow for the construction of a global immersive entertainment experience, "Ocean Odyssey." The first of ten supposed experiences will be built in Riyadh. Finally, live-events manager IMG Artists has partnered with the authority to build out and bring custom events to Saudi Arabia.

The live events partnerships represent the latest effort by Saudi Arabia to bolster its nascent entertainment sector. In December, Mohammed bin Salman lifted a 35 year ban on cinemas in his country. This morning AMC Theaters announced plans to open 100 theaters in 25 Saudi cities by 2030, the first of which is opening on April 18 in Riyadh.

Prior to the panels, reps from Lionsgate, VidAngel, Nickelodeon, Miramax and Riot Games, among others, enjoyed a lunch that included dates, hummus and lamb skewers. The event featured panels with individuals from the delegation traveling with the prince, the leaders of Saudi Arabia's public investment funds and investors who have previously worked in Saudi Arabia.

The prince is in Hollywood holding court with major industry power players in L.A. all week.

On Monday night, Mohammed bin Salman attended a dinner at the Bel Air home of Rupert Murdoch that was attended by Disney CEO Bob Iger, Universal film chairman Jeff Shell, Fox TV exec Peter Rice, Warner Bros. CEO Kevin Tsujihara and 20th Century Fox's Stacey Snider. In addition to Murdoch, Endeavor CEO Ari Emanuel is reportedly organized a dinner for bin Salman, who will reportedly also meet Oprah during his US trip.

After being named the heir to the Saudi throne by his father, King Salman, the prince has been vocal about his push for economic and social reform. As the Chairman of the Council of Economic and Development Affairs, MBS launched Vision 2030 as a initiative to diversify the country's investments outside of oil, which includes the possible creation of a Saudi entertainment industry.</s>If you live in Saudi Arabia, you might want to think before you casually snoop through your spouse’s phone.

In a shocking new law, Saudi Arabia has criminalized spying on your partner’s mobile phone. The kingdom announced it will impose strict fines or jail time for married individuals who go through their partner’s mobile phone without consent.

The new anti-cyber crime law states “spying on, interception or reception of data transmitted through an information network or a computer without legitimate authorization" is now prohibited. Accessing your spouse’s phone or computer “unlawfully” or using the information to threaten and blackmail has been deemed illegal by the government.

“Married individuals planning to spy on their spouse in Saudi Arabia will need to think twice, because such an activity could potentially attract a fine of 500,000 riyals ($133,000, €108,000), along with a prison term for a year,” read an English-language statement released by Saudi Arabia’s information ministry

The decision to impose the new law comes amid a “steady increase in cybercrimes such as blackmail, embezzlement and defamation,” the statement said.

Married couples, breaking the law, could face a fine, a year in prison or both.

The Saudi government says the new law helps protect user privacy and the basic right of internet users. The new law looks to curb spouse’s intervention in each other’s electronic gadgets and illegal use of information obtained from the devices.

Abdul Aziz bin Batel, a legal adviser, said any crime committed with the illegal use of computers, mobile phones and cameras is considered a cybercrime and will be punished accordingly.

The new law is part of the Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman’s Vision 2030, which looks to put his country on par with other more liberal nations in the world.

Bin Salman recently lifted the ban on women driving in Saudi Arabia and has made key changes to the role of women in Saudi society.

Recently, Saudi Arabia also lifted its decade old ban on cinemas and women were allowed to attend concerts, although it banned “dancing” and “swaying.” MBS’s attempts in redefining Saudi laws and opting for a more diplomatic approach towards other nations of the world have garnered its critics and fans.

However, one cannot deny significant changes have been made to the Saudi policy ever since the crown prince became the de facto leader of the nation.</s>Posted on 3 April 2018 - 09:55am Last updated on 3 April 2018 - 02:23pm

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia on Monday announced "spying" on your spouse's phone is now a criminal offence potentially punishable by a hefty fine – and a year in jail.

"Married individuals planning to spy on their spouse in Saudi Arabia will need to think twice, because such an activity could potentially attract a fine of 500,000 riyals (RM515,373), along with a prison term for a year," read an English-language statement released by Saudi Arabia's information ministry.

The provision, part of a new anti-cybercrime law which came into force last week, is meant to "protect morals of individuals and society and protect privacy", the ministry said.

The move comes amid a "steady increase in cybercrimes such as blackmail, embezzlement and defamation", the statement said.

The ultra-conservative kingdom is among the world's top per capita users of cellphone apps and social media.

More than half of Saudi Arabia's citizens are under 25, many of whom spend much of their time on mobile platforms, away from official strictures and traditions.

Saudi Arabia has launched a string of highly-publicised policy changes since the rise of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to power last year.

The country will allow women to drive as of June and has lifted a decades-long ban on cinemas.

Saudi Arabia's legislation on cybercrime has drawn harsh criticism from international rights groups in the past.

Dozens of Saudi citizens have been convicted on charges linked to dissent under a previous sweeping law, particularly linked to posts on Twitter.

Last September, authorities issued a public call for citizens to report on the social media activities of their fellow citizens, under a broad definition of "terrorist" crimes.

It directed suspicious activity be reported via the government-run "We are all security" app. — AFP</s>US President, Donald Trump, has said that Saudi Arabia will have to pay if it wants US troops to remain in Syria.

Speaking at a White House press conference, yesterday, President Trump said: “We’ve almost completed that task of defeating ISIS, and we’ll be making a determination very quickly, in coordination with others in the area, as to what we’ll do.

“Saudi Arabia is very interested in our decision, and I said, ‘Well, you know, you want us to stay, maybe you’re going to have to pay.”

Trump had earlier spoken with Saudi King, Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud over the phone to discuss a range of regional issues, including a peace plan between Israelis and Palestinians and opportunities to strengthen the American-Saudi strategic partnership.

DAILY POST also recalls that Trump last week lamented what he said was Washington’s waste of $7 trillion in Middle East wars.</s>Saudi Arabia's first movie theater in decades will open April 18, as the Gulf kingdom readies for a rush of cinema operators eager to turn the Middle Eastern country into nation of moviegoers.

AMC Theatres said Wednesday that it will open the country's first new theater in Riyadh, with plans for up to 100 theaters in approximately 25 Saudi cities by 2030.

In December, the Saudi government said it would open the country to commercial movie theaters for the first time in more than 35 years as part of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's efforts to transform the ultraconservative Saudi society. In June, Saudi Arabia will allow women to drive.

The Leawood, Kansas-based AMC, the world's largest exhibitor, secured the first cinema operating license. In a statement, Saudi Arabia's Minister of Culture and Information, Dr. Awwad Alawwad, hailed it as "the opening of very significant opportunities for exhibitors."

AMC, which is owned by the Chinese conglomerate Wanda Group, will have competition. Other chains are currently preparing theaters in Saudi Arabia. But the prospect of 33 million new consumers is particularly appealing to exhibitors, many of whom have struggled recently.

"We expect this to be a very lucrative opportunity for AMC," AMC Chief Executive Adam Aron said in a conference call. "If we can open up to 100 movie theaters in Saudi Arabia, in a country where there is literally no capacity now, we think the market will have staggering levels of pent-up demand."

Questions remain about what kinds of movies Saudi Arabia will tolerate, and if moviegoers will be segregated by gender. But the expectations are that the country could be a very valuable new territory for Hollywood.

"We think it could be a very big market," said John Fithian, chief executive and president of the National Association of Theatre Owners. "It's literally as fast as we can build them and they will come."</s>On the Red Sea coast of Saudi Arabia, a new city is struggling to rise to the ambitious goals set by its founders. Time to call in the DJs.

Specifically Armin Van Buuren. The Dutch star is headlining what’s billed as Saudi Arabia’s first ever DJ party in June as part of a plan to burnish the entertainment and tourism credentials of King Abdullah Economic City as its owner tries to attract businesses, residents and investors. The city, population 6,500, also aims to bring in 1 million visitors this year with a slew of new attractions and hotels.

"The idea is to increase interest, spending and create jobs in the city that will translate into more residents," said Fahd al-Rasheed, chief executive officer of Emaar Economic City, which is developing the privately funded project. Egyptian singer Tamer Hosny hosted a concert in the city on Friday.

At stake is more than the future of KAEC, planned as a city for 2 million on a site the size of Brussels. Saudi Arabia is seeking to develop a number of so-called economic cities as part of a broader plan to diversify the kingdom’s economy away from oil. In October, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman announced plans to build a new city known as NEOM further up the Red Sea coast near the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh. Other projects such as Knowledge Economic City in Medina and Crown Prince Abdulaziz bin Mousaed Economic City in Hail in the north have struggled to get off the ground.

For now, the emphasis on tourism is “an intention rather than a coherent strategy” at KAEC, said Ayham Kamel, head of Middle East and North Africa at political risk consultant Eurasia Group. “Besides building the hotels and the branding effort, there’s got to be a clear outline of who are they trying to attract. This is not something necessarily thought of as a tourism destination, nor was the city built as a tourism city."

While Dubai has shown that there’s tourism money to be made in the Persian Gulf, creating a new Saudi leisure hub will be more challenging in a religiously conservative country that’s much harder to visit than its neighbor. While regulations for tourist visas are awaiting government approval, the crown prince’s push toward a more “moderate Islam” in the kingdom is still in its early stages and the recent arrests without charge of businessmen and royal family members have raised red flags for investors.

Emaar Economic City is a joint venture between the Saudi government and Dubai’s Emaar Properties PJSC. CEO al-Rasheed said the company is working on 45 leisure and tourism projects, 30 of which are set to be completed this year. It has also set up an office to attract exhibitions and shows and it’s working with the kingdom’s entertainment authority to host events that it promotes, including those with mixed-gender audiences.

KAEC, named after the former Saudi ruler, covers 181 square kilometers (70 square miles) of desert. When plans were laid in 2006, it was envisioned as a logistics and manufacturing hub, with a seaport and an industrial zone. While the seaport and one hotel are in operation and a some residential buildings have been completed, the development has been slow to attract investors to a place that’s 120 kilometers (75 miles) from the nearest large city, Jeddah and doesn’t have its own airport.

“KAEC is supposed to be built out with the private sector in mind, with infrastructure only built as it’s funded,” said Emily Hawthorne, Middle East and North Africa analyst at Texas-based advisory firm Stratfor Enterprises LLC. “That will prevent the area from becoming a total ghost town. Rather, it will just be much smaller than intended for years to come."

Aware of a need for inducements, Emaar Economic City is offering free office space for five years to companies that move to the city as well as partnerships for development joint ventures, according to the CEO. For third-party investors, that could include subsidized land or risk-sharing.

Emaar Economic City has invested 2 billion riyals ($533 million) so far in infrastructure, including a race track, golf course and wellness center, al-Rasheed said. "We have almost 1.7 billion riyals in cash and more than 2 billion riyals in unused credit facilities, so for now we are very liquid."

KAEC will have a station on the Haramain high-speed railway connecting Mecca and Medina. The 60 billion-riyal project is on track to be fully operational this year, Arab News reported, citing Transport Minister Nabil Al-Amoudi.

Despite Saudi Arabia’s slowness to open up to foreign visitors, KAEC’s focus on tourism makes sense, considering the country’s population of 32 million, Hawthorne said. “Unlike the other GCC states, which have very small populations relative to their larger neighbor, Saudi Arabia has tens of millions of Saudis who are already or could be interested in traveling within the kingdom," she said. "But as an organic hub of residential and commercial activity, it is far from achieving its goal."

Knowledge Economic City is even further from being a reality, she said. Because its development will compete with that of NEOM, a much more prominent smart city project the government has been showcasing, “I’m less optimistic about it ever taking off in a meaningful way,” Hawthorne said.</s>Saudi Arabia on Monday announced "spying" on your spouse's phone is now a criminal offence potentially punishable by a hefty fine -- and a year in jail.

"Married individuals planning to spy on their spouse in Saudi Arabia will need to think twice, because such an activity could potentially attract a fine of 500,000 riyals ($133,000, 108,000 euros), along with a prison term for a year," read an English-language statement released by Saudi Arabia's information ministry.

The provision, part of a new anti-cybercrime law which came into force last week, is meant to "protect morals of individuals and society and protect privacy", the ministry said.

The move comes amid a "steady increase in cybercrimes such as blackmail, embezzlement and defamation", the statement said.

The ultra-conservative kingdom is among the world's top per capita users of cellphone apps and social media.

More than half of Saudi Arabia's citizens are under 25, many of whom spend much of their time on mobile platforms, away from official strictures and traditions.

Saudi Arabia has launched a string of highly-publicised policy changes since the rise of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to power last year.

The country will allow women to drive as of June and has lifted a decades-long ban on cinemas.

Saudi Arabia's legislation on cybercrime has drawn harsh criticism from international rights groups in the past.

Dozens of Saudi citizens have been convicted on charges linked to dissent under a previous sweeping law, particularly linked to posts on Twitter.

Last September, authorities issued a public call for citizens to report on the social media activities of their fellow citizens, under a broad definition of "terrorist" crimes.

It directed suspicious activity be reported via the government-run "We are all security" app.
Saudi Arabia lifts a ban on imports of frozen guava from Egypt.