Saudi's mega-city Neom will have rules of its own. Here are 11 key highlights

News Network
October 27, 2017

Riyadh, Oct 27: Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman recently announced an ambitious $500 billion independent economic zone, which would also offer a lifestyle that is currently non-existent.

The new zone will come up in the form of a city named Neom.

Earlier, the crown prince had sought global support to transform the kingdom of Saudi Arabia into an open society, where investors from all corners can put in their money.

Here are 11 key highlights of the about NEOM:

- NEOM will be the first capitalist city in the world.

- The mega-city will be floated on financial markets alongside oil giant Saudi Aramco as part of the kingdom's drive to diversify away from oil.

- The name mixed "neo", meaning new, with M, the first letter of the Arabic word stands for future.

- The new city will not follow the rules and regulations enforced in the rest of Saudi Arabia, which imposes sharia law based on a strict Wahhabi interpretation of Islam.

- NEOM is part of the crown prince's ambitious Vision 2030 plan to overhaul the economy of Saudi Arabia.

- The futuristic high tech hub will create more jobs, encourage entrepreneurs and permit new freedoms in a religion-dominated Saudi.

- It will be adjacent to the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aqaba and near maritime trade routes that use the Suez Canal

- It is set to serve as a gateway to the proposed King Salman Bridge, which will link Egypt and Saudi Arabia.

- The new city will not follow the rules as used in the rest of the Saudi and will offer residents a more liberal lifestyle. It will allow musical concerts and entertainment in a remote corner of the desert kingdom.

- It will be spread across 26,500 square km (10,230-square mile) zone extending into Jordan and Egypt.

- Fully owned by Saudi Arabia's sovereign Public Investment Fund (PIF), the venture is expected to be listed in the markets after 2030.

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News Network
September 15,2024

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Abu Dhabi: President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan commemorated the birthday of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) with a with a message of hope and unity on social media.

In his tweet, His Highness prayed for divine mercy on all of humanity and wished for peace and stability around the world.

“On the anniversary of the birth of the Prophet (peace be upon him), we ask God to bestow his mercy on all of humanity and bless the world with peace and stability,” Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed stated.

The Prophet’s Birthday, also known as Mawlid Al Nabi, is celebrated every year on the 12th day of Rabi’ Al Awwal, the third month in the Islamic lunar calendar.

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News Network
September 10,2024

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The Israeli regime has attacked displaced Palestinians in the southern part of the Gaza Strip with US-provided 2,000-pound bombs, killing at least 40 civilians, mostly women and children.

As many as 60 others were injured in the attack that targeted an area previously declared by the Israeli military as a “humanitarian zone” at the al-Mawasi refugee camp in the city of Khan Younis on Tuesday.

The military alleged that it had struck members of the Hamas resistance movement, who were “operating a command and control center” inside the targeted area, a claim that was rejected by the group as a “blatant lie.”

“The resistance has repeatedly confirmed the absence of any of its members among civilian gatherings or the use of such areas for military purposes,” Hamas said.

The bloodletting took place as part of the regime’s ongoing genocidal war on Gaza, which began on October 7 in response to a retaliatory operation staged by the territory’s resistance groups.

So far, close to 41,000 Palestinians have been killed and more than 94,800 others wounded in the brutal military onslaught.

The Tuesday massacre came after the refugee camp witnessed an influx of homeless Palestinians, who had fled there from the death and destruction spree caused by the war elsewhere across the coastal sliver. Between 30,000 and 34,000 people were living upon each square kilometer of the camp at the time of the attack, the United Nations estimates show.

The weapons deployed during the massacre have been identified as American-made MK-84 bombs, which carry 900 pounds of explosives. 

The payload can create a crater about 15 meters wide and over 10 meters deep, besides being capable of causing deadly damage around it within a radius of approximately 73 meters. 

This is not the first time when the regime deploys the ammunition against civilian targets during the war. 

More than 70 Palestinians were killed after it struck the refugee camp with the same bombs in July.

As part of its unbridled military support for the regime, the United States has armed it with as many as 14,000 of the bombs since the onset of the war.

Hamas also called the US “complicit” in such massacres that “are being deliberately carried out without regard for international law, humanitarian law, or resolutions calling for an end to the aggression.”

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News Network
September 12,2024

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The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees says six of its employees are among the at least 18 people killed in a recent Israeli aerial assault on a school in the central Gaza Strip.

In a statement released on Thursday, UNRWA said Wednesday’s Israeli airstrikes targeting the UN-run al-Jaouni school in the Nuseirat refugee camp resulted in "the highest death toll among our staff in a single incident” since the occupying regime waged a genocidal war on Gaza more than 11 months ago.

"Among those killed was the manager of the UNRWA shelter and other team members providing assistance to displaced people," it added.

UNRWA also said the al-Jaouni school, home to around 12,000 displaced Palestinians- mainly women and children, has been hit five times since the Israeli aggression began.

“No one is safe in Gaza. No one is spared,” it emphasized. “Schools and other civilian infrastructure must be protected at all times, they are not a target.”

In an X post, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said the deaths demonstrated “very dramatic violations of the international humanitarian law and the total absence of an effective protection of civilians.”

Meanwhile, UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini said the agency's staff who were killed had been providing support to families sheltering in the al-Jaouni school.

“Humanitarian staff, premises & operations have been blatantly & unabatedly disregarded since the beginning of the war,” he asserted.

Lazzarini further noted that at least 220 UNRWA employees have been killed during the Israeli offensive on Gaza.

The Israeli military claimed that the school had been used by members of the Hamas resistance group to “plan and execute” attacks against the occupation troops.

However, a survivor said the section of the school that was hit by Israel had been “dedicated only to women.”

“All of a sudden there was a huge explosion … Women and children were blown to pieces. We rushed to see our children but found them torn to pieces,” he told Al Jazeera.

Another survivor said she had lost all of her six children in the Israeli attack, adding, “What crime, what wrong did those innocent children do?”

Israel waged its brutal Gaza offensive on October 7, 2023, after Hamas carried out a historic operation against the usurping entity in retaliation for its intensified atrocities against the Palestinian people.

So far, the Tel Aviv regime has killed at least 41,084 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and injured 95,029 others. 

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