- Sweden's small game studios punching above their weight
- India vote resumes with Kashmir poised to oppose Modi
- Indonesia's Mount Ibu erupts again, spews huge ash tower
- China accused of targeting overseas citizens for political activism
- 18 years on, Germany hopes to relive World Cup 'fairytale' with Euro 2024
- Creaking German trains could derail Euros travel
- Germany set for massive security challenge at Euro 2024
- In US national parks, a historical wound begins to heal
- Loss and hope: US park rangers' climate crisis fight
- Identity crisis: Climate destroying wonders that gave US parks their names
- All Blacks captain Cane to retire from international rugby
- Indonesia flood death toll rises to 41 with 17 missing
- Asian markets mixed as traders pause ahead of US inflation data
- Nuggets outgun T'Wolves, Pacers thrash Knicks to level NBA playoff series
- Cambodia's famed Kampot pepper withers in scorching heatwave
- Germany eyes huge party as it hosts Euro 2024 amid global turmoil
- Archegos founder to go on trial for fraud, market manipulation
- Attacking birth control pills, US influencers push misinformation
- At 101, a US WWII veteran - and pacifist - is honored by France
- Lithuanian president, PM set for election runoff on May 26
- Flop of Premier League's promoted three exposes growing gulf
- Mercedes workers in Alabama to vote whether to join US union
- Blinken: Israel offensive on Rafah would not eliminate Hamas
- Magnificent McIlroy races away to victory at Quail Hollow
- Pacers thrash Knicks to level NBA playoff series
- Gotterup wins maiden PGA Tour title at Myrtle Beach
- Runner-up files bid to annul Chad presidential poll result
- Swiss Eurovision winner Nemo returns to hero's welcome
- Mbappe bids farewell to PSG fans with defeat in final home game
- Microsoft, Amazon to invest billions in French tech
- Atalanta close in on Champions League, Bologna and Juve qualify
- Zhang stuns Sagstrom to win Founders Cup
- De Paul stunner fires Atletico past Celta towards top four finish
- India vote to resume with Kashmir poised to oppose Modi
- Putin removes defence minister Shoigu
- WNBA feeling 'Caitlin Clark effect' as season tips off
- Hawks win NBA draft lottery, will pick first in draft
- Thousands of Georgians join night-time protest despite warnings
- Brilliant Leverkusen stretch unbeaten run to 50, Bayern go second without Kane
- Third time could prove lucky for aurora viewers around the world
- Russia's Shoigu: Political survivor blamed for Ukraine setbacks
- Arsenal's Havertz to become 'biggest Spurs fan' in hope of title twist
- Arsenal down Man Utd to take Premier League title race to the wire
- Protesting students walk out on Seinfeld graduation speech
- 'Live a bit more': Kharkiv region residents flee Russian attacks
- Rivers rise again as rain batters flood-hit south Brazil
- Latest 'Planet of Apes' episode swings to top of N.America box office
- Bengaluru win five in row to keep IPL play-off hopes alive
- Georgia warns protesters of arrests if they block parliament
- Thousands evacuated as Russia advances in Ukraine's Kharkiv region
Host Saudi warns of economic fallout from Gaza war at global summit
Saudi Arabia on Sunday called for regional "stability", warning of the effects of the ongoing Israel-Hamas war on global economic sentiment at the start of a summit attended by a host of Gaza mediators.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Palestinian leaders and high-ranking officials from other countries trying to broker a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas are on the guest list for the summit in Riyadh, capital of the world's biggest crude oil exporter.
The Gaza war along with conflicts in Ukraine and elsewhere put "a lot of pressure" on the economic "mood", Saudi Finance Minister Mohammed al-Jadaan said at one of the first panel discussions of the two-day World Economic Forum (WEF) special meeting.
"I think cool-headed countries and leaders and people need to prevail, and you need to make sure that you actually de-escalate," Jadaan said.
"The region needs stability."
The war in Gaza, which has sent regional tensions soaring, began with an unprecedented attack on southern Israel by Palestinian militant group Hamas on October 7.
The attack resulted in the deaths of about 1,170 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.
Israel estimates that 129 hostages seized by militants on October 7 are still being held in Gaza, including 34 the military says are dead.
Vowing to destroy Hamas, Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed at least 34,388 people in Gaza, mostly women and children, according to the health ministry.
"The world is today walking a tightrope right now, trying to balance security and prosperity," Saudi planning minister Faisal al-Ibrahim told a press conference on Saturday previewing the summit.
"We meet at a moment when one misjudgement or one miscalculation or one miscommunication will further exacerbate our challenges."
- 'New momentum' in hostage talks -
WEF president Borge Brende told Saturday's press conference there was "some new momentum now in the talks around the hostages, and also for... a possible way out of the impasse we are faced with in Gaza".
However there will be no Israeli participation at the summit and Brende noted that formal mediation involving Qatar and Egypt was unfolding elsewhere.
"This is more an opportunity to have structured discussions" with "the key players", he said.
"There will be discussions, of course, on the ongoing humanitarian situation in Gaza" as well as on Iran, which backs Hamas and Lebanon's Hezbollah group, he added.
The US State Department said Blinken will "discuss ongoing efforts to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza that secures the release of hostages and how it is Hamas that is standing between the Palestinian people and a ceasefire".
Hamas said on Saturday it was studying the latest Israeli counterproposal regarding a potential ceasefire in Gaza, a day after media reports said a delegation from mediator Egypt arrived in Israel in a bid to jump-start stalled negotiations.
From the outset Saudi Arabia has worked with other regional and global powers to try to contain the war in Gaza and avoid the type of conflagration that could derail its ambitious economic reform agenda known as Vision 2030.
- Spotlight on Saudi -
The kingdom also remains in talks about a landmark deal under which it would recognise Israel for the first time while strengthening its security partnership with the United States.
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi Arabia's de facto ruler, spoke optimistically about the deal in an interview with Fox News in September, but analysts say the war has made it more difficult.
Meanwhile the conservative Gulf kingdom, home to the holiest shrines in Islam, is trying to open up to the world, luring business leaders and non-religious tourists.
Hosting international events such as the WEF meeting allows the kingdom to showcase social changes including the reintroduction of cinemas and the lifting of a ban on women driving.
"Eight years into Vision 2030, we have demonstrated our willingness to lead the way towards a model of transformative growth that is innovative, inclusive and sustainable. And we've seen some of the results," Ibrahim said on Saturday.
Yet questions persist about just how much of Vision 2030 will be achieved and when, with special scrutiny falling on signature projects such as NEOM, a planned futuristic megacity.
In December, Jadaan, the Saudi finance minister, said officials had decided to push the timeframe for some major projects past 2030, without specifying which ones, though he also noted that others would be accelerated.
Saudi Arabia is projecting budget deficits through 2026 and GDP growth was nearly flat last year after a series of oil production cuts.
Jadaan stressed on Sunday that non-oil GDP growth was "very healthy" at 4.4 percent and that "Vision 2030 is about, actually, the non-oil GDP".
A.Gasser--BTB