“Saudi Arabia is in an economic and investment crisis after the Houthi attacks” – article in The Independent

In today's round of British newspapers, we are reviewing articles about the repercussions of security crises on Saudi investment in light of the attacks by the Ansar Allah "Houthi" movement, the rise of nationalism in Europe, and the challenges that artificial intelligence poses to institutions and societies.

In her article published in The Independent newspaper entitled “Saudi Arabia postpones Davos in the desert after Houthi attacks,” writer Soha Kadwai points out that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has ruled out holding its most prominent annual investment conference for this year, due to the Houthi attacks.

The author explains that this decision represents a “direct blow” to the efforts of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman aimed at attracting foreign capital, highlighting major economic diversification projects, and consolidating Riyadh’s position as the premier commercial and financial center in the Middle East.

The author links these developments to a series of recent Houthi attacks that targeted vital infrastructure within the Kingdom.

She adds that the security crisis comes in light of broader regional unrest, which has contributed to the escalation of threats in the Gulf region.

Kadwai points out that the Future Investment Initiative conference is one of the most prominent economic gatherings in the Gulf region, as it usually attracts heads of state and executives from the largest international banks, asset management companies, and major energy companies.

She explains that it has historically been a major platform for Saudi Arabia to conclude multi-billion-dollar deals with global corporate officials, technology company founders, and Wall Street dignitaries.

Regarding this year’s edition, which was postponed to 2027, the author explains that the list of speakers who were scheduled to participate included the CEO of JP Morgan, Jamie Dimon, and the CEO of BlackRock, Larry Fink.

The author points out that the current crisis poses a significantly different challenge to the conference compared to the challenges it faced in the past. In this context, it recalls what happened in 2018, when the second edition of the conference was subjected to a wave of boycotts by companies, following the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.

The writer expresses the extent of the financial pressures facing the Saudi Crown Prince, considering that the Houthi attacks inflicted another severe financial blow on him.

In The Telegraph, writer Daniel Johnson, in his article entitled “As Europe Burns, Dreams of Returning to the European Union Shatter,” said that the scenes of the burning of Paris evoke the saying of the Spanish painter Francisco Goya: “The sleep of the mind produces monsters.”

The writer attributes the spread of chaos on the continent to the abandonment of their responsibilities by the political elites, in France and the rest of Europe, considering that the consequences will appear in widespread electoral transformations that overthrow the forces that ignored the social repercussions of mass immigration.

Johnson strongly criticizes British politician Andy Burnham's initiative to reopen Britain's exit from the European Union, describing it as a step far from the reality of European transformations. He likens the British Prime Minister to someone who woke up from a long slumber, only to discover that the European club he dreamed of returning to was no longer what he imagined.

He points out that crystallizing a clear European policy for Burnham could take at least a year, even assuming early elections are held and he wins a mandate to reverse the result of the 2016 referendum.

In his reading of the French scene, the writer expects continued unrest, and believes that the escalation of fires may enhance Marine Le Pen's chances of winning the presidency next April. But he expresses his discomfort with this possibility, preferring over Edouard Philippe, the former prime minister, and Raphael Glucksmann, the centre-left candidate, because of what he sees as the difference between them and the Le Pen movement in their positions towards Russia and Vladimir Putin.

Johnson warns that Le Pen's arrival to the presidency may push France to align with Donald Trump's pro-Russian policy, and perhaps weaken NATO by demanding the withdrawal of French forces from the Baltic states.

He also points out that its protectionist policies, and its demand to reduce France's contribution to the European Union budget, may erupt a crisis within Brussels, in addition to the conflict of the "re-immigration" policy it has adopted with the arrangements for returning migrants via small boats from Britain.

The writer presents Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni as an example for conservatives seeking to combine governmental firmness and pragmatism, far from being drawn in by Trump or Putin. But he rules out her rapprochement with Burnham, pointing to her awareness, as he put it, of the financial crises facing the European Union and Britain.

In Germany, Johnson points out the rise of the Alternative for Germany party, which is ahead in the opinion polls over the two traditional parties, and he expects that pressure on the centrist coalition will strengthen the influence of the extreme right. He also warns of the party's positions towards Ukraine and mass deportations, and of its attempts to reinterpret the German past and reduce responsibility for the Nazi era.

Johnson warns that manipulating history to beautify the past threatens European memory, considering that the French unrest may deal a “severe blow” to the idea of ​​European integration that Burnham defends.

He concludes by saying: “Europe may be entering a new cycle of turmoil, similar to what it witnessed in the years 1789, 1848, and 1968.”

We conclude this tour with an article by writer Gaby Hensliffe, in The Guardian, in which she says that artificial intelligence, which was promoted as a way to save time and money, may turn into an additional factor that disrupts work and increases burdens, instead of simplifying procedures and improving public services.

The author begins her article by pointing out the accumulation of thousands of e-mail messages in her mailbox, considering that e-mail, which was supposed to reduce the hours of meetings and calls, practically led to users being flooded with messages whose senders would not have made an effort to deliver them had it not been for the ease of sending them to thousands of people with the push of a button.

She believes that the ease of communication has allowed others to reach us as much as it has allowed us to reach them.

Henslev links this experience to the British government's bet on artificial intelligence to improve the performance of state institutions, saving time and billions of pounds of public money. However, it indicates that the use of these technologies may lead to increased administrative burdens, with citizens themselves resorting to using them to massively send complaints, requests, and correspondence.

The writer quotes former government official Sam Friedman observing, in a post on the Substack platform, an unusual increase in complaints and requests submitted to government and regulatory bodies in various countries since the spread of (Chat GPT).