Today - with the holiday season fast approaching and Christmas on Saturday, The 966 features a special episode for today's weekly podcast.

3:35 - Lucid is building a factory in Saudi Arabia:
Lucid has recently announced that the USA-based electric car manufacturer will be producing vehicles in Saudi Arabia by 2024. Lucid will be competing against its rival Tesla and hopes to outperform the Tesla Model S in the Saudi market.

8:14 - Saudi Arabia plans airport takeovers privatizations for at least some of them.
Earlier this week, Reuters and Asharq Alawsat said the kingdom’s 22 airports will be set up as airport holding companies, which will oversee construction, operation and management. They will then be transferred to the Public Investment Fund (PIF) to ‘put on the market at a later time.’

10:55 - The top 7 companies in Saudi Arabia to work for
Novo Nordisk Saudi, Manga Productions, Foodics, Tamkeen Technologies, Roshn, International Maritime Industries and Saudi Arabian Packaging Industry are recognized as the top 7 best places to work in Saudi Arabia for 2021, according to the annual “Best Places to Work” certification program.

13:50 - EDM festival Soundstorm wrapped in Riyadh, with 700,000 attending the 4-day outdoor rave. DJ David Guetta played a unique set, and gave an interesting interview with the AP on Saudi reforms.
Guetta said “I was happy to be part of this. Of course there’s more things to be done to improve the country but I think they are opening and really going to the right direction…Four years ago women couldn’t drive, and now they can come to a David Guetta concert and dance, you know it’s a huge evolution.”

19:58 - Dakar Saudi Arabia 2021
Two Saudi women, Mashael Al-Obaidan and Dania Akeel, will be the first female drivers from Saudi Arabia to compete in the Dakar Rally next month, Reuters reports. The announcement marks a significant about-face for Saudi Arabia, which only recently allowed women to legally drive in the Kingdom.

23:23 - The Saudi-backed golf tour and the PGA will avoid a confrontation over player loyalties --- for now.
The PGA granted waivers for Golf's biggest stars to play in the upcoming Saudi International in KAEC.
PGA kicked the can down the road - avoiding preventing players from playing in the Saudi tournament, which takes place Feb. 3-6, 2022.

29:36 - Omicron comes to Saudi Arabia.
The first confirmed case of the Omicron variant was December 1st. This past week confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Saudi Arabia more than doubled in the past two days, from 104 on Sunday to 222 on Tuesday. The Health Ministry urged all residents to avoid traveling outside the country and new arrivals to avoid social contact for five days.

33:50 - According to the Center for Strategic and International Studies, Attacks by the Iran-backed Houthi militant group against Saudi Arabia have more than doubled this year from their pace last year.
The WSJ cited a report from the Center for Strategic and International Studies, which found the Houthi group launched 78 attacks a month this year (or 702 in total)
That compares with 38 a month last year.

40:48 - Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman launched the Jeddah Central project, another huge outlay of investment to make Saudi Arabia's second largest city a more attractive tourism and entertainment destination.
The plan was launched with a price tag and main features by the Crown Prince.
The Jeddah Central Development Company is a PIF Subsidiary. Includes a marina, opera house, stadium, revitalized beaches...

43:35 - Saudi Startups record the best ever funding quarter in Q3 2021.

According to data platform Magnitt, Start-ups in Saudi Arabia recorded their best ever quarter for fund-raising in the three months ending September 30, attracting $205 million in 34 deals. Total venture capital investment reached $376m year-to-date in 2021 — more than double the funding invested during the full year of 2020.

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The 966 wishes happy holidays to all our listeners.