MUST-READS

• Saudi woman soldier who cradled infant during Sudan evacuation becomes instant hit on social media

  The picture showing the woman soldier from the Ministry of Defense cradling the boy was captured while she disembarked from a ship at Jeddah Islamic Port, which carried nearly 200 Saudis and other nationals who were evacuated from the war-torn Sudan on Monday. The Saudi Navy ship HMS Yanbu carried 199 people, including nationals of more than a dozen countries, who were evacuated from Sudan as part of the ongoing evacuation drive following the conflict that broke out between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on April 15.

• Saudi Public Investment Fund ranks 5th with worth $620bn

  The ranking of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) has improved from sixth to fifth place among the largest sovereign funds in the world for the first time, with assets valued at SR2.3 trillion ($620 billion). The fund’s share of the world’s sovereign wealth has increased to 6.2%, up from 5.9%, according to Arab News. Since the launch of Saudi Vision 2030 in 2016, PIF’s assets have increased in value by 308% They amounted to $152 billion at the end of 2015, it added.

• Commentary: Saudi Arabia’s changed approach in Yemen

  The first sign of the Houthis’ willingness to yield to Tehran’s dictates came immediately after the Saudi delegation’s visit to Sana’a. The intensity of the Houthi media discourse died down to some extent and, after long obstructing the process, the Houthis forged ahead with the exchange of prisoners. They also began to dismantle the border shanty towns that they had erected in recent years to smuggle sub-Saharan African migrants into Saudi territory. Such steps are obviously not sufficient, but they are part of the confidence-building measures which it is widely believed, may require many more years of patient work.

• What Oracle’s cloud expansion means for businesses in the Middle East

  To meet the rapidly growing demand for its cloud services, Oracle has announced plans to open a third public cloud region in Saudi Arabia. Located in Riyadh, the new cloud region will be part of a planned $1.5 billion USD investment from Oracle to expand cloud infrastructure capabilities in the Kingdom. The new region in Riyadh will join Oracle’s existing cloud region in Jeddah and a planned Oracle cloud region in the new city of NEOM. Oracle will also expand the capacity of the Jeddah region, which opened in 2020.

• Perspective: Why the US Military’s Messages Are Falling on Deaf Middle Eastern Ears

  Middle Eastern governments see the space between the military and the rest of the U.S. government, and they hedge. That pushes the military to attempt an even tighter embrace. Yet, the hedge creates greater distrust in Congress and the White House, and the gap widens.

• Perspective: Why the US Military’s Messages Are Falling on Deaf Middle Eastern Ears

  Middle Eastern governments see the space between the military and the rest of the U.S. government, and they hedge. That pushes the military to attempt an even tighter embrace. Yet, the hedge creates greater distrust in Congress and the White House, and the gap widens.

• NEOM: A utopia that will solve “societal, economic and environmental ills”

  Pendleton continued: “So on THE LINE, people will be able to live, work and play within the same module [communities of 80,000 people]. You’ll have the five-minute bubble around you, which will include everything you could possibly want in life. The idea isn’t to limit people’s experiences but to unlock more time for them. By that, we mean important things like time with family, hobbies and learning.

• Saudi Arabia building more hotels than UAE for the first time

  Saudi Arabia leads the way, with 42,033 rooms under construction. The UAE follows, with 22,324 hotel rooms currently under construction. Despite the decline in construction, the MEA hotel pipeline outlook remains healthy, with almost 250,000 hotel rooms currently under contract.

• Perspective: Saudi-Iran rapprochement benefits West Asia: Hamas

  As the kingdom gradually distances itself from Washington, it now finds itself no longer at odds with major elements of the Axis of Resistance – mainly Tehran and Damascus. Israel has lamented the Saudi-Iranian reconciliation and has also expressed frustration over the kingdom’s warming relations with Hamas – which Israeli media has suggested will significantly dim the prospect of normalization between Riyadh and Tel Aviv.

• Iran debates referendum amid controversy over rare dissent before Khamenei

  Amid ongoing political and social tensions, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has rejected calls by pro-reform figures and critics for a referendum to forge a way forward. Instead, he has called for unity within Iran’s political establishment and among the public. This comes amid controversy over footage of a rare display of dissent expressed directly before Khamenei by an apparent student.

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