MUST-READS

• Biden Warns Netanyahu Not to Attack Rafah as Ramadan Begins

  US President Joe Biden warned Israel against attacking the city of Rafah in southern Gaza as cease-fire talks with Hamas remained deadlocked at the beginning of Ramadan. The US hoped for a breakthrough before Islam’s holy month, which began after sundown on Sunday. A deal would probably lead to a six-week pause in fighting, the freeing of dozens of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza and release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails. Negotiations remain at an impasse, however, with Israel accusing Hamas of stalling in a bid to inflame violence across the region during Ramadan, and Hamas saying more Israeli hostages had died in captivity than earlier believed.

• Netanyahu vows to defy Biden’s ‘red line’ on Rafah

  Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he intends to press ahead with an invasion of the city of Rafah on the southern border of the Gaza Strip in defiance of United States President Joe Biden, who has warned such an offensive would be a "red line." Amid signs of increasing frustration with Netanyahu, the U.S. president told MSNBC on Saturday that he opposed an escalation of the conflict into Rafah, and that he could not accept "30,000 more Palestinians dead."

• Saudi Arabia, Muslim world gear up as Ramadan begins

  Joining Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE have also confirmed that Ramadan will begin on Monday, with Oman, Pakistan, Indonesia, Australia, Malaysia, Brunei and Iran to follow a day later. The determination of the starting date relies on both lunar calculations and physical sightings of the new moon, a practice steeped in Islamic tradition. Al-Khudairi said: “Calculation and technology are complementing the sighting process. I say that the astronomical calculations and the naked eye sighting, like the human’s eyes, they need one another.”

• Saudi Arabia rounds up record 23,040 illegals in weekly swoop

  Saudi authorities have arrested 23,040 foreign violators of the kingdom’s residency, labour and border security laws in one week, the highest such weekly arrests in more than two years. The arrests were made across the kingdom during the February 29-March 6 period.

• Opinion – Gaza may be the crucible for new order in the Middle East

  The Middle East is at a hinge moment. The old order is collapsing, and a new one has yet to emerge. While the region’s tectonic shifts predate Hamas’s terror attack on Oct. 7, the ensuing conflict in Gaza and its reverberations across the region are the crucible in which the new contours of the Middle East will take shape.

• Red Sea: US, UK and French destroy dozens of Houthi drones

  US military said at least 28 uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAVs) were downed over the Red Sea early on Saturday. Along with coalition forces, the US said it acted after determining the "large-scale" attack "presented an imminent threat to merchant vessels". The Houthis said they had targeted a commercial ship, Propel Fortune, and a number of US destroyers.

• Opinion – Amid the horror in Gaza, it’s easy to miss that the Middle East has changed

  While it used to be that the large Arab countries were dominant — because of history, size, armies, etc. — today it is the incredibly wealthy gulf states that set the agenda. Countries such as Egypt regularly depend on their wealthy Persian Gulf neighbors for bailouts and handouts. Second, there has been a broad shift of attitude — against Arab terrorism and toward some kind of reconciliation with and recognition of Israel.

• Saudi-Iranian Relations Restored But Remain Tense

  A year after restoring diplomatic ties, Saudi Arabia and Iran still experience tensions. Conversations and diplomatic reopenings haven't translated into significant agreements due to ongoing regional conflicts and deep-seated distrust, especially concerning their allies and the situations in Yemen and Lebanon.

• Saudi Aramco raises 2030 gas target as capex growth to slow on oil

  Saudi Arabia's energy giant Saudi Aramco raised its target for increased natural gas production on March 10 and lowered its capital expenditure forecast for crude oil after being ordered to halt work on expanding oil production capacity.

• Saudi Arabia Is Splurging on Sports. Is It Working?

  As Saudi Arabia looks toward a post-oil future, the kingdom is spreading around its largess as never before. The Public Investment Fund, led by the country’s de facto leader, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, is making big bets on global sports including golf and football.

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