MUST-READS

• Kamala Harris’ blunt Gaza words reflect intense government frustration over war

  U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris bluntly called out Israel on Sunday for not doing enough to ease a "humanitarian catastrophe" in Gaza as the Biden administration faces increasing pressure to rein in its close ally while it wages war with Hamas militants. Harris, speaking in front of the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama, where state troopers beat U.S. civil rights marchers nearly six decades ago, called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and urged Hamas to accept a deal to release hostages in return for a 6-week cessation of hostilities.

• Harris is to meet with Israeli Cabinet official who is in Washington despite Netanyahu’s rebuke

  Vice President Kamala Harris on Monday is hosting a member of Israel’s wartime Cabinet who is visiting Washington in defiance of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Benny Gantz, a centrist political rival of Netanyahu, is sitting down with several senior Biden administration officials this week, including Harris, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Jake Sullivan, the White House national security adviser. President Joe Biden is at Camp David, the presidential retreat just outside Washington, until Tuesday.

• OPEC+ members extend oil output cuts to second quarter

  OPEC+ members led by Saudi Arabia and Russia agreed on Sunday to extend voluntary oil output cuts of 2.2 million barrels per day into the second quarter, giving extra support to the market amid concerns over global growth and rising output outside the group. Saudi Arabia, the de facto leader of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), said it would extend its voluntary cut of 1 million barrels per day (bpd) through the end of June, leaving its output at around 9 million bpd.

• Saudi Arabia and the UAE among Opec+ members extending oil output cuts

  Several members of the Opec+ group oil producers, including Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Kuwait, will extend oil output cuts as part of efforts to support market balance and stability. In total, Opec+ members are extending additional voluntary cuts of 2.2 million barrels per day to the end of second quarter, the Opec secretariat said in a statement on Sunday. The caps on production are calculated from the 2024 required production level, set out in the Opec ministerial meeting in June last year. The move is in addition to the cuts announced in April last year, which have been extended until the end of 2024.

• Saudi artist reimagines Kingdom’s capital in vibrant pixels

  Saudi artist Khaled Makshoush has mastered pixel designs to reimagine Saudi Arabian scenes in a form of art that is personal, soothing and contemporary. Indie and retro-style video games use pixel designs to create a colorful and visual design, but with his tablet and stylus the Riyadh-based artist captures a variety of sights, from construction sites with cranes to the iconic streets of the capital and the serene terracotta-coloured desert.

• Niemann wins in Saudi Arabia for 2nd LIV Golf title of the year

  Joaquin Niemann won his second LIV Golf title in three starts, closing with a 4-under 66 on Sunday at LIV Golf Jeddah for a four-shot victory over Louis Oosthuizen and Charl Schwartzel. Niemann now has three wins in the last three months, starting with the Australian Open victory in December that allowed him to rejoin the European tour and eventually put him on the path toward getting invited to the Masters.

• How young people are impacting the Middle East’s economic landscape

  CNN's Eleni Giokos sits down with Jihad Azour, director of the IMF's Middle East and Central Asia department, who explains how youth are shaping economies across the region.

• US conducts first airdrop of humanitarian aid into Gaza

  The US said on Saturday it had carried out the first airdrop of humanitarian aid into Gaza, with more than 30,000 meals parachuted from military planes, Anadolu reports. “U.S. Central Command and the Royal Jordanian Air Force conducted a combined humanitarian assistance airdrop into Gaza on March 2, 2024, between 3:00 and 5:00 p.m. (Gaza time) to provide essential relief to civilians affected by the ongoing conflict,” said CENTCOM in a statement. “U.S. C-130s dropped over 38,000 meals along the coastline of Gaza allowing for civilian access to the critical aid,” it said. “We are conducting planning for potential follow-on airborne aid delivery missions. These airdrops are part of a sustained effort to get more aid into Gaza, including by expanding the flow of aid through land corridors and routes,” said CENTCOM.

• Foster + Partners designing two-kilometre-high skyscraper in Saudi Arabia

  UK studio Foster + Partners is reportedly designing a two-kilometre-high skyscraper in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, which if completed would be the world's tallest building. According to a report in UK architecture magazine Architects' Journal (AJ), the UK studio is designing the megatall skyscraper for a site to the north of the Saudi capital. The AJ reports that the skyscraper will be located near the city's international airport, which is currently being redeveloped by Foster + Partners.

• Saudi Arabia launches bid campaign to host 2034 World Cup

  Saudi Arabia is the only contender to host the 2034 World Cup after Australia opted against a bid. The Gulf state submitted a letter of intent to Fifa last October declaring its interest in hosting. Despite being the only bidder, Fifa regulations require Saudi Arabia to formally bid for the tournament. In December, Saudi Arabia’s sports minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al Faisal defended the country’s right to host the World Cup, adding that claims of sportswashing were “very shallow”.

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