MUST-READS

• Saudi Arabia’s Treasured Mudflats

  Nestled along Saudi Arabia’s beautiful coastline and islands lies a remarkable ecosystem of mudflats. Found in shallow waters where the land meets the sea, mudflats are not mere patches of mud but thriving ecosystems, teeming with life. They are home to an array of unique and resilient species, each adapted to the challenging and ever-changing conditions of the intertidal zone. As the tides ebb and flow, the mudflats transform from exposed surfaces to shallow water pools, creating a dynamic environment rich in biodiversity.

• In Saudi Arabia, an all-women psychedelic rock band jams out as its conservative society loosens up

  “We didn’t know how people would react,” said Meesh, the band's bassist, who like other members asked to be identified by their stage names. “We believe strongly in self-expression. To our surprise, they really had open arms for us.”

  The band's name, Seera, can mean “life” or “biography” in Arabic. Band members say they try to embrace the multiple meanings one can draw from a word in the language in its sound, whether through the driving drums and cymbals or the synthesizer backing the guitars.

• ICC prosecutor seeks arrest warrants for Israel’s Netanyahu and Hamas leaders
  The International Criminal Court's prosecutor said on Monday he had requested arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his defence chief and three Hamas leaders over alleged war crimes.
  ICC prosecutor Karim Khan said in a statement issued after more than seven months of war in Gaza that he had reasonable grounds to believe the five men "bear criminal responsibility" for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity.

• Israeli troops push into Jabalia, airstrikes kill five in Rafah
  Israeli forces thrust deeper into the Jabalia camp in northern Gaza on Tuesday, laying waste to residential districts with tank and air bombardments, residents said, while Israeli air strikes killed at least five people in the southern city of Rafah.
  Simultaneous Israeli assaults on the northern and southern edges of the Gaza Strip this month have caused a new exodus of hundreds of thousands of people fleeing their homes, and sharply restricted the flow of aid, raising the risk of famine.

• Saudi Arabia signs 2 PPAs for Al Ghat, Wa’ad Al Shamal wind projects

  Saudi Power Procurement Co. (principal buyer) and a consortium led by the Japanese Marubeni Co. signed two power purchase agreements (PPAs) for the 600-megawatts (MW) Al Ghat and 500-MW Wa'ad Al Shamal wind farm projects.

• Big Airbus order overshadows Boeing at Riyadh conference
  Saudia Group, owner of Saudia airline and budget carrier flyadeal, placed a hefty order for 105 Airbus (AIR.PA), opens new tab narrow-body aircraft on Monday, marking a bounce-back for the European planemaker just months after Boeing had been tipped to win more Saudi business.
  Ibrahim Al Omar, Saudia Group's director general, described the order for 12 A320neo and 93 A321neo single-aisle aircraft as the largest in the country's history.

• US, Saudis close to deal on defense pact, White House says
  The United States and Saudi Arabia are close to a final agreement on a bilateral defense pact after the U.S. national security adviser made significant progress in talks with the Saudis over the weekend, the White House said on Monday.
  White House national security spokesperson John Kirby said the two sides are "closer than we've ever been" on a bilateral agreement that is now "near final."
  U.S. and Saudi negotiators are seeking to complete work on a bilateral accord expected to call for formal U.S. guarantees to defend the kingdom as well as Saudi access to more advanced U.S. weaponry, in return for halting Chinese arms purchases and restricting Beijing’s investment in the country.

• IBM makes more AI models open source and lands Saudi Arabia deal
  International Business Machines (IBM.N), opens new tab on Tuesday said that it will release a family of artificial intelligence models as open-source software, and that it will help Saudi Arabia train an AI system in Arabic.
  The Armonk, New York-based company has taken a different approach to making money from AI than some of its rivals such as Microsoft (MSFT.O), opens new tab and others that are tightly guarding their AI models and charging for access to them. Similar to Facebook owner Meta Platforms (META.O), opens new tab, IBM is instead providing open access to the models themselves and on Wednesday opened its "Granite" family of AI models for companies to customize.

• Saudi Arabia launches summer program with mega lineup of events to boost tourism

  Saudi Arabia has launched its summer program with a lineup of major events taking place across seven destinations in the Kingdom, the Saudi Tourism Authority announced on Monday, in a bid to boost domestic and regional tourism.

  The program will run for four months until the end of September across seven destinations: Aseer, Al Baha, Taif, the Red Sea (a new destination), Jeddah, Riyadh, and AlUla.

• Over 267,000 Hajj pilgrims arrive in Saudi Arabia

  A total of 267,657 pilgrims have arrived in Saudi Arabia from all over the world to perform the annual pilgrimage of Hajj until the end of Sunday. The General Directorate of Passports (Jawazat) said on Monday that this figure includes pilgrims who came via Saudi airports, seaports and land entry points. The overwhelming majority of pilgrims came by air.

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