MUST-READS

• LuLu Seeks Pitches for $1 Billion IPO in Second Half of 2024

  LuLu Group International, which operates one of the Middle East’s largest hypermarket chains, has invited banks to pitch for roles on a potential initial public offering that could raise at least $1 billion, people familiar with the matter said. The conglomerate is considering plans for a dual listing in Riyadh and Abu Dhabi, the people said, asking not to be identified discussing confidential information.

• Saudi Arabia’s investment ministry withdraws budget data

  Saudi Arabia's investment ministry removed fiscal data from a monthly bulletin published earlier on Monday on its website that showed the kingdom would record a budget surplus in 2023. There was no fiscal data in an updated version of the report on the website. A government official told Reuters that the numbers published earlier were not based on the latest 2023 fiscal data forecasts calculated by the finance ministry and were published in error.

• Djokovic, Nadal to headline ‘Six Kings Slam’ in Saudi Arabia

  Saudi Arabia will host a new elite tennis exhibition featuring Novak Djokovic and Rafa Nadal with three other Grand Slam winners in October, the country's General Entertainment Authority has announced. Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner, Daniil Medvedev and Holger Rune will also play at the 'Six Kings Slam', which will form part of the Saudi cultural and entertainment festival Riyadh Season, organisers said. With Sinner having recently won the Australian Open, Dane Rune is the only player on the six-man roster without a Grand Slam title. Spaniard Nadal, who signed up as an ambassador for the Saudi Arabian Tennis Federation last month, said he was looking forward to the event.

• Turkey earthquake survivors struggle to rebuild their lives one year on

  Abdullah Yanar planted flowers in front of his container home to make it feel more like a real home for his family, who have been living in temporary shelters in southern Turkey since last year's devastating earthquake. The 7.8-magnitude quake that struck last February, modern Turkey's deadliest, killed several of Yanar's relatives and damaged his apartment, forcing him and his wife, daughter and son to move first into a tent then to one container home after another.

• Saudi Arabia pushes for US defense pact as 2024 presidential election looms

  To create some wiggle room in talks about recognizing Israel and to get the U.S. pact back on track, Saudi officials have told their U.S. counterparts that Riyadh would not insist Israel take concrete steps to create a Palestinian state and would instead accept a political commitment to a two-state solution, two senior regional sources told Reuters.

• Turkey Names Fatih Karahan Central Bank Chief, Hafize Gaye Erkan Resigns

  Turkey’s central bank Governor Hafize Gaye Erkan abruptly resigned late Friday night, and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan quickly appointed Deputy Governor Fatih Karahan to replace her, signaling a continuation of the transition to more investor-friendly, orthodox economic policies that Erkan helped to spearhead. Karahan has been a member of the central bank’s rate-setting Monetary Policy Committee since July, and had previously worked at the New York Fed and as a principal economist at Amazon.com, according to his biography on the central bank website. Prior to the announcement, Bloomberg reported that he was being considered for the central bank’s top job. Erdogan’s decision was published in the Official Gazette at midnight.

• US launches series of airstrikes in Iraq, Syria

  The U.S. military hit dozens of targets across Iraq and Syria on Friday and dozens more in Yemen on Saturday, targeting Iranian forces and Iran-backed militias. The strikes in Iraq and Syria were a direct reaction to an explosive drone attack Sunday that killed three American soldiers and wounded more than 40 others at a remote base in Jordan. Those targets included facilities for Iran’s elite Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps Quds Force, as well as infrastructure for Iran-backed militias that operate collectively as the Islamic Resistance in Iraq.

• Israel says it has struck more than 50 Hezbollah targets in Syria since Oct 7

  The Israeli military said on Saturday that since the outbreak of the Gaza war on Oct. 7 it had struck more than 50 targets in Syria linked to the Iranian-backed Lebanese movement Hezbollah. The remarks, in a briefing by chief military spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari that mainly discussed efforts to beat back Hezbollah attacks launched in solidarity with Hamas, were a departure from Israel's usual reticence about Syria operations. "Everywhere Hezbollah is, we shall be. We will take action everywhere required in the Middle East," Hagari said.

• Jabeur Backs Saudi Arabia After Criticism From Tennis Greats

  Tunisian tennis star Ons Jabeur on Saturday threw her support behind the potential staging of the WTA Finals in Saudi Arabia, urging critics to be "more informed" on the Kingdom's interest in the sport. Jabeur, a three-time Grand Slam finalist and former world number two, said she was impressed by the response of Princess Reema bint Bandar Al Saud, Saudi Arabia's ambassador to the United States, to criticism from Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert of the WTA's possible deal with the Kingdom.

• A Shifting Tone on Palestinian Statehood

  The US, by far the most important country when it comes to swaying Israel, says it hasn’t shifted its official stance regarding an independent state in the West Bank and Gaza. But its calls for one to be created eventually are getting louder. For now, Israel isn’t listening as it continues with its campaign to destroy Hamas and ensure Oct. 7 is never repeated. But the pressure is mounting, including from its closest supporters.

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