MUST-READS

• UAE seeks bilateral EU trade talks with GCC negotiations at impasse, sources say

  The United Arab Emirates is quietly urging the European Union to start talks on a trade pact separate from an Arab bloc, five people familiar with the matter said, as the Gulf state seeks closer political and economic ties with Europe. They told Reuters that Abu Dhabi is frustrated at long-stalled trade negotiations between the EU and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), an Arab bloc that includes the UAE and Saudi Arabia. The UAE, an influential, oil-rich Middle East state, has long advocated deeper EU involvement in the Gulf region. It is the Arab world's second-largest economy after Saudi Arabia, a major Middle East trade partner for many other nations, and its sovereign wealth funds rank among the world's most active.

• Blinken cites progress with Saudis on normalising ties with Israel

  The United States and Saudi Arabia have made "good progress" in talks on normalising ties between the kingdom and Israel, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Thursday without providing a timeline for concluding a deal. "I believe we can reach an agreement, which would present a historic opportunity for two nations, but also for the region as a whole," Blinken said at a joint press conference with Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry in Cairo. Talks on normalisation had been put on ice in the immediate aftermath of the Oct. 7 attack by Palestinian Hamas fighters and Israel's subsequent assault on Hamas-ruled Gaza, but conversations have resumed in recent months.

• World’s first ‘Dragon Ball’ theme park to be built in Saudi Arabia

  The world's first theme park devoted to the "Dragon Ball" universe of comics, movies, and games will be built in Saudi Arabia, the franchise owner said on Friday. The park, centred around the world of magical martial artist Goku and friends, will be part of the Qiddiya Investment Company's project near Riyadh, according to a release. The 500,000 metre project will feature rides and attractions in seven areas inspired by the series along with hotels and restaurants.

• Franklin Templeton launches operations in Saudi Arabia

  US investment manager Franklin Templeton has launched its operations in Riyadh after being licensed by the Saudi Capital Market Authority. The company has obtained the “Managing Investments and Operating Funds” and “Advising” permits, the CMA announced on Wednesday. This move comes as Saudi Arabia is seeking to attract more foreign businesses to open up offices in the Kingdom, as part of its economic transformation initiative Vision 2030.

• Spain-Saudi soccer deal in spotlight as Spanish federation and ex-boss raided

  Police searched the Spanish Soccer Federation's (RFEF) headquarters and an apartment belonging to its former President Luis Rubiales on Wednesday and arrested seven people in a corruption probe over a multimillion-euro deal to relocate the Spanish Super Cup to Saudi Arabia. A Spanish court has been investigating since June 2022 whether Rubiales committed a crime of improper management when the RFEF agreed with former Barcelona player Gerard Pique's Kosmos firm to move the tournament, a judicial source said.

• Crown Prince and Blinken discuss efforts to stop military operations in Gaza

  The meeting was attended by Minister of Defense Prince Khalid bin Salman, Saudi Ambassador to the United States Princess Reema bint Bandar, Minister of Foreign Affairs Prince Faisal bin Farhan, and Minister of State, Cabinet Member and National Security Advisor Dr. Musaed Al-Aiban, as well as the U.S. Secretary of State’s accompanying delegation.

• Yemen’s Houthis Tell China, Russia Their Ships Won’t Be Targeted

  The Yemen-based Houthis have told China and Russia their ships can sail through the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden without being attacked, according to several people with knowledge of the militant group’s discussions. China and Russia reached an understanding following talks between their diplomats in Oman and Mohammed Abdel Salam, one of the Houthis’ top political figures, said the people, who asked not to be named discussing private matters.

• Gaza Heads Into Famine as Gulf Countries Scramble to Respond

  As Israel’s military action in Gaza stretches into its seventh month, the humanitarian situation has descended to levels that aid experts and officials struggle to convey. The head of the United Nations World Food Program has warned that Gaza faces the “real prospect of famine by May, with over 500,000 people at risk.” The European Union Parliament rang the alarm in mid-March of the “looming risk of mass starvation in Gaza.” Shortly afterward, UNICEF warned that rates of acute malnutrition have doubled in one month, a “staggering escalation” according to aid experts, with one in three children in Gaza now suffering from acute malnutrition.

• Netanyahu tells Republicans Gaza war will continue, days after Schumer speech

  Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told U.S. Republican senators on Wednesday that Israel will continue its efforts to defeat the Palestinian militant group Hamas in the Gaza Strip, senators told reporters after he addressed a party lunch. "He's going to do what he said he's going to do. He's going to finish it," Senator Jim Risch said. The conservative Israeli leader spoke to Republicans via videolink nearly a week after the Senate's Democratic majority leader, Chuck Schumer, gave a Senate speech branding Netanyahu an obstacle to peace and urging new elections in Israel.

• Opinion: What Schumer and Biden Got Right About Netanyahu

  What has gone so haywire in the U.S.-Netanyahu relationship that it would drive someone as sincerely devoted to Israel’s well-being as Chuck Schumer to call on Israelis to replace Netanyahu — and have his speech, which was smart and sensitive, praised by President Biden himself as a “good speech” outlining concerns shared by “many Americans”?

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