Trump 2.0 and the Middle East

HEADLINES:• Saudi Arabia’s Water Billionaires Behind a Giant $35B Desalination Business • Elon Musk’s Boring Company Explores Underground Tunnel Projects in Abu Dhabi • Rajeev Chalisgaonkar, Group Head of Business Banking & NEO BIZ, Mashreq Newsletter: https://aug.us/4jqModrWhats ... Show More

HEADLINES:• Sheikh Hamdan Launches Dubai’s Create AI Agents Championship• OpenAI in Talks With UAE Funds, Including MGX, for $30B Funding Round• $60B New Mountain Capital Joins Abu Dhabi’s ADGM 

Smashi Business Show live from Day 2 of AI Everything Abu Dhabi 2026 event 

It's a moment of change in the Middle East. A ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, and Hezbollah in retreat in Lebanon. Iran and its proxies are weakened and Syria has slipped from its grasp. Now, with President Trump officially installed in the White House, what impact mi ... Show More

<p>President Trump is in the Middle East on the first major international trip of his second term. At the same time, a firestorm has erupted over his plan to accept a $400 million luxury airplane from the Qatari government.</p><p>Today, Maggie Haberman, a White House corresponden ... Show More

HEADLINES:♦ Wuilt Raises $2M to Scale Its Free E-Commerce Platform Across MENA♦ Orascom Construction to Delist from Nasdaq Dubai, Move Primary Listing to Abu Dhabi♦ Kim Kardashian’s Skims to Open First UAE Store at Mall of the Emirates♦ Filmmakers Reject Mubi’s $100M Sequoia Deal ... Show More

HEADLINES:♦ OpenAI’s Sam Altman Tours the Middle East to Raise Funds for AI Expansion♦ Saudis Join Elon Musk’s Netflix Boycott Over Arabic-Dubbed Kids Show♦ Saudi Executives Detained in Diriyah Corruption Probe♦ SSC Channels Go Off Air After Losing Saudi Football Rights to Thmany ... Show More

President Trump travels to Saudi Arabia to broker business deals and remake the Middle East; controversy continues over Qatar’s Trojan Horse $400 million jet gift to President Trump; and we examine the latest on the state of the economy.   Click here to join the member-exclusive ... Show More

In this episode of Middle East Focus, hosts Alistair Taylor and Matthew Czekaj speak with MEI Senior Fellow Brian Katulis about US policy in the Middle East under Donald Trump's second administration. Nine months into Trump 2.0, how much has really changed? Katulis breaks down th ... Show More

Your morning briefing, the business news you need in just 15 minutes. On today's podcast: (1) Donald Trump said the US should take control of the devastated Gaza Strip, shunt the area’s residents to other countries and rebuild it into a new “Riviera,” a proposal at odds with Amer ... Show More

HEADLINES:♦ G42 to Sell 2% Presight AI Stake to Boost Global Investor Base♦ Saudi Shawarmer to Fund Fired Employee Majed Al-Omari’s New Venture After Boycott♦ Saudi Arabia and UK Announce £360 Million in Joint Investment Deals♦ Billionaire Mohamed Alabbar Visits Viral Klay by Kar ... Show More