After a 35-year ban, Saudi Arabia's first cinema will open in less than a fortnight. This is a momentous event in the history of the kingdom, whose populace of 32 million is largely made up of people under the age of 30. Having grown up in a country with few entertainment options, they are now being ushered into a new epoch where conservative strictures are being rapidly dismantled by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Since he was appointed to his role last year, the 32-year-old crown prince has presided over the most substantial reforms in Saudi Arabia's history. The female driving ban is soon to be lifted and there is zero tolerance for corruption. Sweeping social reform has been accompanied by major plans to diversify the economy. Vision 2030, Prince Mohammed's blueprint for Saudi Arabia's modernisation, will see, among other things, the Red Sea coastline being converted into a tourist haven, the establishment of a $500 billion transnational megacity and the construction of an entertainment zone outside Riyadh.
Prince Mohammed's comprehensive three-week tour of the United States, coming on the heels of his hugely successful visit to Britain, has sent a clear signal to the world that Saudi Arabia is open for business. The crown prince held discussions with practically every business, political, entertainment and technology leader in the US. Every movement of his was freighted with symbolism. Dressed in a casual suit, he sipped coffee in a Manhattan Starbucks with former New York mayor Michael Bloomberg. Corporate America took note that it was dealing with a new kind of leader. "The crown prince is always impressive when he sets out his vision for the [Kingdom of Saudi Arabia]", tweeted Goldman Sachs chief executive Lloyd Blankfein. In Seattle, he held discussions with Jeff Bezos, the chief executive of Amazon, which is seeking to invest in Saudi Arabia, and Microsoft founder Bill Gates, who are likely to play a key role in Prince Mohammed's ambitious plans for Saudi Arabia's digital transformation and knowledge-based innovation. In Nevada, Virgin Group founder Richard Branson briefed him on hyperloop technology, a promising transport option for the futuristic Neom city. The crown prince's meetings with the leaders of Apple, another potential investor, Google and Lockheed Martin in California gave an indication of the enormous opportunities that are opening up for businesses in Saudi Arabia.
Observers have been struck by Prince Mohammed's embrace of western media; no line of questioning was verboten in his interactions with journalists. The crown prince calmly laid out his vision for the future of Saudi Arabia – a nation brimming with energy and open to the world – while emphasising the ever-present threat posed by Iran's regressive regime to all these striving to take a leap forward. The world has a clearer idea, thanks to Prince Mohammed's visit to the US, of all that is possible in Saudi Arabia – and all that is at stake.
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Moon Music
Artist: Coldplay
Label: Parlophone/Atlantic
Number of tracks: 10
Rating: 3/5
Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
MATCH INFO
Manchester City 2 (Mahrez 04', Ake 84')
Leicester City 5 (Vardy 37' pen, 54', 58' pen, Maddison 77', Tielemans 88' pen)
Man of the match: Jamie Vardy (Leicester City)
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
BIGGEST CYBER SECURITY INCIDENTS IN RECENT TIMES
SolarWinds supply chain attack: Came to light in December 2020 but had taken root for several months, compromising major tech companies, governments and its entities
Microsoft Exchange server exploitation: March 2021; attackers used a vulnerability to steal emails
Kaseya attack: July 2021; ransomware hit perpetrated REvil, resulting in severe downtime for more than 1,000 companies
Log4j breach: December 2021; attackers exploited the Java-written code to inflitrate businesses and governments
RESULTS
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KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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The biog
Favourite book: You Are the Placebo – Making your mind matter, by Dr Joe Dispenza
Hobby: Running and watching Welsh rugby
Travel destination: Cyprus in the summer
Life goals: To be an aspirational and passionate University educator, enjoy life, be healthy and be the best dad possible.
It Was Just an Accident
Director: Jafar Panahi
Stars: Vahid Mobasseri, Mariam Afshari, Ebrahim Azizi, Hadis Pakbaten, Majid Panahi, Mohamad Ali Elyasmehr
Rating: 4/5
Milestones on the road to union
1970
October 26: Bahrain withdraws from a proposal to create a federation of nine with the seven Trucial States and Qatar.
December: Ahmed Al Suwaidi visits New York to discuss potential UN membership.
1971
March 1: Alex Douglas Hume, Conservative foreign secretary confirms that Britain will leave the Gulf and “strongly supports” the creation of a Union of Arab Emirates.
July 12: Historic meeting at which Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid make a binding agreement to create what will become the UAE.
July 18: It is announced that the UAE will be formed from six emirates, with a proposed constitution signed. RAK is not yet part of the agreement.
August 6: The fifth anniversary of Sheikh Zayed becoming Ruler of Abu Dhabi, with official celebrations deferred until later in the year.
August 15: Bahrain becomes independent.
September 3: Qatar becomes independent.
November 23-25: Meeting with Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid and senior British officials to fix December 2 as date of creation of the UAE.
November 29: At 5.30pm Iranian forces seize the Greater and Lesser Tunbs by force.
November 30: Despite a power sharing agreement, Tehran takes full control of Abu Musa.
November 31: UK officials visit all six participating Emirates to formally end the Trucial States treaties
December 2: 11am, Dubai. New Supreme Council formally elects Sheikh Zayed as President. Treaty of Friendship signed with the UK. 11.30am. Flag raising ceremony at Union House and Al Manhal Palace in Abu Dhabi witnessed by Sheikh Khalifa, then Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.
December 6: Arab League formally admits the UAE. The first British Ambassador presents his credentials to Sheikh Zayed.
December 9: UAE joins the United Nations.
PROVISIONAL FIXTURE LIST
Premier League
Wednesday, June 17 (Kick-offs uae times) Aston Villa v Sheffield United 9pm; Manchester City v Arsenal 11pm
Friday, June 19 Norwich v Southampton 9pm; Tottenham v Manchester United 11pm
Saturday, June 20 Watford v Leicester 3.30pm; Brighton v Arsenal 6pm; West Ham v Wolves 8.30pm; Bournemouth v Crystal Palace 10.45pm
Sunday, June 21 Newcastle v Sheffield United 2pm; Aston Villa v Chelsea 7.30pm; Everton v Liverpool 10pm
Monday, June 22 Manchester City v Burnley 11pm (Sky)
Tuesday, June 23 Southampton v Arsenal 9pm; Tottenham v West Ham 11.15pm
Wednesday, June 24 Manchester United v Sheffield United 9pm; Newcastle v Aston Villa 9pm; Norwich v Everton 9pm; Liverpool v Crystal Palace 11.15pm
Thursday, June 25 Burnley v Watford 9pm; Leicester v Brighton 9pm; Chelsea v Manchester City 11.15pm; Wolves v Bournemouth 11.15pm
Sunday June 28 Aston Villa vs Wolves 3pm; Watford vs Southampton 7.30pm
Monday June 29 Crystal Palace vs Burnley 11pm
Tuesday June 30 Brighton vs Manchester United 9pm; Sheffield United vs Tottenham 11.15pm
Wednesday July 1 Bournemouth vs Newcastle 9pm; Everton vs Leicester 9pm; West Ham vs Chelsea 11.15pm
Thursday July 2 Arsenal vs Norwich 9pm; Manchester City vs Liverpool 11.15pm
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PROFILE OF CURE.FIT
Started: July 2016
Founders: Mukesh Bansal and Ankit Nagori
Based: Bangalore, India
Sector: Health & wellness
Size: 500 employees
Investment: $250 million
Investors: Accel, Oaktree Capital (US); Chiratae Ventures, Epiq Capital, Innoven Capital, Kalaari Capital, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Piramal Group’s Anand Piramal, Pratithi Investment Trust, Ratan Tata (India); and Unilever Ventures (Unilever’s global venture capital arm)