Dubai plans to build a train line to streamline travel between Dubai International Airport and its growing air hub at Al Maktoum 55 kilometers (34 miles) away.

The new Airport Express will be part of the Dubai Metro and include five stations, providing services such as remote check-in, baggage drop-off, and security screening.

Dubai International Airport (DXB), currently handles most passenger traffic, while Dubai World Central-Al Maktoum International Airport (DWC) is being expanded in stages to eventually take over as the emirate’s primary airport.

The train is planned to start at the Dubai Metro’s Red Line station at DXB, pass through Al Jaddaf and Jumeirah Village Circle, and end at DWC, with additional spur lines linking to Emirates Golf Club and Business Bay.

Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority has invited consultants to bid on designing the proposed airport shuttle by June.

Kuwait has extended a force majeure declaration that now covers about 2 million barrels a day of crude and refined products as the Strait of Hormuz shutdown blocks tanker traffic.

The move lets state-owned Kuwait Petroleum Corp. suspend delivery obligations it can’t meet under current conditions. This isn’t new – KPC had already declared force majeure earlier in the conflict – but the latest notice expands it across the country’s export system as disruptions drag on, Bloomberg reports.

The bottom line is that Kuwait can’t load or ship oil, cutting off flows worth roughly $150 million to $180 million a day at current prices and throwing delivery schedules into disarray.

While other Gulf producers are also dealing with export disruptions, Kuwait is especially vulnerable because almost all of its oil has to pass through Hormuz, with few alternative routes.

Kuwait has suffered repeated hits to its oil infrastructure, and output is now at levels last seen in the early 1990s after the Iraqi invasion. The latest notice to customers, which was delivered late last week, takes into account that full operations will take time to recover once hostilities ease, according to Bloomberg.

The UAE government’s AI chief posted a photo on Instagram today of a meeting he had with Elon Musk and said his country wants to continue working closely with the tech billionaire.

“I had a great exchange with Elon Musk discussing​ the next frontier of @SpaceX and space exploration to the transformative progress of Tesla with Optimus and @boringcompany’s urban innovation,” Omar Al Olama, UAE Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence, Digital Economy and Remote Work Applications, wrote in the post.

Al Olama’s message comes as SpaceX is in the middle of a massive fundraising push tied to its planned IPO that could raise about $75 billion at a valuation approaching $1.75 trillion. Musk has been courting investors and holding analyst briefings this week to build demand.

“I reaffirmed the UAE’s commitment to fostering global partnerships that turn the science fiction of today into the reality of tomorrow,” Al Olama wrote.

In the Instagram post, Al Olama doesn’t say where or when the meeting took place. Musk’s last public appearance with the cabinet minister was in December when the SpaceX founder and CEO met in Abu Dhabi with UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed.

The UAE is making contingency plans for deeper financial disruptions from war with Iran and asking the U.S. for help.

UAE Central Bank Governor Khaled Mohamed Balama has discussed the possibility of receiving various forms of financial backing in meetings with U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Federal Reserve officials in Washington, The Wall Street Journal reports.

A key option under consideration is a dollar swap line – an arrangement that would allow the UAE to access large amounts of U.S. dollars from the Federal Reserve in exchange for its own currency, helping ensure banks and businesses can keep operating if dollar funding tightens.

The concern is that continued attacks on shipping through the Strait of Hormuz could sharply reduce oil revenues and limit the flow of dollars into the UAE, putting pressure on the dirham, which is pegged to the U.S. currency, and raising the risk of capital outflows.

While no formal request has been made, the talks highlight growing unease in Abu Dhabi that a prolonged conflict could disrupt trade and finance, push some transactions toward alternative currencies such as the Chinese yuan, and force the UAE to rely on U.S. backing to stabilize its economy.

Saudi Arabia says it’s stepping up efforts to combat illicit financial activity.

Saudi Central Bank Governor Ayman Al-Sayari said during a meeting of the Financial Action Task Force in Washington, D.C., last week that the kingdom is aligning its regulatory framework with international standards and has updated anti-money laundering laws to strengthen supervision, confiscation mechanisms and cross-border cooperation.

Al-Sayeri also called for stronger international coordination to fight terrorist financing and arms proliferation.

“We support adopting a risk-based approach in implementing international standards requirements and mutual evaluation processes, and we welcome financial innovations,” Al-Sayari said. 

Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund is weighing whether to withdraw funding from LIV Golf after years of heavy losses and weak television audiences in the U.S., putting the breakaway league’s future in doubt.

The decision comes as the PIF announced a new five-year strategy on Wednesday, with the sovereign wealth fund’s Governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan saying it would slow down some of its biggest projects as it focuses on “increasing the efficiency of investments,” The Financial Times reports.

LIV Golf, launched in 2022 with billions in PIF backing, has disrupted professional golf by luring top players with lucrative contracts but has struggled to build a sustainable business model. The league has reportedly lost hundreds of millions of dollars annually, including about $600 million in 2024, as media rights and fan engagement failed to match expectations.

The potential shutdown follows stalled merger talks with the PGA Tour and comes amid broader scrutiny of Saudi spending priorities and the league’s limited commercial returns. Any move to end funding would leave dozens of players who defected from the PGA Tour facing uncertain futures, capping a four-year upheaval that reshaped the economics and politics of professional golf.

LIV Golf CEO Scott O’Neil, meanwhile, told staff in an internal email sent this week that the 2026 season will proceed “as planned, uninterrupted and at full throttle,” pushing back on speculation about the league’s future, ESPN reports.

Jordan and the UAE signed a $2.3 billion agreement to develop a rail project connecting the country’s phosphate and potash mines to the port of Aqaba.

L’imad Holding, the new sovereign wealth fund overseen by Abu Dhabi’s Crown Prince Khaled bin Mohamed, will partner with multiple Jordanian entities to build and operate the 360-kilometer (225-mile) railway, with construction to begin in 2027.

Jordan’s Transport Minister Nedal Katamine said it was the country’s largest transport project in decades and one of the biggest in the region.

The deal highlights L’imad’s growing role in Abu Dhabi’s dealmaking, Bloomberg reports. 

Gulf states are ramping up investments and financial support tied to defense and energy, channeling billions of dollars into security-linked companies as the conflict with Iran reshapes priorities across capital markets and government policy.

Abu Dhabi-based BlueFive Capital is planning a $3 billion fund focused on aerospace and defense, targeting companies tied to military and advanced technologies as the UAE positions itself as a hub for security-related investment, Bloomberg reports.

At the same time, Saudi Arabia is reinforcing its geopolitical alliances by providing Pakistan with $3 billion in fresh financing and extending a separate $5 billion deposit, helping Islamabad stabilize its reserves and meet external obligations, including a loan repayment to the UAE.

The support is an indicator of Pakistan’s reliance on Gulf backing amid financial strain, with the repayment accounting for a significant share of its foreign reserves and highlighting the strategic role of Gulf capital in regional stability.

Beyond defense and finance, Indonesia’s sovereign wealth fund Danantara is increasing its focus on the Middle East, planning major investments in energy security, critical minerals and infrastructure, as global investors pivot toward assets tied to supply resilience and long-term strategic needs.