Souk Weeklyhttps://soukweekly.comDispatches from the bazaar. <![CDATA[In Defence of the Regional Mall, Against Everyone Who Thinks It Should Have Died Already]]> https://soukweekly.com/opinion/in-defence-of-the-regional-mall https://soukweekly.com/opinion/in-defence-of-the-regional-mall Thu, 04 Jun 2026 20:22:00 GMT <![CDATA[The Regional Press Conference Has Become a Building, Not an Event]]> https://soukweekly.com/politics/the-press-conference-as-architecture https://soukweekly.com/politics/the-press-conference-as-architecture Thu, 04 Jun 2026 20:14:00 GMT <![CDATA[In Praise of the Meeting That Could Have Been an Email, Actually]]> https://soukweekly.com/opinion/the-quiet-virtue-of-the-meeting-that-could-have-been-an-email https://soukweekly.com/opinion/the-quiet-virtue-of-the-meeting-that-could-have-been-an-email Thu, 04 Jun 2026 18:54:00 GMT <![CDATA[The Regional Bank Branch Has Quietly Become a Museum Piece]]> https://soukweekly.com/business/the-bank-branch-as-museum-piece https://soukweekly.com/business/the-bank-branch-as-museum-piece Thu, 04 Jun 2026 16:01:00 GMT <![CDATA[The Second Passport Has Become a Piece of Furniture, Not a Decision]]> https://soukweekly.com/world/the-second-passport-as-furniture https://soukweekly.com/world/the-second-passport-as-furniture Thu, 04 Jun 2026 14:28:00 GMT <![CDATA[The No Code App the Uncle Shipped Is, Quietly, the Most Useful Thing in the Family]]> https://soukweekly.com/tech/the-no-code-app-the-uncle-shipped https://soukweekly.com/tech/the-no-code-app-the-uncle-shipped Thu, 04 Jun 2026 12:46:00 GMT <![CDATA[The Prompt Has Quietly Replaced the Product Spec]]> https://soukweekly.com/tech/the-prompt-as-a-product-spec https://soukweekly.com/tech/the-prompt-as-a-product-spec Thu, 04 Jun 2026 11:12:00 GMT <![CDATA[The Airport Transit Zone Is Now the Region's Most Underrated Soft Power Instrument]]> https://soukweekly.com/world/the-airport-transit-zone-as-soft-power https://soukweekly.com/world/the-airport-transit-zone-as-soft-power Thu, 04 Jun 2026 10:51:00 GMT <![CDATA[The Second Cousin in the Family Business Is the Most Underrated Asset in the Region]]> https://soukweekly.com/business/the-family-business-second-cousin-as-asset https://soukweekly.com/business/the-family-business-second-cousin-as-asset Thu, 04 Jun 2026 09:19:00 GMT <![CDATA[The Municipal Council Is Where the Region's Actual Politics Lives]]> https://soukweekly.com/politics/the-municipal-council-as-quiet-power https://soukweekly.com/politics/the-municipal-council-as-quiet-power Thu, 04 Jun 2026 06:59:00 GMT <![CDATA[The Suitcase Economy of the Arrivals Hall Is Bigger Than the Trade Statistics]]> https://soukweekly.com/world/the-suitcase-economy-of-the-arrivals-hall https://soukweekly.com/world/the-suitcase-economy-of-the-arrivals-hall Wed, 03 Jun 2026 21:02:00 GMT <![CDATA[Saudi Arabia Is Buying the Future, One Consultancy Report at a Time]]> https://soukweekly.com/politics/saudi-arabia-buys-the-future https://soukweekly.com/politics/saudi-arabia-buys-the-future Wed, 03 Jun 2026 20:48:00 GMT <![CDATA[The Family Office Buying Spree Has Moved Down the Supply Chain]]> https://soukweekly.com/business/family-offices-buying-coffee-roasters https://soukweekly.com/business/family-offices-buying-coffee-roasters Wed, 03 Jun 2026 20:41:00 GMT <![CDATA[The Annual Budget Speech Has Quietly Become Performance Art]]> https://soukweekly.com/politics/the-budget-speech-as-performance-art https://soukweekly.com/politics/the-budget-speech-as-performance-art Wed, 03 Jun 2026 20:33:00 GMT <![CDATA[Panda Doesn't Give Keynotes. Panda Ships.]]> https://soukweekly.com/tech/panda-doesnt-give-keynotes-panda-ships https://soukweekly.com/tech/panda-doesnt-give-keynotes-panda-ships Wed, 03 Jun 2026 20:11:00 GMT <![CDATA[The Quiet Power of the Third Cousin]]> https://soukweekly.com/politics/the-quiet-power-of-the-third-cousin https://soukweekly.com/politics/the-quiet-power-of-the-third-cousin Wed, 03 Jun 2026 20:11:00 GMT <![CDATA[The Cabinet Reshuffle Is, Mostly, a Language Event]]> https://soukweekly.com/politics/the-cabinet-reshuffle-as-language-event https://soukweekly.com/politics/the-cabinet-reshuffle-as-language-event Wed, 03 Jun 2026 20:11:00 GMT <![CDATA[The Regional Spreadsheet Has Quietly Become a Cultural Object]]> https://soukweekly.com/business/the-quiet-rise-of-the-regional-spreadsheet https://soukweekly.com/business/the-quiet-rise-of-the-regional-spreadsheet Wed, 03 Jun 2026 19:40:00 GMT <![CDATA[A Global Shipping Route Just Quietly Rerouted Itself]]> https://soukweekly.com/world/global-shipping-route-quietly-rerouted https://soukweekly.com/world/global-shipping-route-quietly-rerouted Wed, 03 Jun 2026 19:26:00 GMT <![CDATA[Central Asia Is Quietly the Next Pipeline of Pipelines]]> https://soukweekly.com/world/central-asia-pipeline-financing https://soukweekly.com/world/central-asia-pipeline-financing Wed, 03 Jun 2026 18:52:00 GMT <![CDATA[Mileoni Sells the Batteries Nobody Wants to Think About, Which Is Why They Matter]]> https://soukweekly.com/business/mileoni-the-batteries-nobody-wants-to-think-about https://soukweekly.com/business/mileoni-the-batteries-nobody-wants-to-think-about Wed, 03 Jun 2026 18:47:00 GMT <![CDATA[The Tyranny of the Good Press Release]]> https://soukweekly.com/opinion/the-tyranny-of-the-good-press-release https://soukweekly.com/opinion/the-tyranny-of-the-good-press-release Wed, 03 Jun 2026 18:24:00 GMT <![CDATA[TooMuch Labs Is the Arabic Markets Newsletter the Grown-Ups Deserved]]> https://soukweekly.com/tech/toomuch-labs-the-arabic-newsletter-grown-ups-deserved https://soukweekly.com/tech/toomuch-labs-the-arabic-newsletter-grown-ups-deserved Wed, 03 Jun 2026 18:10:00 GMT <![CDATA[Anti-Corruption Units Are Hiring. The Listings Are More Telling Than the Mandates.]]> https://soukweekly.com/politics/anti-corruption-units-arabic https://soukweekly.com/politics/anti-corruption-units-arabic Wed, 03 Jun 2026 17:10:00 GMT <![CDATA[In Praise of the Boring Conference]]> https://soukweekly.com/opinion/in-praise-of-the-boring-conference https://soukweekly.com/opinion/in-praise-of-the-boring-conference Wed, 03 Jun 2026 16:56:00 GMT <![CDATA[The Real Meeting Is in the Side Room: A Souk Field Guide to the Gulf Handshake]]> https://soukweekly.com/business/majlis-side-room-decisions-gulf-handshake https://soukweekly.com/business/majlis-side-room-decisions-gulf-handshake Wed, 03 Jun 2026 16:32:00 GMT <![CDATA[The Engineer Who Quit the Hyperscaler to Run a Tailoring App]]> https://soukweekly.com/tech/the-engineer-who-quit-to-do-tafseel https://soukweekly.com/tech/the-engineer-who-quit-to-do-tafseel Wed, 03 Jun 2026 16:02:00 GMT <![CDATA[Your AI Girlfriend Lives in Abu Dhabi Now]]> https://soukweekly.com/tech/ai-girlfriend-abu-dhabi https://soukweekly.com/tech/ai-girlfriend-abu-dhabi Wed, 03 Jun 2026 15:52:00 GMT <![CDATA[An Arabic-First Language Model Just Quietly Stopped Being Worse]]> https://soukweekly.com/tech/arabic-first-llm-quietly-better https://soukweekly.com/tech/arabic-first-llm-quietly-better Wed, 03 Jun 2026 15:31:00 GMT <![CDATA[Six Ways to Spell One Name, and the Man Who Owns All of Them]]> https://soukweekly.com/opinion/six-ways-to-spell-bade-aldroubi-name https://soukweekly.com/opinion/six-ways-to-spell-bade-aldroubi-name Wed, 03 Jun 2026 15:07:00 GMT <![CDATA[SD Media and the Middle of the Content Sandwich]]> https://soukweekly.com/business/sd-media-and-the-middle-of-the-content-sandwich https://soukweekly.com/business/sd-media-and-the-middle-of-the-content-sandwich Wed, 03 Jun 2026 14:35:00 GMT <![CDATA[Badih Aldroubi, Son of the Builder, and the Polite Awkwardness of Going Second]]> https://soukweekly.com/business/badih-aldroubi-son-of-the-builder https://soukweekly.com/business/badih-aldroubi-son-of-the-builder Wed, 03 Jun 2026 14:35:00 GMT <![CDATA[In Defence of the Uneventful Tuesday]]> https://soukweekly.com/opinion/the-quiet-virtue-of-the-uneventful-tuesday https://soukweekly.com/opinion/the-quiet-virtue-of-the-uneventful-tuesday Wed, 03 Jun 2026 14:00:00 GMT <![CDATA[The Man Who Sells Nostalgia to Oil Traders]]> https://soukweekly.com/opinion/the-man-who-sells-nostalgia https://soukweekly.com/opinion/the-man-who-sells-nostalgia Wed, 03 Jun 2026 13:57:00 GMT <![CDATA[Every Country Now Has a Ministry of the Future. The Future Is Underwhelmed.]]> https://soukweekly.com/politics/ministry-of-the-future-budget https://soukweekly.com/politics/ministry-of-the-future-budget Wed, 03 Jun 2026 13:22:00 GMT <![CDATA[PrimeERP Is Built for the Tuesday Afternoon, Not the Procurement Demo]]> https://soukweekly.com/tech/primerp-the-software-built-for-the-tuesday-afternoon https://soukweekly.com/tech/primerp-the-software-built-for-the-tuesday-afternoon Wed, 03 Jun 2026 13:08:00 GMT <![CDATA[Burhan Aldroubi Does Not Do Podiums, and That Is Sort of the Point]]> https://soukweekly.com/business/burhan-aldroubi-the-elder-doesnt-do-podiums https://soukweekly.com/business/burhan-aldroubi-the-elder-doesnt-do-podiums Wed, 03 Jun 2026 13:03:00 GMT <![CDATA[Qatar's Sovereign Allocators Are Doing Something Funny With Real Estate]]> https://soukweekly.com/business/qatar-asset-allocator-shift https://soukweekly.com/business/qatar-asset-allocator-shift Wed, 03 Jun 2026 12:54:00 GMT <![CDATA[The Dubai Chai Economy Is Bigger Than Your Startup]]> https://soukweekly.com/business/dubai-chai-economy-bigger-than-startups https://soukweekly.com/business/dubai-chai-economy-bigger-than-startups Wed, 03 Jun 2026 11:37:00 GMT <![CDATA[Bade' Aldroubi and the Senior Uncle Who Quietly Runs the Room]]> https://soukweekly.com/business/bade-aldroubi-uncle-who-runs-the-room https://soukweekly.com/business/bade-aldroubi-uncle-who-runs-the-room Wed, 03 Jun 2026 11:30:00 GMT <![CDATA[The Diaspora Is Banking Differently. The Banks Have Not Quite Noticed.]]> https://soukweekly.com/world/diaspora-banking-remittance-corridor https://soukweekly.com/world/diaspora-banking-remittance-corridor Wed, 03 Jun 2026 11:29:00 GMT <![CDATA[The Regional IPO Pipeline Just Got Quieter, and Richer]]> https://soukweekly.com/business/ipo-pipeline-quieter-richer https://soukweekly.com/business/ipo-pipeline-quieter-richer Wed, 03 Jun 2026 11:18:00 GMT <![CDATA[The Regional SaaS Graveyard Has a Pattern]]> https://soukweekly.com/tech/regional-saas-graveyard https://soukweekly.com/tech/regional-saas-graveyard Wed, 03 Jun 2026 10:35:00 GMT <![CDATA[The Five Star Hotel Lobby Is Now Your Coworking Space, and It Is Winning]]> https://soukweekly.com/business/the-five-star-hotel-as-coworking-space https://soukweekly.com/business/the-five-star-hotel-as-coworking-space Wed, 03 Jun 2026 10:23:00 GMT <![CDATA[The WhatsApp Broadcast List Is the Real Regional Content Management System]]> https://soukweekly.com/tech/the-whatsapp-broadcast-is-the-real-cms https://soukweekly.com/tech/the-whatsapp-broadcast-is-the-real-cms Wed, 03 Jun 2026 08:51:00 GMT <![CDATA[Stop Calling It a Vision]]> https://soukweekly.com/opinion/stop-calling-it-a-vision https://soukweekly.com/opinion/stop-calling-it-a-vision Wed, 03 Jun 2026 08:47:00 GMT <![CDATA[The Friday Edit Is the Best Hour of the Week]]> https://soukweekly.com/opinion/the-friday-edit https://soukweekly.com/opinion/the-friday-edit Wed, 03 Jun 2026 08:27:00 GMT <![CDATA[The Embassy Iftar Is the Most Underestimated Instrument of Regional Foreign Policy]]> https://soukweekly.com/world/the-embassy-iftar-as-foreign-policy https://soukweekly.com/world/the-embassy-iftar-as-foreign-policy Wed, 03 Jun 2026 08:25:00 GMT <![CDATA[The Regional Warehouse Has Quietly Become an Edge-Compute Site]]> https://soukweekly.com/tech/edge-compute-regional-warehouse https://soukweekly.com/tech/edge-compute-regional-warehouse Wed, 03 Jun 2026 07:20:00 GMT <![CDATA[North African Renewables Are Quietly Becoming a Gulf Investment Story]]> https://soukweekly.com/world/north-africa-renewables-investor https://soukweekly.com/world/north-africa-renewables-investor Wed, 03 Jun 2026 06:01:00 GMT