Party Time in Saudi Arabia Ends a Year of Fear - Bloomberg:
It was time to showcase the new Saudi Arabia. Under pulsing lights, men and women danced to the bass line of house music superstar David Guetta after electric racing cars whizzed around a track.
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the 33-year-old de facto leader, toured the government-sponsored event over the weekend taking pictures with loyal followers. Then, on Tuesday, came the announcement of another year of handouts worth billions of dollars to citizens in the budget.
Yet the smiles and largess mask a darker side to the kingdom that’s emerged over the past year, one that was thrust into the spotlight with the gruesome murder of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi. And some Saudis quietly question whether the fun is just a distraction to change international opinion.
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