Saudi Arabia’s hosting of top American, Russian and Ukrainian officials for high-stakes meetings underlines the kingdom’s aspirations to become a global actor capable of successfully mediating international conflicts.

A top Ukrainian official said his country was "ready to go" and determined to reach a peace deal with Russia as U.S.-Ukraine talks kicked off in Jeddah.

Scopely said it would buy Niantic’s video game business, which includes Pokémon Go, for $3.5 billion. Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund acquired Scopely in 2023.

Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF) will pay $3.5bn (£2.7bn) to buy the gaming division of developer Niantic, whose titles include the hit mobile game Pokémon Go. The game involves players walking around in the real world to hunt the collectable creatures, which appear on their phone screens using augmented reality.

Scopely, a mobile game company, will purchase 'Pokémon Go' and other games from developer Niantic in a deal worth $3.5 billion, the companies announced Wednesday.