• Neom canceled a desalination project worth $1.5 billion, according to a report.
• It comes as Saudi Arabia reportedly plans on scaling back part of the project. 
• Enowa, a Neom subsidiary, told Meed it's water requirements had evolved. 

A project to build a $1.5 billion water desalination plant in the Saudi Arabian desert city of Neom appears to have been scrapped.

A consortium made up of Neom subsidiary Enowa, Japan's Itochu, and France's Veolia had agreed to develop the plant in December 2022. 

The plan was to create a desalination plant that ran on 100% renewable energy and delivered two million cubic meters of water a day to Neom, or about 30% of the city's projected needs.

The plant was to be based in Oxagon, Neom's industrial zone and the first phase was scheduled for completion next year.

However, sources familiar with the project told Middle East business-trade publication MEED that the joint development agreement for the project had expired and not been renewed.

Detailed reasons for the cancellation are unclear. BI contacted Enowa, Itochu and Veolia for comment.

In a statement sent to MEED, Enowa said Neom's water requirements have evolved over the last year, "leading us to adopt a stepwise approach to expanding capacity."

Under the plans, the desalination plant would have diverted brine, the main waste product in desalination, toward industrial projects instead of discharging it into the sea.

Brine is one of the main pollutants caused by desalination plants.

Earlier in May, Malcolm Aw, a UK energy entrepreneur, said he canceled a $100 million contract to develop renewable energy desalination plants in Neom over human rights concerns.

It's a blow for the desert city. Neom is being built in deserts in the northwest of Saudi Arabia, one of the dryest and hottest parts of the world, meaning that desalination is key to the success of the project.

Planners have said Neom will be an eco-city, running without cars or roads and powered with 100% sustainable energy. It's part of Saudi ruler Mohammed bin Salman's Vision 2030 plan to reorient the country's economy away from the fossil fuels that are the source of its wealth and toward innovation, technology, and tourism.

But In April Bloomberg reported that Saudi Arabia had been forced to scale back plans for the project, which could cost as much as $1.5 trillion. According to the report, The Line, a planned mirrored "vertical skyscraper," may be reduced in size from more than 100 miles to just over one mile.

In an apparent effort to refute the report, the Saudi economy minister, Faisal Al Ibrahim, told CNBC last month that all Neom projects were continuing at the planned scale.

"There is no change in scale. It is a long-term project that's modular in design," he said.

• Netflix's "Buying London" is a reality show about London's luxury real estate market and the agents behind it.
• The show is centered on the super-prime property agency DDRE Global.
• It follows the success of Netflix's other reality real-estate show, "Selling Sunset."

A new reality show, "Buying London," dropped on Netflix on Wednesday, and it's all about London's luxury real estate market.

The show is centered on Daniel Daggers and his team of real estate agents at the property company DDRE Global. Daggers says he's sold over £5 billion ($6.4 billion) of real estate over the course of his 25 years in the industry. This includes a £95 million ($120 million) mansion to hedge fund tycoon Ken Griffin in a previous role, per The Times of London.

He calls himself "Mr. Super Prime," referring to the multimillion-dollar properties sold to ultra-high-net-worth individuals. And London has no shortage of expensive properties or wealthy buyers.

The new Netflix series takes viewers around London's super-prime housing market, showcasing properties in some of the city's most expensive areas, including Mayfair and Holland Park.

Most of DDRE's current London listings cost over £10 million ($13 million), with some stretching over £20 million ($25 million), according to its website.

But it is a reality show — so much of the drama comes from the interpersonal relationships and rivalries between the other agents, who are competing for big commissions. Some agents are familiar with the industry, including DDRE's top agent, Lauren Christy, while others are new to the industry, such as 21-year-old Reme Nicole.

The reviews so far have been harsh. "I hate almost everything about 'Buying London,'" Rebecca Nicholson wrote in The Guardian, "I hate its reverence for billionaires and bad taste." 'It's tired, tone-deaf, and shamefully crass."

"I'm delighted to say it's every bit as ghastly as you would hope," wrote Carol Midgley in The Times. 'I'm delighted to say it's every bit as ghastly as you would hope."

The London version of 'Selling Sunset'

Netflix has had success with reality real-estate crossover shows in the past. "Selling Sunset" proved to be a big hit with viewers after it debuted in 2019, and has since run for seven seasons.

It gave viewers a look at Los Angeles' high-end real estate market — and the agents handling the multimillion-dollar deals. 

And it's also been a success for the real estate agents involved. Mary Fitzgerald, a real-estate agent on "Selling Sunset," previously told BI that she has got more clients since appearing on the show and now sells at higher prices than before. It has meant she now won't sell any house under $2 million, unless as a favor for a friend.

• A Ukrainian commander said his unit was forced to watch as Russia amassed troops across the border.
• He said they weren't allowed to attack them with US-supplied weaponry, per the Times of London.
• If the US had lifted its ban, they could've taken out the troops and stopped an attack, he said.

A Ukrainian commander operating near the Russian border described how his unit watched as Russia amassed a huge force but had to wait for the troops to cross the border to hit them.

"There were a lot of Russians gathering, and we could have destroyed them on the way in, but we don't have many ATACMS, and we have a ban on using them over there," he told The Times of London.

Drago, a special forces commander with Ukraine's Kraken detachment, was redeployed, along with his unit and other special forces troops, in April from the eastern Donbas region to Kharkiv to strengthen Ukraine's forces there, per the Times.

But instead of hitting the Russians, he and his unit were forced to watch as the troops gathered on their side of the border, according to the outlet.

"We had to wait for them to cross," he said, referring to a US policy that bans Ukrainian forces from using US-supplied weapons to strike targets inside Russia.

Since the start of the war, the US and other Western countries have supplied Ukraine with billions of dollars of weaponry, but have long drawn the line on it using them against Russia itself, fearful of escalating the conflict.

The Pentagon and US Army officials have repeatedly stated US opposition to Ukraine using the weapons it has supplied to strike targets on Russian soil.

But the rule cost Drago's unit "dearly," he told the Times, with Russian troops then encircling them and attacking them from the rear.

On May 10, Russian forces ambushed a nearby position occupied by another unit and ambushed Drago's group from behind, the outlet reported.

Drago's six-person crew found itself divided into two groups and quickly encircled, pinned down in a system of trenches with two dugouts, each holding three soldiers.

Drago ultimately called in artillery fire that left at least three Russian soldiers dead, and the Russians retreated, he told the outlet.

According to Drago, "none of this would have happened if we could use ATACMS."

Ukrainian officials have echoed Drago's remarks about fighting with one hand tied behind their backs.

Oleksandr Lytvynenko, Ukraine's Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council, told the Financial Times this week that the US should lift its "absolutely unfair" ban on Ukraine using its weapons to strike targets in Russia, so that it can stop its new offensive in Kharkiv.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, meanwhile, told The New York Times that Ukraine's inability to fire US-supplied missiles or weaponry at military targets inside Russia gave the Kremlin a "huge advantage" in cross-border warfare.

Ukraine is negotiating with Western partners to lift such bans, but talks have yielded "nothing positive" so far, Zelenskyy told Reuters on Monday.

• Rebecca Cafiero felt that staying connected to her business meant being on her phone constantly. 
• After deleting Gmail, Slack, and Voxer from her phone, she noticed positive changes in her life. 
• Deleting the apps has helped her spend more time with her kids and improved her focus.

This as-told-to essay is based on a transcribed conversation with Rebecca Cafiero, 44, from Palo Alto, California, about deleting work-related communication apps from her phone. The following has been edited for length and clarity.

Living in Silicon Valley, I see people who are crazily connected to their phones, especially people in startup mode who feel they need to be all-in with their businesses.

I'm a serial entrepreneur. My current focus is a business growth accelerator called "The Pitch Club," which I launched in September 2020. I coach female entrepreneurs on getting more visibility. At the moment, I have three part-time staff.

My team uses Slack to communicate. I use Voxer and text to message clients. Back in 2020, I noticed I would pick up my phone dozens of times during the day to check Slack or emails, feeling like I needed to stay connected to my business. Sometimes, I resented my business because I couldn't get away from it.

What really got me to change things was a moment from two years ago. I was on my phone, and my son, who was six then, wanted me to play a game with him. I kept telling him to wait a minute, and eventually he started crying. I felt terrible. My child needed connection, but I was showing him that my device was more important. I knew it was time to do better.

I started by setting screen limits and eventually deleted work-related communication apps from my phone. It's made me feel better about my parenting and more focused on my work.

I decided to delete work-related communication apps from my phone after experimenting with it at a retreat

I initially set screen time limits on my iPhone so that I couldn't use my communication apps during certain hours of the day. The issue was I could still pick up my phone and press "ignore limit," so it didn't bring significant change.

In October 2023, I attended a fully immersive retreat for entrepreneurs. I usually don't schedule calls during retreats and consider myself out of the office. However, I was in the middle of a situation where I needed to fire one of my clients.

I decided to email her about parting ways, but I knew that if I had Gmail on my phone, I'd be constantly refreshing it under the table, waiting for a response. I wanted to be present at the retreat, so I deleted the app and didn't check my emails until I was back in my hotel room that night.

I noticed I was really present throughout the day because I couldn't check my email. I kept the app off my phone for the rest of the retreat and felt more connected than usual.

When I got home, I deleted Slack and Voxer from my phone. I told my clients I'd be checking emails less frequently and to text me if anything was urgent.

I spend more quality time with my kids

Within the first few days, I felt I had more mental peace and thinking space. I hadn't realized how much space these apps were taking up, but now I had time to listen to podcasts and audiobooks in the time I would have spent scrolling; I got through two or three books in the first 10 days. This productivity has plateaued a bit since then, but I'm still listening to more audiobooks and podcasts than I was before.

I started to feel more present as a mom. Instead of checking my phone while making breakfast, I get stuff done faster, which has created a more enjoyable morning routine for us.

I'm getting my kids out the door earlier and can walk my daughter to school instead of driving her because we aren't rushing as much. The quality time has really strengthened our relationship.

My son and I play a board game almost every morning, and my husband and daughter join sometimes. I didn't think I had time for that previously because my time was getting sucked up with checking my phone.

I reply to work messages on my desktop and feel much more focused

I haven't really experienced any downsides to my decision. My team and clients all think it's been a great move for me, and several have been inspired to follow suit.

I used to wake up and check my emails immediately, but I no longer let communication apps control my day.

I've adjusted by setting dedicated time slots in my calendar for when I'm going to reply to people using my desktop. Usually, it's 30 minutes during the day and 30 minutes at the end of the day for responding to emails and planning the next day's priorities. I don't often check my apps outside those times. Instead of checking my emails multiple times an hour like I used to, I probably check it four or five times a day.

I used to think I was great at multitasking, but I've realized all I was doing was switching my focus between tasks, so I was always in a state of shallow focus. Now that I can have a set block solely for replying to emails, I feel more intentional about what I'm doing.

I used to reply to messages on my phone or computer during calls with my team members, which was rude — I'm much more present now.

As business owners, we often tell ourselves we need to be constantly available to solve things, but it's not helping our happiness, and it's disconnecting us from the reasons we work in the first place.

I've since deleted about a third of the apps I used to have on my phone, as I felt I wasn't even using them. I still have some apps I use for work purposes, like ChatGPT, Google Drive, and Calendly.

This is now how I run my business and I have no desire to go back to being on my phone 24/7.