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  • White House Lobbies Senate on JASTA, Works Toward 34 Votes to Prevent Veto Override
     

    Some Senate Democrats on Capitol Hill continue to consider their votes on the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act (JASTA) and, according to some reports, are “starting to show cracks in their support” of the legislation after efforts by the Obama administration to convey the risk of the bill’s potential international relations fallout.  JASTA, which would expand […]

     
  • New Desalination Technology at KACST in Saudi Arabia ‘Opens Doors to Higher Worldwide Clean Water Sources’
     

    The first worldwide adsorption water desalination and cooling plant has been successfully implemented by King Abdulaziz City of Science and Technology (KACST) in August 2016, the university said in a press release, as the Kingdom continues to be a global leader in desalination technology. Adsorption Desalination and Cooling (ADC) is a newly invented technology, co-owned […]

     
  • Al-Jubeir in Wall Street Journal: ‘Iran Can’t Whitewash Its Record of Terror’
     

    Saudi Foreign Minister Adel Al-Jubeir blasted his Iranian counterpart in a new op-ed published by the Wall Street Journal, saying that Iran cannot “whitewash its record of terror.” “The fact is that Iran is the leading state-sponsor of terrorism, with government officials directly responsible for numerous terrorist attacks since 1979. These include suicide bombings of the U.S. […]

     
  • Washington Post Editorial: Obama Right to Veto JASTA
     

    An editorial in today’s edition of the Washington Post calls for President Obama to veto the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act (JASTA) which reduces foreign sovereign immunity by allowing U.S. courts to hear cases involving claims against a foreign state for injuries, death, or damages that occur inside the United States as a result of […]

     
  • Houthi Rebels Claim Capture of Post Inside Saudi Border
     

    Officials from Yemen’s Shiite Houthi militia say their fighters and allied troops have captured a Saudi military post in the border region of Jazan, according to reports.  According to a report in the Associated Press, the claim has been denied by a Saudi military spokesman. However, a 15-minute video clip posted on social media networks and aired late […]

     
  • 15 Year-Old Saudi Girl Proposes First ‘Hijab Emoji’
     

    Rayouf Alhumedhi, a Saudi-born teenager currently living in Germany is the lead author on a new proposal for a hijab emoji to the Unicode Consortium, the nonprofit that governs the creation and approval of emoji. Emojis are popular small images that are available on mobile and desktop keyboards that are increasingly adding to, and even replacing, […]

     
  • Security Tight as Millions Perform Hajj in Saudi Arabia; Eid al-Adha Begins Today
     

    Saudi Arabia has invested heavily in added safety and security measures as the Kingdom hosts this year’s estimated 1.85 million Hajj pilgrims.  Photos from the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA) show Saudi civil defense forces and medical personnel on standby ready to ensure a safe and peaceful Hajj. Temperatures throughout the week topped 100°F (28°C), making […]

     
  • Hajj 2016 Begins: Millions Gather in Saudi Arabia
     

    An estimated two million pilgrims have converged in Saudi Arabia for the start of the annual Hajj pilgrimage today, lasting until Wednesday, September 13th. The hajj is one of the five pillars of Islam, which capable Muslims must perform at least once, marking the spiritual peak of their lives. Worshippers from more than 150 countries will embark on […]

     
  • U.S. House to Allow Vote on Controversial JASTA Bill This Week
     

    The U.S.  House of Representatives will vote this week on a bill allowing the families of 9/11 victims to sue Saudi Arabia in U.S. courts, a Republican leadership source told Politico Wednesday. The highly-politicized Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act (JASTA) bill, which President Obama said would receive his veto should it make it to […]

     
  • Report: $20 Billion in Projects may be Canceled; Ministerial Budgets Squeezed as Saudis Adapt to Low Oil Prices
     

    A report in Bloomberg today said that Saudi Arabia is considering canceling more than $20 billion of projects in addition to making deep cuts to ministry budgets as the Kingdom takes austerity measures due to low oil prices. The budget cuts to some ministries could be as much as 25%, the Bloomberg report said.  Overall, the government is […]

     

MUST-READS

  • UK-Saudi
    The diplomat who said ‘No’ to Saudi oil

    Hindsight can be cruel. In 1932, amid a global economic slump, the impoverished Saudis came to London looking for a loan. They also had an offer: would Britain like to try drilling for oil? A disdainful Foreign Office mandarin gave the fateful reply, writes Matthew Teller - no loan, and no drilling.

  • Pakistan
    U.S. diplomat and longtime Pakistan expert is under federal investigation

    A veteran State Department diplomat and longtime Pakistan expert is under federal investigation as part of a counterintelligence probe and has had her security clearances withdrawn, according to U.S. officials.

  • Gulf Wages
    Saudi women employees paid ‘almost half as men’

    The disparity in wages between men and women in the Gulf region is the largest in Saudi Arabia, Makkah daily reported. According to statistics published by the World Economic Forum for 2014, Saudi women earn on average only 56 percent of the wages earned by men.

  • Violent Religious Extremism
    The Imploding U.S Strategy in the Islamic State War?

    What this means in simple terms is that even if the Islamic State could be “destroyed,” rather than “degraded,” a strategy based on that objective rather than forging a comprehensive strategy and set of partnerships to fight violent religious extremism make no sense even in Syria, much less for a world power – particularly one already fighting other military battles against such movements in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Somalia, and Yemen. At present we have a partial if not a non-strategy even against our declared enemy and no clear strategy for what we once called a “war on terrorism” and one where every metric shows we are not winning.

  • U.S.-Turkey
    Kidnapping plot in Turkey raises new questions about U.S. troops’ safety

    A bold yet ultimately unsuccessful kidnapping plot orchestrated by the Islamic State in Turkey raises new questions about the safety of U.S. troops and other American personnel stationed throughout the country.

  • Saudi Convictions
    Saudi convicts 27 for plotting attack on US forces

    A court in Saudi Arabia sentenced 27 people to prison for planning a series of attacks against US forces in Qatar and Kuwait, with more than half of the defendants charged on Wednesday with also trying to join forces with a group in Syria to smuggle fighters to Iraq, official media reports said. The same court also sentenced on Tuesday two Saudi citizens to death and a third to 12 years in prison for taking part in violent protests in the eastern town of Al Awamiya.

  • Extremism
    Saudi Arabia jails al Qaeda suspects over plot to hit U.S. forces

    A Saudi court has sentenced 17 people, four of them women, to prison terms of up to 30 years in two separate cases, one of which involving an al Qaeda plot to attack U.S. soldiers in Qatar and Kuwait, the state news agency SPA said.

  • U.S. Crisis Response Force
    New crisis response force gets ready to deploy to Middle East

    There is great concern among U.S. officials about potential attacks against American personnel and facilities in the Middle East. In recent months, the Pentagon has deployed hundreds of extra troops to Iraq to guard against possible terrorist attacks against the U.S. embassy in Baghdad and other critical facilities. The American embassy in Yemen is also under threat from militants.

  • Anti-ISIS PR
    US public diplomacy attempts to confront Islamic State

    Stengel is the latest in a series of political appointees — who include former Madison Avenue executives, domestic campaign advisers and former journalists — to try to devise breakthrough messaging with an audience prone to conspiracy theories and often angry or disappointed with US policies. Among those who have toiled in the job since 9/11: Charlotte Beers, best known for marketing Uncle Ben’s Rice, and Karen Hughes, a close adviser to George W. Bush whose efforts to promote women’s rights in Saudi Arabia fell flat when women there rejected her comments as patronizing.

  • Labor
    Expat employment in Saudi up by 14% in 2014

    A Shoura council member has urged the Labour Ministry not to allow major companies to circumvent Saudisation laws by signing accords with subcontractors run mostly by expatriates, according to the report in Arab News.