MUST-READS

• Weather
  Unusual storm leaves Saudi Arabia desert covered in snow

  The typically sweltering, sandy landscape of the Saudi Arabian Desert was transformed late last week, with Mother Nature throwing a curveball for residents that led to some confused camels. People near Tabuk, in the northwest corner of Saudi Arabia about 120 miles from the Red Sea, awoke on Friday, Jan. 10 and looked outside to see a snowy scene, vastly different than the arid weather experienced throughout most of the year.

• U.S.-Saudi Relations
  Despite Trump’s claims, Saudi Arabia does not appear to have paid $1 billion to house US troops

  Saudi Arabia does not appear to have paid the $1 billion that President Donald Trump said it has paid to house a deployment of US troops to the kingdom, according to the Pentagon. Trump had previously touted Saudi Arabia's financial contribution, telling Fox News last week, "I said, listen, you're a very rich country. You want more troops? I'm going to send them to you, but you've got to pay us. They're paying us. They've already deposited $1 billion in the bank."

• Saudi Society
  In Saudi Coffeehouses, a Window Into a Changing Society

  “I think the reason coffee shops became a trend is because people are more open to change,” said Shaden Alkhalifah, 30, who was studying at Draft Café in Riyadh on a recent evening. “It has something to do with the current political dialogue,” she added. (And, perhaps, with the many Saudis who have studied abroad in cities with single-origin coffee bean fetishes.)

• Energy
  Saudi Aramco Chairman: Oil Industry Should Think In Decades

  Energy transitions “take decades, even centuries” to complete, the chairman of the world’s largest oil company, Saudi Aramco, said at a conference on Monday, adding that the industry should continue to think in decades. Because complete energy transformations take such a long time to complete, the oil industry should continue to think in decades, Aramco’s chairman Yasir Al-Rumayyan said at the International Petroleum Technology Conference (IPTC) in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, as carried by Al Arabiya English.

• Horse Racing
  Saudi Cup, world’s richest horse race, attracts stellar field

  Shortly after the Jockey Club of Saudi Arabia announced the creation of the Saudi Cup as the world's richest horse race, American trainer Bob Baffert mused, "If you put up $20 million, you'll get good horses in your starting gate."

• Syria
  Syrian army urges civilians to leave last rebel enclave; Russia offers 3 ways out

  Backed by Russian jets, Syrian forces had pounded towns in the northwestern rebel bastion in recent weeks, displacing hundreds of thousands of people. At least 300,000 civilians have fled their homes since mid-December, the United Nations estimated last week.

• Libya
  Libya’s Haftar left Moscow without signing ceasefire deal

  Haftar asked for a delay until Tuesday to consider signing, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told a news conference on Monday. Hours later, however, Haftar and his entourage left Moscow without agreeing the deal.

• U.S. Congress
  Senate vote to limit Trump’s military actions against Iran in limbo

  The Senate vote on halting military action against Iran is up in the air, with the upcoming impeachment trial and Tuesday’s presidential debate scrambling the timing for floor action.

• Global Debt
  Global debt rockets toward potentially destabilizing record high

  Developed countries, known as mature markets, are now burdened with a total of $180 trillion in debt, or 383% of their combined GDP, Reuters said. Emerging-market countries’ debt has doubled since 2010 to hit $72 trillion, driven mainly by a $20 trillion increase in corporate debt, Reuters said.

• Healthcare IPO
  Saudi Healthcare Firm Said to Start IPO in Wake of Aramco Sale

  Dr. Sulaiman Al Habib Medical initially planned to sell shares in 2016, people familiar with the matter said at the time. The company operates at least 14 medical facilities across Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, according to its website.

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