MUST-READS

• Capital Punishment
  Saudi execution of poet would be unlawful – U.N. experts

  Saudi Arabia must not put Palestinian poet Ashraf Fayadh to death for apostasy this month as it would be "an arbitrary and thus unlawful execution" based on unreliable evidence, U.N. human rights experts said on Thursday.

• Saudi Foreign Policy
  Uniting Syrian rebels a big test for Saudi regional ambitions

  Saudi Arabia's effort to unite Syrian rebels in Riyadh next week will be a big test of its regional ambitions after years of bickering between opposition groups and serious misgivings about the initiative among major powers with a stake in the war.

• Anti-ISIS Campaign
  Syria conflict: German MPs vote for anti-IS military mission

  Germany's parliament has voted to send military support to the US-led coalition fighting Islamic State (IS) militants in Syria.

  • Chicago Tribune - U.S.-led coalition forces target Islamic State oil facilities in eastern Syria
  • Bloomberg - No Islamic State Defeat Without Ground Force, Kerry Says
  • The Hill - Graham pushes ISIS war bill after Paris attacks
  • Defense News - Turkey Allows France To Use Its Airspace To Attack IS
• Saudi Oil Policy
  Analysis: Saudi Arabia And OPEC: The Riyal Will Not Break The Kingdom – Not Yet, Anyway

  The most important difference of all is that Russia is a price-taker, while Saudi Arabia is a price-maker.

  • Bloomberg - The Saudi Riyal Peg Is Safer Than Forward Contracts Imply
• San Bernadino Shooting
  What’s the San Bernadino shooters’ Saudi connection?

  “Why would he do something like this? I have absolutely no idea. I am in shock myself,” Malik’s brother-in-law, Farhan Khan, told The Los Angeles Times.

  • Yahoo - California shooter Farook visited Saudi Arabia in 2014: embassy
• Saudi - Germany
  Germany scolds BND spy agency over Saudi criticism

  The German government has publicly rebuked its own foreign intelligence agency after the BND suggested that Saudi Arabia's foreign policy was becoming more "impulsive".

  • NYT - Germany Rebukes Its Own Intelligence Agency for Criticizing Saudi Policy
• Global Oil Markets
  Crashing Investment, Not Saudi Market Manipulation, Will Drive The Next Oil Spike

  Wood Mackenzie has tallied $200 billion in delayed mega-projects containing reserves equivalent to 20 billion barrels of oil. Once deferred, these projects cannot be restarted quickly. In some cases, project teams have been disbanded or even laid off.  These include projects in West Africa, Canada, Australia, Indonesia, Norway as well as the U.S. offshore.

• Lebanon: Saudi - Iran
  Can Saudi and Iran play ball in Lebanon?

  In Lebanon, both Saudi and Iran agree on the need to avert a bigger crisis and are prioritizing stability over political gains in the interim. Maintaining cold peace in Beirut while securing their influence could drive both countries into accepting the deal.

  • Economist - 546 days without a president
  • Yahoo! - Saudi backs deal that would make Assad ally Lebanon's presidenters - Exclusive: Chemical weapons used by rebels in Syria - sources
• Saudi Soft Power
  Commentary: Will Iranians watch Saudi-financed Persian TV?

  This sense of indifference toward Saudi culture stems largely from the fact that the Saudis have never tried to promote their diverse cultural heritage — such as their music, poetry, artifacts and literature — to the world.

• War in Yemen
  Saudi Arabia Investigating Strike on Aid Group in Yemen

  Saudi Arabia began an investigation Friday after an aid group said the kingdom's coalition targeting Shiite rebels in Yemen struck one of its clinics, the second such strike in recent months.

• 10 of 63018 results<< 1 … 5,650 5,651 5,652 … 6,302 >>