MUST-READS

• Arab States
  Opinion: Costly Arab Delusions

  Consider Europe, where the notion of a nation-state was introduced at Westphalia in 1648. It was not until 300 years later, with the precursors to the European Union, that the peoples of Europe began to imagine themselves as part of a single entity. Today, the European identity has grown strong, but it is still rooted in the unique cultures of its individual countries. There is no Europe without Belgium, Poland, Portugal, or Norway.

• Nitaqat
  11,000 Saudi firms closed down due to Nitaqat, MIT study finds

  Some 11,000 Saudi firms have closed down due to the implementation of Nitaqat program to support Saudization, according to a study conducted by Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) which is participating in training Saudi workers online in coordination with the Ministry of Labor. The closures occurred in 16 months since the beginning of implementation of the Nitaqat program in 2011, found the study, which said that during this period 96,000 Saudis were employed in the private sector.

• Turkey and ISIS
  How the Islamic State Took Turkey Hostage

  While the details of the hostage deal are still unclear, Ankara has had interlocutors with IS -- from Arab tribes to former Iraqi Vice President Tariq al-Hashimi, who sought refuge in Turkey -- who could have been instrumental in reaching it. Such a deal, however, may include a promise of continued non-involvement in the campaign against the jihadist group, with the soldiers stationed at Suleyman Shah serving as an insurance policy for the jihadists.

  • Reuters - Islamic State closes in on Syrian town, refugees flood into Turkey
• Saudi Youth
  The primary concerns of Saudi youth

  It became evident to the consulting group that there were five dominant areas of concern faced by the youth of Saudi Arabia. They were: The high cost of living, the lack of affordable housing, rising crime and violence among their segment, lack of confidence in the education system and finally the scarcity of opportunities for a career and good living.

• Kingdom Tower
  Saudi Kingdom Tower buys world’s largest crane

  With the tower’s foundation now in place, vertical, above-ground construction commenced in September. Plans call for the first ten floors to be completed by the end of the year. The Kingdom Tower features 170 stories, seven stories of which will be allocated for the five-star Four Seasons Hotel offering 200 rooms and121 luxury serviced apartments, and seven stories for offices.

• Golan Heights
  UN’s flight marks new era on Israel-Syria front

  "Their mandate is just not relevant anymore," said Stephane Cohen, a former Israeli military liaison officer with UNDOF. "They are there to oversee an agreement between two countries — Israel and Syria — and in practice there is no Syria anymore." That endangers a status quo that — despite a formal state of war between Israel and Syria — is widely regarded as convenient.

• Information Technology
  Government IT spending fuels Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s innovation economy

  Overall IT spending in the Kingdom - the Middle East's largest IT market - is set grow by 23 percent from US$ 11.5 billion in 2014 to US$ 14.2 billion in 2017 according to IDC's report 'Saudi Arabia Vertical Markets 2013-2017 IT Spending Forecast'. Government will be the fastest-growing vertical in this period, with a compound annual growth rate of 12.9 percent, according to IDC. Guiding investment is the Kingdom's Ninth Development Plan, which projects a 27 percent increase in government spending from SAR 150 billion in 2009 to SAR 191 billion in 2014.

• Women Driving
  Saudi businesswoman and member of a human rights group fined for driving herself to hospital

  A female member of a Saudi human rights organisation was reportedly fined by police after she drove herself to hospital. Aliyah Al Farid, a businesswoman and member of the National Society for Human Rights (NSHR), suffers from a chronic condition which means she is occasionally forced to visit hospital.

  • Saudi Gazette - Reader's Debate: Let women drive in Saudi Arabia
• US-Saudi
  Renewing Vows With Saudi Arabia

  Nevertheless, it's unclear what role, if any, Saudi Arabia will play in the U.S.-led military campaign against ISIS in Iraq. It has already offered humanitarian assistance to Iraq. However, Iran’s backing of the Iraqi central government and the Kurdish regional government’s militias makes it politically unpalatable for Riyadh to assume a major role in Iraq. Despite signs of an opening for improved relations between the two countries, Saudi Arabia and Iran are still supporting opposing sides in Syria, Lebanon, Yemen, and Iraq. In addition, Maliki’s repeated -- and largely unsubstantiated -- claims that Saudi Arabia supports ISIS could make Saudi military involvement politically costly for Abadi.

• 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.

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