MUST-READS

• Tracking Jihadis
  How a team of social media experts is able to keep track of the UK jihadis

  On a labyrinthine upper floor of King’s College London is the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation and Political Violence (ICSR), the first global initiative of its type, whose offices are frequently contacted by counter-terrorism officers, hungry for information on the continuing flow of Britons to the ranks of Isis.

• ICT
  Saudi firms to spend $37B on ICT in 2015

  Spending on ICT products and services in Saudi Arabia will increase 4.6% year-on-year in 2015 to total $36.95 billion, according to IDC.

• Human Rights
  Saudi Arabia increases jail sentence for human rights lawyer

  A Saudi judge has sentenced a prominent human rights lawyer to an additional five years in jail, his wife said, after he refused to show remorse or recognize the court that handed down his original 10-year term for sedition.

• Al-Saud Family Tree
  Interactive: Saudi Arabia’s royal family tree

  The admittance of Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz to hospital for medical tests on New Year’s eve sent jitters through the country’s stock market and prompted concern about possible policy changes for the world’s biggest oil exporter.

• ISIS Finances
  Where Does Islamic State gets its money

  There is no credible estimate of the secretive group’s net worth, but in October 2014 an American official described it as amassing wealth at “a pretty massive clip”. It pays fighters around $400 a month, which is more than Syrian rebel groups or the Iraqi government offer. It appears to have no trouble purchasing weaponry, either on the black market or from corrupt officials or militias. And it runs services (even if not always successfully) across the areas it controls, paying schoolteachers and providing for the poor and widowed. So where does it get all its cash from?

  • The Hill - ISIS puts payments to the poor and disabled in $2 billion budget
  • The Atlantic - Even ISIS Needs a Bank
• Gaming
  Meet the Saudi Arabian fighter joining Tekken 7’s lineup

  Tekken 7 will feature a new Saudi Arabian character in its fighting roster, game director Katushiro Hara has revealed alongside an image of the robed Shaheen on Twitter.

• Saudi Budget - 2015
  Saudi 2015 budget based on oil price around $60 – analysts

  The kingdom doesn't reveal the oil prices which it uses to calculate its annual budgets. So analysts estimate them, making assumptions about several other variables such as planned oil exports and production for the following year. For the 2015 budget, announced on Thursday, four analysts' oil price estimates are in a range of $55 to $63.

  • AP - Salaries will not be cut to curb spending
  • WSJ - With Budget, Saudi Arabia Underscores Ability to Withstand Oil Slide
• Jeddah Municipality
  Jeddah to have 3 new cities

  Jeddah Municipality announced on Sunday its plans to construct three new cities — a residential, a recreational, and an industrial — to balance the architectural landscape and demographics of the Kingdom, the Saudi Press Agency reported. The cities are located around Gulf Salman, Al-Aslaa Valley, and Asfan city, said Jeddah Municipality spokesman Mohammad Al-Bugamy.

• Saudi Oil Policy
  Oil, gas, and the Saudi factor

  You can trace a dotted line from the kingdom to almost every current news headline. There’s a Saudi factor involved in conflicts in the Middle East, South Asia, and Africa; in Russian adventurism; climate concerns; the global economy; the future of alternative energy.

  • CSM - How cheap oil changes the world
• Egypt
  Cairo bathhouse raid spreads fear in Egyptian gay community

  Egypt’s government has aggressively cracked down on Islamist and liberal opponents over the past year. Now officials are increasingly targeting another group: gay people.

  • Al Monitor - LGBT community finds Damascus more open
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