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  • Iran’s efforts to reengage with West face new challenges

    For Iran, engagement is more difficult now than ever. Tehran is deeply enmeshed in the Israel-Lebanon conflict. The nuclear deal is in tatters. Sanctions have crippled the economy. And this week, the United States accused Iran of sending ballistic missiles to Russia and imposed new sanctions.

  • How Hamas Uses Brutality to Maintain Power

    But the reality of the war, according to U.S. officials, is that the Israeli military and Hamas carry out questionable acts nearly every day. Many of the reports reviewed by American intelligence analysts involve Israeli actions: military strikes that kill large numbers of civilians, errant attacks on aid convoys or other deadly incidents. But a large number of reports involve Hamas, both its acts of terrorism against hostages and its abuses of Palestinians.

  • Saudi Arabia Shifts $1 Trillion Investment Focus: Clean Energy And Diversification Over Oil, Says Report

    Goldman Sachs’ report reveals that approximately 73% of this capital expenditure will be directed towards non-oil sectors, a significant increase from the earlier forecast of 66%. The clean energy sector is poised to benefit greatly, with funding expected to rise to $235 billion from an earlier estimate of $148 billion. This increase is driven by an ambitious expansion in renewable energy capacity, with Saudi Arabia more than doubling its 2030 target for solar power.

  • Saudi cement companies explore mergers amid market tension

    The crowded cement sector in Saudi Arabia is experiencing tensions due to its varying market shares, according to Majed Al Osailan, vice chair of the National Cement Committee. He noted that despite initial slow demand, renewed spending on construction has led to a shift, with most companies now able to meet market needs. The cement sector saw its first merger between Qassim Cement and Hail Cement, according to Argaam news, with another planned between City Cement and Umm Al-Qura Cement. NCC chair Badr Johar said that demand for cement is expected to strengthen substantially from late September 2024 to February 2025.

  • Faked video targeting France and UAE likely Russian despite Moscow’s links to Gulf Arab states

    It remains unclear why Russian operatives would choose to publish such a video falsely claiming the Emirates halted a French arms sale, which appears to be the first noticeable effort by Moscow to target the UAE with a disinformation campaign. The Emirates remains one of the few locations to still have direct flights to Moscow, while Russian money has flooded into Dubai’s booming real estate market since President Vladimir Putin launched his full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

  • Iraq touts deal with U.S. to withdraw most troops by 2026

    Defense Minister Thabit al-Abbasi said the two nations had reached an agreement that would transition Operation Inherent Resolve, the U.S.-led military mission set up a decade ago to combat Islamic State militants in Iraq and Syria, into a “sustainable security partnership” and would remove in two stages the roughly 2,500 U.S. troops now stationed in Iraq.

  • A new crisis may plunge Libya back into chaos

    The upheaval is the consequence of a spat that flared in August but was long in the works, experts say. A move by forces close to Prime Minister Abdulhamid Dbeibah, who leads the government in western Libya, centered in the capital Tripoli, saw officials in the Central Bank kidnapped and led the bank’s longtime governor, Sadiq al-Kabir, to flee into self-imposed exile in Turkey. The Central Bank, which is the sole legal repository of Libya’s oil-generated wealth, ceased functioning. Oil exports were quickly shut down.

  • Why the Kremlin Is Drifting Closer to Houthi Rebels in Yemen

  • Saudi Arabia: Former Public Security Chief Jailed 20 Years Over Forgery, Bribery And Embezzlement

    The court issued an irrevocable ruling and jailed Lt. Gen. Khalid bin Qarar Al-Harbi for an initial 10 years for forgery and bribery. His SR1 million fine and seized embezzled funds will be deposited in the government’s treasury. Al-Harbi was also handed an additional 10 years’ imprisonment after the court convicted him of misusing authority for personal gains, exploiting government contracts and embezzling public funds.

  • Saudi Arabia calls for more pressure on Iran as Houthi threat grows

    Saudi Arabia, which supports the Yemen government opposing the Houthis, believes Iran has been arming the group, including with the weapons used in the attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea. Those attacks have led to a halving of the traffic on the Red Sea route, pushing up the costs of maritime transport and damaging the Egyptian economy through disruption to the Suez canal.

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