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  • US confronts ‘Axis’: Who are Iran’s allies? Can they be deterred?

    Since the Hamas-Israel war erupted Oct. 7, Iran-backed militias in Iraq and Syria have mounted more than 165 attacks against U.S. military bases in the region. After a cross-border drone strike killed three American soldiers in Jordan last week, the United States vowed to “hold accountable” those responsible. American warplanes launched 85 strikes Friday against militias allied to Iran, and the U.S. promised more retaliation to come as it targets weapons depots, rocket stockpiles, and command-and-control infrastructure of Iran’s self-declared “Axis of Resistance.”

  • LIV Golf had a big opportunity Sunday. Did it take advantage?

    The PGA Tour’s final round was pushed off due to some truly gnarly weather conditions at Pebble Beach, giving LIV’s first event of the 2024 season the full stage. And it was Jon Rahm’s first event as a LIV golfer, with Rahm in contention for the win at Mayakoba, Mexico. As much money as LIV has spent to get off the ground and fill its 54-man roster, sometimes luck still brings the greatest chances you’ll get.

  • What are the implications of Saudi Aramco’s pause in expansion?

    It’s like the entire oil industry of Oman or Angola was turned on and then off again. Saudi Aramco, the state oil giant, said on Wednesday that the Ministry of Energy had told it to cancel plans to expand its maximum sustainable capacity (MSC) from 12 to 13 million barrels per day by 2027. Speculations on motivation have abounded. Is this an attempt to drive up longer-dated future oil prices, a recognition that future demand will be weaker, or an acknowledgement of unexpectedly strong expansion from competitors? Is it to save cash? Is there a political angle? The higher target had originally been announced in March 2020, as the Covid-19 pandemic hit, with Saudi Arabia locked in a battle for market share. So perhaps it’s not surprising that four years later and with much water under the bridge, it’s time for a rethink.

  • What next for Saudi Arabia’s football vision as big ambitions meet player discontent?

    There is ambition in Saudi to bring more players in but across the league there have been complaints about standards in the game’s infrastructure there, be it the training grounds or the support staff. “They are realising that they have to start investing in facilities, physios and nutritionists to professionalise everything,” said an agent — who like others in this article spoke on the condition of anonymity to protect relationships — of a player in the Saudi Pro League. “The day-to-day care and attention to detail of the high-level athletes in Europe is much higher and more serious than in Saudi Arabia,” another agent of a player in Saudi said. “They are more laidback and relaxed, and that has led to significant discontent in the leading European players.”

  • What are people in Saudi Arabia buying?

    The number one used financial app is STC pay. 45 per cent of Saudi Arabia’s population say that Stc Pay is the mobile payment platform they typically use. The second app that is not far behind in numbers is Mada Pay. Surprisingly, global payment platforms such as Apple Pay and Samsung Pay lie on the lower end of the scale. Apple Pay is used more often compared to Samsung Pay, when comparing 32 per cent of people who said they used Apple Pay to Samsung Pay’s 11 per cent. When it comes to financial services, most of the respondents opted for Mada as their choice. After Mada, the next most popular ones are Visa and Stc Pay. When it comes to retail banks on the other hand, almost half of the respondents chose Alrajahi Bank. The remaining were split almost equally between Riyad Bank and Alinma Bank.

  • Commentary: What Will the United States Do after the Drone Strike in Jordan?

    While some sort of U.S. military action this week can be expected, the prospect of the United States brokering another temporary ceasefire in Gaza will remain the main focus of White House efforts. An agreement in Gaza would lower the regional temperature, rebuild cooperation with U.S. allies in the region, and put some wind in the sails of U.S. diplomacy.

  • Commentary: Is America’s Tower 22 in Jordan ‘ground zero’ for a new battlefront in the Middle East?

    The killings have transformed the third flashpoint in the region, repeated attacks on US troops and facilities in the Middle East, from the least to the most alarming minefield. It now outstrips – at least, for Americans – daily violence on the Israel-Lebanon border and Houthi piracy in the Red Sea. Responding to the attack with firmness, yet also without intensifying a drift towards regional conflict, will be the most challenging spill-over yet of the October 7 crisis for the Biden administration.

  • Commentary: Were the Saudis Right About the Houthis After All?

    Past experience, including with Somali pirates, has shown that attempting to patrol large bodies of water with a limited naval force isn’t enough to suppress piracy. Rather, the cost of such aggression has to be rendered unsustainable for the culprits. The Biden administration is now leading the international demand that the Houthis desist and that the security of international shipping and commerce in this all-important waterway be restored. The Houthis, for their part, appear to be relishing the prospect of a confrontation with the United States. That is, or at least must be made to be, their problem.

  • Why and when did Saudi Arabia ban alcohol? Why is its first liquor store a big deal?

    Saudi Arabia is seeing revolutionary reforms under Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. He has ambitious plans to make the kingdom the go-to destination for business and tourism. It involves shedding the image of a conservative regime and being more open. And the latest move involves allowing alcohol. Yes, the country is all set to get its first liquor store in the capital Riyadh but it will serve only non-Muslim diplomats.

  • Analysis: Were the Saudis Right About the Houthis After All?

    Informed Americans finally seem to understand that the macabre slogan of Yemen’s Houthi militia group—“God is the greatest, death to America, death to Israel, a curse upon the Jews, victory to Islam”—is more than empty rhetoric. The Houthis are a potent Iranian proxy group, and their slogan, adapted from Iranian revolutionary propaganda, is being made manifest in action. They’ve attacked Red Sea shipping lanes more than 30 times since October 17, under the implausible pretext of aiding Hamas and protesting Israeli military actions in Gaza.