MUST-READS

• Anti-ISIS Campaign
  ISIS now reportedly controls more than half of Syria

  slamic State controls more than half of Syria's territory after its westwards advance into the central city of Palmyra, a group monitoring the war said on Thursday.

  • Military.com - US Promises Progress against ISIS as Iraq Prepares Counter Attack
  • Defense News - DoD Strategy in Iraq Unchanged Post Ramadi
  • Military Times - Shiite militias, once a foe, may now get U.S. support
  • Stars and Stripes - Does fall of Ramadi degrade the sacrifice of those who fought, died there?
  • Defense One - Opinion: It's Time To Arm the Sunni Tribes
  • Reuters - U.S. plans to deliver anti-tank weapons to Iraq in early June
• Osama Bin Laden
  This Is What Bin Laden Was Reading Just Before He Was Killed

  The U.S. has declassified and released a collection of the documents that Navy SEALs recovered during the 2011 raid on Osama Bin Laden’s compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan that ended in the Al Qaeda leader’s death. The declassified letters, books, articles, and technical documents certainly a suggest a man keeping up with the world.

  • Washington Post - Months before U.S. raid, bin Laden considered leaving Pakistan compound
  • McClatchy - Bin Laden had book on voting machine vulnerabilities
  • War on the Rocks - Confessions of a jihadi nerd: A guide to reading the new Bin Laden documents
  • Slate - From the Mundane to the Mysterious, Declassified Documents Paint Fuller Bin Laden Picture
• Saudi Aramco
  What Is The Future For Saudi Aramco?

  One of the biggest reasons for Aramco’s restructuring would be to become a more commercially-driven organization, whose aim is to maximize its financial value and compete directly with big oil firms on a global level. The separation from the Oil Ministry could reduce political meddling and provide more leeway for the company to make commercial decisions. Also, the restructuring of its oil ministry would signify a generational shift and create a new vision for how the government develops its future energy and economic strategies.

• Gulf IPOs
  IPO activity expected to pick up in the UAE and Saudi Arabia after slow start

  Only one IPO took place in the Arabian Gulf in the first quarter owing to weak sentiment from lower oil prices. Brent, which fell to a low of US$45.19 in January, has since rebounded to about $65 per barrel, but is still 40 per cent down from $115 per barrel price reached in June last year.

• Israel - Palestine
  UN resolution to impose 18-month deadline on Palestinian state talks

  A UN security council resolution being drafted by France and New Zealand plans to set an 18-month deadline for completion of talks leading to the creation of a Palestinian state.

• Stateless Persons
  The state of statelessness in the Middle East

  The Middle East now faces the prospect of adding hundreds of thousands to the stateless population. Of the 4 million Syrian refugees, over 1 million are children under 18—many having left Syria without proper papers. There are also around 10,000 minors who have arrived in neighboring countries paperless and without an accompanying adult.

  • UNRWA - Saudi Arabia Signs US$ 111.5 Million Agreement with UNRWA
• Canada-Saudi
  Human rights advocates blast arms deal with Saudi Arabia

  Critics say a $15-billion arms deal the Canadian government has brokered to sell fighting vehicles to Saudi Arabia, a country notorious for human-rights abuses, undermines Ottawa’s rationale for refusing to sign a landmark global treaty to regulate the weapons trade.

• Nuclear Weapons
  Perspective: Bluster About Saudi Nukes

  “Riyadh has denied the veracity of Khilewi’s statements, and most experts dismiss their credibility,” according to NTI. “Most analysts believe it highly unlikely Pakistan would ever follow through with such an agreement, were it to even exist, given a host of disincentives.”

   

• Oil
  Saudi Arabia, Partners Turn Down Chinese Requests for Extra Oil

  Saudi Arabia and its main Middle East OPEC partners are turning down Chinese requests for extra oil as they hold back fuel for their own refineries just as demand from the world's biggest crude importer hits new records.

• Discrimination
  Saudi King: No discrimination between citizens and expats

  Saudi King Salman received senior Saudi human rights officials at Al-Yamamah Palace here on Wednesday. They included President of the Human Rights Commission Bandar Al-Aiban, President of the National Society for Human Rights (NSHR) Mufleh Al-Qahtani, and a number of senior officials.

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